Isabella's POV

The ride back home is in extreme, awkward silence. We left the mansion in a hurry even though I know Jayden wanted me to spend more time with his family but his mother ruined it all.

The atmosphere became tense and moody. Jayden stood up and asked us to leave for home.

I was glad. I was already uncomfortable with all the pitiful stares I was getting after the men apologized for Mrs. Russell's behavior.

Apparently, she doesn't like me. She has been pretending all along to like me but she doesn't in reality.

No wonder she made fun of my sleepwear. No wonder she asked me to undress Jayden. This is all in an attempt to frustrate me. 

She is mad at me for rejecting her offer.

I can not accept her offer. Even though she is willing to offer me way more than Jayden gave, I am going to be loyal to Jayden till the end.

He helped me when I was in desperate need of help. If he had ignored me when I asked for his help, what would have happened to Grandma by now?

He helped me save my only living family's life and I will forever be grateful to him. Now that I know his reasons for marrying me, I will also help him.

This is the least I can do.

"Isabella", Jayden calls, jerking me out of my reverie. I snap my head towards him with anxiety building up in me. He doesn't look at me. He only sighs deeply and apologizes. "I'm sorry."

 I raise a brow. I am not expecting that. Besides, there is no need to apologize for his mother's mistakes.

This is just reality showing its ugly face to me. Rich people marry wealthy people. Low-class families settle for people in their class.

Wealthy people don't go for low class. They look down on them and make them feel inferior.

If Jayden and I are truly married to each other, this is the same problem I would be facing. I am a nobody. My father does not own a company. My mother is not an actress or a supermodel and I am nothing but a college degree holder. I have nothing to add to Jayden's status.

"I should have known that she was pretending to like you all along. I thought she did", he clench his jaw, his forehead furrowed.

I smile. "It's ok."

I don't intend to have babies for Jayden because it isn't part of our deal so I see no reason why I should take what she said to heart. Jayden can have babies with whoever he wants, I don't care because this isn't real.

There are a lot of beautiful women out there that he can have babies with. Supermodels, actresses, businesswomen, and many more. I don't even deserve to carry a billionaire's child.

"Are you sure it's ok?" He questions, with a skeptical look and I nod.

"Of course", I laugh out and shake my head. "It's nothing, really. I see no reason why I should be offended because having babies isn't part of the deal. I'm not worth it."

He falls silent and I turn to look at him. His jaws clench further before he looks away.

"What do you mean by you don't worth it?" He suddenly asks me and I stare at him in surprise.

Why is he asking me this? 

I shrug nonchalantly. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" He raises a questioning brow at me.

I bite my lower lips and turn away from him. I stare out of the car window absentmindedly. There are a lot of things to think of. Mrs. Russell's statement should be the least of my problems.

I haven't seen Juliet since the night of my wedding and I wonder how she is doing. I am expecting her to feel remorseful and come pleading but I haven't seen her.

I haven't seen Grandma too and I wonder how she is doing. I will make plans to go see her tomorrow. I will also get her some groceries before visiting her. I hope this time, she will talk to me and accept the fact that I am in a contractual marriage.

"Isabella?" He touches my arms and a shiver runs through my spine. I face him. "I asked you a question."

Why is he so bent on finding out what I mean by not being worthy enough to have his babies? I don't want to take any of this personally so it's better we avoid talking about it.

"Can we just forget about it?"

"No!"

I sigh heavily. He won't give up. I never knew he could be this inquisitive too. 

"What I mean is I am not worthy to carry a billionaire's child. Rich men marry rich women and vice versa. Your mother is disappointed with your choice of a wife. It is obvious she doesn't want me to be your wife and I am not fit to carry your child. Maybe she has someone else in mind to give to you. That's what I mean."

He scoffs. "What are you talking about? This isn't part of our plan so I see no reason why you should be bothered about it."

"Exactly. That is what I am talking about. I am not attaching any importance to what she said. I just want you to know that I'm not worth it…"

"Stop it", he cuts me short and I close my mouth.

What the hell is wrong with me? I know I rant and blurt out stupid things when I am nervous but I don't know if what I just did falls within any of the categories of ranting or blurting out in nervousness.

His looks turn stony and I realize I have overstepped my boundary by talking about babies.

This is a man who doesn't want to be married. And he specifically told me that there will be no strings attached. 

I am really curious to know why he doesn't want to be married and why he hates babies. Why does he gets angry and offended when the talks of babies are up in the air?

I saw the way he was staring hard at Caroline's babies. It is clear that he doesn't like babies really but there is more to the stares he was giving the innocent baby.

He doesn't like them yet he keeps staring at the girl.

When I realize I am still dwelling on what should have been forgotten, I slap myself mentally and look out of the window again, leaning forward to get a feel of the night air with my eyes closed.

The remaining ride is in complete silence. This time, it isn't awkward. It is satisfying and comforting because I don't want to talk about anything again.

The initial silence was awkward because we had a lot to talk about and no one was saying anything. Now that everything is out, we are both relieved.

I like Caroline's personality, though. She seems to be a kind woman. She didn't look down on me like Mrs. Russell did. Maybe it's because Mrs. Russell hadn't told her everything about me and my poor background. I won't be surprised if she glares at me when we next meet.

Her husband and brother seem like good men too. Mr. Russell is lovely and I love the smile he flashed towards me after his wife blurted out that rubbish.

The car slows down suddenly and I open my eyes to see that we are home already. The car is approaching the gate and that is why it slowed down.

I expel a deep sigh of relief. We are home.

The car edges forward and the horn resounds in the air. The large automatic gate opens slowly but before he can drive in, my eyes catch the sight of a familiar figure.

I squint my eyes and blink once to be sure I am not mistaken but I can still see that it is someone I know.

She stands by the gate, as if she is just coming out of the house or as though she is waiting for someone.

The moment the car gets close to her and I see her face properly, I can't hide my surprise so I call out with a shout. "Grandma?"

****

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