In the wedding hall, the guests were already waiting for the bride and groom to return. Their eyes immediately turned to Valeria as she walked in, after witnessing what had happened an hour earlier.
"She's been married less than five minutes, and she's already trying to become a widow."
That's what they were thinking at that moment as they watched Valeria poison her own husband right in front of everyone.
On the stage in the center of the room, Dominic was already waiting for his wife to take her seat beside him. Valeria walked with her head held high, like a queen entering the room to take her throne.
"Please, my queen." Dominic smiled as he pulled out a chair for Valeria. She sat down, and he returned to his own seat. "What an interesting surprise, my wife. You're always full of unexpected surprises."
"Heh, I didn't expect you were still alive. I was actually hoping to become a widow who inherits all your wealth. Living comfortably without having to see that annoying face of yours," she said while smoothing out her dress.
Without feeling the slightest bit guilty about what she had done.
Dominic just smiled when he heard Valeria's words about wanting to take control of his wealth. "Even if I were still alive, you'd still try to take control of my wealth, wouldn't you?"
"Exactly."
Soon, several servants arrived and placed food on their table. It was time for them to have lunch, and they had to eat together in front of all the guests.
The groom raised his wine glass. "To my wedding and my beloved wife, let's begin this lunch. We hope you all enjoy your meal."
He sat back down and enjoyed the grilled salmon with mayonnaise. Without a second thought, Valeria dug into the food served to lift her moods.
"So, Ginger? Do you like the food? I heard this is one of your favorites."
"Yeah, not bad. I'm enjoying it," she replied while eating the salmon.
A faint smile appeared on her face. She felt quite satisfied knowing that. "I knew it. After this, you'll get a dessert you're sure to love."
Valeria turned to Dominic when she heard him. Was that man finding out so much about her? To the point where he knew what Valeria liked and didn't like.
'But that's a good thing, so I don't have to bother telling them, and they won't make a mistake with my food that might ruin my mood later. This wedding is ridiculous enough as it is,' she thought.
The party continued, with many performances taking place. There were sword dances and classical music filling the wedding hall.
She was enjoying the day, watching some of the guests. However, she also realized her father wasn't in the room.
'It must be business again. Heh, he even skipped his own daughter's wedding for it,' thought Valeria, who for some reason felt a little disappointed even though she should have known what her father was like.
Finally, the party ended around midnight. Valeria now had to go back to her husband's mansion. She was already part of the Lawrence family, so she had to go with him.
"Now? To his place? I don't want to! I want to go home—my babies are looking for me. All my things are still at home!" she grumbled angrily, since now she had to stay with Dominic.
"All your things will be brought over tomorrow. So today, you're going home with Dominic," replied Donn, who had finally come to meet his daughter.
Reluctantly, Valeria got into Dominic's limousine. They sat facing each other, and Valeria looked unhappy about having to go to someone else's mansion.
"Don't even think about touching me tonight. I won't sleep with you! I'll sleep in another room and I won't let you touch me!"
Dominic smiled and shook his head. "This is our first night. Are you still going to act like that?"
"I don't care! No matter what, I won't sleep with you. I'll kill you if you dare touch me while I'm sleeping!"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'd rather sleep with a thousand snakes than with you."
"Be careful, Ginger. I might just grant your wish."
Hearing that threat, Dominic actually chuckled, finding it amusing. He leaned back in his car seat with a smirk on his face.
"But you still belong to me. And you always will."
******
In the end, they spent their first night with the newlyweds sleeping in separate rooms. Dominic had anticipated this, which is why he asked the staff to prepare a separate room for his wife.
"I may be her husband and want to sleep with her. But I'm not a monster who forces my will on her if she refuses to make love to me," Dominic said calmly.
Their rooms faced each other. That was enough to put his mind at ease for now. However, Dominic certainly wouldn't just sit idly by and was planning something else to be with Valeria on another night.
The next morning, Valeria woke up feeling exhausted. She heard a knock on her door.
"Mrs. Lawrence, it's already seven in the morning. It's time to go have breakfast. Master is waiting for you in the dining room," called a man.
"Tell him to have breakfast on his own. I'm still very tired," she replied, then went back to sleep.
Valeria didn't usually sleep in; she always woke up on time. But if she really didn't plan on doing anything, she'd choose to stay in bed.
However, the knocking sound was heard again after five minutes, indicating that Dominic was waiting for her and had something he wanted to discuss with Valeria as well.
Hearing that, she reluctantly got out of bed, feeling annoyed. She immediately walked toward the door and opened her bedroom door, looking displeased.
"Mrs. Lawrence, I—" The butler hadn't finished speaking when he was startled to see Valeria. "M-Mistress, shouldn't you change your clothes?" he asked.
"I'm too lazy. I'll go back to sleep after meeting that annoying man. Show me where the dining room is," Valeria replied.
The male servant led the way for Valeria to follow. As they walked to the dining room, the maids were shocked to see Valeria confidently wearing that outfit and walking around the mansion. They finally arrived at the dining room, which naturally surprised the maids—and Rogan was just as shocked.
Valeria was still wearing her sexy nightgown. In fact, the skirt barely reached halfway down her thighs.
"Mistress… That…"
Dominic raised his hand before Rogan could say anything to his wife.
He himself felt jealous because some of the male servants—and perhaps his own subordinates—were seeing his wife in that outfit, which was meant to be shown only to him. Even though most of the servants were women.
The red haired woman sat in her chair casually, as if nothing had happened. For her, wearing sexy clothes—let alone a bikini—in public was nothing out of the ordinary. So why should she be embarrassed to wear a nightgown?
Dominic took off the jacket he was wearing and used it to cover Valeria's thighs. He placed his black jacket over his wife's thighs.
"Next time, don't come out of your room wearing just that nightgown. I'd rather see you wearing nothing at all," he said with a smirk on his face.
Valeria snorted at his words. "Yeah, maybe next time I'll do that. I'll come out wearing just my bra and panties."
She replied with what was clearly a mocking. But that alone was enough to shake her husband's composure as he imagined it actually happening.
"Do it, my wife. I'll make sure anyone who so much as glances at you for a second will lose their eyes."