CHAPTER 9

Leah took a deep breath for the fifth time, her heart was beating fast and her palms were sweating. She felt like she was going to lose her breath or faint. The car was now only five minutes away from Copeland's main mansion. She tried telling herself at least ten times that it was going to be okay and that there was nothing to worry about.

Visiting Alexander's parents did not scare her at all but what scared her was that his entire family was going to be there, his cousins, siblings and his grandparents were going to be there too. Some of them were not present at the wedding so she hadn't met them yet, which means she didn't know what they were like. The last thing that she wanted was to embarrass herself in front of her own in-laws.

"Uhm, Alex, is there something that I should know before meeting them? You know what I should do and what I shouldn't do and what I should do and what I shouldn't do"She said, but Alexander didn't ignore her. He hadn't said a word to her ever since that argument in the dining room. She looked at him but he was looking outside, he did not even spare her a glance. "Alex?"She said poking his hand, which was another horrible idea.

"For the last time, don't touch me."He said, still looking outside the window.

"Can you just please answer me, I don't want to embarrass myself in front of your family." She said.

"You grew up in a wealthy and prestigious family, they've taught you how to behave properly so stop bothering me."He said.

"What if your family expects me to behave in a certain way? I need to know that."She said.

"That is not my problem, now shut up."He said.

"But Alex, you have to help me."She said but she didn't get an answer from him. She wanted to talk but then the car stopped. For a second there she felt like her heart had stopped beating, they had arrived at the family mansion. She had never been there before, she had only heard people talking about how big and beautiful it was, and it was big and beautiful. It looked like a classic mansion that was painted in white.

"This is the only time that you'll get to touch me, my grandmother will be here so we have to pretend to be happy. She's the only one that I care about and she doesn't know that this marriage was arranged."He said. They both got out of the car and they walked inside the mansion. They were welcomed by Chris, the family butler. He escorted them both to the living room where his grandmother was seated and she was drinking tea.

."Alex, long time no see. Look at you you've grown so much."His grandmother, Anna said standing up from the couch and she walked towards Leah Alexander and she hugged Alexander, pinching his cheeks. "OH my baby boy, I missed you so much."She said hugging him again.

"I missed you too grandma."He said, breaking away from the hug.

"OH is this your wife?"She asked, looking at Leah.

"Yes, her name is Leah."He said.

"She looks stunning, you really have great taste when it comes to women. You look beautiful dear. How are you?"She asked, holding Leah's hands.

"I am fine, ma'am."She said. Even from the sound of her voice one could tell that she was nervous.

"Just call me grandma, you are married to Alex which makes you my granddaughter too. Come on, let's sit down."She said and they all sat down on the couches.

"Grandma why are you sitting here alone, where are the others?"Alexander asked, looking around the living room.

"I just wanted to have my tea in peace, they are in the living room upstairs. This living room is my favourite and it has this large window that lets me get a better view of the garden and it's more quiet."She said, "So Alex, why don't you tell me what you like about Leah?" She asked.

"There are a lot of things that I like about her, I can only tell you a few things because if I tell you everything, it might take us the entire day."He said. "Well, she's caring, loving, kind and thoughtful.She always finds new ways to make me smile everyday. She is passionate about the things that she does, she likes exploring new things. I guess I just like everything about her. I don't regret marrying her and I don't think I ever will."He said, holding her hand, entertaining their fingers.

Leah felt like there was some kind of electricity that just went through her body. His hands were soft, smooth but cold. Leah wished that all those things that he said were true, and that he meant all of it, but she knew that all that was just to make his grandmother happy and for her to not suspect anything.

"OH my goodness, this is the first time I had heard you talk like this about a woman, you must be very special Leah to have him talk about you like that. You are a very lucky girl."She said.

"Yeah, probably the luckiest girl on earth."She said, looking at him. He had a smile on his face, but it was not a bright one. It looked more like a fake smile. It's like he was just putting on just for his grandmother and no one else. She just wished to see his real and bright smile on his face one day, but she didn't know where that bright smile had gone to and why.

"Leah, why don't you tell me what it is that you like about Alex?"She asked. Leah felt her heart skip a beat at that moment, she didn't think that anyone would ask her this question. She felt Alex squeezing her hand, which was him probably telling her to not mess up and if she did, he was not going to be happy about it. She took a deep breath.

"Well actually, I think that I like everything about him because there hasn't been anything that made me regret my decision of marrying him. I like the fact that he loves and cares about me. He is always there for me, not just physically but emotionally too. He doesn't mind my flaws and everything that people find unattractive about me. He just loves me for me. He is one of the reasons why I wake up every single day, I feel like he's the best thing that has ever happened to me."She said, releasing the breath that she had been holding the entire time.

"Wow, that is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. You two are just meant for each other."She said. "OH I almost forgot, I have to make a phone call. I'll be back in a moment."She said, standing up from the couch and exiting the living room. As soon as she left Alexander started kissing Leah on her lips. Leah was shocked at his actions, she thought that he didn't like her so she didn't understand why he was kissing her but she was liking it.

It felt warm and good. So she decided to kiss him back, but Alex broke away before she could kiss him further. "Don't get used to it."He whispered. She slowly opened her eyes, she saw him staring at her with his eyes. His face looked even more beautiful now that she was looking at him at a very close distance.

"Why?"

"She didn't go. She's standing behind that wall and she's watching us. So just play along."He said. That felt like music to Leah's ears, she was going to make sure that she enjoys every moment.