Chapter 30

"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to secretly listen to other people's conversations?Do you have a death wish? " Maynard asked me. I seriously didn't know why I kept doing things that would piss him off.

"No Maynard... I mean hubby, I didn't mean to, I was just curious.." I said. I saw lucius holding back his laughter, he wanted to laugh so badly, he covered his mouth with his hand to hold himself back from laughing.

"You know what I don't have time for this, go and kneel outside on the pavement and don't move until I say so." He said. I looked at him with shock. The sun was hot today, like really hot it was 36°C and he was going to make me kneel on the pavement. What if he decided to make me kneel for hours, there is no way I could survive that.

"Maynard aren't you being a bit too harsh on her. She is your wife you can't do such a thing to her." Lucius said.

"You shouldn't stick your nose in other people's business." Maynard said standing up. "Go and do what I told you to do, unless you want a worse punishment." He said. 'What could possibly be worse that kneeling on the pavement under the hot sun of South Africa.' I asked myself. Maynard left the living room.

"Sorry sister in law, I don't know what has gotten into him, he is not usually like this." Lucius said and I hoped that he was right.

"It's okay brother in law, I deserve it anyway I shouldn't have eavesdroped on you guys." I said lowering my head a taking a deep breath. I had no choice but to go and kneel outside on the pavement under the hot sun. I didn't want to get a punishment that was much worse that this.

3:30pm

THIRD PERSON POV

"Maynard how long are you going to make her kneel on the pavement like that, I am sure that her knees are burning up now." Lucius said walking into Maynard's study.

"Just do me a favour and get out." Maynard said. Lucius looked at him shaking his head in disbelief. Maynard had always treated woman with kindness except for those who threw themselves at him fir his money

"Maynard this isn't like you why are you doing this, she's going to hate you for this you know." Lucius said.

"Exactly. That is what I want, for her to hare me in such a way that she wouldn't even imagine falling in love with me." Maynard said.

"What do you mean?" Lucius asked because he did not understand what Maynard meant by what he was saying.

"You know how my life is, and I don't want her to be caught up in all this... This things. I want her to hate me so that after the contract ends then she won't feel any regrets. I don't want her to feel bad for parting ways with me." Maynard said truthfully.

"You know there is a thin line between love and hate. Yes she might hate you after this, but what if she ends up falling in love with you anyway?"Lucius asked.

"As long as I don't give her a reason to love me then I am sure that she won't."Maynard said sounding confident.

"Well I just hope that you won't regret this, I'm going to help her up." Lucius said leaving Maynard alone in his study. Maynard sat down on his chair, he kept telling himself that he was not going to regret his actions and that he was doing this for her own good and she would thank him later.

"Hey Emma come on let's go back inside." Lucius said approaching Emma. She looked terrible, there were tears in her eyes and her skin was burned by the sun. He didn't need to guess what her knees looked like because she had been kneeling on the pavement for hours, she wasn't given food to eat or water to drink. Her stomach was grumbling and her throat was dry. She looked up at lucius with teary eyes.

"Are you able to stand up on your own now?" He asked her and she slowly shook her head. So he picked her up from the ground and he carried her into the living room. He sat her down on the couch. He looked at her knees and the were bruised and swollen and her left knee was bleeding. Lucius shook his head. He stood up and he went into the bathroom and he took the first aid kit.

He came back and he sat down on the floor in front of her. "You know he isn't like this, I don't know what got into him... I'm sure he didn't mean it." He said while cleaning her wound. Emma just kept quiet, her mind was flooded with thoughts and the last thing she needed was someone saying Maynard's name. She kept calling him remorseless, ruthless, slash-and-burn, soulless, stony and mostly an asshole.

"Emma... I am sorry, don't hate him okay, I am sure that he can give you a good explanation." Lucius said and that only made her even more angry.

"Please stop... The last thing I want right now is you trying to defend him. I am not surprised, I know that he is an asshole and that he will probably do this to me everytime I do something wrong." She said. Tears were still falling down her eyes because the pain that she was feeling on her knees was too much bear and she had never anything like it. Kneeling on that pavement for hours was just toture to her, she cried while she was kneeling on the pavement hoping that he would just show her mercy. She could see him watching her from his study, his face was expressionless. To her he seemed like he didn't care at all, in her eyes he would forever be a heartless man,but she knew that she shouldn't look weak in front of him she wanted to be strong and show him that she is not a push over,but that was easier said than done.