ONE

Justin straightened the crisp on the banner he was sure wasn’t needed, but he needed to please his mother-in-law to ensure his peace of mind. He had been on his feet since four o clock that morning making sure the venue for his wife, Rosetta's movie premiere, was perfect. He wasn't in charge and didn't have any say involving any decision, he was merely a hired help his in- laws could order to do their whims.

"Does that look straight to you?" Martha, his mother-in-law, berated. She pointed at the worker that was hired for the purpose. "Come down. You go up there and straighten it. If anything goes wrong, I'm going to have your head."

Justin Romano lowered his head in shame, refusing to meet the eyes of the worker, who was looking at him curiously as he came down the ladder. Justin climbed up the ladder and redid the banner, making sure it was as straight and crisp as possible. He looked to his mother-in-law for her opinion, but she merely gave him a scathing look.

"Are you going to stay there all day? Don't you know there's a lot of work for you?" She said and walked away, expecting him to follow.

Justin took a minute to study at the venue. The elegantly decorated hall had been rented for the occasion, he was sure, at an exorbitant price. The hall, though, would command the worth of what was paid for it. It was big and shaped like a castle. It had multiple colored florescent bulbs that made the hall look even more stunning. It hadn't come decorated, but it looked exquisite with its magical looking archways and intricate pillars and its high ceiling. It felt like somewhere a prince and princess would have dined.

The decorations done in it made it even more luxurious looking. The hall was suited with beautiful wallpapers and banners that were filled with beautiful details, it was difficult to look away from. The polished floors also glistened and led to a sweeping staircase, which in his opinion was the highlight of the hall. The staircase were large enough that chairs were built on it, and it all faced the direction of the glamorous stage where the actors and actresses would be presented awards.

He was brought back to the present when his brother-in-law, Tyler, jerked his arms. He looked up in surprise to find him glaring at him.

"What the heck do you think you're doing? Do you think we have time for this?"

Justin apologized and walked briskly to his mother-in-law, who was watching him with disdain. "You time-wasting idiot, do you expect us all to wait on you? Go and clean the chairs now."

Justin nodded at her expressionlessly, used to being insulted. "Yes ma'am"

"And when you're done, make sure the floors are sparkling. If I see any remains of the finishing on the floor, I'll make sure I kill you myself. Nothing must go wrong."

Justin looked dejectedly at the floor. The hall was in its final stage of decoration, with ribbons and linens everywhere. It was going to take him an eternity to make a dent in it. "But Mother. Don't you think the cleaning crew should do it? It will take a while and the premiere will start soon."

Martha hissed and moved closer to him, making Justin back away." Are you calling me stupid? I know exactly how much time is left, and you will finish cleaning up before it starts. Isn't it enough that you are not contributing anything to my daughter's life and the entire family, you cannot do the simple task I lay out for you?"

Justin shook his head, trying to clear the misunderstanding he had caused. "That's not what I meant, Mother. I'm sorry."

Martha eyed him. "I'm not your mother. You can go look for her but stop calling me that. You disgust me, you useless breed." She said and walked away.

Justin bowed slightly and went to get a rag to clean the chairs. Justin Romano was Rosetta's husband of four years, and this had been the attitude he had been subjected to for the last three years. He had met Rosetta when he helped her grandfather, Eugene, better understand the risk in a contract he had been about to sign. Eugene had been about to be scammed out of his company and wealth because of a clause he didn't understand and Justin, having heard them discussing, had told Eugene about it and explained what they had meant to do.

Eugene had gratefully invited Justin to a feast and introduced him to Rosetta, where he had fallen in love with her at first glance. Pleased, Eugene had arranged their wedding and introduced her to Rosetta's family who, in his opinion at the time, didn't mind his presence especially since he had obviously adored their daughter. The truth had come out finally after Eugene had died, and they had started showing their outrage over the insult in him joining their family.

He would continue to take their insult and disdain because of how much he loved Rosetta, but he was still holding out hope that they would change their tune when they realized all he could offer. True, he was penniless, mainly because the family had stripped him of his position in their company and turned him into a housekeeper and an event planner which meant all he had and needed were supplied by the Romano's which he hated, but there wasn't really much he could do to change that.

He finished the chairs and noted with relief that all activities had been finished, which meant he could start the cleaning up. Since the Romano's family were affluent in the society, he knew he was known as their only daughter's husband and didn't want other people to see him. He started sweeping, happy about the fact that nobody had seemed to recognize him when a woman tapped on his shoulders.

"Excuse me?"

He stood up and faced her, curious. "Yes ma'am. How may I help you?"

The woman gasped and nodded at three other women he noticed belatedly. "I told you. He's the one."

One of the women gasped and covered her mouth,"Is he really the daughter's husband. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me."

Justin shook his head, embarrassed, and moved away from the women. He had really hoped he wouldn't be spotted, but he had to clean the place before the premiere started. He walked towards an area where there were not many people around when Tyler intercepted him.

"Do you realize how much time is going? Are you that determined to ruin my sister's big day?"

Justin sighed tiredly, his patience fully tried, and turned to him fully. "I'm sorry. I was trying to clean. Would you please excuse me?"

Justin smirked at him and genuflected with his hands. "Go ahead. Young servant."

Justin shook his head, ignoring the voice in his head telling him he could fix Tyler with just one solid punch, and continued sweeping, then stopped when he realized Tyler was still smiling at him.

Justin narrowed his eyes, Tyler never smiled at him. Actually, none of them did. "Is something going on?"

"Just remember the premiere is in less than three hours. You had better move fast. There's still a lot of work to be done." He mock saluted and walked away.

Justin nodded, removing his strange behavior from his mind, and was about to go back to sweeping when he saw his mother-in-law talking with her husband and smiling at him. He looked back, but there was nobody behind him. He made to move towards them, and she shook her head and indicated he continued his work.

Justin continued sweeping, filled with confusion. What was going on? What had he done wrong now?