6• Colton

“Where do you think you are wheeling your unfortunate self to?” She asked with a demeaning laughter, “the day is still young, Roman. You are a man! Your mates are in their offices making money but here you are feeding off our sweat.”

Roman wheeled his chair back.

“Is there something you would need me to do for you, Mrs Campbell?” His voice was gentle.

Daphne smiled wryly, like she was about to make him do the impossible.

She dropped her purse to the floor and with a glint of mischief in her eyes she ordered; “pick it up!” Roman looked at her with confusion, expecting she should understand how difficult that would be for him.

“Please…my back hurts,” he pleaded, “I cannot bend that low to get your purse.”

“But you can pour a plate of my food away?”

Roman could see the venom in her eyes that was threatening to blow up.

He simply set his mind to it and stretched out to get the purse.

He felt his bones cracking as he did it but he had no choice.

Daphne gazed at him with disdain.

“Here Mrs Campbell,” he whispered, handing her the purse. His back hurt like hell.

Daphne scoffed at him and hissed heavily before walking out.

Roman was surprised at how cruel she was to him and he hoped that for her sake, she would understand when it was time to stop.

***

Amanda and Colton decided to throw a pregnancy party for her to celebrate the pregnancy. They were both party freaks and Amanda loves an exorbitant display of wealth. But Colton's main aim was to invite a wealthy family; the Britt's, to grace the event.

He wanted to establish a business relationship with them and he thought that the best way to start would be an invitation to Amanda's party which he knew that they would honor.

But Amanda felt uncomfortable with that.

“I mean, why do I have to celebrate my pregnancy with Roman while you are the father? “The thought of people assuming that that ramp is the father of my baby sickens me!”

“But, we do not have a choice. You know this is important to me because the Britt's have to let me into their business and they will not hear that I tore a home apart.”

Amanda became calm. She was reasoning with him now and understood his stand better.

“Fine! I will do it. But just know that this isn't what I want and you will make up for it,” she gave him a naughty look.

Colton smiled at her and pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair gently.

“You know how we do it babe. I owe you for this.”

He kissed her softly and gently pushed her away when he heard the sound of Romans wheels approaching.

“He is here. Let him know ,” Colton whispered to her and walked away briskly without bothering to tune around to take a look at Roman.

They had never met and Colton was not ready for that meeting yet.

Amanda cleared her throat and turned to Roman with a disdainful look in her eyes:

“You need to be actively involved in serving my guests today and you must act as though you are the father of my child,” Amanda instructed Roman.

Roman's lips parted with surprise as he listened to her. He wondered why he had to participate in such a humongous lie.

“Why do I have to do that?” He asked, looking at her with a glint of defiance.

Rage gradually gathered in Amanda's eyes as her face turned red.

“Is that a question for me? Because I am struggling to understand why you would question my authority.”

Roman swallowed hard and bent his head, unwilling to allow a fight to erupt between them.

Roman nodded. They were alone in the kitchen and he wanted so badly to hold her and ask why she was hurting him that much.

His heart was flooded with emotions.

When he could not hold it down, he opened his lips and reeled it out.

“Amanda, can I ask you something?”

Amanda turned to face him, her face showing how disgusted she was by his presence.

“Did I ever hurt you in any way?”

“What sort of stupid question is that when you already know that you put a hold on my life!” she replied with a brazen stare at him.

She was furious.

“I just feel that you have trampled on me so much that I question my existence. You are hurting me so much and making my love for you seem like a joke.”

His words carried pain and his voice was not steady.

“Are you going to cry?” Amanda mocked him, bending over to look into his sad eyes. “I thought you loved being mistreated because if you did not, you would have left our lives a long time ago!”

Her words were delivered with such contempt that Roman could not say another word.

“I do not want to hear anymore of this trashy talk from you, ever again! Get ready for the party!”

With that, she stormed out of the kitchen, leaving Roman broken and sad.

Roman wheeled himself back to his room and shut his door. He sat on his wheelchair crying like a child, wondering how any human being would be filled with such hatred and disgust for another human being.

It was even more depressing that she didn't feel remorse for putting him in the condition that she did.

Roman was dumbfounded.

The party started and as usual the guests waltzed into the Campbells' residence with pride and glamor.

“Congratulations Amanda,” some of the guests smiled up at her and she adjusted her dress, smiling back proudly.

She stood on the stage and Roman was seated in his wheelchair beside her.

“My husband and I are pleased to have you here and we thank you so much for honoring our invitation.”

Everyone cheered for them and Roman felt eerie. He could not wait to get off the stage.

“This is absolute mockery to me,” he thought to himself. “Why did I even permit this?”

But he had no choice. He had to do as he was told.

Amanda moved him away from the center to a corner of the room, climbing the stairs to get there so that he won't be present in the event.

“Our contract is over. You can go about whatever you want to do with your time and your damn life, while I party with my lover,” she taunted him.

Roman ignored her and looked away from her, focusing on the happy faces that graced their event.

His mind drifted to what his life used to be and he smiled broadly but that smile was swiftly cut short by a familiar voice that called back his misery.

“I need a glass of wine, Roman.” It was Jemma and she sounded cold as steel.

“You have had so much to drink, Jemma. I have been watching you for quite some time. I think that is too much.”

Jemma's face formed into a frown.

“Why should you bother if I have?” She roared at him, “it is my body and I do with it as I please!”

Roman shook his head defiantly.

“I will not serve you another glass of wine, Jemma. It isn't appropriate.”

Jemma became extremely angered and pushed Roman hard on his shoulder to go forward.

“Stop it!” He groaned loudly, “you are going to hurt me!”

“Get lost scum!” She yelled at him, cursing him out and the wheels of the chair turned towards the staircase and before she could reach out, Roman was falling down the stairs with her wheel.

He tumbled over and landed right at the center of the party leaving everyone shocked.