Forced Marriage: Escaping Her Monster

"And here I thought you came to meet me..." Mikhail stood up and walked to the table. He opened the box and checked the different glassware in them one by one.

"You look impressed," Jeremy's lips curved up. He could see the admiration in his eyes for the glasses.

Of course, my wife's company makes the best glassware. I knew it!

Jeremy was a little nervous if someone like Mikhail who grew up in luxury and has seen every best thing there is in the world will be as impressed as he was when he first saw the glassware.

Seems like he is!

"I am impressed!" Mikhail checked them one by one. "The clarity, weight, thickness...they are perfect. And wow! This bowl is engraved and etched! The designs...We have engraved glassware like these in our ancestral home..." Mikhail was very impressed.

"So, how about-"

Jeremy paused hearing the distinct sound of leather bottom shoes and a walking cane on the hardwood floor.

"Oh no, he isn't here, is he?" Jeremy's face paled.

"Oh yes, grandpapa said he'd be here at this time," Mikhail chuckled. "You should have arrived early."

"Why didn't you tell me till now? Is there a back door? I don't have the energy to get hit today," Jeremy scurried around while Mikhail found it amusing and laughed holding his abdomen.

"You should have worn a suit, Jerry!"

"Shut up!" Jeremy gritted his teeth only to make Mikhail more amused.

Only the old Alexander Volkonsky can make this alpha-male whimper like a scared little boy.

As he was speaking, the old man entered the room.

"I saw a godawful truck and I was right... This bum is here," the old man raised his walking cane to hit Jeremy and Mikhail stepped in.

"Dedushka! Give your grandson a hug," he hugged him while waving his other hand frantically asking Jeremy to leave.

Although they are living in a different country for decades, only his mother tongue will settle his grandfather as Mikhail knew.

"Shoo away, Mikhail! I see what you are trying to do! You bum, didn't I refer you to a tailor? Why aren't you wearing a suit? Don't you know clothes make a man?" he followed Jeremy trying to hit him with his cane.

"I want to be judged for who I am and not for what I wear, Mr. Volkonsky," Jeremy tried to dodge.

"What did you say?" the old man got more furious and pulled the solid gold handle of the cane revealing the sword inside.

"Grandpa! Sorry Mister- Um, Sorry grandpa. You're grandpa," Jeremy jumped behind the sofa and Mikhail sat on the sofa chuckling.

"What is this?" the old man walked to the side table with the glassware.

"Jerry brought them here to promote for my new bar, grandpapa," Mikhail answered giving a side-eye to Jeremy who peeked from behind the sofa.

"A side-business? From timber to glass... Learn from your friend, Mikhail. If you start earning at this age, you can rest when you get to my age," Alexander Volkonsky picked the glassware to have a good look.

"Oh, it's not my business but my wife's, grandpa," Jeremy corrected him and Mikhail stood up.

"You have a wife? Did you get married? Why wasn't I invited?"Mikhail grabbed his collar. "Who did you marry?"

"Whoa! Easy there, buddy," Jeremy got Mikhail's hand off his collar and patted his shoulder, "I'll surely invite you to the wedding ceremony next month."

Their conversation was disturbed by the sound of the falling cane. Jeremy picked up the cane and gave it to the old man.

"You will order enough glassware from this company, Mikhail," the old man said and turned to leave. But he turned and picked up the engraved bowl. "I'll have this bowl," he told Jeremy and he nodded.

He was delighted in getting a major order for Jerlina's company. Surely with the old man placing the order, they will pay whatever they ask of them.

Mikhail ran behind his grandfather, "But dedushka, this company is no top brand. Didn't you specifically ask me to-"

"If you want my money for your business, you are getting everything the way I want. And... Jeremy saved your life and you can't even buy his glassware? How did an ingrate descend from the Volkonsky family?" Alexander Volkonsky sighed.

"Also...when are you getting married, you rascal?" the old man started hitting Mikhail. "Your friend got married!"

"Oww! Oww!" Mikhail jumped in pain.

"Men your age are getting married and are having kids. When will you-"

"Ah! Grandpapa! Just because they do, should I?"

"You rascal! Are you talking back?"

Mikhail was hit more.

"You sick old man! Men your age are already dead. Why aren't you? Have I ever asked you that? How can you ask me to marry?"

"This rascal!"

As the assistant of Mikhail gave the list of the required glassware and other details to Jeremy, both the grandfather and the grandson pair were fighting as usual.

Jeremy left the bar that was still under construction with a smile. But the moment he got in the truck, his smile vanished.

He didn't fail to notice the old man getting very flustered as he inspected the bowl. He even carried it himself, not letting his aide carry it.

What did he see in the bowl? It was very weird of him to act this way.

Jeremy trusted the Volkonsky family very much and they treated him as one of theirs. But when it comes to Jerlina, he couldn't shake off this uneasy feeling from his heart.

On his way back to his house, he called Mark after stopping the car at the entrance of his town.

"Mark, will you keep an eye on Alexander Volkonsky for me?"

The voice from the other end was tinged with mockery, "Do you think I am that great to put a tail on The Alexander Volkonsky if that's who-"

"Mark, please," Jeremy let out a deep breath. "Just check what he does in this area."

"What happened?"

Now Mark got serious since Jeremy pleaded. Jeremy carefully explained the uneasiness he felt.

"That's it? Alexander Volkonsky is an avid collector of glassware, especially engraved and etched ones. He probably got impressed with the bowl and took it with him. There shouldn't be more to it. And expect a handsome payment. He doesn't just take stuff. He pays. He is one of the good ones," Matt explained.

"Is that so?" Jeremy sighed in relief. "Even so..."

"Okay, I will keep an eye. You do go the extra length for that girl. What did she do to you?" Matt chuckled and Jeremy ended the call.

Jeremy rolled down the glass as Bobby's car parked beside him.

"I went through the footage of the cabin that day. No one except Emma went inside the cabin. Charlie went to deliver food, but he didn't step inside." Bobby pursed his lips.

"Emma went there?" Jeremy asked rubbing his chest. She was gone for some time the day of her wedding and she said that she went out for a drive to clear her mind. She didn't mention meeting Jerlina.

"Yes, Emma stayed there for almost twenty minutes. She was the one who got the food from Charlie. Madam Luna left the cabin a little more than four hours after Emma left," Bobby pressed his lips. "Jerry, do you doubt Emma has something-"

"What? NO!" Jeremy shook his head, knitting his brows.

How will he ever doubt his sister?

"No one else was found even in the perimeter?" Jeremy asked and Bobby shook his head.

"No."

"Check all the outdoor cameras once more..." Jeremy rubbed his head. "And the 18- wheeler? Did they catch the driver yet?"

"Dead," Bobby looked at Jeremy and he slammed the steering wheel in frustration.

If he didn't notice the 18-wheeler on the road that day, he wouldn't have rammed her car to stop.

Why is the driver dead? Was the truck there purposefully?

"Find out more about the driver," Jeremy told Bobby and started his car to leave.