"Father." Jerol salutes the man whom I presume is in his late sixties, and they embrace in these quick manly hugs that do not last even for a second. They appear not to have so much in common in terms of complexion except for the eyes and jaws. However, that is not a problem in any way. What baffles me is the elegant woman who was lagging behind this man. Her eyes have not left me since she saw me, and I am getting nervous. If it's an assessment she is doing, I highly doubt I will pass. The look she is giving me is not anywhere close to like or approval. It's a look of disapproval...I don't like it.

"Welcome, father. Mother!" Jerol takes a step to hug his mother who glitters with adoration the moment his son speaks to him.

"Hey, son!" She says, enveloping her son in a motherly hug.

If only I knew the feeling, I would be able to know how exactly Jerol is feeling right now in his mother's loving arms. But never did I receive a hug from my mother in my whole life, so, I can only imagine the feeling. It must be sweet.

"Mother, father, I want you to meet someone." He announces after they pull away from the hug that lasted for far too long. He gently pulls me to him, his hand going around my small waist. The four eyes in front of us shoot at me, scaring the hell out of me. One pair of these eyes is open for anything. I can see through them the enthusiasm of knowing who I really am to the man right beside me. But the other pair of eyes is filled with questions, discontent - I bet she is hoping against all hope that I am not what she thinks I am. "I would like you to meet my beautiful wife, Tessa Angeline McCall."

Boom!

My cheeks turn red due to that sweet intro from my fake husband, and the smile that appears on his father's face warms my heart. However, I paralyse the moment my gaze lands on his mother. I knew she wasn't impressed with me for some reason. I guess you can't hide everything with just a makeover, right? She might have sensed something odd behind this beautiful attire and make-ups.

But honestly, does she have to be so harsh and so obvious? She is strangling me with her eyes.

"What a beauty you got for yourself here, son! I didn't know you had such great taste!"

"Oh, come on father!"

"I am dead serious. I am tempted to think that you got her from one of these stupid dating sites because I know you Jerol, you don't have time for anything but work. But then again, her beauty and everything else about her tells me that she is too descent and well reserved for such crap."

"Are you trying to scare my wife away, father?"

"Not at all, son. I am happy that you finally, finally, found your missing rib. Now I see why it took you almost forever, huh? You were mining a gold. Good job son, and welcome to the family my dear." He pulls me for a hug, and after we pull away, he offers me his hand for a handshake. "I am Adriano McCall."

"Ni.. nice meeting you, Mr McCall." I mumble with a broken voice.

"Come on now, my daughter. You are my son's wife, and that practically makes you my daughter. Just call me father, that will make me so proud."

"Well.." I spare a glance at Jerol, and after he slightly nods his head to me as a yes sign, and an assuring smile appears on his face, I turn to his father who still has my hand in his. "Alright. Father. Thank you." He smiles, and I snuggle back to Jerol's arm.

"Sweetheart." He turns to his statue of a wife who looks so bored even before the party begins. "Aren't you going to say anything to your daughter or even your son on this big step he has taken?"

She looks at her husband and fakes a weak smile that is so obvious, and she turns to me, offering her hand. "Welcome, Tessa Angeline.....? Sorry, I didn't get your sir name. What was it again?" She says, and my hand just got hooked on the air by some kind of magic. We stare at each other, our hands waiting for the handshake, her eyes challenging, and her expression growing impatient of waiting for an answer.

"I.. I.." I swallow hard and avoid her eyes for a moment. I don't want to see the look of disappointment in her after what I am about to say, because I can feel it is way below her expectations.

"She is a McCall, mum. That is all there is to know."

Saviour! I was about to grin until her mother challenged me.

"I know that, son. But which family does she come from? Where does she come from? Who are her people? I think I have the right to know, right, son?" Her hand falls on the side of her thigh, the sound of the invaluable bracelets on it being the only sound that can be heard around us.

I look up to Jerol, and from the look of things, his silence and the confusion on his face, I am sure he wasn't expecting this. He looks clueless about what to say, and because I hate lies, I decide to let out the truth. Besides, there is nothing to be ashamed of whether I have a surname or not.

"I don't have a surname, Mrs. McCall. I was just Tessa Angeline before I became a McCall." I say, and her eyes turn cold at once.

"What?" You don't have parents? You never had parents? Who raised you? Where did you grow up? What do you do then? What have you specialized in? Are you...."

"Mom, please! Is this some kind of interrogation or something?" Jerol shouts, cutting his mother off, shocking both his parents with his outburst. I don't know whether to be glad that he came to my rescue before his mother could choke me with her questions, or feel bad for him almost yelling at his mother just to defend me. I'm sure this woman will have more reasons to hate me now.

"Well, I am sorry. But forgive me, son. I just can't accept anyone in this family without a thorough check on their background. This world is full of fake people. People who are experts in nothing but taking advantage of every chance they get. So, who exactly is this woman, Jerol? I need answers."

God, please! I can't be the reason for this family to fight on the first day I meet them.

"This woman, mum, is the woman I love. She is my wife. No more questions and that's final." He tried to remain as calm as he could, but his eyes, they are smoking fire. I reach for his hand, and intertwin our fingers, squeezing it a little in an attempt to calm him a little.

"You are so damn wrong, Jerol, if you think I will accept her that just like that without knowing her real identity. I will do whatever it takes to know her every single detail." She warns.

"Do whatever you want, mother, as long as you don't involve us. Whatever your findings will be, don't bother us with them. Now if you don't mind, we have kept the guests waiting for far too long, and it's getting late. Let's have dinner, please."

We all stroll on the red carpet to the red-themed dining table with white plates and clear glasses well arranged.

After a moment of chit-chatting and inaudible whispers, the servants bring the food to the table. Everyone is teasing Jerol about having a beautiful girlfriend. One even made a joke that he will snatch me away from him, but just one single glare from Jerol was enough to make him take his words back.

The aroma, my God! It's so rich. I swear I have never smelled something so good in my entire life.

"What can I serve you?" Jerol inquires when it's almost our turn to serve ourselves.

I'm almost drooling!

Wait...

What do I know about rich people's foods? Nothing. These people are so complicated in just everything. Chicken to them is not the ordinary chicken the poor people know. They have different kinds of chicken depending on how it's cooked. That is what I learnt from a servant here, and since I can't even differentiate between roasted and grilled chicken, I tell Jerol to serve me whatever he is having.

Soon enough, a plate of chicken and brownish rice that's mouth-watering lay under my nose, and a bowl of soup aside. I run for the piece of chicken on my plate, but before I can lay my hands on them, some clicking sounds startled me.

I look around the table, and that's when it hit me. I am not back in the ghetto where almost everything is eaten with hands. I am with the rich, and distinguished, and I have to behave like them. Jerol must have discovered my distress, and like he said before we left the bedroom earlier, I feel his hand squeezing my thigh under the table, probably asking, "what's up"?, because I am sure I look damn tense.

I look at him, and then at the small knife and fork on my plate, but he gives me a questionable smile.

I clench on the new eating tools and try to prove my fitness in this class of the rich, but I fail miserably. Even holding the small knife properly is an issue, not to talk of cutting the damn meat which seems so slippery for the knife. I try again, and again, and again, until I bitterly take a break, releasing a sigh of frustration.

This is so freaking not my style!

People are almost halfway through their meal, but I have not touched mine, and the aroma is not doing any justice to this situation. I take a couple of sips of the juice first, hoping it can calm my nerves. I throw a glance at Jerol from the corner of my eyes. His food is barely touched too, perhaps because he has been watching me fight with this damn knife and fork. I put the glass of juice down, and I grab the stupid tools again. Just one more. They have to work! They need to.

I angrily try, but the result is the same. I put them together and toss them aside, mentally murmuring a thousand curses to them. I grab the chicken piece with my hand, and munch on it. I will do things the best way I know how to. I can't force myself to be what I am not. I chew the meat in my mouth and I tell you what? It tastes heavenly. It's so good and...

"Oh, my goodness! What the heck!"

I know that voice. I heard it earlier, and I don't need to look in her direction to know how she looks right now.

"This is so embarrassing!" She murmurs, between gritted teeth, I suppose.

I look around, and wow! Just wow! All the uncountable eyes are on me, except for the one person beside me who I don't want to look at right now. Ever been in a situation where you have food in your mouth but you can't swallow it because it's not chewed and for some reason, you can't continue chewing? That's where I am, and spitting it out is the most embarrassing thing I can't afford to do right now.

God! Why did you bring me here?

"Miss, the knife and the fork, are used for cutting the meat." Another damn voice of a lady echoes.

Yeah, right! As if I don't fucking know that.

"Maybe this is all new to her." That was a woman's voice again, and Jerold had to spare this specific one a glance, while I bow down with shame.

I am not ashamed of who I am, but embarrassing Jerol is what is eating me up. What do they think of him now, hub?

"Jerol?" Her mother calls, calm but furious.

"Yes, mom?" He asks, his voice so flat. No anger in it. No nothing.

"Didn't you teach your wife some table manners? What sort of embarrassment is this?" The way she is saying it, the way she is pointing at me, she is really pissed off, and I wish the ground would just open up and swallow me alive right now.

"What's so wrong with what she is doing mother?" Like everybody at the table, my eyes travel to him. "Has it ever been a crime to use hands to eat?" He dared anybody to answer, and nobody dared to. They just stare at him with dismay, and I feel bad because I know deep inside he is not pleased with this behaviour. He is just trying to defend me. To make me not look so odd and unfit in his world. But by doing this he is embarrassing himself more.

"Oh, please, son!" Her mother retorts back, his father trying to calm her down to no avail. I presume she is the only one who can dare his son."How can you stoop so low, son? No wonder she even doesn't have a surname!"

"No surname?" A couple of voices ask in unison.

"As early as now, Jerol, take this garbage where you picked it from because she is not fit for you, nor for this family. SHE CAN NOT BE YOUR WIFE, SON!" His mother states, stressing on every word of the last sentence.

"She already is, mother, and I am not here to ask for anybody's approval. My heart approved her, and I love her just the way she is." He leans into peck my cheek that's on his side to prove his point.

"But I am telling you...."

"THAT'S ENOUGH, MOTHER!" He slams the table, so hard that the sound echoes throughout the entire place, and his high - toned pitch adds more. "I didn't bring my wife here for interrogation or judgement. I simply invited everyone here today to introduce her to you, not to seek for anybody's approval either. I don't want to hear any more questions directed to my wife whether directly or indirectly. Nobody has the right to question my wife like that." He turns to me, after taking his eyes around the table, confirming if his message has been made clear to everyone. "Babe? You are not doing anything wrong, okay." He says with a sweet charming voice, taking my cheeks in his palms, making me look at him.

If only this was real, I would be melting in his touch right now. But I have a very strong guard to always remind me that all this is just for show, and it will last for just five months. I wonder what he will tell people after we end the charade and part ways.

"You want to eat with your hands? That's fine. What's more," his thumbs are caressing my cheeks, his eyes boring into mine, "I will join you. I think it's more sweeter and enjoyable this way." He takes the piece of meat from my hand and gives me a bite, adding to the one that's rotting in my mouth. He then takes a bite, and I had to look at him as he confidently chews it, and I travel with it down his throat as he swallows it. Too bad I didn't see where it rested in his stomach because his Adam's apple got my eyes glued to it. I don't even know what I was thinking staring at it like that, but I am glad when he spoke again, snapping me back.

He hands me my meat back, pulling me for a forehead kiss. Turning to his plate, he takes his fork and the small knife and throws them on the table, munching on the chicken from his bare hands, shocking everyone.

From the look of everyone, I think they are thinking he has gone insane. Nobody seems to believe that he is doing this. Not even me. Nobody asks any more questions, except for her mother who can't stand to watch her son acting like a psycho. She pushes her plate of food aside, grabs the classy handbag and stomps out. What shocks me the most is that her husband doesn't bother to stop her or follow her. He continues eating like his wife didn't just walk out in the middle of the dinner infuriated.

"I'm sorry." I say to Jerol as we stand on the sink washing our hands, him behind me like a romantic couple.

"For what?" He implores, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Are you serious? For embarrassing you in front of your guests like that. And not to mention I am the reason why you are at gross with your mother, and the reason why she walked out like that is still me. I feel awful."

He turns me around to face him after we dry our hands.

"There is nothing to apologize for. Don't ever feel bad for being just you. As for my mother, she will come around. Don't worry, alright?"

"What about you? Do you still think you can manage me for that long? Aren't you pissed off already?" I ask, keeping my voice as low as possible.

"Do you honestly want to know what I think?" He cups my face.

"Mmh?" I nod my head.

"We haven't been convincing enough to these people." He says, brushing my lower lip with his thumb. "Forgive me for this, okay?" He whispers with his eyes closed, leaning so dangerously close to my lips, closing the gap between us. Before I can answer his question, his lips crash on mine, for our very first kiss - my first kiss. As his hand moves to the back of my neck to hold me still and support me, mine move freely to his chest, holding on to his shirt for support.

"Wow! Cheers to the lovebirds." I think our kissing took longer than we both intended, until the people decided to remind us that we are not in the bedroom. As if anything will ever happen in that bedroom, dah! Nobody should know, though.

We pull away, and saunter back to the table, him smiling and I blushing, taking our glasses and clicking them together.

He even stole a peck!

"To a happy marriage, my son. Be happy." That is his father. I can tell he has a good heart.

"Thank you, father. Cheers, everyone!"

We raise our glasses again, and then take a sip. As people sink down to their seats again to enjoy the cold drink on the cold night, Jerol pulls me for another slow kiss, and men, is he sweet? I don't know about that, but the kiss is generally sweet. The butterflies in my stomach are attesting to that.

Heck! I even have no right whatsoever to meddle in his business. But nobody knows that, so I have to behave and act like the wife that people think I am. "Don't worry so much, nanny. I will do my best to convince him to let you stay. Now go and rest, and please don't leave your room, okay?"

"I won't madam. Thank you so much."

"It's alright." I say and turn to the rest of the servants. "Please take her to her room." They bow slightly and accompany nanny Sonia back into the house.

How do I face that beast that seemed so furious like it could devour anybody that dares to talk to him? Oh, dear!

"Ahh.. excuse me, ma'am." I turn around to the voice of another servant whose name I am reading from the tag just now. How many servants are here, huh? fifteen? Twenty? Gosh! I might leave this place without being familiar with half of them.

"Yes, Terry?" I say.

"Aah.. I..." she pauses to clear her throat and continues stammering again. "You see...madam...aah...I..."

"Terry! Whatever you have to say, say it at once. what is it?"

"Aah.. ma'am, you see.. I know sir is your husband but.. I just wanted to tell you kindly to be...a bit careful around him ma'am. We don't know what sir is going through but he has turned violent this past three weeks."

"So he wasn't like that.."

"Sorry, ma'am. Did you say something?"

"Huh? No." I am glad she did not hear that. She might have wondered whether I don't know my husband. "Don't worry, Terry. I know how to handle my husband. But thanks all the same for your concern."

"Okay, ma'am. I'm sorry for taking your time. I will take my leave now. Thank you." She bows and walks away.

Is there something fishy here or am I overthinking? On one hand, some stranger is missing that Jerol is trying so hard to locate. The person didn't go missing long ago according to my own understanding, and Jerol wasn't this temperamental from the start. He changed just weeks ago? Has one thing got to do with the other? If yes, then what is it? Who is this person that is driving him nuts?

An employee?

A business partner?

Just who?

Before I go eccentric trying to connect dots that don't concern me, I shuffle my legs inside. I was planning on resting but when I didn't find Jerol in the room, but I decide to look for him. He might be taking his anger out on someone else or something else. Perhaps punching a wall? I heard that's what most men do when they are irated.

Standing on the door of his study, I hear him yelling. I was right. He is vetting his anger on someone.

"I don't care, Mike, you hear me? Turn this fucking world upside down if you have to. Move heaven and earth if possible. Just find her for me, man, and bring her to me in one piece! I need her before I lose my mind. She has to reappear!"

He goes silent, and I, the eavesdropper, can't believe my ears.

So all this madness has a name. The term of all these, is a woman? She is the reason for him acting like a psycho? A full CEO acting like this because of a woman? Just who the hell is she that is driving him nuts?