Worship The Ground You Walk On

Chapter 45 A Forced Marriage

Claudia kept her eyes widely opened in the darkness, However, she still failed to capture Ben’s face.

She lost the track of his deeps voice and powerful movements, either. That made her nervous.

Ben was domineering. His mood swung and when it came to sex, he turned to be very aggressive. He

was overbearing and ruthless, with manipulative intentions flowing in his eyes and actions.

Every time he treated Claudia this way, it would bring her bad memories, making her panic and want to

escape.

However, this time, before she could move her feet, her two slender wrists had already been grabbed

by him easily. He lifted her hands over her head.

She was like a captive, completely conquered by him.

She was pressed against the wall, deprived of any room to move. Her hands had no way to push him

away or get rid of him.

She had no choice but to look up. Ben's face was so close to her, breath blending with hers. There was

an itch on her nose, but she couldn't feel any warmth in his breath.

“You should know your position, what you should and shouldn't do... do you need me to remind you

again?”

His cold tone felt like icy snow in deep winter. It echoed in her mind and kept punching her heart.

Claudia closed her eyes. She hated herself for being unable to talk back to him at this moment. Were

she not muted, she would ask him, “How about you and Hanna?”

The relationships between people and their exes were always very vague, which could easily lead to

misunderstanding.

No matter what an excellent and kind person Hanna was, or no matter she was up for not good or not,

Ben should avoid doing anything that may would cause gossips,

but Claudia couldn't tell him directly at this moment.

She could only hide it in her heart, letting it sting.

“Listen...”

His big hands suddenly squeezed her chin and lifted it abruptly. His squeeze was subtle. Then he

warned her, “As long as you're Mrs. Crawford, you shall do your job with due diligence and obey your

husband!”

Claudia's face got rid of his grip. She turned her face away and bit her lips.

Lucky for her, the lights were off at this moment, or he would’ve seen her indignant gaze with all the

grief and desperation.

He was giving her the rules as a wife, while he wouldn't accept any from her as a husband.

That was unfair.

She tossed and turned in bed. It was finally in the morning of the next day.

The rain was getting light, but it might go on for a while. It had rained for a whole day and night, which

made the road rocky for people to go back town from the suburbs.

It was rocky for ordinary people, but not for Ben.

Claudia woke up and got refreshed very early in the morning. When she got downstairs, she saw Ben

already sit gracefully in the dining area in a suit. He was reading today's newspaper, legs crossed.

Claudia sat across the table and finished breakfast. He stood up and walked out.

She trotted after him and got in the car. When they reached the beach, a speedboat picked them up

and sent them to town.

Raindrops kept falling on the surface of the ocean. It was bluntly quiet.

The voyage took them quite a few hours. They sat next to each other, silent. They both felt a bit

awkward, and it was getting worse as time went by.

Ben went to the company. Claudia had herself driven to the villa.

He was giving her a cold shoulder. Claudia felt confused. She wondered when and how she had

offended him...

But she was kind of used to it because that had been his common treatment for her since they were

married. He had been giving her the cold shoulder; they lived together, yet at the same time she felt

him so distant.

They didn't see each other for the whole day. As soon as Claudia opened the door of their home, she

heard Conrad babbling.

The babbling sounded so warm and adorable.

Claudia hung her clothes and hurriedly stepped in. When she took over Conrad from the housekeeper,

she heard Winifred scolding:

“Where were you last night? You stayed overnight outside? For god's sake, Claudia! You're a mother

now! Are you going to abandon your son?”

Claudia paused for a second. She looked up and saw Winifred walking downstairs. She didn't expect

Winifred to be here.

“I asked you to go to the party, and the party only! Why did you spend the whole day and night there?”

The longer Winifred looked at Claudia, the angrier she was. She couldn't understand why old Mrs.

Crawford insisted that Ben should marry Claudia, or his heirship would be deprived.

They had planned to make a shrift of it and divorce Claudia soon, only to find that she was pregnant.

The Crawford was a big family with impeccable influence, but they hadn't had a new baby born into this

family for years. They wouldn't mind having one.

That was the only reason why Winifred let Claudia stay in this house.

Winifred became angrier and angrier. She said sternly, “Did you know how long Conrad had cried last

night? I said I don't need you to take care of him, but you insisted. Now I allowed you to be with him,

and look what you’ve done!”

“Claudia! This is the Crawford family, and Conrad is my only grandson! You can leave him to us if you

feel incompetent to be a mother!”

Claudia didn't know how to respond; Winifred was obviously driving her out.

She wouldn’t want to argue with her even if she could speak.

Although she could express herself in sign language, she knew Winifred wouldn't bother to watch.

She lowered her eyelids and stood there obediently, listening to Winifred's swearing and cursing.

That lasted for about half an hour till Conrad cried again. The nanny failed to soothe him, but as soon

as Claudia hold him, he immediately stopped crying.

Winifred loved his grandson, like every grandmother.

She finally stopped scolding. She talked to Claudia for a while and then went outside.

Claudia took Conrad upstairs as soon as Winifred left. She missed him so much after they had been

separated for a whole day. She held him in her arms and kissed his rosy cheeks. Conrad chuckled.

Her phone suddenly rang.

A familiar voice came to her as soon as she picked up the phone. His voice was so deep and sexy; he

could've been a decent singer.

“Get out and meet me at the back door.”

Claudia was a bit surprised. Her brows furrowed when she saw the number on the screen.

She put Conrad in the stroller and had the nanny look after him. She walked downstairs and looked to

the back of the hall. A white car was parked there. Marshall was in casual clothes, with a black

umbrella in his hand.

He seemed to have endured the hardship of a long journey. Claudia found that scene so comforting.

She threw a jacket on herself and walked out quickly.

As soon as she came out of the villa, some raindrops fell on her. Marshall came forward in time and

opened the umbrella to protect her from the rain.

“Sorry for calling you out on such a rainy day...” He apologized first and looked as humble as he always

was.

Claudia shook her head to tell him it was alright.

Then she asked him what he was here for using signal language.

Marshall looked at her with dark and mysterious eyes. Before he opened his mouth, he stared at her in

quite an abnormal way.

“Did you marry Ben to save your mother?”

As soon as Marshall asked that question, he felt a huge burden taken off his shoulder. He breathed a

sigh of relief.

Claudia was stunned. She looked at him with doubts in her eyes.

“Is that right? Blair and Amber grounded your mother and forced you into this marriage!” Marshall

asked again.