Wife

Chapter 1

You never mature up on someone's saying, you don't inherit or pass it on , you never mature up unless you learn the values.
But Paolina Crust valued it all ,for she matured up way before her age, not because she was thought, rather because she had to. Paolina was taken in by her paternal uncle when both her parents died, her mother during childbirth with her and her father on his sorrow of losing his young and beautiful wife.
It took her 7 years to understand who her neighbour used to talk about when they asked her about her mother and father. All this time she had delusions that the mumma and dad she believed were her parents were actually her uncle and aunt. Mr. Samuel Crust and Mrs. Jessica Crust loved her, but they loved their children more. They had their first baby girl when Paolina was six then came a boy , a boy again and a girl. Ren, Robert, Frank and Holy Crust. It was quite a merry family with ala carte.
    With Paolina at home everything was easier for Mrs. Crust since Mr. Crust was away most of the time on business- being an industrialist. Mrs. Crust herself couldn't make much time for her children being an active socialist and a child specialist Doctor and that is why although they had maids, Paolina was the housekeeper, cook and nanny to all the four children, for which both Mr. And Mrs. Crust were very grateful. This way they could voyage tension free for they had someone trustworthy.That was 20 years back.
Paolina was 26 now, a pharmacist in the city hospital. She wanted to be a doctor herself, there was nothing stopping her to become one, it was the tedious studies she couldn't cop up with, given the circumstances of her heartbreak. She wasn't bound to any responsibilities but since she learnt she wasn't their own child she found herself obliged to them, for taking her in to rising her as their own. They were good to her, loved her in their own way, provided her with everything a kid would need, if only they didn't had their own kid, they would have loved her unconditionally.
They were quite a pair, they were kind and understanding, one could rely on them, count them in need, they were more sophisticated than good and that was the reason people or neighbours could not approach them.
Her break-up with her high school love Jaden Tanks left her lonelier, gone was the wedding bells, kissing under the mistletoe and happily ever after. Mumma and dad was shocked and saddened by the news. Ren, who was 16 then didn't take it for a big news, wasn't it apparent that boyfriends were meant to go or how else would you meet The One. And she never liked him much, he wasn't worth paolina's kindness. Robert and Frank were heartbroken too for who would be their Hero now. Holy who was 8 then wasn't aware about what elders were upto though occasionally she would ask his whereabouts.
That was four years back, and Paolina moved on now. People close to her knew how far she moved on and for that matter Mr. Crust pounced on the marriage market to marry off his niece who was quite competent for she was beautiful, loving, kind, domesticated and embodied all the qualities a man would seek in his wife. Of course he wanted someone exact the same for her. How funny it was for a man to matchmake a matrimony alliance. He was almost successful in doing so when he came up with two eligible candidate. A man from medical department which Jessica thought was suitable and the other was his own junior partner Gabriel Hugh.
   Samuel introduced Paolina to Gabriel for the first time on their 25th anniversary. Almost all of his business associates were invited, for all you know, parties and anniversaries were meant for informal business meets and talk. Many guests were present, it was indeed a huge party.
  Paolina understood her uncle's intention when he supposedly introduced her to someone whom she didn't had the privilege to meet before but Paolina being polite and humble took the matter very well. She sensed Gabriel had good humour and in a while she was throwing her head laughing at the jokes he shared.
"-and mrs. Miller would stomp around knowing there's no use making him understand- wait! Is that... Is that Adam
Wolf?" Gabriel asked in between. Lina turned to see where she was directed to find a man just approaching them to pass through them with a beauty on his arms. What a beauty she was, she must be some model. This was one of the reasons Lina never wanted to attend parties that included her momma amd dad. She would feel out of place.