Em, so hi. I kind of disappeared from ff.n for a while but I'm back with an update. Hope people are still reading this and also I hope you'll enjoy this update!

Chapter 2: Getting Past the In-law

5th April 2011

May woke up the next day with a throbbing head. Her body was barely on the king sized bed for she feared that she would roll further towards her 'husband' if she wasn't cautious – which she was likely to be the case during the course of the night – and god knows what how he'd react then. He already caused her to hurt her arm.

May sat up and rubbed her eyes and looked beside her. Her husband was out of bed and it wasn't even six yet. May guessed that it was because he wanted to get away from her. But what puzzled her was that only a few weeks ago did he seem to very fond of her in a romantic way and now he acted as if he hates her guts and wants nothing to do with her, romantically speaking anyway.

May threw the gold, silky bedcovers back and got out of bed. Her feet felt weird when they felt a soft and warm carpet instead of the hard, cold wooden flooring of her old, crammed apartment. She left the room and entered the large bathroom which had a bath AND a Jacuzzi, something May had to try when Drew was out on a business trip. She walked straight over to the marble counter and sink, and looked at herself in the mirror. Her bedhead was worse than usual and despite having removed her make up last night, some of the remnants were still smeared across her flawless skin.

"We have got a lot of work to do, my friend." She said to her bleary reflection.

After what seemed like a good amount of time spent fixing her hair and face, she unlocked the bathroom door, came out and walked over to her personal walk-in closet in the bedroom. She pushed the set of golden painted doors open to reveal a dimly lit room filled with shelves with the hottest designer shoes and racks with glamorous dresses – a girl's dream. Everything looked somewhat fancy; not her usual jeans and t-shirts that she wore on dress-down days but she decided she was going to have to make do. Dress-down days were no longer permitted, according to their contract.

May removed her silk pyjamas and had chosen a white dress, which was low-cut at the back, and a pair of nude shade heels to match. She had to remove her bra for the dress and as soon as that had dropped onto the floor, she heard the door click, open and in came her husband.

They looked at each other. Drew's burning green eyes met May's stunned blue ones. May froze. Just because they're 'married' that did NOT mean the Drew was going to get to see her naked like that, except for now. When May snapped out of shock, she covered up her body with the nearest piece of cloth.

Drew managed to maintain his composure and turned his head to one side. "Use the bathroom whenever you're going to get dressed." Drew sneered as he left the room.

May shut the door behind Drew and leaned her back against it, her heart racing over what had just happened. She didn't need a mirror to tell her that her face was as red as a tomato from the embarrassment and shame; mostly the latter though seeing as May was generally quite a body proud person.

xxxxxx

Drew walked down the last few steps of the staircase and in the process of doing so, caught his mother's attention. She sat at the breakfast table, an empty plate in front of her and her cutlery placed perfectly in the twenty past four position. For a woman that was almost fifty she looked rather young for her age. Her skin was crease free and her hair was still complete brown, nothing like Drew's unusual hair colour but they had the same mesmerising green eyes. Her ensemble was one that was fit for the queen. The midnight blue dress she wore added an extra oomph to her normal air of elegance to her.

"That was fast." his mother spoke, "I hope you woke her up gently. I have yet to meet my new daughter-in-law."

Drew took a seat across from her. "Of course I woke her up gently." Drew said. His mind drifting off to seeing May like he did only moments ago. Sure, he went out with her but he had never did anything more than kiss her on their dates. He didn't even take her to his suave penthouse home and she had never taken him up to her crummy studio apartment. To put it short, he never thought of what May was like underneath her clothes like he did with all the other girls he had dated before.

"Were you listening to me?" his mother whined, looking at him slightly annoyed that he clearly wasn't paying attention to her.

"Yeah, yeah." Drew nodded nonchalantly, not sure what he had just agreed to but if he had to guess, it was something he was likely to regret at a later date.

And just before Drew had a chance to agree to anything else that his mother was whittling on about, they heard a pair of heels clicking against the wooden flooring of the stairs.

May was confident about her ensemble when she looked at herself in the mirror before she left the room but now that she had two pairs of eyes on her, staring at her like a hawk, an element of uncertainty started to stir in her tummy. She hated being the prey and not the predator. She tried to push that thought out of her mind by concentrating on her walking instead. Her heels were so high that it worried her that one wrong step would cause her to break an ankle.

Drew and his mother watched May intently. She didn't wobble under their gazes which was impressive but Drew did worry that she would say something wrong or stupid or both and blow his whole plan. His demeanour, on the contrary, did not reflect his concerns.

May approached the two at the table. Just smile and walk. She mentally said to herself. She almost swore at the table when she felt it happened. She felt herself slip slightly but covered it up by looking at her dress then giving it a quick brush with her hands. She made a note to be careful of the sleek floors in the future.

"You look good today, May." Drew said as he got up to May's side and slipped an arm round her slender waist. He pulled her closer so that their bodies were touching. Even with her heels on May was smaller than him by a fair bit.

"Thank you Drew." May smiled and looked at him. Her smile was rather genuine. Either she was a very good liar or she thought Drew's compliment was sincere. Drew's look was something rather odd. May wracked her brain for an answer when she eventually gathered what it meant and showed it by kissing him on the cheek. "You're such a charmer." She said to him.

"Good morning, Abigail." May greeted, mentally cheering that she remembered Abigail's liking to be addressed by her first name rather than 'mum' or 'mother'.

Drew's mother, Abigail, nodded in May's direction. "Good morning May." She gestured for May to take a place at the dinner table.

May quickly looked at Drew, who gave her a look telling her to move before he re-joined his mother at the table. May felt extremely nervous being so close to Abigail. She had never met her properly before she married Drew so this was essentially the first opportunity she had to sit down and have a chat with her.

Drew sat down beside her. He knew that if May could impress his mother, the next two years would pass easily, after all, his mother did have a keen eye for spotting phonies; whether it was with clothes or people, it didn't matter; it was all the same.

"So May, it's so good to finally get to sit down with you." Abigail said. She had her elbows propped on the table and had formed a little platform with her hands to rest her chin on.

May nodded in agreement. The conversation had just began and she was about to die from nerves from just being around this woman and her offspring. "Likewise." She replied coolly which was the polar opposite from how she was feeling now.

"Drew tells me you're a smart girl." She said, her jade green eyes, who Drew must've inherited his from, bored into May.

"Not at all, just average." May replied. She never did know what to say when people called her smart or pretty or anything like that. She didn't want to sound arrogant (after all being arrogant was her husband's role and she personally believed that there was not enough room for two to be arrogant in this household) but she doesn't want to understate herself and come across as unconfident either.

Abigail laughed. "Oh, May, Drew did say you are modest." May took her laughter as a good sign and so did Drew, for now at least. Maybe they didn't need to be so nervous after all. "But Drew told me something that worries me." She said, snapping out of her laughter faster than lightening can strike. May and Drew's eyes both grew wide in anticipation of what she was going to come out with next, May more so than Drew. "You're a graduate of one of the region's top university, you have a master's degree and a whole load of career plans. But what about children?" she asked.

May almost choked on the glass of orange juice she was drinking. Drew was caught off guard too. He looked at his mother with widened eyes.

"Mother," Drew said sternly, "Let's not jump ahead here." He regained his composure almost instantaneously.

"But Drew, I want grandchildren! Johanna was just gloating the other day about her new grandson." she whined then looked at May. "And I'm sure May would love to have some children too."

The said girl didn't know whose side to take. If she took Drew's side, she could end up in a rocky relationship with her new mother-in-law who could make her life hell and possibly exploit Drew's plans, resulting in her with nothing. If she took Abigail's side, Drew would make her life for the next year (and probably afterwards) even worse than hell by tormenting her and giving her grief. But luckily she was saved from answering by Drew.

"May has endometriosis." Drew lied, flawlessly in May's opinion. She didn't even know what the disease she apparently now has is but she was certain that whatever it was, she did not have it.

"Oh, my…" Abigail sounded concerned as she looked at May sympathetically.

May nodded in agreement. She was going to have to research endometriosis later, just in case Abigail decided to question her about it. She only hoped that she didn't need to pretend to be physically ill or anything like that.

Drew took this silence as an opportunity to change the subject. "So, mother, what are your plans for the next few weeks?"

Her mother laughed. "Don't you worry. I'll be out of here by tomorrow morning so you and May can do whatever you want to do." She replied with a wink.

May blushed a little and looked over to Drew who gave her a seductive look. She turned her head away shyly, exactly the reaction he was going for.

Abigail laughed again. "I'll leave you two alone now." she said as she rose from her seat and headed over to the elevator, swiping her Prada handbag in one swift motion as she passed the sofa.

May and Drew bid her goodbye for now and the moment the elevator doors touched, they widened the gap between them and started to bicker.

"You didn't blow our cover." Drew announced.

"Of course I wouldn't." May retaliated, "It wouldn't benefit me anyway if I did." May reasoned, trying to rival Drew's tone which was somewhat fierce.

"But you almost did."

"I didn't say anything that could possibly give us away." May defended.

"It's not what you said but how you come across." He wasn't wrong. There were some points where May did feel extra nervous but she thought she concealed it quite well. Apparently not though.

"Well, maybe next time you're going to make me have some sort of illness can you please tell me about it before hand?" May yelled.

Drew moved in closer and May stepped back. He eventually trapped her between himself and the cold wall. "Maybe I overestimated your intelligence." He said in a quieter voice, his warm breath tickling her skin. He pulled away afterwards and headed up the stairs.

May watched him retreat up the stairs, her eyes filled with anger towards that man that was supposedly her husband. It was less than twenty-four hours into their marriage and she was already regretting her decision for a second time.

xxxxxx

6th April 2011

May sat at the dressing table. She got up only moments ago and since Drew was still in the bathroom, May resorted to fixing her bedhead while she waited.

She heard a knock at the door. It caused May's heart to stop. She whirled round in her seat just in time to see a head pop in. Her mother-in-law. Great. Wasn't she meant to have left by now?

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything." She said while slipping in. In her world, an invitation ceased to exist.

May quickly recovered from her panic and put on a warm and welcoming smile. "Not at all. If you're looking for Drew he's in the bathroom." May said indicating to the bathroom door but stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Actually, I'm here to see you." She said to May which caused her to choke on the saliva in her mouth. However, she managed to hide that from her face; she wore a blank expression instead.

"Me?" May repeated.

Abigail nodded "Yes, you." she smiled at May's confusion, "I thought I should spend the day getting to know my new daughter-in-law."

Luckily May didn't need to say anything because right then, they heard the bathroom door open and Drew emerged seconds later, his hair wet. The little droplets of water that fell from his hair soaked his shirt slightly.

"Mother?" Drew said, "I thought you left this morning."

"I was going to but then I thought I should spend some quality time with my new daughter-in-law!" she answered enthusiastically with a hand on May's knee.

"But then you'll miss the fashion show in Celadon." Drew pointed out.

"There'll be other fashion shows." Abigail defended. "So it's settled. May and I will go shopping while you go to work."

"Then I have nothing to say." Drew said, reaching his green tie that he had chosen out earlier and started to tie it.

May took this as an opportunity to make her look good. "Let me help you Drew bear." She said as she got up and started to do his tie notably neater than what Drew could do himself. "Any tips?" May mouthed to Drew

"Don't give me pet names." Drew murmured to her

"Not that kind of tip." She whispered in a rush.

"Thanks May." and he kissed her forehead lightly, using his arm to pull her closer. "Be aware of any connotations." He whispered to her.

"Well, I'll be in my room." Abigail said as she head to the door, "Actually, I'll be downstairs so I won't hear anything." And with that she was gone, sooner than they thought.

As soon as the door closed, Drew's arm dropped from around May's waist and she took a step back immediately.

"Impressive Maple." Drew smirked, "Big improvement from yesterday."

"Of course." May replied, "If I'm going to do the job then I may as well make it convincing. After all I am getting paid."

"Good." Drew praised.

"That and I have your credit cards." May added before she shut the bathroom door behind her.

Drew grinned to himself. Maybe she was the perfect person to hire for the job.

May looked at herself in the mirror. Deep down she was absolutely terrified about the fate of the rest of the day but she put her battle front up and was rearing to go.

xxxxxx

They entered a boutique. One that was filled with the work of renowned fashion designer Dawn Berlitz, who also happened to be one of May's favourites. This was probably the first time May was going to buy something from this designer. She looked at the dresses and took one off the racks.

"That's gorgeous." Abigail said from behind her.

May nodded in agreement. The dress was red and sleeveless, coming in at the waist, a part of the body that May always had people envying. She pulled out the label and looked at the size.

"Why don't you try it on." Abigail suggested, "No need to worry about the price seeing as you're not the one who's paying."

"I was checking the size." May muttered in response to Abigail's snide remark.

"What did you say, dear?" Abigail asked.

May didn't repeat herself. Instead she decided to question Abigail. "Are trying to say something?" May asked, instantly worrying about the response she'd receive afterwards but it was a bit too late to start regretting saying that. "Are you implying that I married Drew to live off his money?"

Abigail looked at her, a serious expression on her face. "Well, you're not exactly from a rich family who could afford such a dress." She said, indicating the dress that May was holding.

"I may not have been born into a wealthy family or brought up surrounded by expensive gadgets and gears but that only made me strive to work harder and get my degree. I wouldn't need to sponge off Drew."

"You're lying." Abigail said abruptly.

May shook her head. "If I was going to live off Drew's money then there wouldn't have been a need for me to finish my degree and I wouldn't have wasted time getting to know him, like how I know he hates it when people doubt his decisions." She shot back.

Abigail suddenly smiled at her. ""You are smart, May. Drew was right about that." She said, leaving what she said open for May to interpret however she wanted.

"You're very sharp yourself, Abigail." May replied, watching the older woman's reaction.

Abigail looked up from the top she was looking at. "Please, May, call me mother from now on."

"I thought you hated it when people called you that."

"I make exceptions for a few special people."

May smiled at what she just heard. "Okay, mother." She said, trying out the new phrase.

xxxxxx

After spending an entire day shopping with her "mother" May was absolutely exhausted after it. She laid on the bed and nurtured her arm which was slightly bruised from two nights ago when she was rudely thrown off the bed.

Just then Drew entered the room. He stood by the door and watched May before he said anything. She stared back at him, unsure whether she should say something first or remain silent and wait for him to speak.

"What did she ask you today?" Drew asked as he headed over to the massage chair by the floor to ceiling windows. He switched it on and let it work its magic on his back. When May didn't say anything he spoke again. "Don't worry, she's went out to meet some friends and won't be back for a while."

Once May found out about her mother-in-law's whereabouts, she felt more at ease to regurgitate today's event back out to him, not daring to miss out even the most minute detail.

Drew thought about May's description of his mother's actions. "Keep your guard up, May, I think she believes us for now but that could change at any time."

May nodded. She knew it was going to be tough not letting anything that's not supposed to slip out from her mouth slip out. "I will. She seems like the type of person who knows more than she lets on."

"She is." Drew said, shutting his eyes.

The room fell silent again. May was about to lie down to sleep but she stopped to look at Drew. He appeared to be holding something which he casually tossed in her direction.

"That's for this today's good performance." He said as he shut his eyes again and continued to relax in the chair.

May opened the box and saw the most beautiful pair of pure diamond rose shaped necklace ever. That definitely made the injury to May's arm worth it.

Okay, so yes, I'm sorry for the slow update but I feel that's no reason for people not to review! I get sad when people don't :( especially when I had a hectic morning with a blocked pipe!

Please make my day!

~silver-hedgehog