I immediately looked away, but my face was burning hot, and even my ears felt like they were on fire. Madam Jessica Anderson's room was located inside the inner courtyard. Mina led us all the way to the door, then pushed it open and walked in first.
The moment I stepped inside, the overwhelming scent of sandalwood hit me thick and sharp enough to sting my nose. The room was dim, its decor old-fashioned and eerie, almost like a haunted mansion. Honestly, it was even scarier than Captian's room.
I swallowed hard and instinctively leaned closer to him.
He lifted his arm and wrapped it around my waist, and for a moment, I thought I saw a hint of amusement between his brows.
"Mistress, Mr. Anderson and Miss Bailey have arrived," Mina announced, standing beside an elderly woman.
I lifted my eyes and nearly jumped.
An old lady dressed in a dark Tang-style outfit sat rigidly in a large armchair, a sandalwood rosary in her hands. She rolled each bead slowly, her eyes sharp like an eagle's cold, gloomy, frightening.
So this was Jessica Anderson. Scary as rumored.
Behind her stood a large Buddhist statue, incense burning thickly in the censer beneath it. For a second, I couldn't tell if this was a living room or a shrine. The oppressive atmosphere made my skin crawl.
I tightened my grip on Captian's hand. Compared to the eerie Anderson elders, my demon king husband was somehow the safer option.
Captian led me up to her. She had been watching us from the moment we walked in the rosary clicking between her fingers, her expression darkening more and more, especially when she saw our hands interlocked… and Captian's arm still around my waist.
"Shameless," she snapped, her voice sharp as a whip. She tossed the rosary aside, clearly furious.
I jumped slightly. She looked to be in her early seventies, silver hair, wrinkles deep like tree bark but her shouting was still forceful and authoritative.
And with that huge Buddha statue looming behind her, the whole scene looked like some supernatural horror film.
"Did you call us here for something?" Captian asked, his gaze cold enough to freeze stone.
"You don't even call me Grandma anymore?" she shot back, slamming her palm hard onto the table. The teacups rattled violently.
Captian lowered his head and chuckled softly mockingly. He clearly didn't respect her at all.
"What attitude is that?" she barked.
He only raised his thin lips slightly. "This is the attitude I've always had."
She glared, visibly trembling with anger.
Beside her, the air felt suffocating. The hostility thickened in the room until even breathing felt difficult. I never imagined the relationship between Captian and his grandmother would be this bad actually hostile. For someone who grew up isolated in this powerful family, no wonder he had always seemed distant and cold. Good thing he had the capability and power he did otherwise they might have eaten him alive years ago.
A middle-aged man stepped in suddenly. "Mother, don't get angry. It's rare for Captian to visit. Didn't you have something important to tell him?"
I turned to look at him. He stood beside Jessica, the only normal-looking person I'd seen in this family so far. A well-dressed man in a black suit, handsome in a seasoned way, with gentle features that made him seem kind and approachable.
Was this finally a normal human being in the Anderson household?
But before I could study him longer, Jessica shifted her attention back to me. Her eyes scanned me thoroughly, assessing every inch, my young age, my delicate looks. In her mind, I could see the judgment: too alluring, too dangerous. A temptress in the making. Someone unworthy of stepping into the Anderson family.
Someone she would never approve of.
"The rumors on Facebook, are they true?" she demanded, her gaze sharp and disdainful. "Did you truly register your marriage with this woman?"
Captian's lips curved faintly, dangerous. "I did."
"What is her background? Her origins? Have you investigated her?" Jessica's eyes narrowed like a hawk. She stared at him with pure dissatisfaction.
Caught between them, I felt like some comedic extra. Of course she hated me. That much was obvious. But honestly, I wasn't planning on staying here forever. As soon as I had the chance, I was definitely leaving. They could keep their mansion and their drama.
"You still haven't investigated?" Captian asked coldly, eyes lowering in challenge.
The tension snapped taut.
Jessica bristled. Seeing the storm gathering in his expression only angered her more.
"The Bailey family is insignificant. They don't even appear in the rankings. And their daughter, what good qualities could she possibly have? She's just a girl trying to climb her way into wealth. Captian, you've truly lost your mind."
Her voice trembled with rage.
The scandal on Facebook had humiliated her. Though no one dared mock them publicly, she knew the elite circles were laughing behind closed doors. The family head marrying some young nobody with no status, what a joke. She'd been sleepless for days over it.
Captian's eyes grew colder, his expression dangerous enough to explode at any second.
"Marriage is serious. Why didn't you discuss it with the family?" Her glare sharpened further. "You must divorce her immediately."
At first, I had been angry.
But after hearing that… I brightened up inside.
Divorce? Great!
That meant I wouldn't have to be tied to Captian anymore.
She would probably even help kick me out.
Perfect, I could finally run far, far away.
Thrilled, I risked a few glances at Captian, hoping he'd be pressured by his terrifying grandmother and back down.
But reality disappointed me.
His eyes grew darker, icy calm, yet filled with unmistakable displeasure. After a long, heavy silence, he finally spoke, voice like an incoming storm:
"I am the head of the Anderson family. Whom I marry or anything else I do is my decision. Not yours."