...…..Weeks Later...…
The silence in the room made it difficult to stay calm. I fiddled with my fingers as I stood close to my dad waiting for my so called fiancé to come in.
I looked down as the door opens, heart beating out of my chest.
I hear Bianca gasp close to me and I knew I was doomed.
"Mr Knight?" Dad asked voice unsure, wavering.
"Why are they surprised, is he that old?" I wondered still adamant to look up.
"Mr Hayes....."
That voice…..
The voice that haunted my dreams every night, the voice I gratified with countless times. I'll recognize it in a room full of huskies.
I snapped my head up to see him staring at me, shock, lust, confusion and realization were the emotions crossed on his face.
Mr Knight.... This is my daughter "Liana"
And then the emotions were gone, replaced with hatered, and anger and it went stoic.
I know you asked for my eldest daughter, but she's sick and still on medications but Liana here is well.
The shock on my face must be so evident that my father pinched me lightly, causing me to flinch.
He stares intensely, at me then stares briefly at Bianca before facing my day.
"She'll do."he added turning around and walking out of the room.
The door slammed shut and Bianca's voice came loud and furious.
"Dad! Why didn't you tell me he looked like that?"
I want him….. tell him I'm not sick and I'm a better fit, he'll want me again.
"But he..."dad cuts in
" I don't care!!" She screams back
The shock and thoughts running through my head masked whatever conversation was going on around me.
I turned ignoring them, rushing back to my room.
"How is this possible?" I whispered, still in shock.
"How is he the same man I met?"
Suddenly I recalled the look on his face when I was introduced, the way he looked at me. He looked like he hated me.
"What exactly is going on?" I whispered sadly.
...…..
The light in the bar was as dim as my life right now. I sat across my best friend Tobi downing another shot of tequila.
"Babes….. what's going on?" Tobi whispered for the 50th time.
"You've been silent the last fifteen minutes." He added
"You're not going to believe this... I'm still finding it hard to believe except I saw it with my own damn eyes." I whisper yelled back dramatically
"You've dragged me out here so it better be good."
"Remember the man I told you about?"I continued
"From the bar... weeks ago?" I added.
"You mean Mr mysterious? Of course I remember, you were obsessed for days. That's if you still aren't."
"What about him?"
"Yeah him... he's the man I'm supposed to marry." I whispered
"Wait, what?"
"The man your parents are forcing you to marry is him?" He whisper yelled in disbelief.
" I couldn't believe it either."
"I thought the worst thing was marrying a stranger to save my parents business, but now it's him, the one I didn't expect and I don't even know how to feel about it."
"How did he react?" He asked curiously.
"Did sparks fly again or was it akward?"
"He was just as shocked as I was" I replied
"And what about you? How do you feel about it?" He cut in
"I mean you knew who he was, you liked him right?"
"I did that night, but now it's complicated. Part of me is relieved it's him and not some complete stranger but at the same time everything's changed." I sighed dejectedly.
"What if to him I'm just a random girl he met at the bar? I don't know anything about him, or who he really is. What if that night was just a fluke? I added
"Look, I get it. The whole situation is complicated as hell, but....maybe this is an opportunity." He bellowed
"You've got history with him, and that's more than most arranged marriages get. Maybe it's worth exploring."
"Or maybe its just going to make things more painful." I cut in.
"Then maybe you should reconsider my plans to elope." He cut back
"You don't need to go through this wedding babes....." he shifted sadly hold my hands across the table.
"I totally get how you feel, you owe them for adopting you, but it's still not enough reason to do this to yourself."
"I ..... if this is the last thing I do to repay them, I'll do it." I whispered back.
"Then let's take this one step at a time. I'll always be here for you." He beamed reassuringly.
" I don't know what to do without you." I smiled back.
"Well….. you'll definitely go insane but that's what best friends are for." He added with a playful smirk.
......….
Days later
It's the day I've been dreading. I'll be signing the contracts today. For my outfit I went for a professional look. My soft locks styled to perfection and my red mini dress hugging me like glove. I stepped down the stairs to my parents smiles.
"Well don't you look gorgeous….. my dad beamed.
"He would have had something better to look at if you told him to take me instead as he wanted." Bianca cut in bitterly.
"Well he wants your sister now and there's nothing we can do about that." Dad cuts back.
My heart beats harder in response.
"It doesn't matter. The most important thing is getting that contract signed. Right baby?" My mom beamed
"Yes mother….."
......
I sit at the long glass table, the documents spread out before me like a trap.
My dad fidgets anxiously, tapping his fingers on the table as he glanced towards the door. I still couldn't believe all this was happening.
The door swings open and my breath hitches.
He stepped in, tall, composed, with an air of dominance. His eyes meets mine briefly before sliding over the documents on the table, not speaking or even acknowledging me.
"Why won't he even look at me?" I wondered, suprised at his sudden quietness and arrogance.
"Everything is in order dear, just sign here and here…." Dad smiled
I hesitated the pen feeling heavy in my hand. I glanced up at my so called husband to ba and his gaze was stoic, unreadable.
"Is this how it's going to be? Just signatures, contracts and silence? I asked already frustrated by his silence.
For a moment his eyes flicker, a brief crack in his cold demeanor but just as quickly it was gone.
He leans back in his chair crossing his arms, his voice calm but cutting.
"This is what you agreed to. It's not about what you want." He finally spoke.
"I didn't agree to this! My family did." I replied angrily
"And yet here you are…"
My dad shifts uncomfortably beside me, his eyes darting between us clearly noting the tension but too afraid to speak.
"What kind of man manipulates a family going through crises just to get a wife?"
" The kind of man who gets what he wants."
"You may have control now... but don't think for a second I'll let you win."
He watches me intensely and for the first time it was there, dark and intense , I saw the anger, the hate.
He says norhing but the look he gave sent chill down my spine. Then in deliberate slowness gestures to the papers in front of me.
"Sign."