"Are you guys seriously demanding I marry a man I've never even met before?" I asked my parents in disbelief. This had to be some kind of joke. "Are you seriously trying to sell me off?
That was basically what they were doing, asking me to get married into the Monroe family just so they could strike up a partnership and make a ton of money."Try to understand, Cassie," my mother consoled me in her singsong voice, lightly touching my shoulders. "You can leave him after the partnership is over, you know. If your father loses this opportunity, everything we've ever worked so hard for will all be gone in an instant. Don't think of it as us trying to sell you off. Think of it as a way to repay us for all we've provided for you."I pushed her hands away from me in both surprise and disgust. I knew my mother was shallow, but hearing her say those words out loud just angered me to another degree. "All you've provided for me? Last I remember, you're my parents and I'm your responsibility. I never asked to be here. If I'm a burden to you just send me away, not use me to gather some extra cash like a slave. I can't believe you can be this selfish.""Why are you blowing this out of proportion?" My mother asked in a bored voice, sitting down. I could tell she was tired of trying to convince me. She just wanted me to get married into the Monroe family already, and procure the partnership, so that she could get started on planning her next vacation cruise already."Your father and I got married the day we met and look at the beautiful life we've been able to build together."Beautiful life? How could she even say that with a straight face? My parents were the most detached people I ever knew. Seeing them in my room together was already a rare occurrence. It didn't help that they were always either one business trip or vacation away from each other.Was that the kind of marriage they hoped I'd have?When I realized arguing with my mother was going nowhere, I turned to my father, who I perceived to be more reasonable in general. He'd remained quiet all this while, the guilt of his abnormal request eating him whole. I planned to use that guilt to my advantage."You won't let me sign my future and happiness away to a man I don't know, just because of some money, will you Dad?" I asked in a quiet voice, even though he was the one who'd thought up the idea in the first place. He glanced around for a few moments before his gaze eventually settled on me."Who knows, Cass. You might end up falling in love with him…" he said, shattering my last resolve."I'm already in love with someone else, Dad! His name is Kayden and he's my boyfriend!""A boyfriend who's nothing but a dead weight!" my father countered, raising his voice back at me. "A boyfriend who can't even take care of himself not to talk of you. Do you even think about your future at all?"His words pierced me like a dagger. So just because Kayden was not as wealthy as they had once been, they were willing to toss me to the next available money well. As I stared at my father, the man who'd treated me like a princess all my life disappeared, and a selfish ogre who valued money more than his daughter replaced him. My mother was smiling at something on her phone screen, already done with the conversation."He just needs to get better," I say quietly, trying not to think of Kayden in that hospital bed. "I just need a few million dollars from you so he can get a new heart and we'll both be out of your hair for good."Kayden was suffering from a coronary heart disease which had slowly begun eating him up over a year ago. My parents should have been able to help since they'd had the money back then, but because they didn't approve of our relationship, my father instead made a dumb investment in an importation business which sucked up all his fortune. And now, he wanted me to bail him out of potential poverty, by using my boyfriend's health as bait."Look on the bright side. If you marry the Monroe heir, you'll be able to pay for Kayden's surgery and have a lot left to give him and at the same time, you'll never have to suffer financially ever again."I shook my head, a sick feeling crawling into my stomach. I didn't like this. I wished I could just disappear."Have you ever even stopped to wonder what parents would be willing to pay someone else such a huge amount of money just to get married to their son?" I asked, tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. "Have you ever asked yourself how horrible he'd have to be that even his parents don't want him?""These things are complicated," my father said, looking away.I couldn't stand them any longer. I'd never hated anyone like I hated my parents at that moment. Bending over, I picked up my handbag and began to leave."Where do you think you're going?""I'm going to see Kayden," I said, not like he even deserved to know.My father looked at me for a long moment before picking up his car keys."Alright, I'll drive you.""What?" I asked, confused at the offer."Well, I suppose it's only fair. You deserve to say goodbye to him. What better time to do it than on the day of your wedding."I froze."What is that supposed to mean?""You're getting married today…"***"If he doesn't get a new heart by the end of the week, he will have a zero percent chance of survival," the doctor said, reading Kayden's prognosis while my father sat a few feet away giving me a look that said, 'I told you so.""What can I do to quicken the arrival of the new heart?" I asked, pushing back tears, even though I already knew the answer.The doctor gave me a sorry look as she flipped through the papers in her hand."You have two options," she began, counting with her finger. "One is to wait for a new heart from any organ donor and that can take any time from a week to a year since the patient is not very high on the list of recipients. The second is more realistic at this point. To push him up the list and get a new heart as quickly as possible.""How much?" I asked, already knowing where this was leading."Two million dollars," she said, without lifting an eyelid.As I looked down at the love of my life, lying unconscious on the large hospital bed, I was reminded of our years spent together, before his very unfortunate sudden heart disease."I love you, Kay," I whispered in his ear even though I knew he couldn't hear me.As I sobbed, I slightly rubbed his bony frame and knew just what I had to do.***As I walked down the aisle, escorted by my father who was smiling at the crowd, I couldn't stop the tears that flowed down my cheeks.My wedding veil covered my face, so fortunately, no one could see just how unwilling I was to get married to this stranger, just to save the love of my life.I wished the aisle would go on forever. I had already imagined the worst about the Monroe heir who I didn't know and never got the chance to find out about.What if he was too old and dependent and his frustrated parents only wanted him out of the house because he was a disgrace to them? What if he had committed some grievous sin that they were only trying to cover up as quickly as possible? What if he was a very ugly, wicked violent person who would turn me into a punching bag?The moment of truth came when her father left my side and I saw the figure of a man place his hands on either side of my head to lift the veil. My heart pounded in my chest as I saw the face of my husband for the first time, and the world went still.He was handsome.Scratch that.He was breathtakingly gorgeous.Even with the scowl that covered his face as he lifted the veil, his entire features seemed perfectly handcrafted by God himself.But, he didn't look pleased…"I know I messed up, but making me marry this ugly clown is too much punishment," he said, staring with displeasure into my mascara-smudged face.An ugly clown. Me? Why did I ever think he was good-looking? Truly, beauty was only skin-deep. I frowned as I opened my mouth to tell him off but no words came out. My lips only quivered as more tears came out. He shuddered and turned to the priest as if my sole appearance was threatening his life. How bad did I look? My mother had made sure I had a full coverage make-up before I got here. Did he think I was that ugly, or was he just not prepared to like me? "She can't even speak," he said to the priest in disgust. "Just wrap this up, already." "Why do you have to be so rude?" I asked, getting my voice back. I wished I could have thought of something more clever, like an insult. He gave me a once over, the displeasure on his face increasing. "Your dress, the shoes, the step, ugh," he said, more to himself than to me, like I was some bad artwork he was being forced to purchase. "How am I supposed to show you off to people? They'll laugh." Fortunately, no one else could hear hi
"Go ahead," I prodded. "Speak." The maid fidgeted with her uniform, turning away from me. "Ma'am, I…""You what?" I was getting impatient."She just began working here a few months ago, ma'am," an older maid walked up to me with an automatic smile on her face. She gave the maid sitting down a sour look and she quickly got up, curtsied, and left the table. None of this felt right. I understood some families still had live-in maids, but I didn't like the way they acted like they didn't have free will. First an arranged marriage and now this? Did I get transported to the seventeenth century without knowing? "The young master is a very lovely man, my lady. I promise you will enjoy every bit of your marriage," she began, beaming, but her smile was not authentic. I frowned. That wasn't really what I wanted to hear. I didn't want her humble praise for her 'master'. I just wanted the actual truth. "How does he treat you?" I asked, deciding I had to be more specific if I was ever getti
I tried to leave since he clearly didn't want me in the room but he didn't move. He remained in that position, taunting me, trapping me, asking me to get out even though he made it impossible for me to do so. He was still staring into my face, looking intently like he could see right through me. I didn't like this. I knew he could see the fear in my eyes. He smelt vaguely of vodka, or at least what I thought vodka smelt like. But he didn't look drunk. His eyes were clear and he was neither stuttering nor staggering. He was breathing into my face and with no air left to inhale, I was breathing him in. It seemed like such an intimate position, for someone whose aim was to antagonize me. "I want to leave now," I said, feeling uncomfortable. He didn't move. Instead, I saw the small trace of a smile grace his lips. "You're actually not that bad," he said, his entire demeanor changing. I had no idea what he was talking about. "You have a face that's worth looking at. I was mistaken.
"Can you at least tell me what you're talking about?" I asked, following as he left the room. I couldn't understand this man and neither could I understand why I was following him. I had been so terrified when he had me pinned against the wall and now I was following him now he'd finally set me free. "That's none of your business," he said, waving a hand at me, not even bothering to look back."Really? You just said I'll do. Do for what exactly? I have a right to be concerned, you know. People don't just randomly tell me I'll do without at least giving me some extra info on what exactly I'd do for…"He was too quick for me. Or maybe I was just too busy talking to notice when he moved. I was underneath him, forced to look up into his face which was only about an inch away from mine. Somehow I was floating. He was holding my back. I couldn't move. I was too close. We were too close. I could smell him. My heart was pounding in my chest, a feeling I couldn't particularly describe swell
"What?" I asked, unable to process what I'd just heard. A girlfriend? And they all knew about it? That explained all the curious stares I'd been getting all day. "Oh my God, I shouldn't have said that!" She said, getting up with a scared look on her face. "Natalie's gonna kill me. I'm gonna lose my job. Master Davis will have my head…" "Hey, calm down," I said sharply. I was getting tired of this. "I've told you I won't tell anyone. Now sit down and tell me what I want to hear." It worked. She only did things when she was compelled to do them. That made me feel bad, but I had many other things in mind. "We were all surprised when he brought you in. We all thought he would get married to her. She's the only person he's nice around." Hearing this, I choked on air. Why was I reacting to this piece of information so badly? Besides, I had a boyfriend as well. Since he had a girlfriend, asking him for the money to treat my boyfriend wouldn't feel so out of place anymore. The girl
Everywhere fell silent, the only voice being that of my father cussing and asking Davis to let him go. But Davis didn't. My father who I'd always respected and almost even feared was being pinned down and humiliated by the man he'd made me marry. How ironic. "Let him go, this instant!" My mother quipped, coming into view. Her voice was firm but she stood at a distance, her hand which was holding a glass of wine shaking slightly as she watched Davis. Sometimes I felt bad for her. She was the one who had to stand up for my dad and clean up after his mess whenever he drank too much and made a fool out of himself. Just like now. "Don't mind him. I'll fucking kill him once I get myself unentangled!" My father responded, trying but failing to get himself loose. This was so embarrassing. I wish I hadn't come here. "Please," I whispered, a sick feeling coming to my stomach. "Let him go." I saw an expression that could pass for pity pass through Davis' eyes before he finally let him go
Davis' POVAs I stood in front of her, threatening her with my mere presence, I wondered what the hell I was even doing. Why was I always looking for an excuse to be this close to her. To feel her trembling beneath me. Her eyes were firmly shut, the same way they'd been when her asshole excuse of a father had raised his hand on her. Surely, she didn't think I would do something that drastic. I would never resort to violence, especially not on a woman. There were way simpler, more effective and foolproof ways to get my demands across. But there was no way I'd tell her that. Her fear amused me and I wouldn't let it go. "Alright, speak," I said into her ear. I held in a chuckle when she shivered at the sound of my voice. "I went to pay for my boyfriend's heart surgery," she said and opened her eyes but she didn't look up at me. Oh. "Then why didn't you just tell me?" I asked. "Because you wouldn't let me speak," she breathed out, trying to pull herself free from under me. But I
Cassie's POVThe day had not even begun but everything was already going crazy. How had I gone from sneaking into my new husband's house in the dark to trying to avoid blows from the aforementioned husband's girlfriend? Not to mention his earlier proposal of our consummating the sham marriage. That had surprised me beyond words. But what had surprised me more than anything was the fact that I wasn't as bothered about it. In fact, a part of me began to imagine it; his lips on mine, his body on mine doing all those explicit things I'd read in steamy romance novels. I'd never experienced it before, since Kayden and I were traditional and were waiting until we got married, but that didn't mean the thought didn't come every once in a while. Unfortunately, Davis had caught up on that. He had to be a psychologist because there was no other possible explanation for how he could read my exact thoughts and pick up on my body language. I'd been curious and almost willing to see what he wou