2. ARRANGED MARRIAGE

~RUBY

I sped towards the hospital, overtaking cars and running past red lights. My heart was pounding heavily against my chest, threatening to burst out of my body.

My father. The light of my life. My world. The man I loved most in the whole wide world.

He was hospitalized. Had an heart attack.

Immediately the hospital appeared in my line of sight, I slammed down the brakes and flung myself out of the car without bothering to park carefully.

I ran into the hospital and immediately saw Patrick. I grabbed his arm, shaking him violently.

"What the hell happened to my father?" I asked, my voice raw with fear and panic. He eased himself out of my grip and continued pacing, running his hands through his hair.

"Just calm down, okay? Calm down. He's stable now," he said in an attempt to dilute my raw panic. But his words were not working on me. He was as panicked as I was too.

"Who the fuck are you to tell me to calm down? My father is lying in an hospital bed helplessly and you have the guts, the audacity, to look me in the eye and say that to me? Seriously?" I was screaming now and the nurses had to hold me down.

My screams turned to sobs. Loud, heart wrenching sobs. My chest felt as though it was caving in and my legs turned jelly, unable to hold me up as I slid to the ground.

After what felt like hours, I calmed down and was directed to the rest room to freshen up.

"Are you ready to listen to me now?" Patrick asked, when I was back from the restroom. He looked and sounded weary and I kind of felt bad for snapping at him and causing a scene earlier.

I nodded, still too numb and exhausted to talk as I took the seat beside him.

"He received a message from his anonymous partner to invest his shares and bonds in some small company. I tried to dissuade your father from investing but…" he ran his hands through his hair again. "Your father didn't listen to me. For some weird reason, he trusted that anonymous source and this afternoon, we were in the office when news came up that the company has gone bankrupt and the shares crashed.

Immediately we heard the news, your father just…collapsed," he finished and my heart broke all over again.

My dad's business was not doing too well, and he, all the time, was always trying new ways to get leverages and improve the company's image.

"Wh—" I choked. "What is the solution now? Are we…going bankrupt?"

"Fortunately, no. We are not. There is a solution. While your dad was rushed to the hospital, I was with his phone. He received a text message."

His words carried some heavy weight, as though he was reluctant to say them out.

"What is it, Patrick? Talk to me. What is the solution?" My heart was beating wildly now. I would do anything, anything to make my dad's business a success again.

"You have to marry one of the Riverstone sons. They are the largest and most influential company in the country. A marriage will bring about new opportunities for your dad and the company."

First, I was taken aback by the mention of the Riverstone family. I remembered my annoying encounter with Ash, disgusting. But for my father's sake, my mind raced with possibilities. Marriage.

"All I have to do is to marry one of them?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry…you don't…we have no other choice," his voice was apologetic.

I blinked multiple times. Marriage had not been on my list until now. I never planned on doing it but this moment was forcing me to. Who better to do it for than for my dad?

"It's fine. I choose to do this on my own accord. I have to help Dad."

A doctor walked out of a ward and came to us. He nodded to Patrick and turned to me.

"I take it you're Mr Lakewood's daughter?"

"Yes, I am. How's my father? Is he alright? Is he awake?" All I wanted was to know if my father was safe.

The doctor smiled, his eyes crinkling at the edges.

"Yes, he is fine, Miss. He's awake and ready to see you both now," the doctor said and the relief that swept through me threatened to knock my feet out.

A nurse was summoned to take us to his ward and immediately I saw my father, a smile seized my lips as I rushed to him. He smiled, howbeit faintly and took my hands in his.

"My gem," he smiled and tears of joy slipped down my face.

"Daddy," I whispered, placing my head on his forehead.

"I'm sorry for scaring you. It's just— what happened was…" he tried to explain.

"Don't worry, Dad. Patrick told me already. And I've decided to marry one of the Riverstone sons. To provide a fighting chance for you."

"No, no. You don't need it. I'll figure out a way myself. You should not…"

"Hush, don't worry, Dad. You've been taking care of me all these while. Let me do this for you," I whispered, smiling with all the warmth I felt in my chest.

A phone pinged and Patrick cleared his throat.

"I, uh, contacted the Riverstone Lawyer and told him about the plan, assuming Ruby accepted, of course. He just texted me now to let me know that he spoke with the twins, and Ethan was willing to meet her. Preferably this evening."

My father frowned.

"Don't you think that's too fast? I mean…we could always do the meeting later. Take our time."

A smile of contempt formed on my lips. Ethan could be cold and scary as the world claimed but it was better to be with him than the jerk I met today. Everyone knew Ash Riverstone was a playboy while Ethan was just too busy with his work to get into girls.

"No. I think it's better this way. Let's get this done and be over with it," I said to my father and turned to Patrick.

"Tell them I'll meet with him. With my own terms and conditions, of course," I may have agreed to the marriage but I wasn't going to go into it blindly.

Patrick and my father were satisfied and minutes later, I was on my way to meet my soon to be "husband."

***

He was late. I detested people who thought themselves too big to show up early at fixed appointments. To be honest, I was kind of nervous. I was about to meet one of the richest, hottest men in the whole of the country.

Well, at least according to the news.

Thirty minutes more and my nervousness had dissolved and turned into rage.

How dare he keep me waiting for more than an hour? I was about whipping my phone out and dialing Patrick when the restaurant door opened, and everywhere fell silent.

Because I was sitting close to the door, I saw him immediately. He was tall, damn. He had long, dark hair which was tied back into a ponytail. His eyes were hidden with shades and as he looked around, searching for me, obviously, I ogled at his bulging biceps.

Hot.

He walked up to a waiter and asked about me, I presumed. As he turned to stare at the direction the waiter was pointing, he froze. Which for some weird reason reminded me of the way the asshole who hit me today reacted when he saw me too.

I stood up and waved.

He shook his head and walked over to me slowly.

"Hey," he began and took of his shades.

And I was shocked by how much they looked the same person. To the point that they sounded alike. How was I supposed to tell them apart? If one told me this was still Ash playing dress up, then I was going to agree.

That was when I noticed his icy blue eyes, Ash's were green.

"Hey," I smiled back.

I leaned back in my seat, watching him intently. He seemed uncomfortable and avoided making eye contact with me.

"So you're the famous Ethan Riverstone," I smirked. Where was all the coldness and scariness?

"Yeah. Yes I am. And you're Ruby…Lakewood?"

"Is that a question or an affirmation?" I raised my eyebrows at him and he laughed, taken back by my outspokenness.

"You're fiesty. I like you," he smiled and that broke the ice.

"You know, I was originally mad at you for keeping me waiting," I teased and he smiled sheepishly.

"My apologies. I got caught up with some office stuff. It wasn't my intention, I promise."

"Okay well, let's get to business. I assume you have your terms and conditions for this marriage, yeah?"

He confirmed in the affirmative and I slid my documents to him, as he passed his to me too.

There was a charm a possessed that I had instantly fallen for.

We were silent for a while as we went through what we both wanted and it seemed he was satisfied. I was perfectly okay with his conditions and I believed everything would be just fine.

"I take it we are good to go," he said and I nodded. Everything seemed perfect. There was no issue and after five years, if the marriage isn't working out, we call it quits.

That's enough for my dad to get back on his feet.

"So, if there's nothing else to discuss, I think we sho—" I started to say but was cut off by a cell phone beeping incessantly.

It was Ethan's.

"Sorry. I need to go. Something came up at the office," he said hurriedly as he stood up and scanned the message.

"Order anything you like and ask them to place it on my tab. I'm so sorry for leaving you here. We'll talk later, probably on phone to finalize everything," he rushed out and left.

I sighed.

Well, that was one epic meeting. At least we seemed to get along well. I beckoned for the waiter and prepared to order. After all, my rich "husband" was paying.

It was when I was about to leave that I noticed Ethan had forgotten his documents. I was torn between taking it with me home or going over to his house to give it back.

The second idea appealed to me, honestly. I mean, who would not be curious to see the infamous Riverstone mansion?

So I grabbed my bag, his documents and stepped out of the restaurant, my heart beating with anticipation.

The house was surprisingly close to the restaurant and the security let me in after I told him my name.

I got out of car and started walking towards the main house, gawking at the expensive mansion.

"These people are loaded, way loaded than my father could ever be. It could take Dad years to get to this stage," my jaw dropped as I took in the magnificent house.

I was distracted by a sound coming from the side of the house and my curiosity dragged my feet towards the sound.

I had no idea what to expect. I just wanted to see the cause of the noise. What I saw however, was totally unexpected. My jaw dropped open.

It was Ethan. Naked…on his knees, playing with sand and muttering, his eyebrows furrowed with concentration.

He glanced up at the sound of my footsteps and stopped muttering. He stood up, reaching for me. I took a step back, fear coating my entire body.

"Xena?" He called, his voice was hoarse. His eyes sparkled and lit up with recognition as though he was seeing someone else.

"Xena," he called again and took a step towards me.

I stood my grounds, following my instincts not to run. He took another step towards me, and it took all my willpower to not run away.

He glanced down and seemed to come to his senses. "Xena. I— shit!"

That was when the servants came running out and covered him up with a large robe.

"I— I just wanted to return your documents," I stammered and extended the documents to him.

He collected them with a frown and as he turned it over, recognition flashed in his eyes. His eyes widened with an emotion I could not fathom. Fear, maybe.

He recognized me.

"Ru—"

I turned away without hearing him speak, my heart was in my throat. My brain was scrambling to understand what just happened. Ethan playing with sand. Calling me someone else's name. The recognition. The look in his eyes.

"Ruby, wait!" He called. "Ruby, please!"

Ethan— my husband to be— was a mad person.