Chapter 5

“It's a marriage, and you don't expect me to jump into it without at least knowing anything about it”

He leaned back on his couch, taking a sip from his glass. Bacardi, to be precise.

“Everything will be stated in the contract”

“The contract isn't enough. I would like to know more about you”.

“I'm Xavier Garcia, I assume you already know”

“No, I want to know more than just your name” she sighed. He was being impossible and that wasn't helping. “You haven't even asked to know anything about me. I thought this was supposed to be an interview”.

“No one stated that it was going to be an interview. The offer clearly stated marriage, and you meet my standards”.

“I thought you said I wasn't your type” she smirked, squaring her shoulder

“And you still aren't”

“But…” She sighed in frustration. “Never mind. How will the marriage take place?”.

“As soon as you sign the contract, you would be moving in with me, and we shall begin the marriage plans. You would have to see my parents first, of course”.

“I feel like I'm being rushed” Amelia sighed, resting her head on her palm while he looked unbothered by the whole scenario.

“The sooner, the better. Miss Wilson. If it isn't okay with you, you could drop out now because once you sign the contract, there would be no going back until the due date” he stated, and she gulped.

“Why do you need to get married?”

“Miss Wilson” he sighed. “This is the second time you are asking this question”

“And you won't give me an answer” she half yelled. “What do you even do for a living?”

“Are you concerned about your payments?”

“No, I'm concerned about who you are. I don't wanna get married to an organ trafficker” she shrugged, and he chuckled.

“That's a weird statement coming from a lady who could risk it all by coming over to a stranger's house. You didn't think about that before accepting the deal?”

“Well, apparently, I do not have a choice. Your fucking servant, Lucas, got me fired from my job” she said as she let the anger that she had been hurdling inside pour out.

“One” he raised his index finger. “Lucas isn't my servant, he is my brother. “Two” he added his middle finger. “That tone in your voice, fix it,” he said in a deadly whisper, and she gulped.

“You can call me when you have made up your mind and I will have the contract sent to you immediately,” he said as he stood up from his seat, making his way towards the stairs, leaving her dumbfounded.

Amelia grabbed her purse and exited the sitting room with different thoughts in her mind.

The cool air hit her delicate skin as she sighed in exasperation, walking through the quiet boulevard. Everything suddenly felt different and for the first time, in a while, she had the time to think. She wasn't washing dishes at Davies neither was she taking orders from guests, and she was definitely not thinking of a way to satisfy a cranky customer out of fear of getting reported. She had time to think about herself. That was something she rarely did.

She couldn't live like that anymore. She needed to do something with her life, and taking the deal would be a good start. Furthermore, she stopped for a while, taking a twirl round to have a better view of the trees that surrounded the lonely street. That was something she always did whenever she was on a boulevard. The feeling never got old. She stopped twirling and sat down on the pavement with a slight smile on her face as she absorbed nature's beauty.

“Married for a year. Doesn't sound like a bad idea to me” she finally spoke with the smile not leaving her face.

**********

“I'm getting married” Amelia blurted out with a smile as she watched Wendy stiffen, turning to look at her with bewilderment written on her face. Her mouth slightly opened out of shock. While Amelia stood there with her smile slowly fading away, shrugging, to make the situation less awkward than it was already becoming.

The knife that Wendy used in cutting the spinach, slowly slipped out of her hand as she stood hands akimbo, looking at Amelia

“And you are joking?” she finally spoke up, returning to the spinach.

“No I'm not” Amelia assured her, but Wendy wasn't buying it

“Come on, it isn't April. Even if it was, do I look so gullible to you?” she asked with a snicker.

“I'm serious Wendy. The marriage is taking place in the next two weeks” she said. Wendy turned to look at her once more. The serious look on Amelia gave her a cue that she was serious. Wendy's eyes widened as she tried to absorb the statement.

“My God, Amelia, when did you start dating this person?”

“Umm, yesterday”

“Are you fucking being serious?” Wendy walked toward Amelia with a look of disbelief not leaving her face. “Where did you meet this person?”

“At his house” Amelia shrugged.

“Wait, let me get this straight. You wanna get married to someone you met yesterday?”.

“Yeah” although Amelia knew how stupid it sounded, she couldn't lie to Wendy. It wasn't necessary. Also, lying was something she was awful at. Wendy would surely find out anyway.

Wendy stood there for a while, short of words, as she tried to absorb the whole scenario.

“Amelia, do you know how dangerous California can be? You can't just marry someone you just met.”

“I trust him”

“Of course, you just met him yesterday, and he is worth the trust,” Wendy said sarcastically whilst making air quotes, and Amelia rolled her eyes at her.

“Does it matter” Amelia half yelled. “You don't have to be such a mum about it. I'm an adult who can make decisions by myself”.

“Well, and I suppose you are doing a good job, aren't you honey?”

“Just stop it, okay”

“Amelia thinks for a second, would you?"

“I have already thought about it”

“Let me guess, overnight? That isn't enough”.

“Why are so cranky about it?”

“Because I want the best for you”

“There you go again, acting like my mother. You don't need to worry about it, trust me. I have this undercover”.

Wendy sighed as she leaned her back against the wall, staring at Amelia. The look on Wendy's face held exhaustion. She knew how stubborn Amelia could be. There was no way someone was going to convince her once she had decided. That made her infuriating and tiresome.

“Who are you getting married to?”. Amelia asked with a calmer tone.

“Uhmm, a certain” Amelia squinted her eyes as she racked her head trying her possible best to remember his name. “Xavier Garcia” she finally blurted out and Wendy's eyes widened in astonishment