The first thing I see when I open my eyes is a huge pair of eyes staring closely into mine. Drawing air into my lungs, I let out a loud scream and flail my hands at my supposed attacker.
"Oh, just shut the hell up!" Brandon's exasperated command causes me to cease screaming. My breathing is ragged as I try to sit up on the feather-soft bed I lay on. "What is wrong with you?" He asks. "What?" "First, you faint right after I kiss you. Now, you open your eyes to the sight of me and the first thing you do is scream. What exactly is wrong with you, tell me." He places a leg on the bedside chair as he waits for me to respond. "Water" "What?" "I need water," I say with a raspy voice. With anger evident in his every movement, Brandon pulls a switch behind me and a maid scurries inside. "Get the lady some water," he says and has the maid scurrying back out. She comes back in with a glass of water which I accept and smile kindly at her. Thank God I don't have to live like this, I think. All my life, I've never had anyone wait on me. As if he has read my thoughts, Brandon waits for the maid to leave before saying "You'd better get used to this. It's how it'll be once you become a Martinez" Water sputters out of my mouth as I choke on what little I have drunk. This man is really bent on driving me mad. "Become a Martinez?" I ask shakily but he does not respond. He only stares down at me from his place at the bedside. I try to put the glass down and end up spattering some water on the bed. Brandon grabs the glass and places it on the bedside table. "Are you always this clumsy?" He sounds frustrated. His tone puts my back up so I do not reply to him. "Where are we?" I ask instead. "In my room" Panic has me jumping out of the bed and to my feet. "Why are we in your room, sir?" He sneers at me before responding, "I would never force myself on any woman, and certainly not you." Again, his comment puts my back up. "That isn't what I was implying, Mr Martinez" He shrugs and continues to stare at me. "Erm... Thank you for your help." I say nervously "I'll take my leave now" I don't know my way around the house but I head towards the door. Being in Brandon's presence is tying my insides to knots. "Where the hell do you think you're going? We've got a wedding to plan" He says sharply and causes me to turn back to face him. "What wedding, Mr Martinez?" It's my turn to sound exasperated. "Sit down" he orders. I continue standing but he gives me a look cold enough to make my knees buckle so I sit at the edge of the bed. "Listen to me, Natalie. You and I will get married in three weeks. We'll stay married for the next five years, after which we'll get a divorce. During that time, I'll pay you handsomely every month. You're not allowed to sleep around, though. I can't let you ruin a reputation that my family has spent years building. Now, any questions?" My mouth is hanging open. Any questions? He's asking if I have any questions? What sort of a mentally deranged man makes such an announcement to a woman he barely knows and asks with a straight face if she has any questions? The ridiculousness of the situation that I'm in, coupled with exhaustion from all that I've been through in the last few days causes me to begin to laugh hysterically. I double over in laughter and see Brandon's face grow darker. "What exactly is funny, Miss Hayes?" He asks in a clipped tone. "What isn't funny, Mr Martinez?" By this time, I'm in full panic mode. "First your mother announces publicly that I am to marry you, giving me the impression that you were in on the proposal, then I'm whisked to your house, only to have you call me an ugly swan! And then, instead of you to just letting me wallow in all that, you come to the restaurant, kiss me senseless, bring me to your room, and tell me with a poker face that you and I are getting married and I can't cheat." By this time, my voice is so loud, that it's starting to give even me a headache. Looking confused, Brandon purses his lips "You want to cheat? I'm sure we can arrange that. It's just, I don't want my family image--" "You moron! I don't want to cheat! And I certainly do not want to marry you! I didn't want to marry you yesterday, I don't want to marry you today!" I scream at the top of my voice. Looking unruffled by my screams, Brandon takes a seat on a chair across from me and looks me straight in the eye. "You don't have a choice, Natalie." I sputter. I try to form words but it takes me a whole minute "What do you mean I don't have a choice?" "What I mean, Natalie, is that you have to marry me." I'm wary now "You can't force me" "Oh, I won't force you. But you see, I happen to know that your life is fully dependent on this job. I know that both your parents are dead and you have no one else. And that's why I know that if I have you fired from Giancarlo, you'd lose everything. But I'm not one to do anything halfway. I wouldn't stop at firing you. I know almost everyone in Seattle, Natalie. With the snap of a finger, I could blacklist you and ensure that no one else employs you. But we're not going to get to that part now, are we? Because you're going to be a good girl and agree to marry me without any pressure." With every word that comes out of his mouth, my face pales. "You wouldn't actually do that" I whisper in a voice barely audible to myself. His face turns a darker shade "Oh, I will. I will do whatever I must to ensure that I do not lose my inheritance." "Excuse me?" I ask breathlessly. "You're not the only one being forced into this marriage, Natalie. My mother has threatened to cut me off if I do not marry you." My face pales even more and I feel tears begin to gather in my eyes. The chairwoman doesn't even know me. She might think she's helping me but she's just going to ruin my life. "Three weeks, Natalie. You get three weeks to get used to the idea of being a Martinez" I want to scream, I want to kick at this man and tell him that he can't tell me what to do with my life, but instead, I hold my head in my hands as I feel the first drop of tears fall from my eyes.The wedding is a quiet affair. True to Brandon's words, it happens three weeks after our discussion. While the Martinez family is duly represented by the chairwoman, aunties, and uncles I didn't know existed and Anthony, Brandon's best friend, Hailey is the only person I have with me. After we leave the court, everyone heads towards the Martinez empire where the lush garden has been decorated beautifully for the wedding ceremony.Several people try to strike up a conversation with me but I am not interested. I just stand next to Brandon and smile politely at them while willing the entire ceremony to be over. In truth, it is not that I am completely averse to this marriage, it is the celebrations that bother me. Why put so much effort into something that isn't real? Although there are only a total of 50 guests at the wedding ceremony, it is evident that so much has been spent to uphold a standard of luxury.When people finally start to leave, I breathe a sigh of relief and try to loose
With my breath hitched in my throat, I slowly unwrap my arms from around Brandon's waist. His tone is icy enough to chill me to the marrow. My face takes on a look of genuine confusion when I see the utter disgust on his face.He takes a few steps back and crosses his arms over his chest. "I don't need you to be the sort of wife that I deserve, Natalie. I only need you to keep to your end of the bargain."My mouth hangs open. What is wrong with this man? Here I am feeling sad for him and his auto response is disrespect? Trying hard to shove down the embarrassment that I feel, I count to five in my head and head to the bathroom. Better to remember that Brandon went through a childhood that shaped him into a hard man.I turn on the shower and let the water flow. Now that I know how Brandon's childhood was, I can understand why he is so hard wrung. Of course, I can't let him know that I know. If he suspects that I pity him, he is bound to become defensive and push me further away.When I
Breakfast goes by in a blur. The chairwoman is chirpy and excited, talking about our honeymoon and living arrangements. Unfortunately, neither Brandon nor I are interested in talking about our future together. After breakfast, the chairwoman tells us that she has to be at an orphanage for a charity event. At first, I'm bothered that I'd have to spend the day alone with Brandon but he leaves the house almost immediately after his mom.Alone with barely anything to do, I start to wander around the house. God, this house is so big, I feel like I can get lost inside it. In the kitchen, three maids are scurrying around, preparing what I suspect is lunch for the family. They are startled when they see me in the kitchen, but I smile nicely and ask for their names. Because I can tell that they're uncomfortable and distracted by my presence, I do not spend too much time there but go to find the butler, Miguel.Although he is initially unwilling to converse with me like an equal, he soon lets d
My whole life is about to be a hell of a rollercoaster. I stare at the beautifully dressed woman standing before me with a resolute look and for the second time this morning, I find myself unable to utter a word. The chairwoman of the Martinez empire is standing before me and announcing in front of the entire staff of Giancarlo- which is only one of the many establishments that her family owns- that she wants me to marry her son! I count to five in my head and try to steady my breath to form a sentence. "Ma'am, I can't possibly marry your son. I don't... I can't... I don't know...." "Nonsense!" She says pleasantly. "You don't know my son but you must have seen pictures of him all over the news. He's the sort of man that any girl would be happy to get married to." She's not wrong, I know. Brandon Martinez is the heartthrob of Seattle, Washington. He is 6ft tall, built like a Greek god, and controls an empire worth billions of dollars. Who wouldn't want to be with a man like that? Th
I stare at Hailey for a few seconds before returning my focus to the dough I'm kneading. "Are you crazy?""No, I'm not. It's you who would be crazy to reject the chairwoman's offer.""What the hell are you even talking about, Hailey? I've never even met the woman's son.""What does it matter?""What doesn't it?"Before Hailey can respond, Alfredo, the head chef with a temper issue directs a string of Italian gibberish my way while flailing his hands. I know he's talking to me about hurrying up with the dough but I intentionally ignore him. Hailey walks to the sink to wash her hands and help me cut the dough into small sizes. Usually, there are three assistant chefs in the kitchen but Callum called in sick this morning and yet another employee who couldn't stand Alfredo's terrible temper quit yesterday. If Alfredo wasn't such a great chef, I'd probably hate him too but in truth, I am actually fond of him. As we cut the dough into pizza sizes, Hailey picks up the conversation."Natalie,
After Brandon leaves, the chairwoman brushes his insult off as childish exuberance and asks me to do the same. Well, easy for her to say but the man that walked out of this room was certainly no child. She ushers me to the dining room and we eat quietly. With servants on both sides of the dining table, all of our needs are met to.In my head, I start to think of what it would mean if I lived like this every day of my life. In all honesty, I believe that it would be exhausting. I like the simple life that I lead and with Brandon's obvious contempt for me, I make up my mind while enjoying the heavenly chocolate cake dessert to turn down the chairwoman's offer.Back at home, I sleep the rest of the day off after the chairwoman's driver drops me off. A loud, incessant knock at the door wakes me up in the evening. With sleepy eyes, I head towards the door. Hailey stands at my door ready to burst with excitement."Tell me everything!" She shrieks.I shrug as I let her in and close the door