Early the following morning, I heard a knock on my door. Still struggling to wake up, I put on my bathrobe and walk to my locked door unlocking it. While opening, I could smell the oh so familiar perfume of Mama and looked up at her. She gave me a heartwarming smile, and I smiled back as nicely as I could because I could barely open my eyes.
"May I come in?" She asks politely.
"Sure." I step away from the opening of the door to give her some space to come into my room. Although she is as skinny as a broomstick, I still make way for her out of respect. She walks around my room and sits on one of the sofas. She folds her legs casually like she always does and looks up at me. Oh boy. I know that look. I'm so in trouble this time.
I give her a sheepish grin as she opens her mouth to talk.
"What happened last night was utterly unacceptable. Do you know how disappointed your father was last night? Do you have any slight idea of how you made our family look last night? If I didn't come up with that excuse that you weren't feeling well, you would have broken the long friendship your father has with the Wrights. You know very well that we can't go through that drama."
I bow my head in shame. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean any disrespect in my behaviour last night. I'm sorry."
Mama gives a long sigh and shakes her head. She looks back up at me with sadness in her eyes. "What happened last night? Why did you run away from the dinner party and come back home in such a hurry?"
"I was just a little bit shocked. That's all. I didn't expect that to happen last night at all. I didn't expect to become engaged with Eugene on the first day we met. I felt sad and angry that you and papa didn't ask or told me anything about this. I deserve to know who I'm going to marry, and I need to be happy. What is a marriage if you don't like the person at all?"
Mama looks at me but keeps quiet. She seemed to be thinking deeply about something, and that's when she rose from the sofa and walked out onto my open balcony.
"Rose, do you know how your father and I met?"
"No?" I say sceptically. Where is Mama going with this?
"We met just like this. Our families are also big business people, and your father was the only son of the most prestigious businessman in France. Our two families were also great friends, and so our parents decided it would be best if the two of us get married to keep the business partnership flowing between the two families."
"Oh..."
"Your father and I were also not happy about the arrangements, but we decided we could give it a try. It wasn't easy at first. Your father struggled a lot with the business, and my fashion career was starting to take off. We fought a lot. Hell, we even thought of getting a divorce, but then our parents came to visit us two years after the marriage, and my mother gave me some good advice at the time I needed it the most."
Grandma Fiona?
"What kind of advice?"
"She told me that even though things are not working out right now, give it all you've got, but never let go of what you hold dear."
"But mama didn't love papa at all at that time. What does that advice help you in any way?"
"I never knew what my mother meant at that time. I thought she was mad in her head."
Mama shook her head and smiled. I could see a tear creeping down her left cheek.
"But then, after that visit, your father got into a terrible car accident on the way to work. He was immediately sent to the hospital and had a seventeen-hour long surgery. I waited in the waiting room that whole time. I was scared. I didn't know what to expect. In that time of darkness, I found out the meaning of my mother's words. I loved him. I didn't know that. In our time together, I began to fall in love with your father, and I didn't notice it. I only realised it when I was at my lowest."
I didn't know what to think. I never thought that mama and papa would have had it so rough in their wedding. They look content to me, so I didn't expect this to have happened.
"After my long wait in the waiting room, the doctor came out. He had a poker face, so I didn't know what I was to hear. He came up to me and put his one hand on my shoulder, holding it tightly. I almost started to cry, but the news came unexpectedly. Your father was alright. He had survived the accident. After he was out of the operating room, I sat with him in his hospital room until he woke up. I was so glad to see him awake that I started to cry. I held his hand tightly in mine, afraid that I could lose him anytime soon. I could tell he was happy to see me there. He also started to cry and told me he was sorry. He asked me if I could forgive him. I didn't even care, as long as I didn't lose him in such a way again."
She wiped away the tears that streamed down her face and smiled again.
"After that, we started again. We became good friends, and everything started going well. As soon as we had you, the family finally became complete. We were so happy and are still. So Rose, my words to you are this: give it a try. Yes, it will be tough, but I know you are a headstrong girl, so I know you'll get through this. So please, give it a shot?"
I look up at mama. She has a smile on her face, and I embrace her.
"Sure, Mama. I'll give it a try."
"That's my beautiful girl." She kisses me on the head and holds me tight. I don't know how long we stood there, but it felt nice giving Mama a long hug. I needed it. I needed this.
After a while, mama pulls away and looks at me.
"I think it's time for you to get ready for breakfast. Dress up nicely like you always do. I'll call in the maids to start running a warm bath for you. I'll meet you downstairs in two hours."
"Alright."
Mama smiles and gives me another kiss on the head before she turns and leaves my room. I looked at the door she just walked through and smiled. Maybe I could give it a try. At least I'll do it for mama and papa.
I go back to my bed and sit down, and that's when the maids walk in. Alright, let's do this.
Two hours later, after taking a relaxing bath and dressing up for the day, I meet mama and the rest downstairs at nine o'clock. They were all gathered in the living room, chatting with one another. Papa and Alistair stood in the far right corner, away from the rest, along with Eugene nodding his head from time to time. I assumed they were talking about the business they had to do these following weeks. I shake my head.In the world of businessmen, business is never finished. It didn't take long since I came into view in the living room before Coraline invited me to sit with her, Mama and Melissa. They chit-chatting while waiting for the men and me to finish. The things we women do to waste time.I walk over towards them and seat myself next to Meli
Breakfast was long and uncomfortable. The maids kept on giggling like little girls whenever they would see Eugene or come near him. It's so annoying. It's not annoying because I like Eugene or anything; it's annoying because the giggling didn't stop for one second. Sure enough, it didn't disturb anyone else except me. Everyone was chatting and having a great time. Meanwhile, I was struggling to control my annoyance and confusion. And who else's fault could it be if it is not Eugene's? After breakfast, I went up to my room to cool down. I just needed a little time for myself. My bed looked welcoming with its softness, so I invited myself to lie down. My thoughts overwhelmed me.What was Eugene thinking? What was going through his mind when he did that? Was his intention only to scare me? My
I cried in my room after Eugene left. I couldn't believe that he would say something like that.Does Eugene have any feelings for his parents at all? Doesn't he care that he would hurt them if they knew about this? Does he care at all? It's is all just a game to him - some business matters which he can handle without emotions because that's what this marriage is. That's all it ever will be. I cried until I had swollen eyes before deciding to go out to the garden. I wanted to be alone for a while. I need to figure out a way to make this marriage work because Eugene doesn't care. He doesn't know the first thing of love or happiness. Eugene doesn't care. He plays with people's emotions as if it's only some toys he could throw around all day long.I'm sick of it!
Eugene's POV Two years ago "Eugene, can we go to the amusement park today? You promised you would take me on a date today." Amy looks at me with that hope in her eyes like she usually does. She knows all too well that I'm a sucker for her begging eyes. I always fall for it, and she gets what she wants...ALWAYS. I sigh and throw my head back onto the couch. "What did I do to be punished with this little devil of a girlfriend?" I ask myself rhetorically. Amy laughs at me and comes to stand with her face over mine. She has that devilish smile on her face again...Oh boy. I'm in for something now.
Rose's POV My head was throbbing painfully, and I felt so cold. I could hear people talking in whispers around my room, and someone was holding my left hand tightly. It was a feminine hand, so I assumed it was mother's l hand. Just feeling how tightly she is holding my hand and by the whispers around the room, I could sense they must be worried. But why? I'm alive and still breathing healthily, so I don't see the problem here. I turn my head to the left and try to open my eyes. They feel ponderous, but I manage to open them gradually. As soon as my eyes were open, I could see to whom the whispers belonged. Papa and Alistair were standing near my balcony door and whispering non-stop, taking sneak peeks at me from time to time to see if I was awake. Coraline and Melissa were sitting on the couch in my room, holding each other's hands and looking at me worriedly, and Mama was sitting o
A week has gone by, and I haven't seen much of Eugene. Be it that he is busy helping Papa and Alistair with the business affairs at the company, or be it me busy with my modelling photoshoots. After what happened the day after I woke up from my high fever and yelled at Eugene, I don't think he wanted anything to do with me for a while. I admit that I was a little bit harsh towards him with everything I said, but he's the one who gave me the impression that he didn't care at all. After Serene told me what Eugene had done, I started to think I was wrong about him. That maybe he wasn't as cold and indecent as people claimed he is. But maybe, it's all in my head. Maybe, I started to care too much about what he thought of me. I mean, I told him on his first day here that he didn't have to worry about me being around him, that I would leave him alone. I'm starting to think I was lying to myself when
After our big fight, Eugene and I didn't talk to each other in private anymore. We only spoke when we acted 'in love' in front of our parents when we were fighting internally to be away from each other as far as possible. I was hurt by what Eugene told me, and I was hurt by the truth of his words when he said them to me.You are a heartless person.I could never forget those few words. These few words of truth hurt me more than I thought it would. I was shutting myself away from society and my family and friends. I guess they never knew the pain I was going through because I hid it so well to avoid attention to the matter.Eugene would also be more in the study and library than before. He would join Papa and Alistair more for business gatherings and meetings than he usually did. I guess the business
After our first date together, Eugene and I stopped acting and started conveying each others' feelings to one another. Soon we were on our third date. It was our final date before the wedding, which was today. Eugene came to me late the previous night that I had to be prepared for our last date today. I was curious what he meant by 'I had to be ready', but I just assumed that I had to get ready for it. So, when the time came for preparing, Mama only sent up my assistant to my room to get my things ready for me. Not only was it strange that only my assistant came and not the usual bunch of people to prepare me for the date, but the fact that my assistant only picked out some cute and sassy everyday clothes for me to wear. I gave her a sceptical look, but she only smiled at me and left my room and said I had to enjoy it with a wink before she lef