Chapter 3 3.

"The day whizzed past, and I found myself caught in a predicament - should I return home after school to confront whatever my father had in store for me or choose to delay and face his ire later? His stern tone and forceful voice reverberated in my mind, sending shivers down my spine. Choosing the former, I decided to go home straight after school. Yet, that decision did not deter me from taking my time. Anna concurred to accompany me home from school for the day, since Mark was occupied with practice.

En route, we indulged in our favorite iced coffees from our usual coffee shop, admired the dresses on display in the boutique windows, until we found ourselves at the of my apartment building. After a reluctant goodbye to Anna, I stepped inside, share the usual niceties with Kent, and boarded the elevator.

The lift journey seemed shorter than usual and my heart pounded, challenging the confines of my chest. As the elevator doors opened, revealing my apartment and my father waiting mere feet away, I could feel the trepidation build within me. He looked visibly annoyed, likely due to being 20 minutes later than usual. Yet, he refrained from passing any comment as I entered. My mother stepped into the room shortly after, adding to peculiarity of the situation. It was unusual to see both my parents home at this hour. Alternating my gaze between both my parents who were dressed in their everyday attire yet seemed oddly fancier. As I heard my father clear his throat, my heart sank a bit lower."

The Arthurs are coming over in an hour to discuss the marriage. Go get changed out of your uniform, and please, wear something respectable," his voice was sharp and strong, and I fought back tears as I nodded and walked to my room. Andrew Arthur was coming here, in one hour, my future husband. I can't do this right now. I can't meet him. I need to leave.

I picked up my phone and dialed Anna's number and told her what I had just heard. Tears were flowing down my face now. I was so scared. She comforted me and told me that she would meet me outside my apartment in half an hour, and we could go somewhere together. "Dress hot," she stated bluntly before hanging up.

I couldn't believe this was happening. I changed out of my uniform into a white off-the-shoulder Valentino dress I had bought from Bergdorf Goodman last week. It complemented my body shape and brought out my tanned skin. I slipped on some nude heels and went to the bathroom. I assumed we would go to the trendy clubs all our friends had been talking about, so I fixed mascara and put on a little makeup and checked the clock. It had been nearly half an hour, and I needed to hurry. I slowly and carefully walked toward the elevator, trying not to bang my heels against the floor too loudly and get caught. I reached the elevator, and the door closed. My heart raced.

As the elevator door opened, I grabbed my phone to check if Anna was here. I swiftly walked out of the elevator and bumped into something rock hard. I slowly looked up as I apologized. It was him. I could feel his rock-hard abs against my body, and he must have been the most handsome man I had ever seen. I had seen all the pictures, but seeing him in real life took my breath away. I stood there, shocked and scared. I looked to my left and saw his father; they were early. "Can you... move?" his eyes sent daggers at me, and my head swirled.

He hadn't recognized me! "Yes, I'm so sorry," I apologized once again and swiftly moved out of his way, trying to make a clean break from the building. "Leaving so soon, Miss Jack?" Kent asked. I shuddered. Andrew and his father must have heard it. I heard mumbling behind me as I ran out without responding and grabbed Anna.

She questioned me as we ran, but before I could answer, I felt hands wrap around my waist and stop me. He flipped me around to face him; it was Kent. "Kent, what are you doing? Let go of me!" I was basically shouting, and people on the other side of the sidewalk stopped and stared. Anna stood behind me, frozen. "I'm sorry, Miss Jack. I was asked by the Arthurs to get you." My heart sank even deeper. He held my wrist lightly as I followed him back into the building. Andrew and his father were nowhere to be seen in the lobby as Kent brought me to the elevator. I stepped inside, accepting my defeat, and once again pressed the button for the top floor.

As the elevator doors opened, I couldn't help but feel like escaping this marriage was not an option anymore. As I walked into my penthouse, I was met by my mother and father, who looked furious and embarrassed, and the two men I had bumped into before. I walked in with my head down before I heard a familiar voice speak up. "So glad you decided to show up." I looked up to see Andrew smirking with intense anger in his eyes. Fear seeped into my head as I realized he was the man I was going to marry.

I smiled lightly, not showing my teeth, and walked over with grace and fake confidence to join the rest of them sitting around the kitchen counter. Unfortunately, the last seat left was across the table from Andrew, which permitted him to stare at me with fire and rage the entire time our parents spoke, again sending sudden terror and fear into me. Andrew would chime in every so often with maturity and strength, yet it still felt like his eyes never left me.

Around 45 dreary minutes later, his father announced that he had an urgent meeting to attend and would be leaving. My parents thought it best to accompany him down the elevator, but I knew they just wanted to leave me, all by myself, with Andrew. He walked over to me with the same fire and rage in his bright blue eyes. He stood close to me, and the intimidation and fear got to me, letting just one tear slip out of my eye and roll down my face.

He stepped closer and lifted his hand toward my face; panic crept into me. "You embarrassed me deeply today," he said with agitation and a slight smirk as he gently wiped the tear off my face with his thumb, sending shivers down my spine. "You will never do that again." His voice was void of humor, and strangely enough, while his eyes seemed to penetrate straight through me, it wasn't threatening. For what felt like the millionth time since I laid eyes on him, I felt shivers fall upon me as he turned around and walked into the elevator that was already open and waiting for him. I didn't even notice him press the button, but as the door closed, I felt more tears slide down my face and watched as the elevator doors closed and the man whom both I feared and would marry disappeared inside.