Chapter 5 You're Insane

"You're insane" Megan whispered under her breath with an incredulous look on her face.

Astor just kept looking at her without replying. She couldn't read him.

"I don't know you, Mr Thorne and..."

"Astor please."

"Mr Thorne." Megan said again, gritting her teeth together. "I don't know you well enough to call you by your first name and I sure as hell don't know you enough to marry you!"

Megan was getting agitated. She couldn't breathe. A lot of questions were running through her mind.

Was he a psychopath? Who asked a complete stranger to marry them? She couldn't believe this. Anna would have a field day when she found out about this.

"You haven't listened to my terms yet," Astor added.

"Your terms? Are you kidding?" Megan said taken aback. Her face started to get red with anger. "Just who do you think you are?"

Astor didn't say a word.

Megan was getting worked up. "Do you really think I'm like one of those women who would do whatever you asked? You're asking the wrong person pal."

Megan scooted away from him closer to the door. "I want to get off right now. I can find my way home."

"That's not going to happen," Astor said quietly.

Megan's heart dropped. He said it with so much confidence. Was he going to let her go? Even worse... was he going to kidnap her if she didn't agree to marry him?

She was stunned and couldn't speak.

"I'll take you home. I can see that you still need some time to wrap your head around this. I'll give you time to reconsider. But you only have a week."

"A week..?" Megan said shaking her head look befuddled. That was it. She was convinced he was crazy.

And he spoke like he was so sure of himself. His confidence grated on her nerves. Like he expected her to just agree to be his wife.

"You're crazy," Megan said, letting her thoughts out. "You're one of those crazy rich people aren't you?"

She spotted the driver stifling a laugh.

" I don't mean to point out the obvious but we could both benefit from this arrangement."

"How?..." Megan said, shaking her head in confusion.

"I can reward you handsomely for your services. All I need is a wife for a certain period of time.."

"What period of time?" Megan said, interrupting him. She didn't even know why she was asking. It wasn't like she was going to consider his offer. She was just curious.

"18 months"

"Can I ask why you need a wife right now?"

"I can't tell you that until you're actually considering this. It's confidential. But I promise that I have no untoward intentions towards you."

"And what do you mean you can reward me handsomely? I don't want or need your money."

"I disagree," Astor said, looking straight into her face.

Megan gasped. Did he know about her financial struggles? How could he know?

She began to panic.

"Wha..wha..what do you mean?" Megan stammered.

"I know about your mother Megan."

Megan's eyes grew round with shock. She turned around and frantically began to try opening her door even though the car was still moving.

But to her dismay, the door was locked.

"What do you think you're doing?" Astor asked, sounding amused.

"Let me out of here! Have you been stalking me? How can you know about my mother?!" Megan said with a panic.

She looked towards the driver with pleading eyes. "Please let me out of here!" But he didn't respond and just kept his eyes on the road.

"You're being too dramatic right now," Astor said, looking unfazed by her reaction. It was almost as though he had expected it.

"Please... just let me go." Megan pleaded. She didn't feel comfortable around someone she knew nothing about but apparently knew so much about her.

Astor just looked at her with his unreadable blue eyes. "You have a week. You have my card so you can reach me when you change your mind."

"You mean if I change my mind."

"Sure."

"I can tell you my answer right now. I don't have to think about it." Megan said with an air of confidence.

"The answer's no."

Astor didn't say another word. It was as though he was sure she was going to change her mind eventually.

Megan sighed and turned towards her window. He obviously wasn't a man of too many words.

The car finally pulled up in front of her house.

The very expensive-looking car looked so out of place in this low-class neighbourhood.

How he knew her address was another mystery to her. But she didn't even want to ask about that. She just wanted to leave.

As soon as the car stopped, she let herself out as the doors weren't locked anymore.

"Don't forget. You have a week." Astor said as she got out.

Megan just looked at him with wide eyes and turned away.

"Egotistical jerk." She muttered under her breath.

As she walked towards her door, she glanced back and saw him looking straight at her.

His gaze made her feel uneasy. But in a good way. She couldn't explain it.

She could feel his stare as she walked to the door and it made her self-conscious. It didn't help that she was already self-conscious about her body.

She quickly got into the house and shut the door behind her. She glanced out at the road through the window next to the door and saw Astor's car finally pulling away.

She breathed a sigh of relief and turned towards the kitchen.

The broken glass from yesterday was still on the floor. She stared at it for a few seconds, remembering the events of the day before.

She had never felt so helpless before, with her deathly pale-looking mother on the floor.

Megan shook her head, bringing herself back to the present and reached for a broom and dustpan.

She swept up the glass and dumped it.

She sighed and went up to her room. The house was so unusually quiet.

She headed inside her room and dropped face down on her bed.

So many thoughts began to come to her. With all that she faced, would it be so bad if she agreed to the marriage Astor offered? It would only be for a while anyway.

She huffed in exasperation. It was crazy to even consider that.

She rolled over and stared at the ceiling. She decided she wasn't going to consider it anymore.

She got up and headed into the shower. She needed one.

She packed her hair into a bun and stopped as she walked past the bathroom mirror. She saw an exhausted-looking version of herself staring back at her.

Her eyes started to burn with tears building up.

She slid down to the bathroom floor and began to sob openly. This whole situation was getting to her. And she had no one to turn to.

From her mother's medical bills to their house which was about to be repossessed....

She felt so helpless.

After her sobs finally waned after a few minutes, she stood up and took her shower.

She just went through the motions, drying herself up and getting dressed.

She planned to spend the night at the hospital with her mother.

She finished preparing and headed out to seek a cab that would take her to the hospital.

She got a cab and got in.

"Chicago General please." She said to the cab driver.

He nodded and began to drive.

She noticed that he kept glancing at her through his driving mirror.

She was sure she looked like a mess right now. She sighed and turned towards the window.

They got to the hospital in no time and after paying the cab driver, she headed into the hospital.

She felt tired to her bones. Physically and emotionally.

As she headed to her mother's hospital room, she could hear a ruckus coming from that direction.

There were increased sounds of a patient monitor and people saying medical terms she couldn't understand.

She began to panic. The noise was coming from her mother's room.

She ran into the room to see a doctor and some nurses trying to resuscitate her mother. Her heart dropped and she began to feel lightheaded.

The patient monitor was blaring loudly. And the doctor was using defibrillators to bring her mother back. Her heart had probably stopped again.

As she searched around the room, she spotted Lacey in the corner of the room staring with wide eyes, looking terrified. She hadn't even noticed Megan come in.

As Megan took in what was happening in the room, tears began to build up in her eyes. Her mother was going to die if she didn't act soon.

She knew what she had to do.