Chapter 4 A very bad day's beginning

I'm truly fascinated by myself for some reason after staring at my reflection in the mirror. I've never been one to boast about my appearance or give myself compliments, but at that moment, I couldn't help but be in awe of my own beauty. I chose not to wear as much makeup as I had the last time I saw him, and I wore a royal blue long sleeve square neck minidress that highlighted my curves. My hair was also pulled back neatly to avoid unintentionally hiding any of my facial characteristics.

I know it sounds strange that I would spend so much time and energy trying to look attractive to a man I don't even like, but Stephen Ericson was a really attractive man, and I couldn't afford to fall short of his wonderful looks and allow myself to be frightened by him once more. Despite my erratic anxieties, I declined to take any calming medication so I wouldn't have to rely on them all night since I was quite anxious about what may happen later today. I was deep in thinking about what may happen at dinner tonight when there came a knock on my bedroom door. That's when I realized what was up. "Who is it?" In case the person turned out to be my dad, I wanted to make sure before asking. I was certain it couldn't be my mother because she would never be considerate enough to knock before entering rather than just walking right in like she usually does. If it was my father, I would tell him to get as far away from me as possible because I don't have anything at all to say to him yet."I was a little shocked to hear that Stephen had brought a driver here, but I apologized for troubling you. Rosa, the head maid, said in her familiar voice, "Mr. Ericson's driver has arrived to pick you up." "Come in for a second Rosa," I said, and she followed my instructions right away. I said, "Where's my father?" I only chose to ask because I knew that seeing him would make me feel worse, so I wanted to avoid bumping into him on my way out. "Lady Amara, he's studying hard in his chamber. You can be sure Miss that you won't run into him on your way down if that's what's worrying you. I rolled my eyes inwardly as Rosa told me, "He's very much aware that you do not want to see him and he told me to let you know that he intends to respect your decision." Even though I was grateful that he knew enough to avoid me, as is the correct thing to do, I still detested the fact that he didn't even try to speak with me or reassure me that everything would be well. He did nothing to sway my thinking, only assuming that I didn't want to talk to him. "I appreciate you informing me, Rosa. I said, 'You may go now, and please tell Mr. Ericson's driver that I'll be down in a few minutes.' She gave me a little bow, turned to go, and then abruptly stopped. I gave her a little smile of thanks and watched her leave the room. "By the way, Miss Delgado, you look absolutely stunning today," she said. I was getting ready for bed, having just put on my makeup. I was initially relieved to be seeing people I didn't want to see, especially my parents, but I wasn't happy when I saw my mother approaching me and, to make matters worse, she was grinning inconveniently. "Oh my gosh, my love, you look so beautiful! She complemented me, glancing over my entire body. "There's absolutely no way Stephen wouldn't fall for you, especially not when you're looking this breathtaking." I truly wanted to roll my eyes at her, but at this point, I was pretty well accustomed to her stupidity and nothing she said warranted an eye roll. We're not quite the ideal representation of a mother and daughter relationship, my mom and I. We don't really communicate much unless it's necessary, therefore we weren't very close. Despite this, I don't really have any problems with our relationship because I liked it that way. Please understand that I love and care about my mother and have nothing against her, but I was never able to connect with her personality or way of thinking. Mom was quite materialistic, with her social standing being the focal point of everything around her. She was really fixated on appearing flawless to the public, and she never tolerated errors or imperfections of any type. She genuinely grew up believing that she was superior than everyone else and that a person's importance exclusively depended on their social standing because she was born and raised in an affluent home. She even openly acknowledged that the main reason she married her father was because of his prosperity, saying that she never would have considered being with him otherwise. "Thank you, mother," I said, ignoring the fact that she had implied that I seemed attractive in an attempt to win Stephen over. To be honest, I dressed up to appear nice, but not so that I would impress him, but rather so that I wouldn't feel small or scared by him. "May I inquire as to why you appear to be so uncomfortable? I find it hard to believe that she would genuinely ask such a simple question, yet you seem like you're about to cry any moment now. "Mother, you have a problem if you are unable to come up with an explanation for why I would appear this way. I really wasn't in the mood for her bullshit, so I told her, "I honestly don't have the time to start trying to explain myself to you." She wasn't entirely naive, I'm sure of it, but she probably doesn't care because she thought this marriage would benefit her more than hurt her. "Are you still depressed about having to wed Stephen, please? "Amara, are you serious?" she questioned. How are you still fixated on it, Sweetie? Have you not met the guy yet? Does he have an unattractive appearance for a potential spouse? Imagine yourself the fortunate lady who gets to refer to herself as this ideal man's wife. He is not only attractive and wealthy, but he also has a lot of power. This man is a millionaire because he basically owns half of the properties in Las Vegas and is involved in so many other enterprises worldwide. She continued, "How can you not be thrilled about marrying him? If I hadn't fully anticipated her to say something along these lines, I would have been shocked by her remarks. "You are such an amazing mother, and I find it disgusting how narrow-minded you are. You're telling me that simply because a man is wealthy, I should be pleased to get into a blind marriage with him? Really, mother? You know what, I'm glad I'm not like you because not everyone believes the same as you do. I understand very well that you are simply supporting this marriage so you can tell the world that your daughter is married to a millionaire, but trust me, mother, I will not provide you the gratification of getting your way in everything." "You're not permitted to be anywhere near me or Stephen Ericson after the wedding if I eventually have to marry him. When you can't even come near to me, let's see how you get to boast to your buddies. I snarled at her, and based on the expression on her face, I doubt she expected me to get all worked up over her. "I won't be surprised if you end up lying to them just to keep up with your useless appearance," I said. "My ineffective look? Well, mind you, young lady; the reason you were fortunate enough to grow up in such a distinguished family and never need anything is because of this worthless look, as you refer to him. I sneered at her defensively, "Your father and I maintained our esteemed reputation in order for us to prosper and to give you the life that you've had for all these years. The fact that you have the audacity to insult our efforts, just shows how ungrateful you are Amara." "Don't attempt to play that card against me, Mom. Both our family and our business were doing great. I have to marry Stephen Ericson because of you and your father's avarice, which is also the reason you've gone to such measures to maintain a false reputation. Mother, I don't have time to dispute with you. You know that. Please remember that you will never be a part of my life if and when I marry Stephen. You weren't really a part of it in the first place, so it shouldn't be too hard for you," I said, turning away from her before I even bothered to wait for her to answer.