Chapter 4 Four

SHAUN 'S POV

I watched the crowd gasp in surprise as I motioned for my so-called fiancé, Isabella Reed, to move forward. Many of them were surely surprised at the turnout of things. They probably wondered if I had picked the wrong sister instead.

A lot is expected from Shaun Whiltmore as the only surviving heir to the Whitmore Empire. My parents died in a car crash when I was age 12, and since then, my grandfather has pretty much raised me. My grandfather, a strict and principled man, had raised me on his own understanding. I have been taught to be ruthless from a young age, to never show emotions, and most importantly, to never trust anyone, which is exactly why I am stuck in this marriage with Isabella Reed.

The night we met came rushing back to me without warning - I didn't expect to see her again after recognizing her the morning after our one-night stand. Her naked body had been pressed into mine that dawn and her warmth heated my cold body. I had pulled her closer, wanting to savor every warmth she could offer. She had completed me in a way that night and I longed for more intimate moments with her.

I had switched on the bedside lamp, wanting to use the bathroom when the dim yellow light had illuminated her face. I froze; I had taken in the sight of her oval-shaped face with a straight button nose and her plump cherry lips when I realized who she was.

How could I not know Isabella Reed, the rumored illegitimate daughter of her father? I could never miss her face, with her always hanging around her father. She was his assistant and only a few people like me recognized her and knew she was the illegitimate daughter.

I never paid much attention to her; her face would have distracted me in a few encounters, but I had vowed not to love anyone in my life. But now she was in my bed, I couldn't take it. It's best I believed she didn't recognize me that night. I pulled out of the bed quietly, detaching her hands from my body gently; her touch left what felt like an electric shock through my body. I ignored her and crawled off the bed at dawn.

A week had passed, and I had tried to push away every thought of her, but still the night we had lingered.

My phone buzzed. I didn't need to check it before I knew who it was.

Grandfather, the only one who could call me at dawn and get away with it.

I picked up the call anchoring the phone to my ear, "Good morning, sir."

"Come and see me today, we have something important to discuss." He cut the call. He didn't wait to hear my thoughts on what he said. His words were simply an order.

By the time I got to the family house, it was morning already; the sun warmed softly against my body as I pulled into my family's mansion. The mansion was quieter than usual, perhaps because it had been a while since I had visited. I walked through the walls of the old Victorian mansion, each step taking me back in time to my childhood there. It had been haunting and blissful, a collision of happiness and bitterness I couldn't quite explain.

I found my grandfather in his study. This was the only place he could be this early in the morning. He was sitting upright at the back of his old mahogany desk, fumbling with a file in his right hand and a cup of coffee on the left. My grandfather, Theodore Whitmore, one of the richest businessmen in the world, is a very disciplined man; I have to put on a show for him not to see through me.

I raised my shoulder in an attempt to camouflage the weakness he had always seen through. The room smelled like dust and old books. Without casting me a glance, he set the cup on the table.

"Sit." His voice thundered; I sat quietly in his front as he slammed the files in his hand in my front with a low thud, slicing through the silence.

"The file contains all you need to know about the Reed daughters, you will be getting married to one of them."

My heart skipped a beat, marriage to either one of the Reed daughters! It had to be a joke.

"The illegitimate one looks like the better choice; she is hard-working and knows her way around her family's business, and she is the oldest, which makes her the heir while the other one, well..."

Grandfather paused as if waiting for my reply. "It's your choice though," he says, like he didn't just enforce his orders on me. I flipped through the file hoping not to see the image in my head.

It was her, the woman I had left tangled in the sheets this morning, the one whom my hands had traced every curve of her body. I swallowed hard. This has to be a trap.

Grandfather doesn't just make decisions like that. He had mentioned getting married to the younger sister, but now he suddenly switched to the elderly sister Isabella. It's suspicious.

It couldn't be that she had planned this from the beginning and ratted me out to my grandfather. I clenched my fist, looking at everything in the with the corner of my eyes besides my grandfather.

I have no doubt Isabella had told him something.

"I am fine with your choice, grandfather, you always know what is best for me."

Camilla's voice brought me back to the present; Isabella's face was scrunched up in confusion as she walked slowly into the spotlight.

"Mum, tell me this is a mistake", Camilla's voice rises suddenly, loud enough for me and the people around them to hear. "Tell me, this was a mistake."

I ignored them as Isabella finally met me by my side, stunned. I wonder why her face was like that every time she had planned all this. She looked breathtaking in the dress she was wearing. It hugged her like a second skin, highlighting the curves my fingers once traced. The slit exposing her tanned legs didn't even help matters.

I swallowed hard as I closed the distance between us. My palm automatically cupped her face, and my eyes settled on her lips. I leaned in for a kiss; my mouth captured hers, and it felt like heaven. I savored every bit of the kiss as I tugged gently on her lower lips. She didn't respond, her hands remained at her sides in shock.

I pulled back and watched their struggle to breathe; I wrapped my hands around her waist, giving her a fake smile while she shuddered in my contact.

We didn't say anything as I closed the gap between us when the Reed family appeared in front.

"I assure you this is not the daughter you think you should be getting married to." Mrs. Reed spat every word dripping in venom.

"Why so?"

"She doesn't represent us; She is an embarrassment to our family and will also be an embarrassment to you. She isn't even legal-"

Camilla didn't let her mother finish. "You must think you are special, you bitch. You are still an accident. The one our father couldn't hide."

"Yet I am the chosen one," Isabella replied.

Her body trembled under my hold; my heart broke for her. Is this all she had to endure all these years? Is this how she was treated in her so-called home?

I pulled her closer.

"She may not represent you, but from now on she represents me. You call her an embarrassment, but she is a strength."

I paused, waiting for them to cut me short.

"She is mine now, and I care about her and that's all that matters whether you like it or not."

They gasped. Mrs. Reed turned to her husband. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

He avoided eye contact with her and stretched his hands for a handshake. I ignored him. " Congratulations, I trust you will treat her right," he said. I could read through his pretense and callose eyes.

"I will. She moves in with me today, and we will be getting married in two weeks, so you will have time to adjust to your attitudes."

I felt her stiffness. I could feel her boring holes in my head.

"The party's over. Thanks for coming," I said coolly, pulling her gently with me.