Chapter 4 The Performance Begins

The front doors of the Ferdinand's second mansion opened wide and Brielle stepped inside with a brown roller suitcase in her hand. She felt nervous.

The house was beautiful, clean, white walls with gold touches, wide glass windows that showed the ocean view, and long quiet halls that somehow felt like they echoed too loud.

She hated it already.

A butler in a navy suit took her bag. "Welcome Miss Marcel, your room is ready, first door on the left upstairs. Mr. Ferdinand arrived this morning."

Yeah...of course he did.

Her parents had insisted she stay at the Ferdinand's two weeks before the wedding. Something they say that meant tradition, togetherness, and giving the media "wholesome" pictures. She didn't care about any of it, but she also knew what was at stake.

She made her way up the stairs, her footsteps light and slow, she passed Thomas coming out of the study.

"Oh...great," he muttered when he saw her. "Hello future wife...sounds funny right?"

Brielle rolled her eyes

"You better don't flatter yourself," she replied, brushing past him.

He turned and followed her. "Just so you know, I'm not doing any breakfast chats or morning walks on the beach and what–many–ever"

"Thank goodness! I don't like sand in my shoes."

They reached their door side by side, she opened hers quickly and slammed it shut behind her.

The room was huge, all painted with cream color, with navy blue bedding and soft lamps by the bed. Everything smelt clean, elegant, and cold, she dropped on the bed with a sigh.

Her phone buzzed, it was a message from her dad.

"Let me know what you think about the wedding dress options sent to your email.

She didn't reply.

Instead, she opened the email, attached were six options for wedding gowns, all elegant, expensive, and way too much for someone who doesn't even want to say "I do."

Thomas poured himself a drink and stared out the window, his father had already told him about the press arriving tomorrow to take pictures of him and Brielle together on the yacht. They wouldn't be sailing just yet, it was just for a few "cute" pre-wedding pictures.

He disliked the whole idea, it felt unnecessary. But then he remembered his business expansion rights sitting on the edge of approval, his name on the proposal meant absolute nothing without the right people pushing it through and those people, loved a good story.

Later that evening, the two families gathered in the dinning room for dinner. Long table, too much food, and forced smiles.

"I hope the room's comfortable," Marianne said to Brielle.

"It's fine," she replied.

Thomas sat beside her, arms crossed.

Marianne kept the smile on. "You two will be spending more time together now. It'll help you... bond."

"Bond?" Thomas echoed. "Sure."

Gerald chuckled. "You'll get thank us later on."

Brielle looked across the table. "You keep saying that for goodness sake."

"Yes dear, and we mean it," Lawrence added. "Look, I know this isn't easy but everything you both want in life is gradually lining up."

Brielle gave him a flat look. "I thought you said we had a choice."

"You do," her mother jumped in quickly. "But wouldn't it be nice to walk into your future with every door already open?"

Brielle snorted and continued eating in silence.

After dinner, she went for a walk along the edge of the backyard, which overlooked the marina. The breeze was soft, the lights from the docked boats shimmered on the water. For a second, she closed her eyes and let herself imagine that the engagement wasn't a forced one, that she and Thomas had met at a coffee shop or on some sunny trip, that they had fallen in love slowly, with small, real smiles and big promises.

But that definitely wasn't the story.

Thomas joined her without asking.

"why do you always take a walk after dinner?" he asked.

"I always leave when the atmosphere start to feels fake and sickening."

He nodded. "Hmmm...same."

They walked quietly for a moment, the silence surprisingly not so awkward this time.

"You think this will work?" she asked.

"The wedding?"

"This whole thing."

"I think it'll look good," he said. "For our families. For the press."

"That's not what I asked."

Thomas glanced at her. "Nah.... I don't believe in love, so I don't think this will be romantic, but I think we will both get what we want in the end."

She nodded. "Yeah...we're just using each other"

"Pretty much."

"At least you're being honest."

The wind picked up, Brielle hugged her arms.

Thomas hesitated, then removed his jacket and handed it to her. "You look cold."

She looked at it, then at him.

"What?" he said. "I'm marrying you, can't I give you a jacket?"

She took it without a word and went back inside.

Her phone buzzed, it was Hayden. "I saw your engagement photo, guess it's real now. Just wanted to say good luck."

She typed back. "I never meant to hurt you."

He didn't reply.

The next morning, Brielle woke up to someone knocking on her door.

"Miss Marcel," a maid called. "Makeup team is here."

Brielle groaned and sat up. "Makeup team?"

She opened the door and saw a team of three women with makeup kits and hair tools already unpacking.

Behind them, Marianne appeared with a smile. "Photo shoot dear, remember? Yacht pictures for the press. Matching outfits and smilely faces."

Brielle reluctantly dragged herself to the shower.

Few hours later, she stood beside Thomas on the Ferdinand family yacht, dressed in a yellow sundress with soft curls framing her face.

He was in a white linen shirt and yellow slacks, looking bored as usual.

The photographer clapped. "Stand closer, please, smile. Look at each other."

Brielle forced a smile and placed her arm through Thomas's.

He leaned in. "You're such a great actressñ" he whispered with sarcasm.

"Smile wider," she whispered back. "Just pretend I don't make your skin crawl."

He chuckled. "You don't."

She blinked up at him.

He shrugged. "You definitely annoy me, but you don't make my skin crawl."

"Oh, whatever" she thought.

After the shoot, as they were walking back to the house, a reporter managed to sneak in.

"Thomas! Brielle! Quick question!" she shouted. "Is this wedding truly for love, or is it a business arrangement?"

Thomas didn't stop moving but Brielle did.

She turned back and smiled. "who knows?"