In Just One Year (The Billionaire's Wife's Unconditional Love)

It was the middle of January and the whole Elora was covered in thick white snow. Few middle aged people with their children could be seen roaming on the streets while enjoying the soft white snowfall.

Celeste who was standing by the window, sighed looking at the scene in front of her. She wanted to go out and enjoy the snowfall but her grandma didn't allow her since they were expecting some important guests to come to their house that day.

"I don't think they will be coming today grandma. It's already been so late. Don't you think so?" She asked, turning towards the old woman who was leisurely sitting on the sofa with a patient look on her face. She kept the book she was reading aside and took off her thin glasses off her eyes. She wiped it with the corner of the thick brown sweater she was wearing before putting it on again.

"Don't worry. They will come." Brielle, the older woman and also Celeste's grandma replied while getting up from the sofa. She sighed looking at her impatient granddaughter. She was always like that even though she had grown up and turned into a wonderful lady.

"But I still couldn't understand why they would choose me as their son's bride? Did they know me from before?" Celeste asked in a soft voice looking towards her grandmother's direction. She was still in shock knowing that soon she was going to get married to some unknown guy. It was truly shocking for her fragile heart.

11 days ago a man and a woman dressed in elegant suits and dress came to their house and talked to her grandma regarding some stuff unknown to her. They asked her a few questions like how old she was, where and what she studied, her future plans etc etc. It kinda creeped her out but she managed to stay calm and answer all of their questions. That year she was going to turn into 24 years. She recently graduated with a degree in economics and was looking for a job while taking care of her old grandma. Her parents died when she was just a child, leaving her in all care of her grandparents. They were her mother's parents. She didn't know about her father's family as he was an orphan. Her parents met each other in their highschool days, fell in love and got married. She didn't have any memories of her parents. She was just four years old back then. Her grandfather died of heart disease a few years back and since then it's been only her and her grandma.

"Because Andrew loves his mother a lot so he would definitely fulfil her last wish. Your father had saved Rosemary's life once from an accident so she wanted to repay him in this life by taking care of his daughter. That's why she wished her older grandson to marry you and take care of you for the rest of your life. I do not have many days left to take care of you. So once I leave, I want someone I trust to take care of my darling." Brielle told her granddaughter in an emotional voice making Celeste a bit upset but was true though.

"Oh grandma! Don't say something like that. You are so strong and healthy that you will live at least 30 years more." Celeste said while hugging her grandma tightly. Brielle chuckled at her antics. All of sudden they heard a car honk from outside. They immediately understood it was the Rodriguezes.

______________________

______________

"This is your room dear. You will live here until the wedding day. You can rest now. We will meet again at the dinner table" Mrs. Rodriguez said while showing Celeste a big room which was twice as big as her previous one.

She nodded softly while Clarissa smiled before exiting the room. Celeste looked around the room closely. It was a luxurious room with a huge bed, a huge closet, an attached bathroom, a big screen TV and some other furniture. It turned out that Rodriguezes were really rich. She sighed before pulling her luggage aside and seating on the bed. The whole room was painted in white and purple giving it a warm colorful vibe.

Celeste freed her head from her ponytail and laid down on the bed on her back while her legs were hanging on edge of the bed.

In just a span of a few hours her whole life had changed completely. She was brought to Toronto from her beloved Elora to marry some unknown person. Though Elora was only 2 hours drive away from Toronto, she still felt it was too far. She didn't want to leave her grandmother alone. But it was her grandma who wanted her to marry and live safely for the rest of her life. She was raised as an obedient girl since her childhood. So she couldn't just argue with her grandma and say no. In the end she agreed meekly. She never went out of Elora. It was the first time for her to travel out of that small town of hers.

On the present day, when Mr and Mrs Rodriguez went to bring her here she didn't know about it until the last moment when her grandma told her to pack her luggage as she was to be married in 7 days to Liam Rodriguez.

She was a bit shocked. She knew she was going to get married but didn't expect it would be so soon. Both Mr and Mrs Rodriguez were good people so they comforted her like her own parents. She felt a bit relieved that they weren't snobby as other rich people. They were polite and warm. They didn't make her feel unwanted or low. She was sure they would treat her well.

But she didn't know her future husband. It scared her a bit. She didn't know if he was happy with this marriage or not. What if he didn't like her?

Sighing, she brushed her thoughts aside and got up to freshen up. It was already getting dark outside. She quickly took out some clothes and went to get changed in the attached bathroom.

_______________________

___________

"Are you feeling nervous dear." Clarissa asked Celeste with a sympathetic smile. She could understand her uneasiness. She too had an arranged marriage with her husband but they fell in love after being engaged to each other for almost a year. She knew Celeste wasn't habituated with that type of environment. Everything was new for her.

"A bit." Celeste replied with a soft smile on her face. She was wearing a soft green dress with a cardigan while her hair was left open. Clarissa shook her head at her with a soft smile of her own.

"It's normal. You will get used to it gradually. I also felt the same when I was getting married to Andrew. Everything was so new for me." Clarissa said with a smile while they walked through the hallway towards the dining room. Clarissa came personally to take Celeste so that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable or unwanted.

"Really?" Celeste asked, a bit shocked. She didn't expect Clarissa to have an arranged marriage with Andrew noticing how much they loved each other. It showed in their actions. Clarissa nodded.

"Yes. Don't worry Liam will take good care of you. Though my son is a workaholic and gets angry easily, he isn't overbearing." Clarissa said with a soft chuckle as they reached the dining room where everyone was seating.

Celeste again nodded nervously. She wasn't sure how to respond to this. Though she wanted to meet and know more about her future husband she didn't say it aloud fearing what others might think of her.

"Come-on dear, take a seat." Clarissa said to Celeste in a warm welcoming voice when she noticed Celeste was still standing at the entrance.

"Come Celeste. Sit beside me." Andrew said in a warm voice to the poor frightened girl. Celeste nodded with a smile and went to sit beside his left side. While Clarissa was on the right. Clarissa noticed there was also another pair of couples sitting beside each other opposite to her while stealing glances at her.

" Rafael, Amy. This is Celeste. Liam's fiance and Celeste, he's my younger son Rafael and his wife Amy." Andrew introduced them to each other.

"Hello." Celeste mumbled softly with a shy smile.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you, finally." Rafael said with a cute grin while Amy just gave her a polite nod.

"Same here." Celeste replied with a smile. She could tell Rafael was exactly like his mother with the same green eyes,blonde hair, and fair complexion. He was a good looking young man in his mid twenties while his wife Amy had Black eyes, black hair and fair skin. She looked more like Asian.

"Where is Liam? Why isn't he here yet? " Andrew asked, noticing Liam's absence which also caught Celeste's attention.

"He will be coming in a while. He just returned a few minutes ago, maybe getting freshened up." Clarissa replied while serving a few dishes to her husband. Two helpers were also helping to serve the dishes to everyone.

"Celeste, dear please have anything you like without any hesitation." Clarissa said turning towards Celeste when she noticed her hesitation.

Celeste nodded and picked up some food on her plate.

"Sorry. I'm late." A deep husky voice rang in the whole room making Celeste froze for a while. His presence felt so intimidating and powerful to her.

"Oh Liam. Come honey, have a seat." Clarissa said to her son warmly. Liam nodded and moved forward to take a seat beside an unknown girl whose identity he had already guessed. She was looking at her plate quietly, making him a bit curious about how she looked.

"Liam, this is Celeste. Your future wife and Celeste this is my elder son Liam." Clarissa introduced them. The part where Clarissa uttered your future wife sounded ridiculous to Celeste's own ears.

"Hello." Liam's deep voice reached her ears bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him for not to be rude and froze.

Oh My God!

So handsome!

Deep sharp smoky grey eyes with long lashes, a sharp nose, high cheekbones with small beards, thin plump lips. Black hair. He was the true definition of a runway model. When Celeste realised she was staring for too long without replying she averted her eyes.

"Uhm hi." She mumbled softly while looking at her plate. She could still feel his eyes on her. But she didn't dare to look up. She could feel her heart jumping irregularly. She was afraid that everyone else in the room could hear it.

"Liam, Take out some time for tomorrow and take Celeste to show around the city and also to get to know each other." Andrew proposed cleverly. He knew his son wouldn't disobey him.

"Okay. I will inform you when I'm free." Liam replied nonchalantly while picking up a few foods on his plates to eat. He didn't reject the idea instantly which made Celeste a bit relieved. At least he was polite which was a good sign.

"So Celeste, what did you do before?" Rafael, who was silent, asked Celeste to start a conversation while looking at her. She could feel Liam also looking at her waiting for her reply.

"I have just recently graduated from college with a degree in economics. I have applied in a few companies and am waiting for their answer. Before that I used to work in my grandma's gift shop in Elora." She replied softly with a smile. She was glad her voice didn't shake.

"That's nice. I have been to Elora a few times. It's a wonderful place." Rafael said with a smile. He already liked the beautiful soft spoken girl. She could indeed be a beautiful match for his brother.

"It is, with it's amazing culture and heritage, limestone architecture and mountains it always attacks a lot of tourists." Celeste replied happily. She always felt happy talking about her beloved hometown. It was so beautiful.

"Then we all could go one-day to visit it together as a family. What do you say?" Andrew declared with a smile. Everyone nodded happily.

"I'm done. So I will be heading out first as I have some pending works to be done. Good night" Liam said while getting up. Everyone nodded at him. Celeste could feel his eyes on her for a few seconds before he left eventually.

She sighed in relief!

___________________

Celeste kept tossing and turning around to sleep but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't fall asleep. Sighing, she kept looking at the white ceiling. She couldn't fathom this situation out no matter how hard she tried. Everything seemed like a blur for her. Just a few days ago she was in the gift shop with her grandma selling gifts and having fun with the tourists but then all of sudden she found herself lying on a bed in a house she never came before while waiting to be married she never knew before. How ironic!

How did it take such a turn?

She was afraid how these people would treat her after the marriage. She could tell her soon to be sister in law didn't like her much. One dinner with her she already figured it out by her expression. Also she couldn't understand why a handsome, rich and successful person like Liam Rodriguez would agree to marry a girl like her. She agreed she was a bit beautiful. Everyone in Elora praised her for her beautiful looks. Her grandmother told her she looked exactly like her father but she had her mother's dark brown hair and deep blue green eyes. She didn't have those models like figures nor she was rich; instead she had a small 5'5 feet tall slim build. She sometimes felt frustrated with how skinny she was. No matter how much she ate, that food would get her nowhere near some curves. Though she was grateful that her bones didn't show like a sick person. She didn't have fair complexion but golden complexion from the huge amount of time she spent outdoors. If it's not for looks, not for money then what?

Liam's grandmother also passed away a few months ago so they didn't have to stick to her wish. Maybe her grandma's words were true. Mr Rodriguez truly loved and respected his mother that's why he wanted to fulfill her last wish so eagerly by getting her married to his elder son.

After having a deep sigh Celeste brushed aside her thoughts and got up from the bed. She then decided to head over to the terrace for a while to get some fresh air. She didn't know the way to the terrace clearly but Clarissa had shown her when she gave her a little tour of the mansion.

She moved through the hallway and reached the staircase. She was careful not to wake anyone up. It was almost 11 in the night so everyone was already sleeping by then. The house wasn't completely dark but few dim lights were on making it easy for her to move around without making any kind of noises. She reached the entrance of the terrace in the meantime and heaved a sigh. She frowned when she noticed the door of the terrace was left open.

Weren't they afraid that some robbers might enter using it?

She got her answer when she entered the terrace area. Her eyes went wide when she noticed a tall figure was standing over near the railing. She didn't know how to react when she realised someone else was also present beside her and that person was smoking with their back on her. Maybe that person had noticed her presence too so he turned around and looked at her. For a moment Celeste had thought she should leave before that person noticed her presence but it didn't happen.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know someone was here. Ummm, I just came here for fresh air but I will just leave you here. Don't mind me" She said hurriedly in a panicked voice and turned to leave. She couldn't see who it was because of darkness.

"No problem. You can stay here." Came a deep masculine voice from behind her. She instantly recognized it as Liam's. She didn't know why all of sudden her heart started to beat so fast. With nervousness flowing inside her she turned around. At that moment she could see his face a bit clearly under the dim light of the terrace. She moved quietly where he was standing. She could feel his eyes on her looking at her every step closely. It made her more nervous. She also noticed he had already thrown the cigarette he was smoking. It made her a bit relieved as she couldn't stand the smell of cigarettes. It made her nauseous.

"Couldn't sleep?" Liam asked in the deep domineering voice making her a bit intimidated. She stood stiffly beside him and shook her head in negative.

" Uhm No. I am just not used to sleeping without my Grandma." She replied in a low soft voice while looking down on the floor. She could feel his eyes boring hole into her.

"You still sleep with your grandma?" He asked if his tone was somewhat amused. So she looked up to look at him. As she predicted he had one of his brows raised perfectly with an amused expression.

"Yes. It's a habit since my grandpa died." She half lied. She couldn't just tell him she was afraid of darkness and got nightmares frequently. He was practically still a stranger to her.

"Oh I see." He mumbled and turned around to face the railing. He rested his hands on the railing while lowering his height a bit. Celeste also turned around following his action. It was a bit cold outside. She still felt a bit cold even when she was wearing warm clothes. She rubbed her hands to keep it warm. Then she looked at him and noticed he was hearing a thick black hoodie with some sweatpants. The atmosphere fell into an awkward silence. None of them knew what to say next. Celeste wanted to ask him a few questions but she couldn't understand how to say it first. After debating with herself for a few moments she decided to ask him.

"Why did you agree to marry me?