Married to the billionaire badboy

Maria's Pov~

"Dad, what do you mean you want me to marry Rafael Santino?

"You have to listen to what I'm saying,my princess" Dad said

"Listen to the fact you want to sell me off just to save your own reputation" I retorted angrily.

"Why would I wake up.one morning and decide to sell my child?" he replied.

"Twenty years ago when your mother was ill, I borrowed some money from Mr Dante Santino and now he wants you as a replacement for my debts" he explained

I was speechless,why would Mr Dante want me as a replacement for my father's debt or was it because he needed someone to take his ruthless son.I looked at my father and saw how sadness etched his face. I knew that if he had the money he would have paid off the debts since.

I don't really blame him for being worried, the Santino's are known to be ruthless. Anyone who refuses their orders always ends up in a bad way.

I know the only way out of this mess was to agree to marry Rafael Santino, the only child of Dante and Alice Santino.

If only mom was alive we wouldn't be in this situation now. I lost my mom to breast cancer at the age of five (5), it's been pretty much me and dad ever since. And as a single dad I can pretty much say he has raised me well.

A year ago I graduated from college and haven't found a job yet. Though I work part time at a restaurant close to our house.

My best friend Estella also works with me.We have known each other since middle school and I'm grateful for someone like her.

"Dad, did he give you an ultimatum for me to agree to this?"I asked.

"No, he just said we should be ready for when he sends for us" dad replied.

"I really need some time to think over this dad" I said

"No problem my princess, I understand how you feel right now" he replied and left

I went into to my room. My room is very plain prefers because that's how my life has always been. I'm not really a fan of colour hence why I prefer my room to be painted black and most of the items I have are mostly black, white of brown in colour.

I sat on my bed as I pondered with my thoughts running through my mind.Marrying a stranger to save my father seems like a right thing for me to do but then again what of my own feelings.

I decide to take a shower to cool my brain so I would think of situation I am in later.

Rafeal's pov~

"What do you mean you found a wife for me?" I asked dad highly confused

I was at the balcony when my dad came to inform me of an arranged marriage he intended for me.

"Yes, I found a wife for you and mind your tongue near me young man, you seen to forget that I can revoke your inheritance anytime I feel like" dad replied

I groaned in frustration and paced around as I thought of what to say to change his mind.

"But dad you know I'm not ready for marriage yet, I need to take over the business before I can settle down" I said.

"This wedding will guarantee you inheriting the company from me but you do not seem interested. I suppose i can give it to someone else" he said

"No, father I will do as you wish, just tell me when and where" I replied with desperation in my voice

"Good, I will send you further details till then you are dismissed call your mother for me on your way out, we need to start planning the wedding" he said with a firm voice

I left him and went into the house as I thought of how I would explain this to my girlfriend Leticia.

I walked into my lavishly furnished room and laid on my bed staring at the ceiling in despair. My father threatening me with my inheritance doesn't come as a surprise to me cause this isn't the first time he has.

Most of my life has been controlled by him trying to mold me into the perfect son and even though I have tried everything to be a perfect son to him I'm just a failure.

I lost my Mom at the age of 14 and my dad remarried 1 year later. I felt so sad because he even mourn her for a long time. My stepmom Alice Smith now know as Mrs Alice Santino was a former beauty queen. I sometimes wonder why she married my dad who was older than her by 10 years gap. But that isn't my problem now.

My problem is how I would explain to my girlfriend Leticia about the fact I'm getting married soon to someone else all because of my father. I took my phone and dialed her number. She picked up almost immediately.

"Hey baby,I have missed you. Do you want to come over so we could have some fun she said seductively.

I wanted to say I would come over, so i could tell her to face about what my father has in store for me but I didn't want to look into her eyes before I broke her heart..so instead I said.

"Emm I'm not sure I can babe, I have something to tell you" I said then proceeded to tell her about the situation im in and the discussion I had with my father.

After I was done speaking I waited for her to say something. After a painfullly long silence she said

"Why can't you fight for our love, you want to leave me and do as your father said just because of your inheritance?"

"No babe, you don't understand even though I refuse to do as he said he would disown me please try and understand, I proywe would still be together just wait for me" I replied

"Would you still be visiting me even though you get married and what if you fall in love with her"

"Of course I will be visiting you and I wouldn't fall in love with her, you on your the only one I love" I said.

"Ok baby I trust you no bitch is going to come between us. I love you baby"

" I love you too babe and good night, talk to you tomorrow" I said heaving a sigh of relief because it actually went better than I could imagine.

I slept off thinking and dreading of the arranged marriage that was to come.

Maria's pov~

It was my wedding day and it felt strange because I never in my wild imaginations thought I would be marrying Rafael Santino!!.

"What's with that long look?" my best friend Estella asked, bringing me out of the raging thoughts in my head.

We were in my room and she was helping me get ready for the wedding. I wonder what I would have done without her here.

"I don't think he is a nice person, haven't you heard all the rumors about him?" I asked her

"But nevertheless you have to do this for your father's sake , you wouldn't want him to end up behind bars now would you? She said, and truly she was right. I needed to go through this wedding no matter what.

"Are you girls ready?" My dad asked as he walked into my room.

"You look so beautiful," he said, looking at me with glisty eyes.

*Thanks Dad"I said and walked to my mirror to actually check out how I looked in my wedding dress.

I chose the dress myself. It was a simple but beautiful sleeveless wedding gown with spaghetti straps and it had a mermaid shape which brought out my shape nicely.

I actually did look good but sad at the same time because I had a nice dress but wasn't getting married to someone nice.

I straightened myself up and said to my dad and Estella.

"We better get going, we don't want to keep the Santino's waiting"

Estella help me to grab my bouquet and some other stuffs as we walked to the car

I sat at the back with Estella as Dad entered the driver's seat and drove off to the wedding venue.

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As we got there what struck me first was how wealthy the Santino's were, I mean I knew they had money but I didn't know it was this much. Just by looking at the decorations you would know that they spent a lot of money on it.

I looked around hoping to catch a glimpse of the groom. I stopped checking for him cause I realized that even if I see him, I wouldn't know him.We were ushered into a private room to stay before the wedding ceremony starts. Dad left to go and look for Mr Dante Santino so it was just me and Estella.

"Damn girl, you're going to be rich," Estella said.

"This isn't funny Estella. I really don't want to have this marriage. I don't care about how much wealth they have" I replied

"I understand you though marrying someone you doesn't even know you might be scaring"

"You finally get the point then" I said to her. I was about to say something else but then a maid came in to call us.

"Hi, my name is Ella and I'm one of the maids working for Santino's. I was sent to call you in as it is time for the wedding ceremony to commence"She said

speaking so hastily.

"Ok, thank you Ella, we will be coming right behind you" I told her

This was it. The moment I have been dreading to come but now I have to face it full on.With a deep sigh, I stood with Estella behind and proceeded out of the private room to the wedding hall.

Rafeal's pov~

I really can't believe I'm getting married to a girl I had never met and hardly know a thing about her just because of my father's instructions.

I was dressed up already in her black and white tux with gleaming black shoes to match and my best man, who was also my best friend Gabriel was beside me.We were standing at the altar and waiting for the bride to walk in.

"Cheer up,man I know you really hate this but at least have to look as if you don't for the paparazzi" he said.

"Why should I be happy when my father is literally forcing a marriage upon me just for his selfish benefits" I replied infuriated

The thought that it was Leticia was meant to be with me on a day like that hurts me even more. I swore to her that I won't show any type of emotion or care towards the bride.

"The bride is finally here" the priest announced, making me look up as I saw the woman I was about to be married to walking down the aisle. Her footsteps were slow and majestic and her gown looked very lovely.

Wait, what is wrong with me? I shouldn't care about her or what she's wearing". I said in my mind and proceeded to keep a blank face as she finally reached the altar.

I couldn't get a look of her face because it was veiled. But I noticed that her face was bent down. She wasn't looking at anyone but staring at the floor.

The priest began the ceremony and my mind wasn't even listening to what he was saying.I was thinking about who this mystery girl was and why I had to marry her.Then I felt a nudge and I realized it was already time for me to reply to the vows.

"I do, "I said with no emotion in my voice and waited for her to say the same word.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife, you may now kiss the bride" he says and I scowled and then proceeded to unveil her as I looked at her face, the first I noticed was her pretty brown eyes and her long brown hair. She looked very timid and scared of me.

"It's good that you're afraid" I said in my mind then proceeded to place my thumb in between my lips and hers very lightly so as to give people the impression that we actually kissed. And then I stepped back looking at her flushed face.

Almost immediately the guests began to clap for us. And we were ushered to a different hall for our after wedding party. Throughout the party I didn't say so much as a word to her.

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Finally the wedding and everything was done and it was time for me to take her to my house. My father has bought a mansion for us as a wedding gift. Of which I am actually grateful for cause assuming we all lived in the family house today. I would have to pretend to be kind to her.

We said our farewells to everyone but she became very tearful when she was saying goodbye to her father. I rolled my eyes full of disaste it was so damn obvious that she was a drama queen seeking for attention.

"Hey man, I know you don't like her but try to treat her well. She also didn't want this marriage" he said

I scoffed "assuming she didn't want this marriage she could have fought against it, whatever happens isn't my business."

She was finally done with saying goodbye to her dad and so we went and got into my car and then the silence came. I ignored her throughout our ride. I am definitely going to make her regret getting married to Rafael Santino...

Maria's pov~

Throughout the drive to his house. We sat in a cold and uncomfortable silence.And I finally had the time to look at the man I married closely.

He looked so mean and heartless but very handsome as well. His jet black hair was styled to perfection. His jawline was chiseled to perfection. He looked even more handsome with the black tuxedo he was putting on.

"What's wrong with me,I thought to myself..here I am admiring a man who obviously is not happy about marrying me

I just hope he doesn't take the anger out on me and treat me badly".

"What are you looking at at" he asked with his eyebrow raise quizzically at me. His voice was very deep and masculine but it sounded oddly pleasant to my ears.

I quickly remembered that I hadn't answered his question,I gulped silently and lowered my eyes as I replied to him "nothing sir". He didn't say anything to me in reply.

We finally arrived at his house and it looked every inch majestic . He stepped out of the car first and a part of me wished he could be a gentleman and open the door for me. But of course he wasn't.I stepped out of the car and followed him but not too closely. When we walked into the mansion some maids were standing to greet us.

"This is my wife, make sure you treat her well," he said to them. I doubt he even knows my name but hearing him call me his wife sounded both cringe and sweet to me.

The maids in turn introduced themselves to me starting from the eldest.

"I'm Mrs Bella, Mr Rafeal's personal chef. '' She was an elderly woman of about fifty years old. I smiled to her in greeting.

The others then proceeded to introduce themselves to me. They were Joy, Purity and Ethan all maids working for him though Ethan was the butler and Joy and purity were to be my personal maids.

I smiled at all of them in greeting. Then Rafael instructed Ethan and the girls to bring in our bags to our rooms. I wanted to ask him if we were to share the same room but I realized that it was not really my place to ask since it was his house and rules.

He began walking inside towards the rooms and I followed him as usual then he turned and said to me.

"The maids will show you to your room, it isn't far from mine, we will talk in the morning". And then he left me standing all alone. I was actually glad he didn't try to force me to consummate the marriage with him. That was what would have scared me the most but I guess he wasn't attracted to me at all for him to suggest us sleeping in separate rooms not that I mind.

The maids came and ushered me into my room which as he said wasn't far from his. It was a beautiful and large bedroom with a more beautiful bathroom attached to it. It was painted in white and pink which was a really nice color to me. I basked in the peace and quiet of the room and then I decided to have a bath before laying on my very soft king sized bed and drifting off to sleep.

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I woke up quite late the next morning. I guess it was because I was so tired after the wedding and all. I stood up and proceeded to the bathroom to take my bath and brush my teeth.

After doing that I went to the closet and I was surprised to see my clothes had already been brought out of my bags and arranged nearly in the closet. I guess it was done by one of the maids. I was highly grateful for it though.

I picked out a simple blue and white flowery gown to wear and sandals to match. I didn't know how I was supposed to dress as someone married to a billionaire but I decided to just keep it simple.

As soon as I'm doing dressing up I heard a knock at the door. I opened the door to see Joy one of my personal maids standing outside.

"Mr Rafeal requested your presence at the dining table immediately, he said you should follow me now"she said.

It sounded more like a command from him than a request and I knew I had no choice but to obey so I followed her to the dining table where he sat having bacon and toast with eggs for breakfast.

"Good morning" I said to him before sitting down

Rafael's Pov~

I couldn't hide my irritation as soon as she walked in. She looked beautiful in the dress she wore but still how could she keep me waiting. I ignored her greeting and said instead.

"Why are you just waking up now" I asked her with irritation in my voice.

"I was very tired so I didn't know when I slept in" she answered with her eyes lowered looking at her plate of food.

"Look at me when your answering me" I growled. I guess that scared her because she shrieked and forced herself to look at me.

"That's better, I told you last night that we have a lot to discuss, so I won't waste time and hence say my mind now. Firstly, what is your name" I asked

"Maria Roberts Sanchez" she replied quickly. I guess she was now aware that I value my time.

"Ok, why did you agree to marry me,is it for my money? I asked looking straight into her eyes. I could see how nervous she looked as she fidgeted with her hands.

"Your dad asked me to marry you in place of the debt my father owned him" she said

I was shocked I didn't know of this, I thought it was just an arrangement for more money and power for my father. But still I felt like the was more she wasn't telling me.

"Why didn't you object to the marriage"? I asked

"Because your family is very powerful and I didn't want my father to suffer when the power to save him was in my very own hands"

I scoffed and said to her " so you stupidly sold yourself off to the devil but no withstanding you do understand that I do not like nor care about you"

"I know you do not but I wish you would at least not make me frightened of you"

"So you are scared of me" I said smirking"you should because you I didn't get to marry my girlfriend so tell me why I should go easy on you"

"Because I did nothing wrong and I didn't also want to be a part of this marriage, I was also forced just like you were"

"Well then I guess for us to make this arranged marriage work the need to be some rules and I had them drafted out already" I said as I handed a document containing rules "make sure to read it and behave accordingly to them"

She took them from me and began to read it and then she looked at me in shock "what do you mean by you are allowed to bring your girlfriend to the house? She asked

"Why not? It's not as if we are in a real relationship are we?I smirked

"But still it's disrespectful to me, you can go and meet her in her house rather than bringing her here."

At this point I was getting very infuriated with her. "If you do not like my rules then I suggest you leave...oh but wait you can't because you're a loyal daughter" I laughed and stood up leaving her alone at the dining table.