Marriage by Law (6 page)

"My, you look wonderful in that dress. I bet he hasn't been able to keep his eyes off you all night," she said, winking, and I laughed uncomfortably and looked away.  That would be if he even looked at me to begin with, not that I wanted him to look at me.

Alicia had hazel hair and bright blue eyes that matched her bubbly nature that I seemed to get along with. She was the Rose of this world.

"Oh, tell me about your orchids. Have they blossomed yet?" she asked. Darius looked over at us briefly before continuing his conversation and I tried not to roll my eyes. I hadn’t run away yet; he had to stop looking at me like I was some sort of criminal.

“Not yet,” I replied and she frowned, tucking her hair behind her ears.

"Oh, they will soon!" she said, more excited than me. She was thrilled when I told her about my little garden. She thought of starting one herself with tulips and an apple tree. A shadow fell upon the table and we looked up to see Miss Alvin staring down at us with a smile so huge it was showing her gums, and I felt happy smiling back. She had that happy aura about her that just made you smile back.

"Isn't she just beautiful!" asked Alicia and I was about to reply when Miss Alvin beat me to it. Oh, the question wasn't for me.

"She is. If only I had a daughter-in-law like you. A lucky man you are, Darius," she said.

"Indeed so, Miss Alvin," said Darius, standing up and shaking her hand.

She looked at our plates and sighed loudly, shaking her head. "You can't keep the girls hungry, here," she said, leaning over. My eyes widened as she abruptly leaned over her bosom in my face. Any closer and I would have gotten a mouthful of that material. Alicia laughed when she saw my face as Miss Alvin moved back and I cleared my throat.

"Eat up, girls. I shall be right back," she said, turning around and leaving and I looked at the pastry on my plate.

Alicia and I turned to look at each other. The pastry was small and looked harmless but apparently she was warned about it too as she stared at me worriedly.

“Do we have to eat it?” she asked leaning over and I shrugged looking at it. Well, it would be really rude if she came back and the pastry was untouched. Maybe I could smash it into pieces, so it looked like I ate a bit.

I stared at it a bit more till a hand grabbed it and I watched as Darius placed it in his pocket. Wasn’t he afraid it would ruin his precious suit?

Alicia kicked me under the table and I looked at her.

"What?" I mouthed as she winked at me cheekily. She raised her eyebrows, smiling, and I whispered, "What?" still not getting what she meant.

"Nothing," she said in a singsong voice and stabbed her pastry with a fork till her eyes widened and she realised what she was doing. She looked around, seeing no one else was watching us, so she grabbed a tissue and scraped it off her plate.

She smiled cheekily as she chucked it under the table and smiled and I laughed, shaking my head. 

The night went by fast as I stuck with Alicia as we walked around and she introduced me to more of her friends. They didn’t seem too bad. It was good to meet people our age.  We hurried back to our spots as dinner was being served. Good, because I was starving.

I looked at my plate and frowned. Seafood. What was with rich people and seafood?

Alicia dug into her plate and I sighed, picking up the fork and moving the piece of prawn around the plate.

"What's wrong?" asked Alicia when she finished hers and mine was still full.

"I hate seafood," I said, flicking a prawn around in the plate. When was dessert being served?

"I love seafood. I just hate crab though," she said, wrinkling her nose. The guys were in a deep conversation so I swapped plates with her quickly and she stared at me till she understood and smiled, finishing off my plate for me.

"Thanks. I don't want to offend anyone," I said.

She waved a hand. "It's fine. The plates were tiny that I could fit yours in there too. Just remember I'm carrying your food," she said and I let out a laugh. I looked around and saw Adrian raise an eyebrow at our plates and I looked away quickly. Damn, did he see?

"How about green roses?" asked Alicia.

I leaned back in my chair and thought about it. "I don't think I have actually ever seen a green rose now that you mentioned it," I said. A bright light came in her eyes as she sat up.

"We should plant them!" she said excitedly and I shook my head with a laugh.

“I don’t think it’s that simple.”

"We'll just do what we do to get the other coloured roses with the cloth. If it works it would be amazing, if not then oh well, nothing to lose, right?" she asked. I shrugged. I guess we could do that, and I decided I wouldn’t mention the fact that the other roses didn’t exactly turn out like planned.

"I guess if-"

"This is my favorite song," she said, cutting me off, and I stopped and listened to hear soft music by the live orchestra.

It was soft like a lullaby and I looked over at the other couples dancing. How on earth did she hear the music above the loud chatter?

Before I can comment, Jake Cartwell stood up, and like a true husband, asked her to dance. She looked at me giggling like a schoolgirl and hurried off and I smiled at the cute couple. I turned back to face the middle of the table where there was a fancy tower that held all of the pastries.

"Would you like to dance?" I heard a voice ask me before I could muster up the courage to try one of the pastries. I looked up to stare into those mesmerizing green eyes and froze.

Did he just ask me to dance?

Chapter Six

6 Months Ago

What do I say? WHAT DO I SAY? Did she just ask me-

“No!” Was she absurd? Have they both lost their damn minds?

“Are you trying to ruin my life? Do you even know this guy? What if he is some type of serial killer? Are you kidding me? Dad, say something!”

Father nervously tugged at his collar and faced my mother who had an expressionless face as she stared at me.

“Maybe we should think-,” he began, but she cut him off with a simple look and faced me as I stared at my father. Was he so scared of her that he was just going to let her dictate my life?

"Ivory, you really have no option. If you break this deal, you will cause a rivalry and a war. He has no problem so why should you? This is the final decision. Do you want us to go poor? Do you want us both to live on the road and you as well? We are doing this for a family outcome. We cannot lose," she said and with that she elegantly walked out.

I didn’t care about money. We could live fine with what we have. We don’t need big houses and drivers.

And about that war, this wasn’t the ancient days when arranged or forced marriages were the custom. And what rivalry? It was just business. Can business be more important than your child?

"Dad," I whined, tears brimming in my eyes. How much can one handle in one day?

"I'm sorry, Ivory. Your mother is right. You should end things with that boy and marry this man," he said. I sighed as he left and I yelled in frustration and kicked the chair. Of course, James was the small boy and this so called man was the brave man, wasn’t he?

I scoffed. Why in the world I was protecting the guy who just deceived me was beyond comprehensible. Maybe this won’t be so bad. But who was I kidding?

Marrying a total stranger? I'd rather eat seafood for the rest of my life.

Present Time

Before I could even reply, he stood up, grabbing my palm and lifting me up. I noticed Adrian had also gone off with some girl to the dancing room.

"I don't really want to, it's fine," I said, waving a hand but stumbled when he walked while pulling me with him. Fine, then. Why ask when you are going to make me, anyway?

I sighed helplessly. I should stop giving him a hard time, but he was trying to act like the perfect husband when we both knew he probably wanted nothing to do with this and me at all.

Well, he should have said no when he had the chance.

The music was slow, which was good. There was no bumping or tripping over other couples but the slow music meant the couples had to talk. So while everyone else was talking, we just danced, not even a single word muttered.

So much for a good dance, eh?

I met Alicia's eyes and she raised her eyebrows twice and I cocked my head to the side mouthing, "What?"

I really didn't understand all the mixed signals this girl was giving me today. She giggled and whispered something in Jake's ear and he turned around smiling. Were they talking about me?

"There you all are," said Miss Alvin, barging in her long dress trailing behind her. I looked to the side and watched her go up and grasp Jake and Alicia and then come over to us.

"The main reason I had this was to introduce my son but he's delayed his trip for another week. I just wanted to privately remind you that next week, all four of you must come. I'll tell Margaret and call you Alicia," she said.

I internally groaned. Oh god, save me!

Alicia, on the other hand, looked too excited and nodded.

"Well then, I'll let you children continue," she said. She moved from us to another group, probably telling them the same thing. The song was over and we moved back to our seats when Adrian joined us.

"May I have a dance with my cousin-in-law?" he said. Before I could reply, he grabbed my hand, pulling me away and I nearly tripped over, again. I guess that was one thing that ran in their family, not asking if their partner was happy about it.

"So tell me, cousin-in-law. How do you like your new husband?"

"Is cousin-in-law even a word?” I questioned. It had to be, it sounded like a word. He shrugged, cocking his head to the side pretending to think.

"I am sure it is a word. I just don't know the meaning. We should find out one day, shouldn't we?" he asked.

Adrian had pale green eyes, not as dark as Darius’s but much more joyful as his eyes crinkled when he smiled. Maybe he should teach his cousin how to have fun. But instead of Darius’s neatly cut hair, Adrian had slightly blonde hair that was overgrown to his neck and was ruffled messily.

"No point avoiding the questions, my cousin-in-law," he said, twirling me around and pulling me back a bit closer than necessary.

"What question?" I asked. How was one supposed to answer that question when they barely knew the man for a couple of days, not to mention he kept avoiding me and vice versa.

"The question about my ridiculous stupid cousin," he said. So he agreed his cousin was stupid.

"Oh that - eh, I g-"

A hand wrapped around my waist and I jumped as I tried to move away. What part of “I am ticklish” did this man not get?

"Adrian, we have to go. Come by the house tomorrow if you want," said Darius.

"I'll be there, couz. Later, my lady," said Adrian, giving me a mock bow and winking.

I waved a hand muttering ‘whatever’ as Darius dragged me away. 

The limo ride back home was just as quiet as the one before. Margaret greeted us as soon as we got home.

"Thank god you got my message. I was afraid you hadn't," she said. Darius shrugged out of his coat and handed it to her, unbuttoning his sleeves.

"Of course I did, Marge," he said.

My heart dipped. So we actually had a reason to leave and here I thought he was a little jealous, or at least acting in public, of me dancing with Adrian. I nearly scoffed. Why the heck would he?

"Why? What happened?" I asked, looking between them. Darius loosened his black tie that had made his eyes even darker than usual and headed up the stairs. Gee, thanks for the answer.

"Oh, it's nothing big. I think it is quite lovely, dearie. It might give you some time to bond," she said with a small wince.

"What will?"

"A whole week. Think of it, how much fun it would be, dearie. Did you eat anything, or would you like me to serve something up for you?" she asked, leading me to the kitchen. Oh god yes, I was starving!

"Ma, what are you talking about?" I asked as she handed me a piece of garlic and cheese bread. The bread was delicious, soft and buttery with a hint of spinach in there.

"Oh, nothing. Your parents and Darius's have given you the week off," she said smiling. I chewed softly and swallowed my bread before clearing my throat.

"What do you mean? Week off what?” I asked. Margaret busied herself with cleaning the crumbs off the table then placed them in the bin.

"It's exciting! You and Darius will go to the cottage house to spend the week there! There is plenty of stuff to do on the other side of the town and you both will finally get to know each other!" she said, clapping her hands.

I choked on my bread and stared at her. We are what?

Were our parents crazy? There wouldn't be any 'bonding' going on. We aren't bloody atoms or molecules!

"That's a horrible idea," I said, putting down the bread and suddenly losing my appetite.

"Oh, dearie, you won't know till you try it," said Marge, cleaning up and leaving the room.

"Oh, and you're leaving tomorrow. I have packed some of your bags. Take your normal clothes," she said, smiling. "Enjoy this moment out of the house, dearie. I know how you feel in here," she said.

I sighed and walked upstairs. The only plus point was that I could be me, in my clothes, in my hairstyle, as I like. So what if Darius won't talk. I'll just spend the week with myself!

Oh, that got it going. A whole week to celebrate by myself.

This may actually be fun.

Chapter Seven

6 Months Ago

I stared at the envelope my parents had left in front of my door after I had refused to come out. 

Photos, it said on the front of it. I scoffed as I picked it up and then locked myself in again.

Yes, I was being childish, but sometimes that's the only thing that would work!

I sat on my bed twisting the envelope in my hand. So inside was apparently my future husband’s photos. Now, do I really want to see an old balding man with three gold teeth?

NO.

That was for sure. I wanted to see his photo as much as I wanted to marry him, which was 189% no because 100% was just too mainstream. I looked at the burning fireplace in my room and then smirked. 

They wanted me to play by their rules, hell no.

Walking over, I knelt down beside the fire and smiled. Without a second thought, I dropped the envelope inside, watching the fire claim it. 

Goodbye, Mister Hubby. You'll burn just like that if you enter my life.