Valerie's POV
I am having ambivalent feelings about what happened tonight. That doesn't stop me from smiling at the thought of seeing Fred.
Hugging my jacket to myself, I step down from the car and begin to walk towards his apartment.
Now that I think of it, I don't really know if Mother doesn't want to support my relationship with Fred because he is not as rich as the man they want me to be married to or because he is cheating on me.
Fred cheated only twice.
If Brenda doesn't have eyes for him, then maybe he wouldn't have cheated on me yet again. Brenda is a bitch and I am going to prove to her that she is nothing but a bitch.
Fred and I love each other. He loves me a lot and I feel the same way. He is a passionate and kind lover. He cares for and adores me.
The love I stopped receiving from home for years since we have been struggling to maintain our status, Fred was able to bring it back. He showed me so much love and I couldn't help but fall so deeply for him.
Fred didn't give up on me when I thought he would. I thought he was going to get tired of me but he didn't. He kept coming back. He kept loving me.
How then can I give up suddenly when this is what Brenda wants? She wants us to be apart so she can have him to herself.
I won't let that happen. Fred is mine.
The atmosphere is unusually quiet and it dawns on me that I must have spent a lot of time at the clubhouse thinking about everything before I decided to come here.
Well, I thought Fred would be there too but he wasn't. I didn't take any alcohol because I knew I was going to drive to his place if he didn't show up.
I need him. I need someone to talk to.
If he hadn't cheated on me with Brenda, she would have been the person I would go to, to confide in him but Brenda is no longer a friend. She is nothing but a betrayer.
I already miss our friendship but that doesn't mean I will accept her back as a friend.
I have been out of the house since noon when mother broke the news of my betrothal to me, expecting me to jump up in excitement for being betrothed to some fucking billionaire and rush to my room to get ready to meet him.
I am not a kid for God's sake. I am an adult.
Why would she even think I would be excited about the news?
I step on the porch and take my hand out of the jacket pocket to knock on Fred's door.
After knocking, I dip my hand back into the jacket, waiting.
There is no response and I wonder if he isn't home yet. He usually closes from work at 9 pm and this is 11 pm already. I was at the club from 8 pm waiting for him to show up. I left the club a little after 10 pm.
I remove my hand and knock again. I am met with silence.
I sigh deeply and take out my phone to give him a call. It rings for a while but he doesn't pick either.
Feeling sudden anger, I knock more loudly and aggressively on the door and it is thrown open immediately.
"Where the hell have you been? I've been…"
"Hey, babe", he is shirtless as he pulls me into a quick hug.
When he releases me from the hug, I raise a suspicious brow at him. I have been knocking for over five minutes and there was no reply. But after calling his phone and knocking again, he came to the door.
Shirtless!
What is happening?
"Fred?" I call him when I notice him avoiding my gaze. Leaning his side to the doorframe, as though to block me from entering his apartment, I know something is up.
This is unlike Fred. He loves it when I come to visit. He loves to cuddle with me.
I am planning to spend the night out and this is the only place I wish to spend the night.
With him.
In his arms. To console me and assure me that everything is going to be fine.
"Babe, what are you doing here? I was just about to give you a call", he stares up at me with a huge smile on his face.
I take out my hands and fold them around my bosom.
My heart is sinking. Fred is at it again. He is acting strange because he must have done something bad again.
Without replying to him, I push him back and enter the apartment. I shouldn't give his betrayal any thought at the moment. What should be my major concern is to spend the night here? I can't go home tonight. I want my mother to realize her mistake and change her mind about this betrothal shit.
It isn't for me.
"Babe", Fred calls behind me and grabs my arm, spinning me to face him.
"Fred?" I can't believe he is doing this. Is he stopping me from spending the night here?
He does not say anything so I wrench my hand from his hold and turn back. This is when I see the reason for his action.
There are clothes sprawled on the floor in the living room. There are about five pieces of clothing on the floor and a pair of high heels.
A low gasp escapes my mouth as my gaze shifts instinctively to the staircase leading to the room upstairs, where Fred and I usually cuddle till dawn.
"Val, it's not what you think", he shows up in front of me, trying to defend himself.
"Fred." No word is forming in my mouth. I don't know what to think of this. I don't know how to react to this.
I can't believe Fred is cheating on me again. After two nights of catching him with my best friend. He isn't bothering to come to check up on me to know how I am doing. He has been at home having sex with another woman.
Is this because I told him I wasn't ready for sex? Is he finding it hard to control his urges? Why didn't he talk to me about it?
Just before a tear could roll down my eyes, he pulls me into an embrace.
"I love you, Val. Believe me. This is just a misunderstanding…"
At this point, I can no longer hold my anger in anymore. When I caught him with Brenda, I didn't shout or slap any of them. I left quietly. None of them ran after me and it broke me that they might actually go back to doing what they were doing before I interrupted.
"Misunderstanding?" My numb arm pushes him away. The push is hard because he lands on the sofa. "You call this a misunderstanding? Are you crazy? What exactly do you take me for, uhn?!" I find myself shouting and crying and also picking up each piece of cloth to throw in his face.
This shouldn't be happening. Nothing seems to be going the way I want or plan anymore.
This night isn't supposed to be this way. I am supposed to be warmly welcomed by Fred. I am supposed to be in the kitchen with him right now, watching him cook dinner for me because I am damn hungry.
After eating, we ought to be either kissing or playing a game. We ought to cuddle to sleep too but none of this is happening.
Fred is a lying and cheating bastard.
Picking up the heels from the floor, I throw them at him in a fit of anger but he dodges them as he jumps over the sofa.
Just then, I see someone from my peripheral view appear from the staircase.
Realizing that it must be the bitch he is cheating on me with, I force myself not to look, pushing back my curiosity to see the face.
I grab my phone from the table where I dropped it and walk to the door, hugging my jacket to myself and not bothering to clean the tears on my face.
Before I can turn the doorknob to go out, a voice stops me.
"Hello, Valerie", a familiar calls out to me and I turn slowly to see the smile of victory on her face.
Brenda? I almost call out with a shout. Brenda again? How long has this been going on?
I shift my gaze to Fred but he isn't looking at me. His gaze is on the floor and he is not man enough to look at me.
I made the wrong choice by dating him. I thought I could win him over and not give Brenda the pleasure of losing him to her but now I know I have lost this battle.
I can never win this because Fred doesn't even deserve it. He has the opportunity to choose me over her right this minute but he isn't doing any of that.
For me to win this, there is a different approach to apply. For me to have the last laugh, I should probably meet up with this so-called billionaire and have my revenge back at these two people who used to mean so much to me.
Without a word, I open the door and dash out with tears streaming down my eyes.
Ryan's POVFive minutes have gone by already.Tardiness is one of the things I detest so much. It irks the shit out of me.If I am here for another five minutes and she isn't here, I am leaving. The time I am spending here is going to be enough to do a lot of work in the office.Taking a final glance at the door to the restaurant where I have been waiting for almost ten minutes, I sigh heavily, thinking about the huge amount of changes that would happen to me in the next couple of months.I initially took it the wrong way.Getting to know about the betrothal and the fact that I have to be married soon to inherit my grandfather's construction company.That old man knew I was never going to get married and he did this on purpose. My father didn't inform me all this while and this is why I am infuriated.No one forced me to come here. I just thought it would be a nice idea to come to see who I am going to get married to in the next couple of months.Even though I don't like the idea of b
Valerie's POVThe plan worked.I almost burst out laughing when I first saw the look on his face. It was a combination of confusion and anger.He is obviously an impatient man. I came late on purpose and I am dressed this way on purpose too.I want to spite him. I am only here for a reason, not because I actually want to go ahead with the so-called silly betrothal and marriage preparations.No matter how much I think of this, it irks me and I want to do something to defy my parents for taking a major decision like this on my behalf.I have every right to go against them. I have every right to make decisions for myself. I am not a child.Finding Brenda in Fred's apartment last night is the result of my decision to come here. I never intended to. I was betrayed by my two best friends and I want to take my revenge on them.Mother was right. Fred isn't good for me.At first, I was giving him reasons to justify his actions but now it is clear to the eyes that he wants my friend too. He do
Ryan's POVIt sounds ridiculous.A contract marriage? What for?I laugh for a very long time, wishing it will piss her off but the lady in front of me isn't ready to be mad at anything I do at the moment.She is smiling with a determined look on her face. That sort of I- know-what-I-am-doing look makes me sober up immediately."Are you done laughing?" She leans forward, her stupid makeup in clear view.I do not reply to her. I just wish I didn't propose this meeting. I hope this will just end soon.Is it this psycho I am getting married to? Why will she even propose a contract marriage?As if hearing my thoughts, she comments. "The last time I checked, I had a boyfriend and I was asked to break up with him simply because I have been betrothed to some man. The last time I checked, we don't like each other a bit, so tell me what the hell you are thinking about? What the hell is stopping you from agreeing to this? You want us to be married forever?"I am tempted to let out a loud NO. I a
A MONTH LATERValerie's POVLife is about turning on different roads and choosing to either face the rock of reality or not.This is reality.That was the word I wrote down in the dressing room before coming out here to face my reality.This isn't what I have always dreamt of. This is the opposite of what I want for myself and my future.I am a strong believer in love, probably because I have experienced love in beautiful souls. I never believed in getting married out of love but here I am doing that one thing I never believed in or never knew existed.Dazed, I let the sound of applause get drowned in my head as I approach the arbor where the groom of the day is awaiting me.His name is Ryan and I am going to be his bride today. Not because we love each other but for different reasons and goals.I want my father to be back on his feet. I want him to return to that confident, strong man he used to be and I also want my revenge on Fred and Brenda.I am not doing this because I want our
Ryan's POVThe door is locked.My hand is on the doorknob still. Then I turn it again but it won't budge.It has been locked from the inside. Without thinking of a single reason why the woman I just got married to a few hours ago is locking me outside my own bedroom, I raise my hand to knock.The knock is loud enough to wake the dead. She can't possibly tell me that she locked the door and slept off. I only spent thirty minutes outside trying to let everything sink into my head and also to think of what to do after this damn thing is over.I have been trying to get over how she ridiculed me at the church wedding. She didn't let me kiss her on the lips. Isn't that part of the pretense? We are to make believe that we are real and beginning to like each other, isn't this what she said?I felt humiliated. What if someone had seen that?Fortunately, no one was quick to observe anything between us. Not even the tension and despise we feel for each other.There is no answer."Valerie, open t
Valerie's POVDetermined to get on his nerves tonight, I lay sprawled on the bed fully clothed. The moment the shower goes off, I close my eyes to pretend that I am asleep.I can't let him sleep with me on the same bed. We can't share the same bed.I love my privacy and space. I never had any reason to share a bed with anyone, except Fred and I am not ready to get to that stage with Ryan.I know we are supposed to sign the contract tonight but I am seriously not going to give him the chance to sweet-talk me into letting him sleep here tonight.The bathroom door opens and I imagine him coming out of the bathroom with a bare chest trailing with water from his wet hair and a towel wrapped around his waist.I imagine the glare he will throw my way when he notices I'm already asleep on the bed, sprawled with my legs apart to prevent him from getting into bed with me.Today is our first night as a couple and I want us to stick to the rules of the contract to ease the whole period we will be
Ryan's POVShe practically jumps on me, scaring the shit out of me. I sit up immediately, letting her slide down with a big grin on her face."What was that for?"She shrugs nonchalantly like she hasn't done anything wrong."I need to sleep", I almost add, please. I am already tired of arguing back and forth with her. It is obvious she isn't going to let me be."Please?" She demands, raising her brow. This is when I notice her hand on mine. I yank my hand off immediately.Turning back to the bed, I comment. "Please."Then, I lay down, hoping she will let me be now."I didn't ask you to sleep yet", she jumps down from the bed and drags me up. Now I am more than convinced that she jumps for a living. Why the hell is she jumping like a monkey all over the place? What does she even do for a living?I know I married a stranger but I should have asked her if she had a job so she won't be a complete liability. Having to help her parents is enough."We need to sign the contract first of all…
Valerie's POV My nose twitches and my eyes flick open, the rays of the sun setting on my skin. I sit up and glance around as the memories of yesterday's event come rushing as well as last night. I turn to the curtains to see them open. Did Ryan open them? I look towards the door and it is still locked. Maybe the curtains were drawled to their sides last night. I get out of bed and move towards the door, rubbing my two hands on my eyes to rub off the sleep. I am damn hungry and I could eat a horse right now. I unlock the door and get out. Finding my way to the kitchen, I get to the living room and my eyes fall on Ryan sleeping on the floor with his blanket hanging on his leg, half of it on the couch. Did he fall from the couch or he purposely slept on the floor? I almost chuckle at the sight of him sleeping with his legs apart. I know he might want to go to work since there is no talk of a honeymoon and I really don't want him around for the whole day. Maybe I should wake him