Marriage Arrangements

Chapter 2

Stepping out of his 2024 Maybach, Alex made his way into the restaurant. Earlier, he had received a call from Violet asking him to meet her there.

"Good afternoon, someone by the name of Violet reserved a table?" he asked the receptionist.

"Oh yes, sir," the receptionist replied, beckoning to his assistant to show Alex the table.

"Glad you considered my offer," Alex said as he sat across from Violet. "Thank you," he added to the assistant receptionist.

"Glad you could make it on such short notice," Violet said, stretching her hand to shake his.

"Uhmm, I think before we get down to business, we should order. Don’t you think?" Alex said, trying to ease the atmosphere.

"Okay," Violet said, picking up the menu, while Alex signaled the waitress.

After placing their orders and receiving their meals, Violet decided to address the elephant in the room.

"You said we could help each other?" Violet asked, adjusting herself in her chair.

"I did. Last I heard, you need a husband, and I need a wife."

"What for?" she asked, curiosity written all over her face. "I mean, you look rich, and you're handsome. You can bag any woman."

"So can you, don't you think, Miss Wells?" Alex said, taking his napkin and dabbing the corner of his mouth gracefully.

"I didn’t tell you my last name," Violet said, obviously ignoring his statement.

"I did my research," he replied, taking a sip of his wine.

"Then I guess you know my reasons, Mr. Vanguard," she said, raising her eyebrows as she took a sip of her drink.

"I didn’t see the point. I mean, you’ll tell me, so no point in pre-informing myself."

Sighing, Violet continued. "I need to secure my place as the next in line, and I need to get married to do so," she said, not wanting to mention her brother and mother as her true reasons.

"He's just as desperate for a spouse as I am, so what’s the point of convincing him to agree?" she thought to herself.

"Well, I need to get married to land a contract," Alex said, adding silently in his mind, "and also to ruin my father’s plans."

"So, any rules?" he asked, placing one hand on the table and resting the other on his lap.

"Yes, I mean, it’s not a rule, but I need to get married as soon as possible."

"How soon?" he asked.

"This Saturday, if that's possible. I don’t want a lavish wedding, just some of our closest family and friends, that’s all."

"Well, okay," Alex said, clearing his throat. "I’ll get back to you on that, but I need to get going. Thanks for the meal," he said, signaling the waitress to bring the bill.

"You don’t have to—"

"Why shouldn’t I? I can’t let my soon-to-be wife pay for our meal," he said, winking at her.

Violet blushed a little, shaking her head. "Okay, soon-to-be husband. Thank you."

***

"Well, to what do I owe this surprise visit?" Baron, Alex's father, said.

"Can’t a son visit his caring, loving father?" Alex replied sarcastically. "Oh, my bad. You’re not caring, nor loving, and definitely not a father..."

"Watch your mouth, Alex!" Baron thundered.

Alex chuckled. "I remember how I used to flinch whenever you yelled, but now I feel like you’re nothing but a nobody yelling for no damn reason."

"Why the hell are you here, Alex?"

"I just wanted to invite you to my wedding, Dad," Alex said, emphasizing the last word sarcastically.

"You’re getting married?" Baron asked in disbelief. "You really are the son of your father, then," he added, making Alex curious about why he said that. "I know you’re marrying to bag that contract, boy, nothing else," Baron said, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. "I mean, that’s something I might do," he continued.

"You want to know what you might not do?" Alex said, seating himself on the couch. "You’ll never discontinue your lineage."

"Boy!" Baron yelled, smashing the glass in his hand.

"What? You think I didn’t know about your plan to set me up with Mr. Brick’s daughter?"

"I meant it when I said your precious bloodline ends with me."

"Fool! I’ll just get someone pregnant," Baron said angrily, trying to win the argument.

"Well, I imagine if you could, you would have, don’t you think?" Alex asked with a smirk.

In truth, Alex was right. Baron was currently experiencing fertility issues, and the doctor had told him he wouldn’t be able to father another child.

"You bastard! Get out."

"No need to ask. I was getting bored anyway. Make sure you attend my wedding this Saturday, father of a bastard," Alex said, chuckling. "Fool," he muttered under his breath as he made his way out.

***

Violet sighed as she stepped into her house. "Mom," she called as she made her way to the kitchen, "I’m back."

"Honey," her mom replied, making her way over to hug her. "Hope your important meeting went well?"

Violet hadn’t told her mother about her grandfather’s condition. "It did, Mom. Where’s Wave?"

"Just gave him his medication. He’s napping."

"Okay, I’ll go see him."

"You do that while I get started on dinner."

"Okay, Mom."

Staring at her brother’s sleeping face, Violet couldn’t help but let a few tears fall. "I love you, Wave, and I’ll do anything for you," she said softly, touching his face. "Your family loves you."

As she said this, she couldn’t help but have a flashback.

"Lucas, please," her mom had said as her dad was about to leave the house. "Please, Lucas, don’t go," Selena had begged in tears, oblivious to seven-year-old Violet eavesdropping.

"Why shouldn’t I, when this family has done nothing but ruin my life? The only reason I accepted this stupid charm of a wedding was to have an heir, but what do I have? A mentally disabled child and a daughter. What the hell can I do with that?" Lucas had pushed Selena aside as he exited the room.

Violet blinked, snapping out of the flashback. "He came back after some weeks with another woman," she muttered.

Wiping the tears that threatened to fall, she reprimanded herself. "No, Violet. No more crying over those evil people. No more."

That evening, Violet ate a small portion of her dinner, assuring her mom she was fine despite her mother's concern. Afterward, she went to bed.

Hours later, Violet woke up suddenly, her heart racing. "No, not a nightmare," she whispered as she calmed herself down. It had been a dream about the time Lucas’ new wife, Josephine, had threatened to kill her and her brother. She remembered how Josephine had tried to drown Wave in the bathtub. Luckily, Violet had caught her and fought her off. When Josephine finally stopped, she threatened to kill their mother and brother. Violet had cried and told her mother, but Josephine denied it, and their father had sided with her. Her mom, however, had trusted her, saying, "Violet would never make up such stories."

The next day, Violet thought about how she could marry Alex without her grandfather feeling like it was an arrangement. She decided against inviting family and chose to get married without their knowledge, worrying about how to announce it later. Picking up her phone, she dialed Alex’s number.

Alex, who was in a meeting with Mr. Brick, the man set to award him the contract, excused himself. "My fiancée is calling," he said, standing up to step outside.

"Oh," Mr. Brick said, gesturing for him to take the call.

Just as Alex was about to answer, he heard his name.

"Hi, Alex. I’m Amara, Mr. Brick’s daughter," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Oh," Alex muttered. She was the girl his father wanted to trap him with, he thought.

Ironically, Mr. Brick was supposed to award Alex a highly sought-after contract, but Mr. Brick had a requirement: the recipient needed to be married or have a child. Mr. Brick wanted someone who was connected to family, as the project involved building an orphanage. Alex had found out through an informant that his father was planning to rope him into marriage with Amara to control him and force him into fatherhood, ensuring his precious bloodline continued. The only way Alex could avoid this was by finding another woman, one he could trust. He didn’t know much about Violet, but he knew one thing for sure—she wasn’t working for his father, and that was enough.

"I just wanted to let you know that—" Amara began, but before she could finish, Violet called again.

"Excuse me, I have to take this," Alex said as he walked away.

"Hello?" Violet said as Alex answered the call.

"Hello, Violet. How are you?" he asked, waiting for her reply. What came out of her mouth next shocked him. "What?"