Chapter 5

Amara Nicholas;

"Ah!!" I screamed, almost causing the driver to have an accident. I was so shocked to see the face of the man that I am married to.

"What's the problem, my lady? Are you alright?" Mr. Timothy asked me in concern as he slowed down and gazed at me cautiously from drivers seat.

"Yeah. I am sorry, sir. You can continue driving; I was only shocked to see my husband's face online," I told Mr. Timothy. He smiled understandably, and I took it as a mental note not to scream out so foolishly again.

The drive started again, and I continued to look at the face of the man who was about to become my husband. Darlington Briggs.

I had seen him before when I got into the university. We crossed paths, and I mistakenly stepped on him, not knowing when I was walking with my friend Esther Peters.

Esther was my course mate; she was a seductive person, and she never failed to observe all the handsome and well-to-do rich guys in the university.

I wondered how a rich girl like Esther Peters would be so easily swayed by money when she wasn't from a poverty-stricken home. Her parents were billionaires, but since we graduated from the university, Esther had traveled to another country farther away, and I lost contact with her.

She was not on online, which would have made it easy for me to search for Esther online and get her new contact, but she hasn't contacted me either, despite knowing that I use my real name online.

I marveled inaudibly at the handsome sight that occupied my phone screen. Then, I apologized to Darlington, not knowing his name, and told him, "I am sorry." He only stared at me in shock, not responding to me, and then he strode away.

Until I finished my graduation there, I never got to see Darlington again. I learned that he may be a final-year student, and Esther was the one who I told about my secret crush.

Now, looking at the handsome man that had become more attractive like a Greek god, I think he was the only guy I saw and admired.

I saw some other guys, who admired me, but I didn't give them the chance to go on a date. I had gone out several times with Esther in the hope of crossing paths with Darlington again, at least to know his name and to know him better. But I never got to see him.

I couldn't stop thinking about him, about how my heart had accelerated rapidly when he held me close to his chest and prevent me from falling, after I mistakenly stepped on him.

Feeling his firm arms wrapped around my waist and caught me closely before I would drop to the floor like a dummy, after getting lost admiring him. I think maybe that was why his brows furrowed at me, and he didn't speak to me.

I learned from Esther that it wasn't good to drool over a man, and you should form a classic and stone-cold nature and allow the man to drool over you.

Well, that was not intentional. Darlington was attractive, tall, as he looked so handsome in the casual clothes I saw him wearing. 

Even when Darlington walked away without responding to me, I could see some other young ladies in our faculty glaring at me, like I intentionally stepped on him to get his attention.

I sighed and asked myself, "So this man is my husband now?"

I couldn't believe my eyes. How handsome Darlington now looks. I exited his profile picture to stare at some of his timeline photos, but then my eyes grew sad as I saw a photo of him and another lady.

"Did Father not tell me that Darlington was single and would be expecting me?"

My heart broke as I saw a photo of Darlington Briggs and the slim, formidable woman that he proposed to.

Seeing the smile on their faces and how he went down on one knee and proposed to the lady in a pink dress broke my heart.

I could hear the shattering sound of my heart, seeing how lovely they look together and how Darlington captioned the post, saying, "She said yes to me. I am so happy right now."

Tears welled up in my blue eyes, and my heartbeat accelerated. I felt the urge to scream aloud and tell the driver to stop the car and drive me back home to my father's house.

But I remembered my father telling me to return home with my kids, who are his future grandchildren. Not only that, I remember asking my mother if Darlington was already in a relationship.

I knew I hadn't been in a relationship; I was a virgin. But the case would be rare for a man who grew up in the city and whose father is a billionaire, according to how my mother described them, and told me not to pack my clothes too much the previous night. Mom wasn't pleased with my fashion sense.

I didn't know that I was crying; I felt cheated upon seeing the photos of Darlington and his girlfriend, and I saw him tag her profile along with his own as "my baby."

Her name was Jenna Colton, and she had many followers. A million followers, at least. She was a celebrity in Country Z, and I wonder how they would treat me now.

"I am sure this man didn't know that he was married to me. I am certain he wouldn't accept me, not when 'his baby' was there. I didn't want to continue with the journey of going to the city, but I still wanted to obey my parents, even if it was the last thing they wanted me to do for them, before I finally became an independent woman."

"I want to get to the Briggs Family Mansion to see Darlington and his family. To know if I am indeed married to Darlington or not. Or my father was deceived by his best friend, who was the one who had settled everything.

I didn't want to believe that I was married off to my father's best friend, with the disguise that I was his son's wife. Well, when I get to the city, I will find out.

I feel sad after seeing many photos of Darlington and that pretty, fair-skinned lady. I didn't look sophisticated like her, and I knew that I would be cast away and labeled as a boyfriend snatcher for coming into another woman's relationship. But I wanted to confirm the whole truth before finally taking a concrete decision.

I relaxed my back to the car seat as the car driver drove ahead, continuing driving for hours to the city. Soon, I fell asleep at the back.