One

The sound of Keira’s phone buzzing had woken her up from her nap. Groggy and disoriented, she fumbled for it, squinting at the caller ID. It was her mother.

She sighed, bracing herself before answering.

“Where on earth are you, Keira?” her mother’s shrill voice exploded through the receiver, no greeting, no pause. “The event is about to begin! You promised me you’d be here on time!”

Keira groaned as she rolled out of bed, “I’ll be there in five, mum.” She mumbled, rubbing her temples. 

But her mother kept going on at her end, “It’s that darn job you insisted on getting, if you had just listened to your father, you wouldn’t need to run around like some…”

“See you in a few, mum.” Keira said, hanging up the phone before she could finish her sentence. 

Heaving a sigh she made her way into the bathroom, taking a quick shower and hurriedly doing her hair and makeup. 

She had barely made it on time but as she arrived at her parents mansion on her power bike, she realized that the guests hadn’t even arrived and it was her mother’s scheme to get her there on time. 

As she made her way through the mansion’s grand double doors, she found her mother sitting—immaculate as always, with her perfectly styled hair and an expression of deep disapproval.

Keira didn’t get a chance to speak as her mother immediately exploded. 

“I knew you’d wear something as hideous as that outfit,” her mother snapped, raking her eyes over Keira’s dress like they were contagious. “Do you hate me so much that you’d rather embarrass me in front of all our esteemed guests?”

“Nice to see you too, mum.” Keira murmured, rolling her eyes at her mother. 

“Don’t you dare roll your eyes at me, young lady. Your future husband and his family will be here soon, now go in and let the stylists fix you into something more appropriate.”  

“I’ve told you mum, I’m not interested in marrying him, I have someone else at heart, if anything I’m going to turn him down today.” Keira countered, but her mother’s glare lowered her confidence and she gave in. “Fine, but don’t expect me to marry him still.” She added storming up the stairs to the dressing room. 

She was dressed in a flash as her mother had hired quite the number of professional stylists to get her ready for the event tonight. 

Her father’s company was throwing an after party for the launch of their new product and her mother thought it was the perfect opportunity to finally introduce her to her arranged husband. She had always heard about him from her mother but had never met him, although she was disinterested about meeting him, she had to please her mother in a way. 

By the time she descended to the event hall, the guests had begun to arrive—suits and gowns, champagne flutes glittering under the chandeliers.

“Well, at least you look presentable now,” Her mother complimented, linking her arm with Keira’s, “Ever since you got that job of yours you’ve been more old fashioned than someone’s grandmother.” 

Keira sighed, it was something she did quite often when she was around her mother. “Don’t mock my job. I love working, I get to see my boss, I have great coworkers, and for once, I feel like I’m doing something that’s mine. Plus, none of my actual clothes are suitable for my position at work.” 

“Nonsense,” her mother replied airily, steering her towards the crowd. “You’ll grow out of this rebellious phase soon enough. Then you’ll come home and take over your father’s business, just as you should. For now, we have guests to greet.”

They went about greeting business partners and extended family. Kiera noticed the same pattern, they all had the same thing in common —same fake laughs, and the same empty pleasantries.

“Oh, Keira! Look at you—all grown up!” one of her father’s colleagues exclaimed, his grin wide. “Soon you’ll be settling down and taking over the family business, just like your father did.”

Keira’s smile tightened. If she could’ve rolled her eyes any harder, they’d have launched into another dimension, possibly orbiting Mars by now. But instead, she swallowed the urge and returned his compliment by nodding politely while screaming internally.

Her mother, of course, beamed like their backhanded comments were gold-plated compliments. “Isn’t she just lovely? So responsible now.”

Keira almost choked on the champagne she had snatched from a server’s tray.

A distant aunt chimed in next. “Your mother tells us you’ve been employed… for fun, I suppose. Such a phase. You’ll grow out of it soon enough and come back to what really matters.”

Keira’s jaw clenched. “Actually, I love my job,” she replied sweetly, her voice coated with the kind of politeness that barely masked the sarcasm beneath it. “You know—being independent, earning my own money, not waiting around for someone to hand me everything.”

Her mother’s fingers dug into her arm, her nails sharp through the fabric of her dress. “Keira, darling,” she said with a strained smile, “why don’t we go say hello to Mr. Donovan? He’s been eager to see you.”

Translation: Stop embarrassing me in front of the family.

Keira let herself be dragged away, her mother’s grip locked firmly on her arm. If she survived this night without flipping a table, it’d be a miracle.

And she still hadn’t met her supposed “future husband.”

Lucky him, she thought bitterly, swirling the remnants of her champagne. 

“Oh, look! There are your soon-to-be in-laws,” her mother announced, her voice dripping with excitement.

Keira’s stomach twisted. She turned her head to see a well-dressed couple standing near the center of the hall, radiating the kind of wealth that practically screamed “old money.” His father looked like he’d never cracked a genuine smile in his life and his mother was poised, elegant, with eagle sharp eyes that flicked over people like she was mentally sorting them into categories of worthy and unworthy.

“Oh, joy.” Keira thought to herself. 

Her mother dragged her across the room, her grip tightening like she thought Keira might try to escape—which, honestly, wasn’t far from the truth.

“Mr. and Mrs. Hawthorne!” her mother gushed, flashing her rehearsed, too-bright smile. “It’s such a pleasure to finally introduce you to my daughter, Keira.”

Keira forced a polite smile. “Hello.”

Mr. Hawthorne gave her a stiff nod and a quick handshake. Mrs. Hawthorne’s eyes swept over Keira, like she was inspecting a product she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to buy.

Where was he, anyway? The man she was supposedly going to marry? Shouldn’t he be the one here enduring this painfully awkward introduction?

Mrs. Hawthorne finally spoke. “It’s lovely to meet you, Keira. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“I’m sure you have,” Keira said, her smile tightening. Probably things like “she’s stubborn,” “too independent,” and “refuses to be controlled.” She added in her thoughts. 

Her mother laughed lightly. “We’ve been looking forward to this moment for quite some time.”

Keira couldn’t help herself. “Oh? That’s funny because I’ve been dreading it.”

Her mother’s smile froze, the mask cracking just a little. She shot Keira a subtle warning glance. 

Mrs. Hawthorne’s lips twitched—whether it was amusement or disapproval? It was hard to tell. “Unfortunately,” she said smoothly, “our son couldn’t make it this evening. He had… business to attend to.”

Keira blinked. Business?

She was being paraded around like a prize, stuffed into an uncomfortable dress, and mentally prepped to play the role of the perfect fiancée—and he couldn’t even bother to show up?

Wow. Charming.

“Oh, that’s such a shame,” her mother replied, her tone saccharine. “But I’m sure they’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other soon.”

Keira didn’t bother responding. She was too busy imagining what excuse could possibly be more important than meeting the woman he was supposed to marry.

Maybe he was just as uninterested as she was.

If so, maybe they’d get along after all.

Keira was about to zone out completely—nodding on autopilot as her mother talked to lengths with the Hawthornes—when her phone vibrated in her clutch.

She slipped it out, grateful for the distraction, and saw her director’s name flashing on the screen.

Saved by the bell.

“Excuse me,” she muttered quickly, not waiting for her mother’s inevitable glare as she stepped away from the conversation. She pressed the phone to her ear.

“Keira,” Her project director’s familiar, brisk tone filled her ear. “I need you to bring the project files to the Westbridge Hotel. The CEO has reserved a suite for tomorrow’s meeting, but he needs those documents tonight so he can prep, you have them with you right?”

Keira’s heart did a little victory lap. An actual reason to leave. “Absolutely, sir. I’ll be there within the hour.”

“Great! I'll text you his room number so you can leave it at the reception.” 

She hung up, shoving her phone back into her clutch with a grin she couldn’t suppress. Turning on her heel, she made her way back toward her mother, who was mid-conversation, laughing at something painfully unfunny.

Keira cleared her throat. “Mum, I have to go. Work emergency.”

Her mother’s smile faltered, her eyes narrowing like she was about to protest. “What do you mean, go? We’re just getting started.”

Keira shrugged, already backing away. “I’ll be back before midnight.” She said, half running in her heels. 

“You are not Cinderella, young lady! And if you embarrass me tonight, I swear—”

But Keira was already out of ear shot, barely suppressing her grin as she got into one of the cars and drove away.