Chapter Three: A night to remember ?

“What!?” Mom, Julia and I said together in disbelief. Mom went over to dad. “ Darling, how’s that possible? This marriage was arranged for Julia with your father and yours, how could we just change that.

“ Yes, I know that, but the agreement never specified which daughter of the Davidson’s. We just came to agree that Julia would do it since she was the eldest Davidson’s daughter.”

“But how?... I’m engaged to Ryan”. My mind in shambles trying to wrap my head around what I heard.

Dad came towering over to me.“ looks like what you should do is not clear to your tiny brain. Your engagement with Ryan is cancelled.” Stepping backwards in disbelief, shaking my head. “No… that’s impossible”.

“ I told you not to come home if you don’t get the contract. Yet you didn’t. You have to be useful somehow.” The colour on my face drained at his words and I quickly turned my back leaving the dining room in a hurry.

I barged into my room and collapsed on the floor beside my bed, my breath coming out unevenly. The door of my room opened and someone came to sit beside me.

Knowing without glancing who it was, that it was Julia, as she smelt the same jasmine perfume she always uses. She placed my head on her shoulder and rubbed my head in a circular motion.

“ I’m sorry.” She says softly. “I’m your older sister and I can’t even protect you from our parents, I feel so useless”.

Raising head from her shoulder, I turned to face her. “ It is not your fault Julia. I know you had no say in the matter”.

“I’m just hurt you’re going to enter a sad marriage with that man. You don’t even know the awful things I have heard about him”.

“What things?” This got my attention.

“ They say he is not into women but men. He’s always around men and with how much money he has, not a single picture of him with women.”

Not only am I giving up my happiness, I’m being forced into a marriage with a man that would never love me. Speaking of love.

“ I don’t know what I’m going to tell Ryan” I let out a deep breath.

Julia’s expression turned sour, but in a split second it was gone, almost like I imagined it. She took my hands in a tight grip, her expression turning serious all of a sudden.

“Iris, you’re my sister and I have to tell you the truth. As far as Mom and Dad are concerned, you’re going to be marrying that monster and might never get a taste of love.”

“ If I was still in your position, with someone I love intensively, I would spend all my time of freedom with them before I’m trapped in a loveless marriage”. She held my gaze without flinching.

“ Are you saying I should sleep with Ryan?”

“ No, what I’m saying is, go talk to Ryan and whatever happens don’t live in regret”.

“Julia!” We heard mom scream from outside my door.

“ And that’s my cue.” She stands up and heads for the door. Leaving me to think about what she said.

“No way”. My friend Kim says, as she makes her way into the living room and hands me a cup of tea.

I had just finished explaining to her everything that has happened these last few days.

“ What are you going to do?” She takes a sip of her tea.

“ I wish I had the answers to that, but first I need to talk to Ryan”. Kim rolled her eyes and dropped her cup on the coffee table.

She never liked Ryan. She always told me that he doesn’t deserve me.

“Girl, when are you going to wake up and see that Ryan is just as bad as your parents? At least you can’t choose your family, but you can choose who you want to spend your entire life with”. I gave her a look.

“ Well technically you can’t, but I think it’s better than manipulative Ryan who is pretending to love you”. She says with a shrug.

Shaking my head in disagreement with what she says. “ I know you never saw Ryan the way I do, but who was the only one that saw me when I was so invisible. If that doesn’t prove he loves me I don’t know what”.

Her expression became gentle. “ You know I see you right?”

“I do”.

Kim snaps her fingers. “ I forgot to ask, who are they forcing you to marry”.

I shifted in my seat. “ That’s the thing, Mason Knight”.

She choked on her drink.“ What! Are you serious?” I nod my head.

“ That’s my boss’s, boss, boss.” Her eyes widened in shock. Then instantly changed to a look of pity and finally anger.

“ They can’t do that to you, he isn’t even into women!” she began pacing around the room.

“ So it’s true”. My lips press into a thin line. She stops her pacing and runs her hands through her hair.

“ That man is awful, working us his employees to death. Always hosting long meetings, criticizing our work. He is so hard to please, who knows what he would do to his wife…” she stops and turns to look at me.

“ That was thoughtless of me. There’s always the option of coming to stay with me?”

“ You know I can’t do that. My family might not love me as much as I love them, but I can’t abandon them, they would suffer if I don’t go through this marriage”.

Her face relaxed. “ They don’t deserve you”. She sits on the couch beside me and squeezes my hands.

“ Julia says I should sleep with Ryan or that’s what I think she meant. She wasn’t really clear”. Kim turns to look at me.

“ I think Julia should pick up her big girl pants and oppose this marriage”.

“ I don’t know, I have thought about what she says, and I might not get a chance of being intimate with someone after I get married.” Turning away from her.

“ As long as this is what you want, then I totally support you”.

I texted Julia my decision before I left Kim’s house . A few minutes later, she sent me the address of a luxurious hotel and said that Ryan would meet me there.

I came out with my bath robe and fell on the bed. I don’t know how Julia pulled this off, it must have cost a fortune.

Seeing a bottle of wine sitting there, I decided to have a glass, to calm the discomfort in my stomach.

A few minutes later, the room became so hot. I tugged at my bath robe, heat spreading through my body. I could hear my heart beat fast in my ears.

What’s wrong with me?

I thought to myself, the door of the room swung open. My vision clouded with heat, I saw a tall figure come into the room closing the door behind.

I pushed myself unsteadily to my feet and went to the person. I pressed myself against the hard chest, their skin felt so cool.

“ So, good…” I moaned out. Pressing myself further into the figure.

“What are you doing?” A raspy voice whispers in my ears and he puts his hand around my waist pushing me away from him.

His touch sent another wave of heat through me, settling deep in my core. Needing any form of relief, I pressed my body into him.

“Please… help me”. Vibrant blue eyes stare down at me, hypnotizing me.

“ You’re not in your right mind now” He grabs my wrist before I could touch him.

“Damn it!. You’re burning up”. Before he could pull away, I grabbed his shirt, rising to my toes

And crashed my lips against his.