Chapter 4

I was surprised by Sean’s arrival at the studio where I was shooting a commercial for a cosmetic brand today. People were even surprised by his presence. During the break time, I immediately approached Sean with people looking at us while whispering.

“What are you doing here, Sean? You shouldn’t be here.” I spoke in a slightly small, exasperated voice.

“I’m here to see my future wife work and what she’s like in her job. You’re more stunning than I expected.” Sean eliminated the distance between us and caressed my lower lip, which was currently wearing light pink lipstick. I was swept away by his gaze, which seemed to lock my soul and body. He kissed me, and I was surprised by it. Then, I realized this was wrong.

I pulled back until our kiss ended forcefully. I hit Sean along his body for doing such an embarrassing thing.

“This is a public place, I could be the subject of gossip.” I was angry, but I didn’t really mean it; oh god, I was getting confused by the influence of this damn good-looking guy.

“That’s good and I was expecting it. You should be mine soon, darling.” Sean pulled my waist so that the distance between us was no longer there. Then Caroline came to distract us.

“Oh, my, can I have an explanation for what happened here?” Caroline’s question made me nervous. I broke away from Sean.

“Oh, it’s nothing, really. Introduce yourself. This is Sean. Sean, this is Caroline, my manager and cousin.” I introduced them both. Sean just smiled politely, and so did Caroline.

“If you permit, I will take Ariana out to lunch.” Sean asked politely, and I felt honored by that.

“Oh, may I know who you are?” Caroline wanted to know. Sean smiled, his eyes shining like the morning sun.

“I’m her future husband,” Sean said confidently and without guilt. I was taken aback and looked at Sean and Caroline in turn.

“Oh, well, it’s only a short break; we shouldn’t waste time.” I quickly grabbed Sean’s hand and left the studio.

Sean also invited me to have lunch outside. I squirmed a little in my front seat as we were on our way to one of the city’s restaurants.

“How did you end up in Montes that night?” I thought of the question that came to my mind first at this moment.

“When you chose to leave Logos yesterday, I took the initiative to follow you, and I didn’t expect you to go to a pub.” Sean’s confession made me embarrassed and annoyed. I was annoyed because he followed me and embarrassed because I gave him an inappropriate impression on the first day we met.

“I went there at the invitation of my cousin Caroline, who is also my manager. One of our friends had a birthday and anyway I needed a place where I could forget about this shocking situation. You don’t know what it’s like to struggle alone with everything.”

“I know. You’re not the only one, but I hope you never come to that place again after marrying me. What if I hadn’t come back then? That man would’ve taken the advantage he wanted from you.” Sean sounded angry as he said his last sentence.

“Thank you for your help that night, but why did you lie that we had sex that night?” I also wanted to know why he told me a lie.

“I just wanted to see your reaction, and since you were so scared I thought you might not have done it before.” Sean’s guess made me upset and embarrassed again. I looked away toward the window and exhaled loudly.

“I just had an unpleasant experience yesterday. Before I knew about the wedding, someone I’ve liked for a long time rejected me. I thought that because we’d been together for so long, Phillip would feel the same way about me. Still, when he told me that I’d be better suited to be his little sister, I felt so stupid for hoping so much for him and waiting for a decision. I felt so stupid for expecting so much from him and waiting for a decision.”

I know this sounds embarrassing, but I don’t think it matters if Sean knows the truth; maybe then he will change his decision for this marriage.

“Aren’t I like a real savior to you? You were heartbroken and I came to offer you the more serious relationship you wanted.” Sean’s statement made me smile scornfully. I didn’t know he was that confident.

“To be honest, I’m not too grateful for this marriage. You must have seen my reaction at the beginning of our meeting.” I had to admit my current feelings, honestly.

We let the silence overtake us until we arrived at the restaurant. Sean offered his hand to help me out of his car, and I blushed at his polite gesture. However, as we were about to enter through the restaurant’s entrance, I was surprised by a man who called my name.

“Ariana?! Nice to see you here, I’m Ariel. Phillip and I are friends, congratulations on your new commercial.”

Ariel smiled at me with his friendly and cheerful aura. He reached out to shake hands, but Sean immediately grabbed Ariel’s hand so that the man could shake hands.

“Hi, I’m Sean, Ariana’s fiancé. If you don’t mind, we should come in because I don’t want my fiancée to starve after her job at the studio.” Sean’s words made my eyeballs want to jump out, and I looked at him in surprise.

“Oh, my gosh! Is that true? Are you engaged now? Oh, congratulations on your engagement then. See you at the studio, Ana.”

Ariel responded to Sean’s statement in a rather nervous manner and then walked away, leaving me unable to utter a single word.

“What does that mean? Why did you say that to him? I’ll be the subject of gossip, and Caroline will be furious with me. This is about my reputation, Sean.”

I was angry now, but Sean responded to my anger with a cold stare. His jaw tightened, and without me being able to prevent Sean from pulling my waist so that my body was closer to his, he kissed me.