Secrets and Schemes

Ethan’s POV

“Zzzzmmmm” My phone rang out as I paced around in circles waiting for Luna to pick up, which she finally did.

“Hey, Luna, wanna get married?” I asked, my voice urgent.

“What?!”

“I’m sending you an address; meet me there in an hour; we’re getting married today.” I hung up the call and strode downstairs.

“Where to, sir?” Rufus, my driver asked.

“Take me to Manhattan’s marriage bureau.” I said, reclining back in the chair, as I recalled the conversation I had earlier with my parents.

——————

“We have picked a good candidate for you to get married to,” Father declared as he sat close to Mom.

“What! I told you I would when I'm ready. Why the rush again?!” I spat, irritated.

“Ethan, we love you, and you know that, but not at the detriment of your future,” Mom said, looking at me with pity laced in her eyes.

“This is grandfather’s doing, isn't it?”

I didn't even wait for their reply and stormed out of the house, seething as I called Luna.

——————

A few hours later, we arrived at the marriage bureau and I walked inside. It was empty because I had made a special arrangement.

As I sauntered forward “chk,” the doors locked behind me. I swiveled my head around and noticed a familiar figure standing by the door and another seated by the corner with silver hair.

Is that “Grandfather?!” I exclaimed.

“You fool!” The old geezer growled. “I knew your mother was too soft to carry this out.”

Grandfather’s aid Adam walked toward me and flashed his phone in my face. It was a video of Luna leaving her house.

“What’s the meaning of this?!” I snapped, clenching my jaw.

“You’re not as smart as you always think, Ethan; I’m always one step ahead of you,” Grandfather declared.

“You have five minutes to leave if you don't want her harmed,” Adam said, and I glared at him.

“Are you wishing for a death sentence?” I raised my fist to strike him, but grandfather’s words paused me mid-air.

“Less than five minutes, boy, your time is ticking,” he said as he stood up.

“Grandfather!” I bellowed indignantly, but he ignored me and walked out.

I fell to the ground, my fist clenched, and glared toward the door.

*****

Scarlett's POV

I sat there astonished at the words of my parents, as they were sinking in like an anchor in my chest. The room felt suffocating as if its walls were closing in on me.

I had come to visit them today when Mom and Dad stated that they needed to discuss something very important with me. I wish I had known the subject matter of this meeting; I wouldn't have acknowledged it.

“You arranged a marriage for me?!” I exclaimed, my voice quivering with anger and disbelief. “How could you? How dare you play with my life!”

Mom’s eyes looked a bit troubled. “Scarlett, sweetheart, we did this out of love, out of a desire to secure your future.”

“Secure my future?” I spat, my voice tinged with bitterness. “Is that what you think of my life? A business deal?”

My father's face showed regret, but it did nothing to stop the fire that burned within me. “We thought this was the only way to secure your future.”

“No! This is for your selfish gain,” I snapped.

The room grew silent, the tension palpable and burning hot like a flame.

“Scarlett,” my mother called out. “We only want what's best for you. We want you to have a secure life.”

“But at what cost?” I retorted, tears welled up in my eyes.

My words lingered in the air. The air around them felt suffocating as they struggled to find the right words to make up for their actions.

As silence settled upon us, I defensively said, “I’m not marrying someone I do not know.”

“Well, we’ve tried to be considerate with you.” Mom started, her attitude immediately changing, and she got interrupted by Dad.

“Selene!”

“No, let me speak; we’ve tried to be considerate and understanding with you, but it feels like that’s not working for you, and it isn’t working for us either; you would get married to Ethan Donovan and you don’t have a choice, understood?” Mom asked.

“Why are you doing this to me?” Tears ran down my face.

“We will be having dinner with the Donovan’s by 7 pm, and you better be dressed for the occasion.” She stood up, ignoring my cry.

“This conversation is over.” She walked upstairs without even sparing me a glance.

“Dad!” I cried, hoping he would say something, but he just followed his wife.

I was tired, my head was spinning from the argument I had with my parents. Hours went by, and with a sorrowful heart, I reluctantly prepared for dinner.

Dinner came, and I was wonderfully dressed as per my mother’s orders. The Donovans arrived just in time, but it was just the couple. I wasn’t seeing anyone young enough for my parents to throw me to, unless… no, it couldn’t be.

“Honey, do you remember the Donovans?” Mom asked, grinning at me, and I merely forced an awkward smile back, figuring that I couldn't remember meeting the Donovans before this day.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Donovan,” I replied courteously.

“I apologize; Ethan isn’t here yet, Jack,” Mr. Donovan apologized to my dad, shaking his head with evident frustration.

“There's nothing to apologize for, Chris. Ethan is a busy young man, and I completely understand,” Dad replied, his smile unwavering. Well, thank goodness my thoughts were wrong; the old man wasn’t Ethan.

“I was just around the corner, Dad,” a young man entered the room, striding towards us. Something about him seemed oddly familiar, but I couldn't quite place what it was.

“Ethan, your father and I told you the time for the dinner,” Mrs Donovan gently stated.

“I know, and I'm sorry, Mom.” He apologized, reaching in to plant a kiss on her cheek, his magnificent height towering over her. There was something oddly familiar about him that I couldn't get rid of.

As I looked at his handsome face, a persistent thought kept coming to my mind, pushing me to recall where I had seen him before this moment.

“Is it almost time for dinner? I'm hungry.” Ethan declared with a smile, enhancing his facial features; his teeth looked so arranged, I could swear I had met him.

Together, we walked into the dining room and got seated. The maids brought in dinner. Several minutes into dinner, the dining room was so quiet that all I could hear was the sound of cutlery hitting the plates.

I kept thinking about how I had come to know Ethan. Dad felt the awkwardness of the dinner and decided to start up a conversation with the Donovans.

“So what does it feel like to finally be in control of Heavenly Getaway Hotels?”

“Really good Mr. Morgan. My team and I are making preparations for a new construction in Brazil,” Ethan said with a huge smile. He must be proud of himself.

“I wish Scarlett here could be as hardworking as you are, young man,” Mom lets out without even sparing me a glance. I simply just ignored her because I promised I was going to get through this dinner without letting anything get to me.

“I’m sure she also works hard, Selene, you can’t compare her to Ethan, he simply just overworks himself.” Mr Donovan came to my rescue and sent a smile my way, and I politely returned. A question came from his wife.

“So what do you do, sweetheart?”

“Erm… I’m a writer,” I answered shyly. I could see Ethan looking at me with my side-eye.

“That’s impressive. Do you have any famous work out there?” Mrs Donovan further questioned.

“No, nothing yet.” They all had disappointed looks on their faces, but Mom’s face had it worse.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, it's just a matter of time till you get one out there, bestseller even, who knows?” Mr Donavan said, brightening up my mood, and I smiled at him thankfully.

Everyone quietly went back to their dinner after that, and I went back to trying to remember where I had seen Ethan before.

“Oh my God, it's you!” I blurted out, my fork quivering in my hand as I pointed it at him, the forgotten memories finally coming to mind.