Lori is marrying Kim Elijah; heir to Kim Enterprises, one of the country’s hottest bachelors and a total pain in the ass. She does not want to marry him and neither does he want to marry her. But in families like hers, marriage does not come with love.
View MoreStuck in an Arranged Marriage with the Popular Playboy
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Chapter 1: Where it all started
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Lori peel her eyes open, already regretting it the moment bright sunlight blinds her vision. She groan in annoyance, rolling onto her side to escape the sunrays hitting her face. Something she regret doing as well as she is now facing a heart-eyed and smiling Jordan.
“Good morning beautiful”, he whispers, brushing his fingertips down the bridge of her nose.
“Jordan. Don’t”, Lori warn, rolling onto her back to escape his touch.
But to no avail. He follows her, now hovering over her with his elbows on each side of her head and a big grin on his disgustingly handsome face. His naked chest brushes her equally bare one with every breath he takes, eliciting goosebumps on her skin.
“Why?” he pats his eyelashes at Lori in confusion, “still have insecurities about your ruffled bed hair? After all those months together?” he teases, running his fingers through her messy hair softly.
She scoff, rolling her eyes at him.
“Shut up”, Lori gently push at his chest.
It makes him grin, well, smirk more so, his eyes starting to sparkle even more than before.
“Fine if you wish”, he rasps as he cups her face to pull her into a hot kiss.
But before his lips meet hers, she turn her head away, making him kiss her cheek instead.
“I said don’t”, Lori warn.
His naked skin on hers doesn’t feel exciting anymore, it feels suffocating. Or maybe it is because her whole body wants to feel his’, every nerve in her body craves his touch and every cell in her brain screams at her to just give in, do you feel like suffocating.
Jordan pulls away, clearly confused and hurt.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, despite knowing the answer already.
“You know what’s wrong”, Lori growl, staring at the ceiling now that Jordan had rolled off her body and his face isn’t able to distract her anymore.
“Don’t think about it. We still have time. One day, just let me distract you for today and we’ll see about tomorrow when tomorrow comes, not anytime sooner”, he says, already tracing his fingers up and down her arm again.
But she only listen to him half heartedly. Her thoughts are racing with unlived memories of tomorrow.
“Kim fucking Elijah”, Lori scoff.
Jordan’s fingers come to a halt, his jaw clenches.
“Out of all the rich sons my father wants to expand his fortune with, it has to be Kim motherfucking Elijah”, She groan, rubbing her eyes.
Jordan grumbles Lori’s name in warning, swallowing down the lump which had formed in his dry throat. The morning wood, he had sported just seconds ago and had loved to put to good use, is definitely gone by now.
“I have to marry Kim Elijah. Can you believe that?” Lori laugh breathlessly, shaking her head before rolling her head to the side to look at Jordan.
He is staring at her with cold eyes, grinding his teeth.
The lovely Sunday he had planned for her is definitely ruined now.
He knows it and he knows she know it too.
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“Are you ready to go ma'am?“ Lori’s assistant asks her, entering her dressing room after having knocked three times. He is carrying a big bouquet of white and pink roses, smiling brightly at her.
She turns around and touch the top of her long white wedding dress. It feels soft under her fingertips, almost like she would imagine touching a fluffy cloud would feel like. She hate it, it shouldn’t feel good, it should feel like sandpaper or razors cutting her skin. Not like fairytales and happiness.
“Do I look ready?” She ask, wanting nothing more than for him to say no just so could have an excuse to rip that god awful dress off her body.
“You look beautiful ma’am. Mister Kim is so lucky”, he smiles, completely oblivious to her clenched jaw and sagging shoulders.
Or at least that is what he lets her believe.
Truth was, he knew exactly how she was feeling, but didn’t want to overstep his boundaries. So he pretend not to know.
“Thank you”, Lori mumble, playing with the golden ring on her finger.
Her brother had gotten it for her as his promise to always stay by your side no matter what will come. She look down at it, watching the light dance in the ruby stone. A small smile hushes over her lips, the ring is the only thing you genuinely enjoy right now.
“Let’s go now ma'am. Your brother is waiting for you”, Her assistant says, offering her his hand to help her down the step on which she was currently standing.
Lori accept it, stepping down the unnecessarily high step. He hands her the bouquet of flowers, brushing his thumb over her skin in comfort. Secretly and quickly, but it is enough to show her that he cares enough to know.
The way to the limousine, which was parked right outside of her parents house, was silent. She was too lost in her own thoughts and her assistant was far too busy with trying to hold her long veil as high as possible so it wouldn’t get dirty.
Not that she minded the silence, on the contrary at least she could wallow in self-pity in peace.
She is greeted with a proudly grinning Logan in the entrance hall. He is wearing a black suit with a burgundy red tie and a white shirt underneath. He looks like a proper gentleman, the image making her almost laugh.
Lori knows him wearing his floor long dressing gown and ugly fur slippers around the house, so seeing him all dressed-up, feels almost foreign to her.
Oh how uncomfortable he must be right now.
“Wow you look beautiful”, Logan gasps.
“You think so? Thanks, I personally hate it”, Lori retort.
She can see Logan be lost for words for just a moment, as he swallows down what he wanted to say and looks at her assistant for help instead.
“Yeah”, he clears his throat awkwardly, “let’s go”, he decides on saying in the end, locking his arm with hers to lead her to the car.
Once inside the car, Logan on the backseat next to Lori and her assistant in the front, the suffocating feeling inside her chest gets only stronger. Logan, who had watched his sister bite on her nails for a good ten minutes now, finally opens his mouth to speak.
“Want some champagne?” he asks, offering her a glass of the sparkling alcohol.
“Thanks”, Lori say before gulping down the sour liquid in one-go, not once batting an eyelash.
“Whoa, take it easy there champion”, he gasps, holding onto her wrist to stop her from reaching for the bottle and pouring herself another glass.
“Why? It’s not every day that your little sister gets married to someone she doesn’t even love. We have to celebrate this wonderful occasion”, Lori spit.
Logan sighs, combing his fingers through his black locks.
“You know”, he starts as he slings an arm around her shoulder and pulls her closer to his body, “I didn’t love my wife at first either. For a fact I despised her. But now look at us, all happy and in love. I am sure you will feel the same for Elijah one day.”
Lori know he means well, but just imagining feeling anything other than hatred for Elijah makes her want to gag.
“That’s different. Your wife is actually nice and turned out to be an amazing wife to you. But Elijah, he is just so-“, She stop herself for a moment just so she wouldn’t say the wrong thing right now, “-so not my type”, She says in the end.
“I’m sure he will be one day”, he pats her shoulder softly, giving you an encouraging smile.
“No. But let’s just say so for now”, She retort, feeling stubborn and not wanting to give Logan any kind of satisfaction.
Just as he says her name to start scolding her, the car comes to a sudden stop. The driver opens the little window, which separates her from the driver booth and just in the next moment her assistants face appears in the frame.
“We arrived”, he announces before getting out of the car to open the door for Lori and Logan.
Lori can already spot her father waiting for the two of you outside the building with a proud smile on his face. He raises his right hand to wave at her, calling out her brother’s name first before hers falls off his tongue.
Lori wonders if he would look at her funny if she simply turned around this instance and fled the scene? She could easily do that. Take a shortcut through the flower beds, ruin her dress in the process and then hide in a far away café.
Surely she would be faster than her father or her brother, she always have been. But before she could go through with her escape plan, she is by her father’s side, facing him with a clenched jaw.
“My darling daughter”, He says, meeting her in the middle of the staircase. He puts his hand on her shoulder, giving it a loving squeeze, “look at you, even more beautiful than I had imagined”, he continues.
Lori force a smile to her face, bowing her head at him in thankfulness. He is never that nice. The feigned kindness makes her skin crawl.
“Thank you father, I have to agree my stylists did an amazing job today. At least now I can look my best whilst having to marry a complete stranger”, Lori’s fake smile grows.
Her father’s smile drops, his eyebrow crease.
“There is nothing that I can do here. Behave just like you were taught”, he warns, the loving tone in his voice is gone.
She scoffs.
She is impressed, her father held up his façade longer than she had imagined.
She knows full well what would happen if she continued to step out of line, just the thought alone scares her. So despite her tongue itching to throw another snarky remark at her father’s annoying head, she mumbles a quiet apology and decides to keeps her head low.
Her father, clearly happy with her behavior, pats her shoulder, smiling like nothing had happened.
“The company is so proud of you, my daughter. Come”, he says, taking Lori’s hand, “meet your husband”, he says as he leads her up the remaining stairs into the big venue.
Lori feels like throwing up once and for all.
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TBC
Written by Me
Stuck in An Arranged Marriage with The Billionaire Playboy.Chapter 24: shoulder high shrubs .I study his features for a moment. I have spent enough time with Elijah to notice his habit of making himself smaller after every sentence he speaks. Especially when he thinks that his words could have offended the other person in any kind of way. I blame it on him being secretly very shy, but still can’t shake the feeling that perhaps there was another reason for said habit. I let my eyes linger on his shoulders, looking at whatever little part of his back is visible.“You don’t like it when people touch your back. Do you?”His eyes flit to his lap, his shoulders rise to his ears. He looks smaller instantly. Smaller and just a little scared.“Please don’t tell anyone about last night”, he begs in a whisper.I blink quickly, placing the cup down. Why should I tell anyone about last night?“No of course not. I just want to know for myself so I don’t accidentally do it.”His eyes widen in
Stuck in An Arranged Marriage with The Billionaire Playboy.Chapter 23: awkwardness phase .I peel my eyes open. There is a pillow in my arms. It is Elijah’s pillow. But the owner is nowhere to be seen. I sit up, eyes half-lidded as I inspect the room. It is abandoned.The sheets on Elijah’s side of the bed are cold as I touch them. Not that he spent a lot of time on his side last night. I wrap my arms around my body. It was kind of nice to be held like this. He felt so soft and warm in my arms and smelled so nice. My heart flutters.“No”, I realize, “no, do not fall for him”, I say out loud, giving my own cheek a little slap.You said so yourself, he can’t give me love or affection. Those past few nights were merely because we both wanted to sleep. Yes, this must be it. A mere attempt to find sleep.First me with the thunderstorm. He held me so I would stop wiggling and he could fall asleep again. Yes this must have been it. But then. I touch my forehead. Why did he kiss me?And w
Stuck in An Arranged Marriage with The Billionaire Playboy.Chapter 22: two nights in a two .Another thunder rumbles, but it doesn’t sound that scary anymore. Elijah made sure it wouldn’t by placing his hand over my ear before it could cut through the air.Shit. He is actually calming me down. Kim Elijah is actually managing to give me enough comfort to calm down.I close my eyes and inhale deeply. He smells of ylang-ylang and lavender. It's kind of nice.Elijah’s breathing changes, he must be falling asleep again. With his last bit of strength he flips to his side, pulling me against his chest.My eyes are wide open again. My hands are just sort of resting on his chest, his fingers in my hair and his arm is around me. This is so much more intimate than the other position. I can even feel his chest rise and sink and when I concentrate hard enough, I can even feel his heartbeat against the tip of my nose.Should I hug him back? Or is that going too far? But my arm hurts so much in t
Stuck in An Arranged Marriage with The Billionaire Playboy.Chapter 21: thunder rumbling storm .“Aren’t you your own person? You said so yourself to your brother. So why are you not acting like you are?”“I don’t know what you want me to say.”“I mean it. You allow your employees to talk to you disrespectfully without firing them instantly, you do everything your parents want you to do without complaining. Hell, you don’t even own a car because your parents don’t want you to and you work in a shitty office because your father told you to”, he laughs dryly, “you’re a strong, hardworking woman and yet you allow people to use you as their doormat.”I scoff in disbelief. What has gotten into him? Where is this sudden urge to life coach me coming from? I didn’t ask for this and yet I am left staring into his eyes and listening to what he has to say.“You think people will respect you if you show them over and over again that they can treat you as they wish without suffering consequences
Stuck in an Arranged Marriage with the Popular Playboy.Chapter 20: there was a moment.I am already in bed, reading a book, when Elijah comes back. He was out for dinner after his swim and I spent my alone time boiling myself in the hot tub and doing a face mask. It was meant to calm me down, but it really didn’t. I was still feeling terribly guilty. Now I am reading, I very much enjoy reading before bed and tonight I attempt to use it as a distraction in order not to think about everything that had happened.“I’m back”, Elijah announces himself.I hum in acknowledgement, not looking up. I did so because my book is terribly thrilling and you don’t want to miss out on anything. He studies me for a moment, grinding his teeth.“Are you not going to talk to me?”“Mhm?” I sneak a glance his way, “why should I?”He blinks, eyebrows raised.“Okay then”, he gives up, “Imma take a shower”, he murmurs coldly.“Do that”, I say dryly, flipping the pages.Was that too rude? Will this start a
Stuck in an Arranged Marriage with the Popular Playboy.Chapter 19: do cheaters burn in hell .What Jordan is doing right now?I slip my hand into the pocket of my slacks and touch my phone. I could call him.“Hello?” his voice is croaky when he finally picks up.“Jordan, hey! How are you?” I greet him, instantly feeling better now that I can hear his voice.“Sleeping”, he grumbles.“Oh my god”, I gasp, “holy shit, I totally forgot. I am so sorry, Jordan.”He laughs tiredly.“It’s fine, my alarm would have woken me in ten anyways”, he yawns loudly, “how are you? How was the flight?”“It was alright. I worked for the entirety of it.”“Did the jerk annoy you?”“Who?”“Your husband.”“Ew, true he exists too”, I fake gag. Jordan chuckles, voice raspy from sleep, “that bad?”“It's been manageable for now. Let's see if I will have changed my mind tomorrow.”“So you had fun?”“Jordan, don’t tell me you’re jealous.” “Yeah? As if I ever made a secret out of it”, he says and laughs breathle
Stuck in an Arranged Marriage with the Popular Playboy.Chapter 18: progress at least? .“Would you mind walking a little faster?” I call over my shoulder.Elijah raises his head, blinking at me in bafflement. He had been gawking at his phone before that, playing Candy Crush. He locks his phone and stores it in the inside pocket of his suit jacket.“Excuse me?” he says, speeding up, “I’m not the one who insisted on getting smoothies before take-off”, he says, having reached my side.The two of us are hurrying through the halls of the airport, each carrying a big smoothie and trying my hardest not to bump into people. I was running terribly late. The driver had called me three times already, informing me that my plane must take off soon or else I would have to wait three hours for a free spot in the schedule of the airport.I know that it was my fault that we were late. Elijah said so already. I insisted on getting smoothies before take-off and the people, who prepared them, moved in
Stuck in an Arranged Marriage with the Popular Playboy.Chapter 17: brothers can be betrayers too.“Did you do that?” Elijah barks slamming the door to my office closed.I look up from the contracts i was reading through, quirking an eyebrow up at him. This is the first time he visits me at my company. It is definitely weird. Why would he want to visit me?“Good day to you too”, I mumble and look back into the contracts.Elijah storms to my desk and slams his hand on the table.I huff out air in annoyance, closing my eyes for a moment.“For heavens sake, can you stop slamming things?” I grumble, sending him a dark look over the brim of my glasses.“No I won’t, it’s what you get for planning a goddamn vacation”, he spits.At that your attention shifts. I place my pen down, raising my head. Elijah is practically fuming in anger, lips stretched into a thin line.“I’m sorry, what? Did you just say vacation?”“Check your mails”, he says angrily yet calmly and sits down in a chair. He cr
Stuck in an Arranged Marriage with the Popular Playboy.Chapter 16: this is working out? .I let out a disbelieved chuckle, breaking my eyes away from him. He listened to me? I didn’t think that he would actually pay attention to the phone calls I was having close to him. What the hell? Why did this make me feel good for a split second? I look away. I go to work on his second shoe, fighting with the knot. This one is so much tighter than the other one, good god.“So is it for Aqua Cleanse? How important was it?” he asks.“Very, it’s the research reports for the products. I need to go through them before the meeting with the CEO on Monday.”“Isn’t the CEO your father? Why are you so stressed then?” he asks, laughing.“And? You think he is going to be nice just ‘cause I’m his daughter?” I spit.Elijah stops laughing and swallows heavily at the intense glare I send him. He clears his throat and lowers his eyes. “What’s the meeting about?” he asks quietly.I click my tongue and look ba
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