CHAPTER FOUR.

DANIELLE'S P.O.V

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Layla London, one of my best friends stares at me in surprise, her eyes bulging out of their sockets. My other two best friends, Janelle Wang, and Sofia Vergara mirror her expression.

"So, you're telling us that you're getting married to your one night stand?" Janelle asks.

"That about summarizes it, yes" I reply.

The three of them keep staring at me in surprise. The news of my impending engagement and marriage, alone, must be hard for them to comprehend, talk less of the fact that I had a one night stand with my husband to be.

After dad broke the dreadful news of his illness to me, I began to understand why he was so hard on me. Dad is usually indulgent and does whatever I want him to and I, in return, do whatever he asks of me, but the topic of my marriage had caused a rift between us.

I started to see why he would not budge and why he was insistent on marrying me off to a rich family.

I went to the dining room and pretended to be the best daughter, bride, and in law anyone could ever hope for and I succeeded in fooling everyone but Adrian,of course. He kept shooting glares at me throughout the night and I reciprocated whenever our fathers were too engrossed in conversation to notice us.

The next morning, I decided to meet up with my friends at our hang out spot and break the news to them.

"Who's he?"

"Do we know him?"

"Is he rich?"

My friends throw questions at me and I laugh at the absurdity of my present situation.

"One question at a time, guys" I say.

"Who's he?" Janelle repeats.

"His name is Adrian Valentino" I answer

My best friends once again stare at me, their mouths widening in surprise.

"Did you say Adrian Valentino?" Layla asks.

"Yes?" I say.

"The Adrian Valentino?" Janelle asks.

"Yes, I guess?" I say hesitantly.

As they squeal in delight,like fan girls, I know there's something they know about him that I do not.

"What?" I ask

"Adrian Valentino is the hottest topic in the country,Dannie" Layla answers.

"The hottest, wealthiest, and most sought after bachelor in the country. The sensation of the last two decades." Sofia says, fanning her face with her hands dramatically.

"And the Valentino empire, which he has been running since his father's retirement, is the biggest conglomerate in the country. The third richest in the entire world" Janelle adds, matter-of-factly

"Wow!" I say

"How do you not know any of this?" Layla asks.

She looks at me like I am some sort of alien for not knowing anything about Adrian Valentino.

"I don't know, I just don't" I reply.

"Do you live under a rock or something?" Sofia laughs.

"Really?" I say, my eyebrows shooting up in demonstration.

"Seriously. How do you know nothing about him or the Valentino empire? They're what everybody talks about" Layla tells me.

Sofia and Janelle nod their heads in agreement.

"Anyway. There's a party this evening to celebrate my dad's and his dad's partnership. They've decided to announce our engagement then."

"A party. Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Janelle asks, a pout graces her face.

"You guys were busy being melodramatic" I say, laughing.

"How is there to be an announcement of your engagement if there is no actual engagement?" Layla asks

"Our fathers are the ones setting all this up. They probably have something planned. I don't know, I don't really care."

"There's no time to waste,guys. Let's go shopping." Janelle says, picking up her purse and standing.

"We're going to find the perfect dress for you to wear tonight" Sofia squeals.

I'm surprised at how excited they are about all of this because I'm not half as excited as they are. However, I do need to get myself a dress and I will not rest until I find the perfect one for this night.

I'm doing all of this for my dad. Only because of him.

And maybe I'm also doing it to torment my husband to be. After all, if I'm being forced to marry, I can not be the only miserable one in the marriage.

          SOFT CLASSICAL music floats across the room from a live band.

Tables of delicious looking food and deserts are lined up along one side of the wall while waiters in elegant and uniform tuxedos, walk around the room offering refreshments, and refilling empty champagne flutes.

My dad and Adrian's dad, Alfredo Valentino, are going around the room, flutes of champagne in hand, greeting the guests of tonight's party while I stand in another corner of the ball room with my friends.

"Where's your husband to be?" Layla asks, looking around the room.

"He's a no-show" Janelle scowls.

"I can't blame him. I would be a no-show myself if I could help it" I mutter.

I am more than ready to put this night behind me.

"So your dads are going to announce your engagement?" Sofia asks excitedly.

"That's the plan" I reply with a shrug.

"How do they plan to announce an engagement that hasn't even happened?" Janelle asks.

"I have no idea, and I could not care less" I say.

"He's here! He's here!" Sofia squeals in delight, fanning at her face again.

I roll my eyes at how unnecessarily dramatic she's being.

"He's hot" Layla says.

As much as it kills me to, I cannot help but agree with Layla. The chauvinistic bastard does look extremely ravishing tonight in a navy blue suit which is tailored to perfection.

"Who's that beside him?" I inquire from my gossip monger friends.

"That is Umar Zayn" Layla says.

"He's nicknamed Prince Charming because apart from his royal looks, he is literally royalty" Janelle adds.

"An Arabian Prince" Sofia sighs dramatically.

"Unfortunately, unlike Adrian, his best friend, Umar is infamous for his rakishness" Janelle says distastefully.

"Guys, act normal. Adrian Valentino is approaching us" Layla hurriedly whispers.

While my friends busy themselves with 'acting normal', I roll my eyes and swirl the champagne in my flute while anticipating his arrival.

"Excuse me, ladies. I would like to borrow Danielle for a minute" I hear his deep sultry voice say.

"Oh, sure"

"Go ahead and take her for as long as you need"

"Don't bring her back anytime soon"

My friends beam at me so brightly, I can just tell they're about to lose their minds from the excitement they feel. I'm the only one of us who doesn't feel any need to be excited; that surely makes me the only sane person in our group.

"They say birds of a feather flock together" Adrian's voice breaks my wandering thoughts.

"I could say the same for you Mr Snotty. Show me your friend, and I'll tell you who you are" I reply with a smirk.

I smile smugly in satisfaction at the scowl that graces his face.

"What do you want?" I ask once he has successfully maneuvered us away from eyesight.

He fishes an item out from his suit pocket and pushes it into my right hand. I open my palm to see a small red velvet box which can contain none other than a ring.

"What is this about?"

"My dad asked me to give this to you in time for the announcement" he says.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I ask.

"Chew on it, why don't you?" he answers, sarcastically.

"I have a much better idea. Why don't I shove it up your asshole instead?" I say sweetly.

He glares at me again while I smile with glee.

"It's supposed to be on your finger" he says.

"I don't think so"

"What?"

"You don't expect me to put this on my own finger, do you?"

"How else is it supposed to get on your finger?"

"The normal traditional way"

"Don't you think highly of yourself?"

"I'm not going into that room without that ring on my finger, and there is no chance in hell that I will place it on my finger , so you have one of two options to pick. I either go into that room with the ring on my finger, in time for the announcement and save both our faces, or I stay out here, miss the announcement and destroy both my reputation and that of the Valentinos. I don't think you'd want to lose face in public given how prestigious your family is"

Adrian looks at me like he is planning millions of ways to murder me in his head, but I don't really care because I know I'm going to win this argument.

He sighs and collects the box from me. Watching him get on one knee and proposing to me in the traditional way with a constipated look on his face is the highlight of my entire day. I should take a picture.

I watch, delightedly, as he gets back on his feet and storms off into the room.

"Danny 1, Adrian 0"