Chapter one

Anna

The atmosphere was almost choking and the silence between us was almost deafening. I weighed so little under his gaze and he wasn’t helping by staring intensely at me. I couldn’t meet his gaze.

“You know exactly why we are here,” his intimidating, husky voice came as a shock to me.

I knew exactly why we were here but I had no idea this was the man I was meeting. Him, as in Adrian Sinclair! 

He adjusted his tie, obviously feeling frustrated. He sat up in his seat before stretching his hands out in front of him. 

“If you are going to stay mute all through the night, I might as well just get up and leave. That would be typical of me, right?”

I quickly looked up at his face. I was drowning in the ethereal nature of his eyes. The way his pupils dilated as they met my gaze was obvious but his face quickly masked in an unnerving look. 

I opened my mouth a few times, I just couldn’t make out the right words to say. 

I wasn’t exactly ready for this. I had all my life planned out since I was twelve and when I turned twenty, I had done a recheck to make sure everything was still intact which it was until now. None of this was part of my plan. 

Getting married to a man I didn’t know before this meeting wasn’t a standard modern-day New York thing, especially to a man that he was. 

“Anna?” he said as a question, unsure if that was my name. 

Great! We have no such information as clear as our names. 

“Yes. Anna,” I quickly answered. 

“It’s fine if you don’t want to do this. Neither do I,”

Somehow, his words hurt me. He seemed so nonchalant that I seemed to be the least of the things he cared about. 

“I’m…I’m sorry,” I managed to say. I have no idea why I had just said that.

The room suddenly felt small under his gaze and the atmosphere seemed hot all of a sudden. 

I looked around the restaurant and only then did I realize we were alone. Have we been alone all along? Or did everyone just decide they were done dining and just got up? 

I better not anger him. I do not know this man, he could be a killer! 

So, I cleared my throat, swallowing hard. “I’m sorry. I knew exactly why we were here. To get to know each other and see if we are cut out for the contract,” saying it out loud now sounds terrible. 

“Good!” he nodded. “I know what I need to know about you already but do you have any questions for me?” 

I wanted to ask him how he got to know about me but I decided against that. 

“Do you have a girlfriend?” That sounds so stupid and for a moment I wished there was a way for me to pack those words back and swallow them but with the look of things, it was too late.

He dropped his cutleries and rested his elbow on the table, intertwining his fingers and then locking eyes with me like the daredevil that he was. 

“Do you not think that’s a little too personal?”

“Considering the fact that we would be getting married, I think I should know of such infor…” he raised his hand to stop me. 

“Just to make this clear, this is arranged. This is contractual. I have no idea what my grandfather saw in you but he chose you for me, I didn’t. We are not exactly doing this for love.” 

I froze in my seat, stunned. Not because I didn’t know this before now but because he said it so casually like I meant nothing. Like I was nothing but a tool. 

“That’s offensive!” I fought back the tingling feeling in my eyes. 

“But it’s true. Don’t mix feelings with business.” 

I scoffed. I just couldn’t take it anymore. My self-esteem was buried to take this on to start with but it couldn’t go on to have him speak to me in such a manner. 

I glared at him, his gaze a testament to his words. He was unmoved, unfazed. His eyes were not on me now, they were staring ahead like I wasn’t even there. 

I grabbed my purse and my jacket before getting up to leave. 

“I believe you are wealthy enough to settle the bills.” 

He looked up at me, his face holding a strong whim. His eyes, dark and dangerous before his upper lip curled in a smile, one that was mocking me. 

“You have nothing to worry about,” 

I gave him one last glare before turning around to leave. 

As I turned around, the tears in my eyes that I had been holding back synced with my feet as they tripped in my heels, causing me to almost fall but I held onto a chair. I think I heard him get up but I was too embarrassed to look back. So, I staggered forward, steadying my feet but they wouldn’t cooperate. 

The tears had long rolled down my cheeks as I dragged my feet out of the restaurant. 

I let out a deep breath as I finally managed to get outside of the overwhelming restaurant. I ordered a ride and in no minute, it arrived. 

As I sat in the back seat, I could feel the unnamed feeling surge within me as it formed a bulge in my throat. I winded the window down, pushing my head out and then letting out a scream. 

The driver stared at me through the rearview but I couldn’t care less. I gave way for the tears to roll freely down my cheeks before withdrawing from the window sill at the ring of my phone.

I checked the caller and saw it was my brother. I sighed before picking up. 

“What is it this time?” I asked as I wiped the tears off my face. 

“Mum slipped and fell but the doctors wouldn’t attend to her unless we pay our outstanding bills. Mum is dying, Ann,”

I could feel my breath cease in my throat and suddenly, it became so hard to breathe. 

“Where is Dad?” I managed to make the words out. 

“He hasn’t been back since his last meeting,” 

I dropped the call, my heart beating heavily in my chest as I thought of other means but my mind felt lazy. It was doing no good. 

I sat still in the back seat, the time frozen in place. 

“Ma’am, we have arrived,” I suddenly heard the driver say. I looked out the window before looking back at the driver. 

“Please, take me to Monthigh Hospital,” I said and the driver turned around. 

And before I could stop myse

lf, my hands shamelessly dialed that one number— one I shouldn’t be dialing ever again. 

Adrian Sinclair.