Arrogance

Tessa rolled her eyes at him, not sure if she heard him correctly. She had always loved him since forever but presenting her as a bride to his mother out of the blues did not make sense to her. This had better be a joke, she thought to herself 

Her mother stood up from her chair and approached Tessa, trailing her eyes at her body as if she was filled with filth. Tessa's clothes were stitched at the edges and merely looking at her one could tell she was from a poor background. 

Mrs. Winston let go of her gaze and stepped back to her chair saying, "She's such a pretty girl. Aside from her horrible choice of clothes, which is not a problem. We can fix that up. She's perfect for the job," A smile suddenly crossed her face and she relaxed back in her chair.

Tessa chuckled inwardly, she gazed at them as if she was lost and what they were saying held no meaning. She managed to snap out of her trance and fired back at them"This is some sort of joke. Right?"

Aaron shot her a deadly look. She must really have the nerve to throw a stupid question at them. He moved closer to her, keeping an expressionless face, he grabbed her arms aggressively as he turned her, making her face him directly 

"You sure do have the nerves to still ask questions. Not after l caught you red-handed snooping around this premises. Do you know l can charge you for invasion and intrusion? For all l care you could be a spy or a thief," he scoffed angrily

Tessa winced in pain as his grip tightened with each passing second."You're hurting me" she cried out. Just then it dawned on her that she was in a deep mess. She has heard stories of the rich oppressing the poor and this was a shred of evidence that they were not just stories but facts.

"Leave her Aaron, you're hurting her" his mother half yelled.

He let go of her arms and furrowed his eyebrow at her, "You do not have a choice here miss, you heard our conversation and this is your punishment for eavesdropping and intrusion. I do not have all the time in the world, my wedding is in two days. And you, my darling will be my substitute bride" he said mockingly

Tessa gasped as she squinted her eyes in disbelief. If only she had listened to her grandmother, she wouldn't be in this mess in the first place. No doubt Aaron was a jerk and he went about the situation the wrong way. If only he had asked her politely to stand in as his bride, she would have done it wholeheartedly without any questions but he must really be an asshole if he thinks she was going to give in without any struggle. She has been dying to see Aaron for the longest time, little did she know that their first meeting would turn out to be a charade.

"I'm no thief, neither am l a spy. I'm the gardener's granddaughter, sent to stand in for her as she's sick and won't be able to come to work. And if you think you're going to force me into marrying you, then you must really think twice Mister Winston,' Tessa remarked 

"She's unbelievably bold and outspoken. I like her already" his mother let out.

Aaron smirked mischievously. He glanced at Tessa and gave her a deadly stare."It seems you do not grasp the situation you're in, which is quite understandable seeing your type of person. But l do hope you know the consequences of your actions, l could send you behind bars at the snap of my fingers. So do not think for a second that you have a choice. Don't let your stupidity land you in a bigger problem than you already are. I'm going to give you till noon tomorrow to decide if you will give in to my request or spend the rest of your miserable life in prison,' he sneered angrily

"That's enough Aaron," his mother said as she stood up from her chair. Tessa understood that the woman wasn't totally a bad person as people portrayed her to be. Though she seemed and acted though. But at least she could differentiate between good and bad, that was commendable. 

Tessa shifted her gaze to Aaron's Mom. At least she seemed reasonable and she felt she should apologize for eavesdropping on their conversation."I'm so sorry ma'am, l apologize for snooping in on you guys like that. I know l shouldn't have, please forgive me" Tessa apologized, not sparing Aaron a glance 

Before Tessa could finish, Aaron turned and left the room angrily. He clenched his fists in rage as he walked away. Tessa could see the anger on his face.

 She was supposed to hate him for the way he spoke to her, she was supposed to be angry at him for trying to blackmail her into marrying him. But rather she was drawn to him. How could she possibly be drawn to such an arrogant and ruthless man, she thought to herself.

 She suddenly felt really bad for the way she spoke to him, he was probably depressed about his missing bride-to-be. She should have handled the situation differently, she thought inwardly. 

She was suddenly interrupted from her thoughts when Mrs. Winston placed her hands around her shoulder."Is fine dear. I apologize for my son's behavior earlier. He's going through a lot and he's usually not like this. I'm not trying to justify his actions. However, please promise me that you will think about what he proposed earlier, I'm not trying to sound selfish or inconsiderate but see me as a helpless mother who will do anything to protect her son's image and reputation. Your grandmother has worked with us for years and she's one of my trusted workers. I do not doubt that you will make a good stand-in bride for Aaron."

Tessa's heart melted at her words. She indeed was a nice woman and people were wrong about her the entire time. The way she cared for his son was commendable. Growing up without her parents made her wonder what it felt like to have a mother or a father but nevertheless, her grandmother was everything to her.

 Tessa has been in love with Aaron for like forever and sincerely speaking she would love to help him out of this situation but the fear of being hurt in the process was holding her back.

"How do I explain to my grandmother that I landed myself in trouble and my punishment was to marry Aaron Winston? My long-time crush."