04

Derek

"Somebody looks as grumpy as hell," Sebastian commented as he walked into his office that evening.

Sebastian was my childhood friend, we've been friends for more than eight years, and literally, we've been through childhood, puberty, and adolescence together. He was the only person who could tolerate me for who I was.

"What are you doing in my office by this time of the day?" Sebastian asked once he realized no response was coming from Derek.

"Because I have the key," I replied. He raised an eyebrow and walked close to me.

He opened his palm. "My key?" 

I moved away from him. "Not in a million years will I return it. I just came here to cool off, I didn't know you would come around," 

He frowned. "I always knew someone was using my office behind my back and I'm glad it's you by the way," He smiled.

"Why are you here?" I asked him.

"The question should be, why are you here?" He fired back. 

I rubbed my palm aggressively on my face before groaning loudly. "I think I'm in deep shit but that doesn't matter," I replied, not ready to narrate the tale of the last twenty-four hours of my life to my best friend.

"What happened? You know you can talk to me about anything right?" He assured me and I nodded. 

"I know but it's not a big deal. I'll tell you about it later," 

"Good," he commented. He left me on the couch that I was sitting on and went to sit on his office desk.

"Why are you here?" 

"I came to pick up a file," 

"Dressed like that?" I pointed to the suit he was putting on. I was surprised to actually see him at the office on a weekend but I was more surprised to see him dressed as though he went to one of those cocktail parties. 

"Grandpop took me on a matchmaking dinner," 

I paused, trying to process it. "What?" I laughed, trying to suck in enough air into my lungs.

"I'm serious," 

He insisted.

"No, you must be joking. The only person who should be in your situation in our clique should be Henry, not you. He's the only person who needs a ready-made bride," 

He shrugged. "Well, welcome to my life," 

I clicked my tongue. Why are we in the same situation at the same damn time? 

No wait, it's technically not the same situation. He's not even in the same situation as I am.

I'm married! I'M FUCKING MARRIED! The more I thought about it, the clearer it became. I'm truly married.

Fuck! Shit! Bullshit! Fucked up piece of shit!

"Derek?" Sebastian called out.

"What?" I spat.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked again. 

"I'm fine," I grumbled under my breath. 

I could ask Sebastian for his advice. He had some legal knowledge and a ton of lawyers, maybe he could help.

"Do you think it's possible to get married without consent?" 

"I don't think I understand you," he was going through the piles of papers on his desk. 

"Let's imagine, I signed a document without actually reading the document, and I…" he interrupted before I could finish my statement.

"That'll be really stupid, for someone of your status, I could sue you for such stupidity" 

I groaned. "Will you at least listen?" He nodded.

"So, I sign the document and it turned out to be a marriage contract. Can that be changed?" He stared at me. 

"Marriage contract? I think you can fight that out in court if you have evidence that can serve as a reference for you to prove that you didn't sign a marriage contract or you can sue the person who made you do such," 

"What if I can't sue the person?" 

"What if you tell me the truth? Are you in some sort of trouble? Did you sign something you weren't supposed to sign?" He asked me. 

I swallowed hard, seeing how he'd managed to figure it out.

Who wouldn't figure such a thing out anyways? 

"Do you know that Lucas Anderson is back in town?" I asked, changing the topic. I didn't need to be told, that's the only thing that'll divert Sebastian's attention away from the present situation. 

"What? Since when? 

"About a week or two weeks ago" I responded, smirking.

"And he didn't bother to contact us," 

"I tried to call him but his secretary or his father's secretary picked up the call. It's been seven years, let's just forget about him," I dismissed the whole issue.

"That's not possible, Derek. We almost ran crazy when he left. You know this yourself," 

I shut my eyes tightly, trying not to remember how hard it was for the three of us; Sebastian, Henry, and I when Lucas disappeared without a trace but still, our world doesn't revolve around him anymore.

"I'm going home," I suddenly announced.

"Why?" 

I smirked. "Because I have a home," 

And a wife! A frown replaced the smile as I walked out of his office. 

For more than an hour, I didn't have the guts to drive home. I want to drive to the bar, get drunk, get laid but the fact that reality will slap me in the face by morning scares me more than that desire. 

I never knew my mom could be that evil. She and Arianna are pure evildoers and God helps me if I don't break Arianna's legs when next I see that witch. 

Still, I started the engine and drove home, hoping she would have left by the time I got there. 

When I entered my house, I realized the apartment was dark. Especially the living room area though I don't remember turning off the light before leaving and why the hell would she turn off my light when...

I don't get to complete my thoughts and end it with a string of curses when someone suddenly grabbed my hand, placing her head on my torso. 

"Derek?" A soft voice asked, sending tremors through my body.

"What's going on?" I tried to move sideways to turn on the light but the body stopped me. 

"Stay away from me," I barked.

"No," she whimpered. I tried to push me and she clinched harder. "Please," 

I wiggled my way through and turned on the light. As I turned to look beside me, she buried her face in my chest. 

"What are you still doing here?" I asked angrily.

"Why was everywhere dark?" I asked her. She sniffled and I reluctantly touched her head to lift her face. 

Her eyes were red and tears were running down her face. Her lips were swollen and a bitemark could be seen on her lower lip. I could feel my chest tighten and anger swelling inside of me for no reason.

"I was scared. When I woke up, I was so scared, I thought you would never come back, I thought no one would ever come back to save me," she cried the more, holding on to my hand.

I was not only speechless but also dumbfounded.

What sort of trouble did my mother just put me in?