Amara.
There was only one word that could give right definition to social functions and gatherings; BULLSHIT.
Everything about it is false. People who wouldn’t hesitate to stab a knife into your back while smiling into your face with hopes to gain something from it always, always made sure to attend it.
Today's gathering was a charity for Black-footed ferrets that nobody gave a shit about. I mean, I felt pity the animals were endangered and all but, I was certain none of the people in the room actually cared about the animals. They were all here for the scene, for business deals and for people like my parents, to force their children into the shackles of eternal misery called marriage.
It was an endless pattern for the rich and socialite -a gut-wrenching pattern.
From my position at a corner of the room, I swirled the remaining content of my glass as I ran my eyes through the crowd in search of nothing and everything at the same time and to give people a better fitting of their choice of dressing in my head.
"Oh shit," the cuss slipped through my lips just as I turned my head to the right and caught a glance of a piece of shit in human form. Of course he'd be here. Mom and Dad -Mom especially- wouldn't have missed inviting him. But hell no, there was no way I was letting him see me tonight. Even if it meant pissing Mom off.
Drowning the small wine remaining in my glass in one gulp, I spun on my heels to dash into the crowd but a brick wall appeared on my path and I dashed into it. My forehead must be red if I checked but my pain I felt was the least of interest at the moment. I needed to get away from him. Far, far away.
"How come I wasn't told we were also doing a race for this charity." A deep voice which I suppose belonged to the 'brick wall' said.
Without caring to respond, I looked over my shoulders to the person I was trying to avoid, shit, he was nearing me and of course he had that stupid smug on his face.
"Hey," I said to the man before me, "can you be my boyfriend? Just for five minutes." He raised a brow and corked his head. Clearly, my request was insane but I couldn't care less. "You're not a serial killer or something, right?"
"How many times do I have to do it to make it serial?"
"Five?" I replied, my nerves bustling with the need to run farther into the crowd.
Up until a year and half ago, me and my cousin would have locked ourselves up in my room, binge watching an available comedy show while stuffing my faces with ice cream and pretending as though there was nothing going on underneath us. Or peeking through the window to mock those uptight women about their choice of dressing while stuffing our faces with ice cream of course.
And speaking of my cousin, where the fuck is she?
"Well then we're good to go." He sneered, a hint of mockery evident in his voice.
My brows furrowed instinctively at the insolence, my tongue twitching to give him one of my classic comebacks but I bit my tongue to keep myself from saying anything. I needed to deal with that asshole first then, I'd come back to deal with this asshole.
Sucking in a deep breath, I pressed myself to his side as I picked his hand -which was very heavy for the record- and wrapped it around my waist.
"Amara," I heard his stupid aristocratic voice call out as he approached us. A scowl fought its way up my face in response but I clenched my jaw and lifted my face with the best smile I could muster.
"Vincent," I chimed -croaked. The man next to me chuckled lightly and I jabbed him while flashing Vincent my bright smile.
"I have been looking for you everywhere. Your Mom even permitted me to break your door and drag you out if you had been there." The fuck you would, I wanted to yell but I kept my cool, forcing my smile to stay on.
Vincent looked different today, save for his dressing style that screamed British patriarch, I would have assumed he was a decent man but, I knew better than be fooled by his...whatever.
I kept my eyes on him as he roamed his on my body. I was wearing a cream-coloured dress that gave out my dark brown skin. Mom had chosen it for me herself after I had refused to pick out one. After putting on the dress this evening, I found out the reason she chose it was because of what it did to my body.
An applause to Mom for at least knowing my dress size enough to reduce it by half.
Vincent raised a brow, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he slowly licked his lips. The fucker was looking at me like I was some dessert on the table. And he didn't even mind that be was eye-fucking me. Publicly!
My fists curled with the need to disfigure his stupid nose and I would have if Mom and Dad had not constantly warned me for days not to do anything stupid to ruin their 'big event.'
Lucky bastard.
"Come on, let's go. We have to make a formal introduction to people." He ordered, and turned on his heels immediately obviously expecting I'd follow behind but I stayed pressed to my stranger's side. His grip on me wouldn't have let me follow Vincent even if I had wanted to.
When he noticed I wasn't behind me, he paused and walked back to me, " is there an issue?"
"I suppose I should be the one asking you that question," a smirk spread across his face as he looked down at me, " what did you say his name was again, babe?"
Babe? Wow, he really was playing the role.
"Vincent." I responded, my eyes on Vincent.
"Ah, Vincent." He nodded, " is there an issue, Vincent?" A bright smile spread across his face albeit his question.
Vincent's face contoured and for the first time in the past few minutes, he noticed the guy beside me. He darted his eyes between me and the guy and his eyes finally fell on his grip on my way.
Not very observant, are you Vincent?
When he noticed me unmoving from my position, his brows narrowed, obviously appalled by my resistance.
"Who the fuck is this, Amara?"
"Her boyfriend," he replied sharply, his smile brighter "And you are?"
Vincent's frown deepened, and he chewed his teeth to keep his growing anger down.
"Come with me now, Amara." He growled, his voice hushed. He knew the crowd he was in and of course, wouldn't risk doing anything that would make people look down their nose at him. With that status he was vying for, he couldn't risk it.
"Can't you show my boyfriend," I stressed, "a little bit of respect and recognition?" I shook my head, "I am having every reason to believe your morals suck, Vincent."
"Come with me now, Amara or I will report this to your Mother."
I roll my eyes just as my 'boyfriend' says, "report to her Mother that Amara was enjoying the beautiful event with me? Her boyfriend?"
"Mr. James McKenna, did you just say you are Amara's boyfriend?" One of the reporters who was covering the charity event yelled as he turned to us, not failing to stick the cameras and microphones in our faces. The hall fell silent for a minute, a million and one pair of eyes turning to us. In a split second, the hall turned rowdy as people began to crowd us.
Oh shit, this wasn't meant to get to this. And wait, did she just say James McKenna?
I raised my eyes to look at the man holding my waist and for the first time since this night, my mind registered on the face; cold and dark blue eyes, thick dark brows and lashes, high cheekbones and chiseled jawline and a face that would wear a bright smile while sucking the soul out of a person. How on earth did I miss that?
And did he really lie that he wasn't a serial killer?
He looked down at me and his gaze met mine. His eyes narrowed at me and I gulped, what have I done? And to James McKenna of all people.
"This isn't the five minutes I agreed to." The amusement in his voice was gone and now replaced with something dark. I whimpered and I raised a sorry shoulder to him.
"We didn't expect the public to find out this way but since you've caught us, I guess we have no option but to give you guys what you want." He flashed a bigger smile at the camera to his right just in time for the cameraman to capture it.
I dug my nails in his back, pinching his flesh through his suit but he ignored me and continued flashing his smile to whomever cared to capture it - every reporter and guests obviously.
"Yes, Amara and I are dating." He announced. With his smile still plastered on his face, he picked my hand and kissed it. "She is the love of my life." I froze. This was way too much than just giving the public what the want.
I looked up at James and his eyes darkened, the corner of his lip tipping up in a small smirk. I gulped, this was more than just keeping Vincent away. Wat too must. And speaking of Vincent, I did a quick search through the crowd and saw him at a corner standing next to Mom and Dad and uncle Paschal and aunt Sheila and Keith and Ife. And they were all glaring at me.
Oh shit.
Amara.If eyes were guns, the looks Mom and Dad were giving me would have been enough to send me six feet under, but I couldn't care less, they were not half as angry as I was but they didn't see me reacting in any strange way. Tightening my robe around my waist, I adjusted comfortably in my seat, they couldn't even wait for me to have a shower before summoning me.After the 'official statement' last night, all the guests turned out too stunned to continue with the charity event and ended up living half way through. Vincent threw a fit afterwards and Mom and Dad tried everything they could to calm him while promising to bring my back to my senses. Amidst everything, I had wanted to lay down with Ife and rant about my terrible mistake while she consoled me but no, she had to leave with her parents. Of every night they could have slept over."Do you know the gravity of what you have done, Amara?" Mom bit out. If I peered over the table, I bet I'd see Dad holding her from physically atta
James.Maybe my eyes were playing games with me but the Amara I was walking towards was totally different from the one I saw yesterday. Even more different than the pictures I had seen.Her green eyes which offset her spotless brown skin shined brighter as they widened with fear. I could tell, from the way her hair was all messed up and the fact that she was still in her nightwear that she had just rolled out of bed but damn, was she sexy? She was the perfect person to model for a face cream or all those types of shit that women were interested in. She was beautiful, gorgeous even, but that wasn't what I was here for. She wasn't. Well, not exactly."Look, Sir, before you kill me, can you give me a few minutes to apologize and save myself from death? I am too young to die." Her tiny voice croaked as her eyes followed me till I occupied a seat before her. Looking at her now, she appeared tiny and fragile and not the bold and wild Amara that fitted perfectly in my...woah, woah James.I
Amara."Hell to the fuck no!" I bit back a smile once I heard my cousin's voice as she burst the door to my room open. "don't give me that 'I fell in love with James McKenna' bullshit, I am not buying it." She plumped onto my bed with her legs crossed before her and captured my wrists, "now, give me the answers I need."I chuckled, slowly pulling my hands out of her grip. "Sweetheart, you know you have to ask the questions for me to give you answers.""Oh, really?" She asked with a raised brow and I nodded. "What the fuck is going on? You and James McKenna? Girl, I'd rather believe the pigs developed wings. Come on, tell me. What happened?""I fell in love with James McKenna." I said in a small voice, my smile brighter than the sun. She smacked my hand lightly, "bitch, you know that ain't true." She rolled her eyes when I raised my brows at her, "oh, come on, your Mom isn't here. Allow me, please." "Fair point." I said with a nod."Now answer my question." She advanced to the center
JAMES.The soft music that played in the background did nothing to lighten the weight in my chest, frowning at the other failed mission of the day, I tipped my glass back and drowned my drink in one go.“I know you didn’t call me to watch you play ‘get drunk in five seconds, did you?’ Cayden cast an unimpressed look at my empty glass before dragging his eyes up to me.“It may not be an act,” I said as I signaled to the bartender to refill my glass. She made to tip off Cayden’s glass but he placed a hand over it, with a nod, she went off to attend to other customers.“You never drink to that extent,” he chided and I raised a shoulder. “what do you think your employees will think when they see you drunk?” he took a quick glance through the club -the place I worked so hard for years to stand out among other clubs in the state and outside. “It will be bad for your reputation. You can not risk getting drunk in public, James.”I shot him a smile before bringing the glass to my lips and took
James.I fixed my eyes on the glass of water before me and recited in my mind the new goals I've set for myself; engagement, engagement party, eliminate the evidence and a big break up. That was the way I wanted things to go with Amara and her manipulative parents.Three days passed by at the speed of light and now, I found myself seated in a restaurant waiting to fit a ring around her finger. My knees bounced up and down under the table and though I wasn't nervous about anything, I wouldn't deny that Amara was getting on my nerves with her lateness. We agreed to meet by eight-thirty pm, it was eight-forty-five now, and I was yet to see her.All I wanted to do was give her the damn ring and get on with my life. Gripping the cup, I tried to drown the whole content in one go but only ended up taking a sip. Damn, I was that impatient.A small sigh escaped my lips as I reached into my coat pocket and took out the ring Cayden had gotten for me the previous day; a rose gold ring with a slim
Amara.Ife popped a chip in her mouth and munched loudly. I looked over the top of the book in my hand and at where she was seated and leaning against her desk and found her looking at me, her head in her palm. When I looked away, she sighed loudly and continued her loud munching.“Anything you want to get off your chest?” I dabbed my pointer finger and thumb with a little saliva and flipped the page I was done reading over without looking up at her.“A diamond ring, huh?” I heard the rustling of the chip bag as she moved it to the side.“Yup.” I added an extra pop to the ‘p’ and looked up at her. “Just the way I like it.” Truth be told, I loved rings, diamonds especially, but there was nothing exciting having someone else’ ring on my finger. Technically, it was mine but it totally wasn’t.“So, when are you moving in with him?My eyes widened at the question. Moving in with James? I hadn’t even thought about it after he mentioned it because I was worrying about the absurdity of havin