Chapter 1

Vincent POV

I was eating dinner with my family when my father dropped a bomb on the table. I have faced boardroom ambush, stock crashes and government probes without blinking but nothing I mean nothing prepared me for this bomb my father dropped on the dinning table.

"You are getting married next month" my father Marcus said. I just looked at her like he had said something funny, like he did not just drop a bomb on the dinner table 

"I'm sorry, I did not catch that, the what will be when?" I asked chocking on my food.

"Your wedding " my father repeated like he said something normal.

I looked at my father as if he had grown two heads.

"You are getting married to Elias Hale next month" he said. I just looked at him and laughed, my mother Juliana and my brother Everett just sat there saying nothing.

"Oh dad, that was a funny joke" I said 

"I am not joking son" he said seriously.

For a moment, I just sat there, I looked across the table where my father sat,

"Please tell me this is a joke, are you drunk?" I asked him.

"It is neither, I am not joking with not nor am I drunk, I am very clear headed. The Hales approached me a few months back and discussed it with me and of course I agreed because it was a good deal. We are merging Blackwood enterprises and Hales holdings so we can grow our company better than it is now. The wedding will be the prove of the merge. We already finalised everything last week" my father said.

I stood up angrily from my chair, the chair fell backwards due to the force.

"No, I will never accept to this" I told my father.

"It is not a negotiation " my father said.

"I don't care, I won't marry him" my voice became a little louder.

"I am afraid you have no choice " my father said.

"I said no, you want me to marry someone I hate, Elias is my enemy, he is manipulative..."

"Show some respect, that is your future husband " my father said. I looked around the table and met the eyes of my mother and brother.

"You guys knew about this" I asked them.

"Honey, it is for your own good, believe us" my mother said. I clenched my jaw so hard that my temple started to ache. 

"This is crazy, I am not marrying a man who does not care about anything other than himself" I said angrily.

My father put down the fork he was holding and stood up.

"Look son, I know you hate me now for doing this but believe me when I tell you this is for your own good and the good of the company, later you will thank me for this" my father said.

My father did not say anything again after that, we just continued our dinner but I had already lost my appetite so I excused my self.

"Mom, Dad, I am leaving" I said while standing up.

"Aren't you two finish your food" my mother asked .

"No, I am okay" I replied and walked out of their mansion. As I got outside, I heard my brother Emmett coming behind me.

"Hy, I know this news was unexpected and all but I want you to know Elias is not as you think he is" Emmett said.

"You don't know him, under that innocent face is a devil behind it" I said 

"Maybe you should know him more before concluding that" Emmett said 

"I know enough " I said 

I entered my car and drove straight to my penthouse.

When I pulled up to the garage of my penthouse, I went to the elevator and pressed the penthouse. When the elevator opened, I pressed my key card and entered. My penthouse has always been quiet, I liked how it was detached from the chaos, the window showing a nice view of the city.

But tonight, the glass were suffocating. I went to pour myself a drink because I needed it to calm my anger. I poured another one , then another one, the drink burned my throat but I did not care.

Then I picked up my phone to call the one person I can vent all my frustrations too without being judged. He picked up after two rings.

"Hy man, how are you doing" my friend Damien answered.

Damien Donovan has been my best friend since we were babies, we grew up together because our fathers were business partners and he was the only one that knew the reason why I hated Elias so much.

"Nothing is fine" I said 

"Lemme guess, you got someone pregnant? Or someone rejected you? Or did your stock dip below a billion? He said laughing.

"I am serious Damien" I groaned

"Okay, okay, tell me what happened?" He asked after he finished laughing.

"I am getting married, my father dropped the bomb during dinner this night, he sold me like I was a damn commodity " I said. There was a pause, at first I thought the call had ended but then he talked.

"Hold on a minute, are you serious? Tell me you are joking" he asked.

"I wish, he arranged a marriage for me to Elias Hale " I told him.

"Holy shit, are you for real? Elias Hales? The same Elias Hales?" He questioned 

"Yes, the same one" I replied. Damien let out a whistle.

"Now this is bad, what are you going to do now?" He asked.

"I can't marry him, I just can't, you know how much I hate him and his guts" I said 

"Remember the last time we were in a room together that he called me a 'Bored bond villain who does know how to smile with a superiority complex'. I recalled. Damien just started laughing.

"Oh I remember, but to be fair, he was a little accurate". Damien teased. I just scowled.

"That is not funny" I said 

"Okay, okay, I am sorry" he said.

"What should I do?" I asked him. He just went quite for a few seconds.

"Say something you idiot" I snapped at him

"Calm your horse down, I am thinking " he replied.

"I expected you to say something like, oh don't do this, fuck this or something, not you thinking about shit" I said.

"As much as I hate myself for saying this but maybe you should go through with it" Damien said.

"Are you serious?" My head shot up.

"Look, why don't you try it for a year with Elias, let us be real, he is kindly cute and in return, you will be doing the company a huge favor and your father will not pester you again " Damien said.

"I rather marry a snake" I said

"He can't be that bad of a husband" Damien teased. I did not say anything, I just kept looking at the view of city with the glass of whiskey in my hand.

"This is not just a deal, this is marriage we are talking about, this is my life" I said.

"Look Vincent, I understand where your are coming, but think about what is on the line here. And who knows, maybe Elias is not as terrible as you remember him to be." Damien said.

"He started a rumour and lied about so many things about me during high school " I said.

"And again I have told you, you should have heard his side of the story not just Emily, we all knew Emily had a thing for you back then. Damien said.

"It does not matter, I can never forgive him" I said.

"Look, just think about it, whatever you decide, you know I will always have you back and support you " Damien said.

"Fine, I will think about it " I said. We bid ourselves goodnight and I went up to my room to sleep.

The following morning, I arrived at my company, Blackwood enterprises like a storm. When I got out of the elevator, my assistant looked up and greeted me,

"Good morning, Mr Blackwood," she said 

"There is nothing good about this morning", I said before walking into my office.

I spent the next hour burying myself with back to back meetings, trying to get everything out of my head but I could not focus. The words 'marriage, 'Elias', and 'Hale' keeps crawling back into my brain non stop like a disease.

A few hours later, a knock on my door pulled me out from my spiralling thoughts. Then my assistant opened the door and said,

"Mr Vincent, your father is here to see you" she said.

"Let him in" I said. My father came in and sat down in the chair in front of me.

"What can I do for you today father, or now you want to sell me off to someone else?" I said sarcastically.

"Look son, I know you don't like this idea but believe me, you won't regret it" my father said, I just huffed.

"Okay, I will make you a deal, if you guys can stay married for a whole year and after the year is over, you still feel like the marriage is pointless, then you can get a divorce " my father said. I looked at him, he said the exact thing Damien said.

I thought about it for a while, I just had to endure living with Elias for a year, I know my father was not joking, he was serious and this offer he made was a good advantage to me because even after a year, I can never like him.

"Fine, one year only, we will fake it and then walk away after the year is over" I said and stretched my hand out to my father to shake him to seal our deal. One thing about my father was that, whenever he makes a deal, he never breaks it so I knew I could trust him on this.

"Deal" he replied and shoked my hand. He then got up to leave but before he stepped out of the door, he turned around to face me and said,

"Vincent, one year is a long time and anything can happen within a year. I will wait for the day you will thank me for this decision" he said and walked out. I just dismissed my father's words because I knew that would never happen.

That night when I got back to my penthouse, I went to my room and took a shower then I heard the doorbell. I went downstairs and saw it was Damien by the door. I opened the door for him and he was with takeout and some wine.

"I brought some emotional support fries" he said as he entered, kicking off his shoes like he owned the place.

"You are welcome" Damien replied himself. I did not even acknowledge him. I was thinking about what my father said before he left. As much as I want not to acknowledge it, it keeps popping back into my head.

"Tell me not to do it, tell me not to marry Elias Hale" I said to Damien. He came and sat down beside me and passed me the box of fries.

"Look, I already told you to just go through it" he said.

"I was hoping you would change your mind " I said while putting a fry in my mouth.

"Look, I get it, but you have dealt with things much worse than this. And Elias, he would be be least of everything" he said

"My father actually made me a deal, he said if we can stay married for a whole year and I still feel the marriage is pointless, then I can get a divorce " I told him

"Your father actually said that? Wow, he must really want you to get married to Elias that he is proposing a deal" Damien said. 

I just sat there thinking about everything, how the whole year will be, then I decided.

"I will do it" I said

"What?" Damien asked 

"I will marry Elias Hale " I said.