Skylar Carnell rushed down the staircase towards her older brother Caleb’s room. With her beautiful face contorted in a fit of rage, everyone knew better than to mess with her. She was a wonderful blend of beauty and brains at eighteen, but her short temper made her unapproachable at times. Her grandparents, Philip and Miriam Carnell, therefore tried their best to maintain peace in the family. Although Caleb, being ten years older, exercised his big brotherly rights too seriously over her, Skylar listened to no one in particular. She was a rebel, and she preferred to remain so all her life.She stormed into his room to see him packing up his last belonging into a cardboard box. “What’s up with you Caleb? Why are you forcing me to marry Lillian’s brother? I’m not interested in the St. James family!” Her eyes flashed with indignation as she waited to fight the world for her rights. “What’s wrong with Lillian’s brother? I won’t be here after the wedding, Skye. I’m leaving for Cleveland,

Skylar drove towards Eva’s apartment. She remembered Eva had opted out of prom and she could easily spend the night at her place. After a few minutes, she rang the doorbell and Eva opened the door excitedly, as if she was expecting someone else. “Who were you expecting? Alexander?” she teased her friend.“He was here a few minutes ago. I thought he came back for the pizza he ordered for me. You can have some if you want.” Skylar’s mouth watered at the mention of pizza. She realized how hungry she was. “Wow! Just what I needed. Why don’t you join me?” The two friends sat down to munch the food while discussing the fateful prom night. “Why didn’t you attend it? Did your date ditch you?” asked Skylar, but Eva shook her head. “Alexander hurt me. I lost the wish to go out.” “Oh, don’t take him so seriously. He’s just jealous of your date,” said Skylar with a chuckle. “He has no reason to be!” With the Van Every family living nearby, she spent most of her days in their house before

After the brief interaction with Christian, she avoided him completely, giving all her concentration to her food. With Caleb and Lillian busy discussing their career plans with everyone, Skylar was happy to stay in the background. The faster she could finish her food, she could escape Grandpa Benjamin’s questioning. However, since her luck never left her side, Grandpa Benjamin somehow steered the topic to their parents’ last wish. “I’m so happy that Lillian and Caleb have fulfilled the last wish of their parents. So now with Sebastian out of the scene, it’s now Christian and Skylar’s turn,” said Grandpa Benjamin, holding Christian’s gaze. Skylar choked on her food for the second time but composed herself somehow. She wanted to protest, but not a word came out of her lips. “What have you planned, Christian? When are you two getting engaged?” Christian looked ill at ease and glanced at Caleb for help. “Grandpa Ben, I want the wedding after Skye completes her education. She is just ei

Skylar paced the floor in her room unable to get Christian’s words out of her head. She couldn’t understand half the words he spoke. Although she accepted his challenge on the spur of the moment, she didn’t know what it meant. What would he do? His words always made her furious. Why did she lose her composure around him? Why couldn’t she stay immune to the man, like he didn’t exist? Her temper, and her tantrums worked with everyone except Christian St. James. What did he mean by his parting shot? She wouldn’t get engaged to him now! The wish to revolt was so strong that Skylar contemplated ways to escape the persistent man. However, each time, thoughts of Granny’s condition made her change her mind. A knock on her door brought her back to reality. She opened the door to her grandpa. “The ambulance is here, Skye. Let’s go.” Skylar followed her grandpa out to her granny’s room. Christian was already there with the paramedic, helping him out. Skylar and her grandpa picked up their s

“How do I not know about this? How could you discuss me with Caleb?” Skylar asked, feeling upset with her brother. She couldn't believe Caleb had kept secrets from her.“No one knows except me and Sebastian. Lillian told us.” Christian knew she was getting worked up, but he had promised to open up if she agreed to go on a date with him. He had intended to tell her more, but maybe she wasn’t ready for his confession yet. It might complicate things between them. The server arrived for their order and the discussion ended for a while. After he left, Skylar looked up at Christian, her eyes full of curiosity.“So what else did you discuss about me?” Christian smiled at her enthusiasm. Could he tell her exactly what they discussed? Maybe he could, if not all of it. He could tell her some of it. “We discussed our wedding.” He watched her jaw-dropped look with amusement. “Who’s wedding?” “Yours and mine!” Skylar couldn’t believe the bombshells he had been throwing at her since they arrived