Semua Bab Addicted To The Arranged Bride: Bab 1 - Bab 7

***~~ZARA~~***The aroma of sizzling butter and grilled fish filled the entire hall, mixing with the chatter and cheers of students.The university’s annual cooking competition is always loud, messy, and fun. This year, I’m right in the middle of it.I stood behind my counter, fixing the straps of my apron and focusing on the pan in front of me.My spotless station had neatly arranged ingredients—just the way I liked it. If I pulled off my dish perfectly, it would stand out.Raven strutted over in her usual “I own this place” attitude. She flipped her hair like she was walking on a runway, not into a cooking battle.“Well, well, look who’s trying to play chef today,” she said, loud enough for people around to hear. “Don’t burn the building down, Zara.”Typical Raven, the queen bee of college, notorious bully extraordinaire. She’d loved picking on me since freshman year. I gave her a tight smile. “Focus on your dish, Raven. I’ll handle mine.”Her smirk widened. “We’ll see.”The whist

***~~ZARA~~***It's past 10 p.m. I’m still up, folding clothes and fixing my bed like some busy bee even though my body begged for sleep.I tried not to overthink, but my brain refused to shut up. It drifted back to what happened earlier at school—that stupid moment when I tripped and fell into Dante Wright’s arms. Just remembering it made my skin heat up. Ugh. I could still smell his stupidly expensive cologne like it was haunting me.God, why did I have to fall? Why did he have to catch me? And why did my heart have to act so stupid about it?I shook my head, climbing into bed.It didn’t matter. Dante is irrelevant. He’s just Adrian’s annoying older brother who loved to mess with me. That’s it. Nothing more.I pulled the covers over me, staring at the ceiling.Mom had been acting weird since she got back from the Wrights’ mansion earlier. She hadn’t said a word to me. Just walked in, went straight to her room, and stayed there.Something was off. I could feel it.But I’m too tire

***~~DANTE~~***Adrian confessed his love to Zara right in front of us, and I knew it was complete bullshit.My brother could act sweet and emotional and even cry if he had to. He did it all before. None of it was ever real.What he wanted was to sleep with her. That’s what it’s always been about.The fact that Zara had been his friend since we were kids made this whole thing even more disgusting. She trusted him and believed in him. And here he was, using that against her.I didn’t say anything, though. She has to see it herself. If I say it now, she’d think I'm jealous.Mrs Williams stood near her side, watching Adrian like she already knew what type of guy he was. Smart woman.I felt bad for Zara. If there were other ways to help her family without this marriage, I’d do it. But my trust fund’s locked till I get married—family rules.Adrian was still holding her hand when Dad’s voice came from behind.“Adrian, enough.”Everyone turned to look at him. Dad stood near the entrance wi

***~~ZARA~~***“Broke ass, Zara.”I turned around and saw the usual troublemaker group walking toward me with phones out and grins on their faces.I placed my hands on my hips and waited for whatever they wanted."Can I help you?" I asked.Raven held up her phone straight at my face. "Just wanted to confirm something."On the screen was a video of me outside the bursar's office yesterday, telling Dahlia and Adrian everything about my family’s situation.I froze for a second.Who recorded that? And how did it get online?"Guess that answers my question," Raven said, laughing. "Broke girl. I saw him drop you off this morning.”Her friends joined in, laughing like it was the funniest thing they'd ever heard.“Raven, what if I am marrying Dante? Got a problem?” I said, standing taller.“Broke girl with sponsorship,” Raven chuckled, pointing at me."So what's your point?" Dahlia cut in."My point?" Raven looked at me. "It's just funny how fast things change. One day you're Miss Perfect,