Chapter 2

"Are you feeling nervous dear?" Clarissa asked Celeste with a sympathetic smile. She could understand her uneasiness. She too had an arranged marriage with her husband but they fell in love after being engaged to each other for almost a year.  She knew Celeste wasn't habituated with that type of environment. Everything was new for her.

"A bit," Celeste replied with a soft smile on her face. She was wearing a soft green dress with a cardigan while her hair was left open.  Clarissa shook her head at her with a soft smile of her own.

"It's normal. You will get used to it gradually. I also felt the same when I was getting married to Andrew. Everything was so new for me." Clarissa said with a smile while they walked through the hallway towards the dining room. Clarissa came personally to take Celeste so that she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable or unwanted.

"Really?" Celeste asked, a bit shocked. She didn't expect Clarissa to have an arranged marriage with Andrew noticing how much they loved each other. It showed in their actions. Clarissa nodded.

"Yes. Don't worry Liam will take good care of you. Though my son is a workaholic and  gets angry easily, he isn't overbearing." Clarissa said with a soft chuckle as they reached the dining room where everyone was seating. 

Celeste again nodded nervously. She wasn't sure how to respond to this. Though she wanted to meet and know more about her future husband she didn't say it aloud fearing what others might think of her.

"Come on dear, take a seat," Clarissa said to Celeste in a warm welcoming voice when she noticed Celeste was still standing at the entrance. 

"Come Celeste. Sit beside me." Andrew said in a warm voice to the poor frightened girl. Celeste nodded with a smile and went to sit beside his left side. While Clarissa was on the right. Clarissa noticed there was also another pair of couples sitting beside each other opposite to her while stealing glances at her. 

" Rafael, Amy. This is Celeste. Liam's fiance and Celeste, he's my younger son Rafael and his wife Amy." Andrew introduced them to each other.

"Hello," Celeste mumbled softly with a shy smile. 

"Hi. It's nice to meet you, finally." Rafael said with a cute grin while Amy just gave her a polite nod.

"Same here," Celeste replied with a smile. She could tell Rafael was exactly like his mother with the same green eyes, blonde hair, and fair complexion. He was a good looking young man in his mid-twenties while his wife Amy had Black eyes, black hair and fair skin. She looked more like Asian. 

"Where is Liam? Why isn't he here yet? " Andrew asked, noticing Liam's absence which also caught Celeste's attention.

"He will be coming in a while. He just returned a few minutes ago, maybe getting freshened up." Clarissa replied while serving a few dishes to her husband. Two helpers were also helping to serve the dishes to everyone.

"Celeste, dear please have anything you like without any hesitation," Clarissa said turning towards Celeste when she noticed her hesitation.

Celeste nodded and picked up some food on her plate.

"Sorry. I'm late." A deep husky voice rang in the whole room making Celeste froze for a while. His presence felt so intimidating and powerful to her.

"Oh, Liam. Come, honey, have a seat." Clarissa said to her so warmly. Liam nodded and moved forward to take a seat beside an unknown girl whose identity he had already guessed.  She was looking at her plate quietly, making him a bit curious about how she looked.

"Liam, this is Celeste. Your future wife and Celeste this is my elder son Liam." Clarissa introduced them. The part where Clarissa uttered your future wife sounded ridiculous to Celeste's own ears. 

"Hello." Liam's deep voice reached her ears bringing her out of her thoughts. She looked up at him for not to be rude and froze.

Oh My God!

So handsome!

Deep sharp smoky grey eyes with long lashes, a sharp nose, high cheekbones with small beards, thin plump lips. Black hair. He was the true definition of a runway model. When Celeste realised she was staring for too long without replying she averted her eyes.

"Uhm hi." She mumbled softly while looking at her plate. She could still feel his eyes on her. But she didn't dare to look up. She could feel her heart jumping irregularly. She was afraid that everyone else in the room could hear it.

"Liam, Take out some time for tomorrow and take Celeste to show around the city and also to get to know each other." Andrew proposed cleverly. He knew his son wouldn't disobey him.

"Okay. I will inform you when I'm free." Liam replied nonchalantly while picking up a few foods on his plates to eat. He didn't reject the idea instantly which made Celeste a bit relieved. At least he was polite which was a good sign.

"So Celeste, what did you do before?" Rafael, who was silent, asked Celeste to start a conversation while looking at her. She could feel Liam also looking at her waiting for her reply.

"I have just recently graduated from college with a degree in economics. I have applied to a few companies and am waiting for their answer. Before that, I used to work in my grandma's gift shop in Elora." She replied softly with a smile.  She was glad her voice didn't shake.

"That's nice. I have been to Elora a few times. It's a wonderful place." Rafael said with a smile. He already liked the beautiful soft-spoken girl. She could indeed be a beautiful match for his brother.

"It is, with its amazing culture and heritage, limestone architecture and mountains it always attracts a lot of tourists," Celeste replied happily. She always felt happy talking about her beloved hometown. It was so beautiful.

"Then we all could go one day to visit it together as a family. What do you say?" Andrew declared with a smile. Everyone nodded happily.

"I'm done. So I will be heading out first as I have some pending works to be done. Good night"  Liam said while getting up. Everyone nodded at him. Celeste could feel his eyes on her for a few seconds before he left eventually.

She sighed in relief!

___________________