Chapter Four

Hours went by with me thinking of what to wear. I barely had anything to wear indoors and now I had to prepare for a date. 

I paced the room for a while deep in thought, until sleep drew me in. 

Incessant knocks on the front door drew me out of my slumber and I trudged out to open it and was overwhelmed by the amount of ladies that trooped into my room. 

"Excuse me, I think you're in the wrong suite" I tried to redirect them.

"You're Ariana right?" A certain woman asked surprising me. 

"Yes, how do you know my name?"

"Oh sorry darling, it must be a surprise. We're from Mr. Kingston, he asked that we get you ready for your date tonight." She explained surprising me even more. 

"Oh okay."

"Now now, go take a shower so we can get started, your date is by seven and it's past three already." She spun me around and pushed me towards the bedroom with her crew following closely behind.

The next few hours went by in a blur. So many hands, so much pricking, stretching, curling, poking and brushing. It was a lot to take in as I wasn't much of a glam person. I liked being simple.

But what knocked my breath out was the red sequin dress that was picked out for me. It was a little below knee length, off the shoulder and a body con dress that shone brightly in the light. 

I tried the dress on and it fit like a glove and clung to my very obvious curves. 

When I saw myself in the mirror, I couldn't believe it.My hair looked curly and way fuller. The make-up wasn't too much, it was simple but it enhanced my looks greatly especially with the bright red lipstick the make up artist put on me. I stared down at the sparkly Louboutin shoes he got me, they looked so expensive. The small and simple earrings made me smile, they were so elegant. The nails I had on were one of a kind and somehow matched with my outfit. 

It was seven o'clock before I knew it and I was handed my matching clutch bag as I was ushered to the door by the girls. 

When the door came open, I was met with his beautiful grey eyes. He was apparently shocked at the transformation or maybe not cause his face went blank right after. 

"Hmm nice." He hummed with a nod in approval and stared back at the head of the make over team. I was offended at how he couldn't give as much as a proper compliment. I could've doubted how good I looked if I hadn't looked in the mirror before. 

"Good job Stella." 

"Thank you sir." She replied eagerly and left with her team soon after. 

He turned to me after they exited the suite still checking me out. He looked so good in his black tux but I wasn't going to tell him that. 

"Shall we?" He held his palm out to me and I hesitantly took it. 

I followed him in silence. There was practically nothing to talk about. 

He led us into his sleek black Rolls Royce Ghost. It took a lot of will power to not let my jaw drop. This car was true luxury. Just how rich was this man? I still hadn't googled him. 

 I sat at one end of the back seat, tapping on my laps uneasily while he was at his own end working on his laptop. 

The drive continued with the awkward silence never leaving until we stepped out into a high class restaurant. 

The moment we stepped out of the car, we were blinded by the flashing lights of cameras from different ends. My blood ran cold and I suddenly started to panic, I was going to start hyperventilating if it wasn't stopped. He held my hand and rubbed on it slowly, seems like he noticed how uncomfortable I was. 

His security came out of nowhere and blocked the paparazzi from coming near us. They shielded us until we got into the restaurant successfully. 

"How are you so famous?" I asked out of the blue. He just shrugged as he adjusted his cufflinks.

I shook my head and walked with him. He was given VIP treatment and we were being led to the VIP section when he stopped and asked them to give a seat in the middle of the restaurant where everyone else dined. I actually thought he wanted to be humble but I was so wrong. 

Shortly after we were seated, he ordered wine for both of us and later on our meals. We ate in silence until out of nowhere he decided to make small talk. 

"Did I tell you that that you look amazing tonight?" 

I blushed besides myself, although I was shocked that he was saying that out of the blue. Why now? 

"Thank you." I smiled at him and he gave me something close to a smile. 

"You're welcome darling."

Darling? Now something was really wrong. Endearments were not something I ever expected to hear from someone like him. 

He suddenly reached out to touch my face and when I tried pulling back, he held my chin. 

"We're in public, remember what the contract states?" He gritted and I nodded slowly still uncomfortable with his touch. 

"Act accordingly." He faked a smile and I did same.

He stood up and gave me a kiss on my forehead but I had to act like it was a norm for both of us.

Next thing I knew, he was on one knee with a ring in hand. I gasped, just as almost every woman in the room did. 

Phones were up in the air and cameras flashed left and right. I burst into tears, I was sure everyone else thought it was happy tears but I was feeling trapped already. I was going to start living a lie and I wondered how I was going to pull it off. 

"Ariana Delaney, will you marry me?" He finally asked. 

"Yes, I'll marry you." I nodded and he slid the ring on my finger just as the people around cheered. Congratulations were in order and I had to keep a plastered smile on my face. 

By the time we came out, he officially addressed the paparazzi. 

"This is my bride to be and we'll be getting married in a month," He announced, horrifying me. I did well to hide my shock although I was not pleased. 

"Right, my love?" He turned to me and planted a kiss on my forehead. I simply nodded in reply. 

"Right." I managed to say with a fake smile plastered on my face covering up how overwhelmed I actually felt.

When we finally got into the vehicle on our way back to the hotel, I let him know that I was upset. 

"Why didn't you tell me this whole charade of a date was for the media?" I asked angrily.

"I expect that you read the contract thoroughly and you're aware of what you signed up for. If you didn't, I suggest you go back to it. And, I do not, by any means, owe you an explanation for my actions." He said with such coldness in his tone that I shivered. 

I kept to myself for the rest of the ride. I kept on questioning my sanity and wondering what on earth I had signed up for.

My life was about to change.