Chapter 2

Staying in the hospital for so long has a negative side effect; it must have affected my hearing because there was no way I just heard what he said.

“Excuse me?” I tried to bark, but it ended up coming out like a plea. Have I mentioned I hate hospitals? Because I hate them so much. But anyway, back to the situation at hand. “What did you just say?”

“You have been betrothed to me, and once you are out of the hospital and strong enough, we will begin to make plans for the wedding.”

I looked at him like he had grown two heads, refusing to believe what he was spilling from his mouth.

With the little strength I had in me, I glared at him, letting him know that I wasn’t going to believe any of that shit.

“Alright, you can come out now. The surprise is over.” I said to whatever camera crew was filming this shitty excuse of a surprise. “Hahaha, very funny.” I said, but I wasn’t finding it funny at all.

If someone doesn’t tell me what was going on here, I'm going to lose it.

I was about to lose it to the handsome man beside me when the wooden door was pushed open, and relief washed over me as I saw the familiar faces of my foster parents.

Gene and Stella had been my support system for a long time, and I knew I wasn’t exactly the ideal daughter, but they had tried their best for me. I tried to swallow my hatred for them and plastered a smile on my face.

“‘Ruby?” Stella cried out, her voice breaking down as she neared me, and I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact. But it never came. Instead, she stood in front of me and gave my arm a little squeeze. “It is so good to see you awake.”

“Welcome back, Ruby.” Gene's baritone voice pierced the air, and I had to stop myself from giving him the stink eye.

“Thank you.” I managed, then turned my focus on Stella. She was a beautiful woman, with black hair as dark as midnight and pale skin. She was obsessed with looking young, so her face was full of Botox, which made her look like a doll. I was sure it was the money for our upkeep that she has been using to get herself dolled up.

“How are you feeling? Do you want water?” She asked, fussing over me, and I allowed her. I relished the feeling, imagining it was my mom who was watching after me.

“I just feel like shit.” I replied, and Gene burst into laughter that was silenced when I gave him a glare.

“Yeah, that is our Ruby.” Stella said, smiling sheepishly as she looked at the stranger. “She is always so blunt.”

“Water, please.” I said, looking at the bottle of water pointedly, and Stella grabbed the bottle, directing the straw to my mouth.

I dragged the liquid through the narrow plastic, feeling myself come alive as the cold liquid touched my tongue. I moaned weakly to indicate I was full, and she removed the straw, dabbing the water that had spilled out of my mouth with a Kleenex.

“Welcome back.” Stella said, her smile not leaving her lips, and I was confused.

“Welcome back? Was I out for so long?”

“You have been out for three weeks, and those few weeks were the most difficult weeks of my life, but thanks to Alexander here, we were able to survive them.” Stella said, flashing her pearly whites at the named man. It took all of me not to barf because it felt like she was flirting with him.

Alexander. The name suited him, and I would have appreciated it more if I didn’t remember what he had said earlier.

“Who is he, though? He was saying something about marriage, and I assumed he was crazy because I wasn’t aware of any such arrangement.” Alex tried to stifle laughter, but my glare were enough to stop him.

Even being in a sick bed can’t stop me.

“Oh yeah. About that.” Stella glanced at her husband for help, and he came forward, clearing his throat.

“This gentleman here is Alexander Knight, a household name in the real estate business. You must have heard of Alexander Realty.” Gene said, scratching his thinning mop of dark hair.

“Just cut the bullshit and go straight to the point. Who is he, and why is he here?” I snapped, getting angry with the way they were treating me. I wasn’t a baby anymore.

“Ruby!” Stella snapped, turning her stern eyes at me. I rolled my eyes, not ready for their confrontations.

Gene cleared his throat, looking between his wife and me before he continued. “Yeah, as I was saying. This man here is your fiancé.”

“Okay okay. Hold up.” I held a finger up and attempted to sit up, but the pain had me lying back down. “How did he become my fiancé? I wasn’t aware of them.”

"Yeah, about that.” I watched as his throat bobbed, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what he was about to say. “You had a terrible accident, and we rushed you to the hospital. It was a ghastly accident and needed to be treated urgently, but the money they demanded wasn’t something we had.”

“Just get to the point already.” I snapped, irritated. I already knew what it was going to be. I just needed them to say the words.

“Yea.” Gene cleared his throat for the umpteenth time, pushing his glasses upward. “The bills were too much for us to pay, and luckily Alexander here took an interest in you, and he offered to settle the bills if you became his wife.”

“We would have waited for your approval,” Stella chipped in, taking over from her husband, “but you were unconscious for a long time, so we had to make the right choice. And thank God we did because we were so close to losing you.” She said, wiping a tear from her eyes. But I knew too well.

I was quiet for a moment, trying to take in the fact that I was betrothed without my knowledge. Talk about modern slavery.

“And where in this contract do I have a say? I don’t even care to know whatever deal you made. It is canceled, and I am not going to be his wife.”

“Now now, Ruby," Stella began, squeezing my arms. “Don’t be too hasty; try to get to know him before you start making conclusions.” She tried to reason with me, but I had passed that point.

“I don’t give a fuck, nor do I care about knowing him; I want out of this engagement.”

“Now listen here, kid!” Gene’s stern voice interrupted my whining. “Don’t be ungrateful. We have been taking care of you since you came here, feeding you and housing you, despite the fact that you are of age. All we got in return was your rude and nasty behavior. This is the best decision we could make for you, yet you choose to be stubborn about it.”

All he said was true, so I didn’t know how to retort. “You will marry him, and that is the end of this discussion. I will give you a month to get to know him; after that is the wedding.” Then he turned to his wife. “Let’s go before I lose it.” Stella looked at me in pity, and I turned my face. I hated that more than anything.

The couple hurried out the door, leaving Alexander and me alone. "So..." he began, but I was quick to shut him up.

“Don’t even think of it. I still stand by my word that I am not going to marry you.” I snared, not caring if it was not ladylike.

“We shall see about that.” He said it like a threat, and his smile rubbed me off the wrong way.

“You can as well forget about it because it is never going to happen.”

“I will go now, but I will come back to you.” His voice sent a chill down my spine, and it would be a lie if I said I didn’t tremble. The words sounded like a promise, and he looked like someone who always kept his word.

But if he was expecting me to accept calmly, he didn’t know what was coming for him.

I will be waiting, and I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.