Chapter Two...

“Please…mummy…I beg you…I will do anything you want me to do… anything… I have to save my brother…”

“Look Isabella, feeding you and having you under the same roof is enough trouble. But, I have some good news for you.”

Isabella's swollen eyes lit up for the first time that day. 

Mrs Rhoda Bennett rose, her heavy ornaments dangling at the movement as she advanced towards Isabella.

“Marry the bastard son of Walter Enterprises and well, I will consider asking my husband to save your little brother's life.”

“Getting your brother to do a Lung transplant will be much better. Of course, you know how costly it is going to take to have it done?” She said, narrowing her eyeballs.

Isabella’s brows twitched. Surely she knew of Walter Enterprises and infact had heard of the Walter bastard son but never knew him personally.

“But mummy, I don't wish to get married now…”

“Then I take it you do not wish to save your brother.” Mrs Rhoda Bennett retorted.

“No, I want to save my brother but…”

“You want my money to save your brother but don't want to do as I say?” Mrs Bennett yelled. 

The echo of her yell was deadened by the entrance of her assistant. 

“Ma'am. Mr Douglas is not willing to have a marriage with any other woman but Evelyn.”

“What? Me? I am never getting married to him! He is only but a bastard son. If there's anything I want is Raymond. He is hot and perfect for me.”

Evelyn whined. She looked at Isa and laughed just to make her feel jealous.

“Such a shame, even your kind does not want you.”

“Convince Douglas Walter to marry you and you will save your brother or forget about getting any money from me. And don't try playing smart by going to ask my husband for money behind my back.

You would be dead if I ever found out,” Mrs Rhoda warned Isa sternly. 

Isabella had no time to waste as she hurried to Walter Enterprises. She was told to seek for Douglas at Walter Hotels.

“Good day. I'm looking for one, Mr Douglas Walter.”

The man behind the counter in the hotel briefly glanced at her and said, “Mr Walter just left. He is on his way to his car.”

Isa dashed out immediately. She caught sight of a man headed towards the parking lot and instantly knew it was Mr Walter. She ran and caught up with him just as he held his door open and was about to get in. 

“Good day. Are you Mr Walter?”

The man turned around. He regarded Isabella for a moment. 

“Uhrm, well, I have Walter along the lines of my name.”

“I am Isabella Bennett and I am to be your bride…I mean we are supposed to get married but you rejected me… So…” she paused, hoping she wasn't making a mess of it all.

He tilted his head, bemused. “I did? Why would I?”

“Apparently you said I am not your type but.. I assure you I'm not a bad person…I can be a good wife.”

He chuckled. 

She paused wondering if she had said something she shouldn't have. 

“I would never say no to someone as cute as you,” he smirked. 

“Huh?” Isa's eyes went wide with bewilderment. 

Before she could say another word, he started towards her slowly with his hot gaze plastered intensely on her. 

Isa’s brows tweaked and she stumbled backwards. But there were only a few steps she could take as she hit a dead end. A car was right behind her. Heat flooded her face. 

He stopped and his lips curled up amusingly. 

“I never said you are not my type…”

“Then… why… why did you say you won't marry me…”

He inched closer. 

“We are not married yet…you can't get so close…”

Her words came out in whispers. He was too close. Too close she almost felt his breath fan her neck. Her legs jittered. She had never been that close to any man but she couldn't run now. He was going to be her husband.

As he leaned up with the mischievous grin, Isabella felt her heart skip. Was she just seeing the darkest and most pretty eyes?

“I’m sorry ma'am for the mistake but here is Mr Douglas Walter.”

Isabella recognized the voice of the man she had inquired of Mr Douglas Walter from earlier on. And turned. There was another man beside the one he heard his voice. And it immediately dawned on her. 

“I'm sorry ma'am for the confusion. This is Mr Douglas Walter.”

Isabella's mouth dropped open. Slowly she turned towards the man she had believed was Mr Douglas Walter. Her supposed husband to be. 

He had a mischievous grin on. “Ah, and I am Raymond Walter.”

“Why did you play games with me?” She demanded..

“Earlier you asked if I was Mr Walter and I Said yes. I believe I didn't tell a lie. I should be on my way now. Do have a nice discussion.” Raymond Walter left but not without casting a look at his brother. 

Isabella felt foolish. She had mistaken another man for her husband to be. She wanted to run, find somewhere and wail. But she wiped her face and turned around. The man before her looked almost nothing like the one that just left. But what did it matter? If he was truly Douglas Walter, then she needed him and didn't care for anything else. He looked anything but pleased to see her. 

“Hello, Mr Douglas Walter.”

“You must be Isabella Bennett. I already sent a message to your family. I do not want to get married to you. 

“Why?”

He looked her up and down. 

“You are not my type.You are too fat. But most importantly you have nothing that I desire.”

Hearing the word “fat”, Isa scrutinized herself and she was nothing close to fatness. She was just slim fit.

“We both do not want this and I know you don't want this marriage any more than I do but you need my family’s name. I mean, we both need this. You need to revive your company, don't you?”

She saw she had him right at the point she wanted. It was right there, the defeated look in his face that said she was right. 

“I will help you to revive your company if you marry me. What do you say?”

“Fine. Let's get married.”

******

Isabella stood staring at her own reflection in the mirror. 

"Come on, why do you look as if this is your last day on earth? Cheer up. I'm sure you will come to love him. It happens. People have arranged marriages all the time and they end up falling in love. I'm sure you will be fine.”

Isa's best friend Crystal Jo has said to her in the dressing room. 

Isa shrugged, “That's like one percent out of hundred of them out there. Besides, I think his brother is …”

She paused, thinking better of the words that had formed in her head without permission. 

“His brother? You mean Raymond Walter? Did you meet him?” Crystal’s eyes lit up. 

“Well, not exactly.”

Isa shuddered as the moment at the Walter Hotel flashed in her head. Her face flushed hot. 

She bit her lip, not willing to think about that moment. How could she think of such an inappropriate thing when she was just minutes away from getting married. She shook her head. 

“There you are. All dressed. I can't say the same for your husband-to-be.” Evelyn stifled a mocking laughter as she stepped in. “It's so dry outside. I can't imagine my one in a lifetime wedding this dry. Urg. Well, fair enough with your bland dress.” She added as she scrunched her nose while running her eyes down Isabella's wedding dress. 

Decent but nothing extravagant. 

Almost at the same time there was a light tap on the door. 

Isa was being reminded that the wedding was about to get started. 

She thanked the announcer and let out a dispirited sigh. She thought of Ryan. All she wanted was for him to get better. Maybe Crystal was right. Who knows, she just might end up loving this bastard son of the Walter family. 

At the thought of him, she slipped out of the room in search of him. Perhaps she could catch a glimpse of him and imagine what it was to live with him. 

She sighted Douglas greeting some of the few guests that came. Since she wasn't supposed to and couldn't show herself to the people yet, she slipped into Douglas dressing room and waited. 

A phone started to ring 

It wasn't hers. She looked and saw a phone on the table and figured it was Douglas. Stood to check the caller but the call stopped abruptly. 

She looked into the screen and saw a picture of her sister. 

At that same time the door opened and surprisingly Raymond Walter entered. Isa quickly set down the phone and spun. 

She blinked. It wasn't whom she had expected to come. 

“Why are you here?” she asked. 

“What do you think? To offer my congratulations, of course,” Raymond Walter grinned. 

Isa felt her heart lurch. She bit down a soft sigh. That obnoxious yet heart wrecking smile again. 

“I don't think we are that close to exchanging…”

“It's my little brother's wedding. Of course I should be here.”

He proceeded fully into the room and shut the door. 

But before anything else could ensure, Douglas entered. 

At the sight of his brother, Isabella noticed how the corners of his mouth turned downward and his eyebrows gathered. 

“Why are you here?” he asked exactly the question she had asked. 

Again Raymond Walter smiled. “Of course I'm here for my brother’s wedding.”

Douglas scoffed.

“Brothers,” he chuckled.

“And look, I even brought you a gift.” Raymond made a show of the parcel in his hand. 

Douglas stared stiffly at him for a moment before he reached forward to get a hold of the parcel but Raymond retracted his hand. 

Isa felt a stuffy icy air between the two. She had heard of the silent war between the Walter brothers over Walter Enterprises succession. And now she was witnessing it first hand. She imagined she and her sister Evelyn having a go at each other over the succession of Bennett's construction company and shuddered at the thought of it. 

Raymond advanced slowly toward Douglas and stopped just a little above an inch. Leaned in and whispered something into his ears that had Douglas shrinking back. 

“What? Are you crazy?” Douglas barked. 

“Congratulations little brother!” Raymond called as he departed after setting down the gift he had brought on the table. 

Isa wasn't able to hear whatever it was he had told Douglas but the anger in Douglas eyes told her it wasn't something nice. 

“That psycho…how dare he show his greedy face at my wedding…” Douglas fumed. 

After a moment he recollected that there was someone else in the room. His wife to be. 

He faced Isa squarely. 

With a hint of irritation laced in his face, he asked, “What did you talk about with him?”

“What?” Isa stuttered suddenly. What had she even talked about with him? She remembered nothing except the fact that he had the most enchanting smile she had seen. 

“Forget it. But for your own good, I say you keep away from him. Nothing good will come from speaking to a psycho like him.”

Isa merely nodded. Not like she wanted to get herself involved in the fight of two brothers. 

“Let's go,” he said as he extended her arm for her to link hers. 

Together the two started outside. For their wedding. 

There wasn't much to it. Isa very much preferred it that way too. Very few people attended. She had the chance to meet Chairman Walter and the two women in his life. Isa noticed the women stared at her in a way that seemed as though they were observing her. Later one of the women came to her and introduced herself as Douglas' mother. 

Later when the wedding was over and everyone had left, Isabella went to meet her mother. 

She wasn't sure it was alright to show emotions. But still she couldn't not show it. This was the home she had known all her life. 

“You don't need to stay here with us anymore. You should go to your husband's.”

“Mother, about the money…”

“You don't need to remind me. Go home to your husband's and we will discuss this later.”

“Yes mother.”

Isa had heard that the Walter family owned a mansion in not just New York City but in some other states in the United States. 

Since the headquarters of Walter group dwelt in New York City itself, the family owned a multi million mansion in the Upper East side. And that was where they were headed to. 

She sat at the back of the Ford Mustang with her newly wedded husband. 

She slid a sideways glance at him. The image of her stepsister she had seen on his screen reared up in her head again. She shut her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She just needed to stay calm. It was only a picture, and secondly it wasn't as if she felt something for him. It was just a marriage of convenience for them. He could have any picture he wanted as his screensaver. 

The car eased into an estate and minutes later, they were driving into Walter Mansion. 

“Oh my…The famous Walter mansion,”

The words left Isa’s lips before she could think. 

Bennett’s house was great too but Isa clearly saw that it couldn't rival the Mansion before her. 

As she stood in front of the gigantic mansion, she couldn't help but feel a sense of awe. It stood tall and proud with its grand entrance beckoning her to come closer. 

“Are you not going in?”

Her awe fluttering moment was interrupted by Douglass. 

“Uh… yes I am,” she stuttered and started into the house. 

“I need to pick up something quick at the office. The servants will show you around. Why don't you settle in until I get back,” Douglas said, turned around and hurried out of the house. 

The high ceilings adorned with stunning chandeliers that cast a warm and inviting glow fell upon her the instant she stepped onto the exquisite marble floors. 

“Welcome ma'am,” one of the maid servants came forward. 

“Let me show you to your room ma'am,” she offered. 

Isa nodded warmly at her and followed her lead. 

The servant woman led her past the extremely huge living room, up the stairs through the long wide hallway past a couple of rooms and finally stopped before a room. 

“It has been cleaned and well maintained.”

She thanked the woman and was on the verge of asking her for a tour around the house but couldn't. 

She decided to have a look around on her own. Chairman Walter and his wives hadn't arrived yet. It was just the servants home. So she thought it would be fine. She casted another look at the room and sauntered out. 

Isa had taken a few steps outside the room when she heard a sound coming from one of the rooms. A clattering sound. 

Unable to wave the curiosity aside, she slowly made for the door. Held the doorknob and pulled. Only to bump into a wall. 

“Ouch!” She cried as her eyes swung up to see the figure she had just knocked into. Raymond Walter. Surely he wasn't equally living in the Walter mansion. Men like him usually preferred living in their own houses away. But her eyes caught the obvious casual home outfit he had on. 

She gasped. “What…you…what are you doing here?” 

Raymond frowned. “Me? That's a strange question to ask. Don't you think so?” 

His lips curled up into a grin Isabella thought was his customary smile. 

Realising she had just asked the silliest question. She bit her lips. “This must be your room…” she muttered quietly, nervously smoothing out her dress that didn't need straightening. 

She looked at his messy coloured hands and her eyes darted past him into the room. 

“You can draw?” she asked, amazed. 

“You want to come in?”

Her heart skipped. “Me? Come in?”

“Why? You don't want to come in? Why? Are you having some dirty thoughts in your cute little head?”

She flinched back, cheeks red hot embarrassed. 

“Stop saying things that ain't true! Why will I come into your room?”

With a stump, Isa whirled and dashed out. 

Outside, she froze to a stop, wondering why she had to overreact when he had only asked a simple question. Again, she reminded herself she was now a married woman.