1. Turning point

Daisy POV :

I reached the marriage registration office half an hour early. I could feel my fingertips are still icy cold. And my whole body shakes by thinking about Dad's reaction when he finds his only daughter running away from home. I am feeling terrible about it. But what can I do, I got the stubbornness from him only. Only the relief is that I am now far away from him. By the time he will be able to locate us, we will be already married. And I hope that mom can manage his wrath.

I checked my watch again. 

Uff!! It's like the time is going like a sloth. As it was a remote area, very few people were there. And my eyes did not stop searching for Victor Steele, my Vicky. He did not like the idea of running away from home and wanted a marriage with the blessings of both families. But he has no idea that it will never happen, as my father thinks that Vicky is after our wealth. I know my Dad, he could be stubborn, but once I prove to him that his assumptions were wrong, he will accept us.

Damn it, I left my phone at home as I don't want to be caught soon. Not only my phone, my cards too. One transaction will be enough to locate us. I was getting impatient as it was almost time. When I saw a black SUV entering the premises, I felt relieved. As the front door opened, a young handsome man about the age of 28 came out. He wasn't Vicky. I saw him looking for someone, maybe he also got the same situation. Haha, I can't blame him. This place is such an isolated area that it is indeed the right option for the eloped ones.

I was getting restless by every second as I could not find Vicky. I cursed under my breath with the idea of leaving my phone at home. Then I thought about borrowing a phone from that stranger. He looks approachable as he gently smiles at me. I thought about going to him again, but it seems like I did not have any other option left. 

As I approached the car, the man in a black suit glanced at me. This time only I analysed him better. He had his face averted, had a Bluetooth headset on and he was explaining the situation to his superior, maybe to his boss. And he is either the driver or the personal assistant to that person. When I was at a close distance, he stopped talking over the phone.

"Excuse me, Sir, I need a little help. I am expecting someone and it's getting late. I don't have a phone to call the person. So can you please lend .." my words were cut in half by him as he extended his hand with the phone.

"No problem Miss. " He said with a polite smile.

I took the phone from him and called Vicky. I could hear my heart drumming against my ears. But the line went dead. WHAT..!!

The line was not going through. What the heck....!!

Oh my God, he must have kept the phone at home as well. But why does he need to do that...?? may be for safety. But... 

So many questions arose in my heart, which all went unanswered as the line went dead again. Maybe I should check with his secretary, I called the office number and it started ringing.

I could feel the heat on my cheek as I felt the blood rushing into my head with anxiety. I could sense the unpleasant gut feeling coming from my heart but still wanted to try with my last hope that Vicky would not give up on me.

Then the sultry voice of his assistant came through the phone.

" Good morning..." But I did not let her complete the sentence.

"Where is Vicky...??" I don't need to give any explanations to her as she is very used to my voice.

"Oh Miss Daisy, Sir is not at the office. I am afraid he will not be able to meet you today.." She said while trying to hide her mocking tone.

"What do you mean??" I was getting pissed as I clenched the phone even tighter.

"Oh Miss Daisy, I thought Sir would have informed you. He went abroad last night to his mother's family...And I heard a rumour that he will be engaged soon.."

What..!! 

The rest I heard was a blur!! I could feel the tears falling out of my eyes continuously as I process her words.

Engagement!!

I know his mom was talking about a rich girl who is better than me according to his mom. But Vicky never even thinks about it. But what's going on now??

No way, he can never do that. But why did he go abroad without informing me?? How can he make me stand like a fool here? The more I thought, the more nervous I got. The next thing I could sense was the darkness.

I was awakened by the cold water splashing into my face. As my vision got cleared, I saw the same stranger calling out for me.

"Hello Miss, Are you alright??" he asked nervously. He was gently tapping my cheeks. 

"Yeah, I am fine. Thank you.." I sat on the bench near the tree feeling blank about my life. I wanted to believe the whole thing was a nightmare. But it was not. Here I am, all alone sitting there feeling deceived.

So this is it.. my father must be right. Last night when I told Vicky that my father will disown me if I marry him, he did not respond. And when I told him about the runaway marriage plan, he tried to protest a bit too. Maybe he didn't want poor Daisy, he was only looking for my money... I feel pathetic for being a fool on this love drama. I can never face my Dad again... I have ashamed him to the core. I don't deserve it either.

My heart sank at the thought of my family who must be struggling so much to cope up with the betrayal of their beloved daughter.

As I was lost in thought, I heard a throat-clearing noise. It was the same stranger who helped me twice.

"Hello, Miss. I am Melvin D'Cruz. I could see that you are in some kind of trouble. We are in some kind of trouble as well." He looked towards the SUV. Then only I noticed a shadow sitting inside the car.

I only looked at him, to continue whatever he was saying and leave me all alone. I have a lot to think about. I have to find a way to survive alone. Maybe one day I will become what I wished and will go back to my Dad who will be proud of who I am by that time. 

" I can guess that the person you expected is not coming. We are in almost the same situation as well." he paused.

"What do you mean?? Did your girlfriend also backstabbed you??" I asked him without a second thought. normally, I would not entertain strangers. But this guy seemed different and also my situation made me bolder.

"Oh no. I mean, we were here to register the marriage of my boss. And it's not as you think. It's a bit personal. He needed a contractual wife for a year, for his reasons. And the perfect girl I found for him, who agreed to come here was met with an accident. we only came to know about the news now. "

Why does he say all these things to me, I thought?

"Oh, I feel sad about that girl. But you can find another girl and marry her later right. it's not like she was his girlfriend."

"That's the problem. He needs to get married today, that is within hours and go back to his family. There is such an urgent situation."

And I could feel the urgency on his face. But again why is he telling me all this?? 

"Whatever, what did it have to do with me?? Why are you telling me this??" I was getting infuriated by his nagging.

"I could see that you need help too. I mean financially, and maybe we can help. I mean, you will get a whole sum of money and a secured life for a year. The money will be enough to secure your future as well, and most Importantly nobody will know about this except his family, as his family is abroad."

"So you want me to replace the girl right ..!! Do you think I am a gold-digger?? " I was infuriated by his suggestion. If only he knew about my background he would never talk about this stupidity to me.

His face went pale and he started explaining things again.

"Miss I did not mean any harm. if you don't want this. I will find someone else. It is just that, he got high standards when it comes to the selection of this particular girl and you are all good for it. I am not trying to insult you, but you look amazing. And I could feel your situation as well. I am sorry, just think that I never asked you this."

By saying this he started to move away from me. I could feel his sincerity and when I thought about what he said, I think it might be the better option. A change is what I needed. Most importantly a secured shelter. Maybe I can take it as a job for a year. And nobody will know anything about it. But somewhere it feels like it's kind of an important turning point of my life. What to do??

Without another thought, I stopped him.

"Hey Melvin, I hope I can call you that. I think you are right. A change and a shelter are what I need now. I will accept it upon a few conditions only.."

"Wow...that will be okay miss..." he paused

"I am Daisy Donovan... You can call me Daisy. I wanted my whereabouts kept to myself. That I don't want anybody to dig into my past. Don't worry, I don't have any criminal background, which I can give assurance. But if you don't trust this, then we can drop it right here.  And when I enter into the contract, I and your boss will have employer and employee relationship only. Nothing more than that... "

"Miss Daisy, that is exactly what my boss wants too. Don't you want to see him before agreeing to it?" he asked with doubt.

"No... I don't mind even if he is ugly or old, I mean it's not like we are getting married for real. it is only for a year and I will treat this as my job only."

"I am impressed, Miss Daisy. You are the right one for this. I was not wrong by the choice. So I will give you the agreement in which you can read my Boss's conditions as well."

"Okay fine. I will wait here..."

I sat on the same bench as Melvin walked away from me. Maybe, even after being an heiress, there is something like this written on my fate. As I was sitting there, I was feeling the intensity of glare from the black SUV. But I could not see him. And I stared back at it without a second thought, and right then the back door opened, and I froze by the sight of him. Holy mother and father!!

He is freaking hot...!! Damn!!

He is almost six feet tall with a mysterious aura. His piercing eyes got locked with mine for a second, and my heartbeat raced for some unknown reasons. I quickly averted my gaze as I don't want to feel intimidated by him. We are at quite a distance yet he could make me tense. Damn, I never felt so intimidated by anyone. Maybe because he was looking so hot and handsome than any other man I have ever seen. 

No Daisy, he is going to be your boss for a year. That's it.

But, who is he?? I don't even know anything about him. He could be a mafia king by his looks. How can I agree to spend a year with him..!! 

But, if he is ready to keep my past to me, then maybe I should do the same with him. 

I quickly calmed myself, and when I looked up he was nowhere to be seen. 

After two minutes, I saw Melvin approaching me with some documents.

"Miss Daisy, Boss told me to give this to you. These are the rules for you to follow. So you must read and sign the agreement. On the other side, I have added your conditions as well. So you read and sign this, then we can proceed with the marriage registration."

He forwarded the folder to me with a tight smile.

I opened it to see the agreement inside, and the second page titled it as the rules to follow..!!

My eyes were glued to the document in front of me. The rules were written in bold letters as if to emphasise their significance.

I read through it and found it exactly how I imagined, except for a few things. For the sake of his parents or relatives, we may have to do PDA to gain their trust in this relationship.

What the heck!!

And we will be sleeping in the same room whenever we are in his parents home. And the most irritating thing is that I will have to do whatever he says, of course except our own space. And after a year, I will be getting ten million dollars for this agreement, which is enough for me to have a good start with my business plans. But, the agreement will go void whenever he wants. If I break any of the rules, then I will have to pay him back twenty million instead. Oh Good Lord, Really!!

Then on the next page, I saw my rules were well written as well. I deeply sighed and thought about it one more time. I can't face my Dad like this. I will change myself into a position to make him proud and then I will go back. But... No... it's just a fake drama... that's it... 

I closed my eyes for a second, and when I opened it, I signed on the paper without any second thought.

After a few more minutes, Melvin was back and verified the document and told me to go with him to register the marriage as his Boss is already inside.

Then again that weird feeling was back and I started to get nervous as my heartbeat went on a high pace.