Chapter Three

Hazel's POV

Getting married was one thing, getting married to Hunter was another. The news was everywhere in the business world, that before he would inherit his father's fortune he would have to be married to me.

My parents were overly excited about the news, claiming that the marriage would strengthen their friendly bond with his late father; I wondered what kind of non-existential bond they were trying to strengthen, especially with a dead man. Why not visit a shaman or a church? Must I have to be married off?

They never even asked if I was into guys in the first place before hurrying to marry me off to Hunter. My opinion was invalid and that was it.

I got out of bed with a slight headache and made my way to the restroom. As I brushed my mouth, I felt the toothbrush prick my gum, causing a little bleeding in my mouth. I was immediately reminded of the beating, the bullying that left me with far more blood in my mouth than I had in my body. Hunter did it to me, he caused it. That night at the sleepover in his house twelve years ago, I had begged him not to tell anyone and he assured me that he wouldn't, only for me to get to school the next day and find the inscription ' wet pants ' written all over my locker and my desk.

I threw the brush into the trash bin and rinsed my mouth. I had to get a new toothbrush. I took a quick shower, drenching myself in the coolness of the hot water. I needed it, at least so that I would remain sane and get through the marriage registration.

I stepped out of the shower and on checking my phone, saw that I had three missed calls from Sasha. The bitch wouldn't just leave me alone after playing dirty with my friend, Cole, and the calls and need to apologize got serious and severe after the announcement of my marriage to Hunter. I blocked her contact and went on to fit my body into a suit.

I brought out the black suit my mother had hand picked for me for the special occasion - it was apparently nothing special, just the name of the luxury brand attached to it, making me quite sure that it must've cost a lot of good money.

In a matter of minutes I was downstairs, toasting myself a few slices of bread and making tea.

" Good morning sir", Basil, my secretary greeted, wearing a matching suit with me and holding an iPad to his chest.

" Good morning Basil. What's my schedule for today?" I asked, taking note of the fact that his dark, caramel complexion, together with his sleek hair cut, looked better on the suit than I did.

" You do have a meeting this morning with the investors from Sun motors by 8:00 AM, after which your marriage registration at the state High court will take place by 11:00 AM........." although the suit was similar to mine, it wasn't exactly the same. Mine was a luxury brand, his wasn't, and there was a little comfort from knowing that. I took a bite of the toasted bread and a sip of the tea as he continued, " the whole thing should be ending by 2:00 PM because you have a special meeting with Mr Ten at the airport by 3:00 PM. You will also be meeting with the contractors of the new development site back at the company by 4:30 PM, and you have a dinner meeting with the chief editor of the Daily News", he finished, raising his face from the screen of the gadget.

I sighed, feeling ready to start off the day, only exhausted by the thought of being married to Hunter Middleton before the end of the day.

" Okay, get the car ready", I said, taking the last bite of the toasted bread and finishing off my cup of tea. He headed out of the building into the garage and I met him at the entrance, got into the vehicle and he zoomed off.

The meeting with the investors took a toll on me. I grabbed the stem of my tie and loosened it a little, catching my breath as Basil sped off to the court - dealing with those guys was really a hard job to crack and I could only hope that they get to consider investing in my company. We were already running late, so Basil was speeding up. My mom called me, asking where I was and I could only reply with a " I'll be there in a minute". The minute eventually turned to seven minutes, and ta-da, we were at the court.

I rushed out of the car and briskly walked into the building. " Good morning mom", I greeted my mom, leaning in for a peck on the cheek.

" Good thing you're here. Why are you late?" her grey eyes were laced with a little bit of concern and worry, deep down, she knew I wasn't looking forward to getting married.

" I had to take care of something at work", I looked around, " where is he?".

" Hunter?"

I nodded.

" Guess he's running more late than you are".

I cursed underneath my breath. I never waited for people, it was always the other way around.

" What did you say?" mom asked, she must've heard me say something.

" Nothing mom", I said, gesturing with my hand.

Basil had parked the car and was climbing up the stairs of the courthouse to meet us when a sleek ride stopped in front of us and someone got out of the vehicle.

It was him, and Basil was blocking me from getting a proper view of him.

When he finally got out of my view, I felt like I was drawn into a trance. There he was, Hunter, climbing the stairs in such grace that irked me, dressed in the same suit as me, same brand, same color - I wasn't the only one mom sent a suit over to, and I just wished that I could exchange clothes with Basil. He seemed to be walking like a character in a drama approaching its opponent for a gruesome duel. His sunglasses and dull face would've convinced people that he was attending a funeral, not a marriage registration.

" Here you are my dear", mom said to him, embracing him.

" Good morning madam", he said, taking off his glasses as he left her embrace, revealing the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen. Like, were his eyes always that blue? " how are you doing?" he asked, a warm smile stretching across his face.

" I'm doing great my dear. How about you?"

" I'm getting through", the smile was still on his face.

" Well, you've been through a lot already", she took his hand, " don't worry, everything will be fine, we're now going to become your family", he nodded, his smile stiffening.

I didn't realize that all this time, I was mopping at him like a stray cat hungry for milk, not until he looked at me with a look that asked " is this the thing I'm getting married to?"

" Oh, you guys must've met each other before now, right?" mom asked and her question was answered with an awkward silence that made it so obvious - we didn't meet up! " no problem, no problem. Let's head inside, your father is probably waiting for us", she said, trying to pull us out of the awkward situation.

We all went inside, both of us, putting up air to make it obvious to the other that we cared less, and for some reason, his aura was just pissing me off.

Decrees were read and papers signed, and finally we were certified spouses.

" Let's take a photo", my dad had said, his face stretching into a smile, one that I hadn't seen in a long time. He and mom had insisted on being present even though it was practically unnecessary. They must've had quite the illusion that I could end up standing my supposing spouse up.

We posed in front of the courtroom, with both of us in the middle and my parents on both sides. There was no photographer so Basil took the picture with his cellphone, together with the woman who came in with Hunter.

I would've guessed that she was his secretary but he probably wouldn't be a student and at the same time, have a secretary.

Basil came up and informed me that we were going to be late if we wasted more time so I had to excuse myself from all the drama of my parents trying to cuddle up to Hunter.

" Mom, dad, I'm leaving. I have to meet someone at the airport", slowly making my way out of there, " I'll call you later", I said.

" Ok, but..............", mom was saying something but I was so concerned about leaving that I didn't pay attention to what she was saying, but was pretty sure she mentioned something about my house.

We drove to the airport, hoping not to be late as we were earlier.

After parking at the garage, I headed inside, hoping to reunite with my bed. I turned on the light to the sitting room and almost peed in my pants.