Chapter One

My very own father left my mom and I when I was just eleven.

It has been twelve long years already since then and that is exactly why i should perhaps not feel this way about my mother's new husband to-be but I just can't help it.

It really does sound extremely selfish of me but I do not like him one bit. He's nice to my mother and she adores him so much but he's not my father! He can never be.

She although seems particularly happy ever since they both got together over a year ago and yes, I hate the idea of a new father at this stage of my life but I was more than willing to tolerate him just for my mother's sake.

"Jordan honey, please tell me you're all dressed up" my mother's voice called out from behind my door and before I could think of a miracle or perhaps some magic spell that would somehow rip my towel off my body and get it replaced by my all too serious ball gown my mom insisted I put on, she barged in then sighed in what seemed to be disappointment when her eyes ran down my still dripping wet body covered by my short loosely tied towel where I stood very close to my window eyeing the black SUV that had just made its way to the front of our house knowing fully well who has arrived in it.

"We've talked about this sweety" she said very softly but it wasn't hard to tell she meant to scold me.

"I know Mum, I'm sorry. I just got carried away by my thoughts." I replied truthfully and tried all I could to hold back my forcefully intruding tears that got the better of me and rolled down my cheek just as I didn't want it to.

"I know this is hard for you but do this for me." She replied and I nodded firmly.

"Fred really wants this to work for all of us and it wouldn't go as planned if you keep pushing him away. He cares for you as much as he cares for me sweetie, just give him a chance" she added with pleading eyes and I nodded again in response.

Fred, my mother's husband to-be has just arrived with members of his family according to what Mom told me earlier today for a small family dinner before the wedding procedures fully begin and I wasn't gonna ruin that by being a sour hateful jerk.

"I will mom, I'll be down in Twenty" I replied knowing fully well I would need a lot more than twenty minutes to get ready especially with my overly tangled mess of a hair but nevertheless, Miracles do happen. Don't they?

It appears my thick dark blonde curls stood in the way of my miracle because it took a whole half an hour or thereabout of continuous combing and stretching till I was able to make it look a little bit presentable.

The loud sound of laughter I could hear frequently coming from downstairs accompanied by the sound of silverwares hitting against each other, I knew my mother wouldn't just scream my name for the third time but plant herself in my room again.

I was alot more quicker in getting into my dress surprisingly and when I stood by the floor length mirror on one side of my room, I was beginning to have a second thought about my entire outfit but now was no time to ransack my closet in search of another, so I would probably have to stick with looking like I was just torn out of a fancy fashion magazine the entire evening.

Mom wanted my appearance alone to make a statement but this is more than a statement. My floor length Red dress was so shiny that it felt too loud and rather suffocating.

I could only just imagine what she would make me wear on the actual wedding day.

Just as I bent a bit to strap on my heels, my room's door flew widely open with careless abandonment and only managed to miss flinging me away just by a single inch.

I stood up suddenly and turned to face the door and all the words I planned on speaking out trailed off as my eyes rested on the intruder at the door who wasn't in any way my Mum as I thought it was but some guy I'd never seen before.

Who the hell is he?

I couldn't tell who he was and I mostly couldn't help but notice how pretty he actually is.

His short brown locks swept back his head and a few locks fell over his face and partly covered his dark eyes that were piercing right into my hazel pair because I was also wordlessly staring at him till I noticed his eyes shamelessly rake down my body and I must have grown pissed by it.

In that moment alone did I discover that he had actually just barged into my room and now, here he is watching me like a starved man would his snack.

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded very crossly.

I only regretted my harsh choice of words when it had already slipped out of my mouth but my every feeling of regret vanished quickly when he paid me no attention and just pushed past me into my room and glanced around literally inspecting the entire place.

"Excuse me?! You cannot just barge into my room and walk around like you own the place" I barked out at him and only then did he pause.

He rolled himself on his heels swiftly without taking his hands out of his pocket the entire time then once again fixed his gaze on me. Only then did I bring myself to notice just how tall he actually is.

I for one have always seen myself to be relatively on the tall side but he towered above me even in my heels.

"Zoe asked me to come get you" he replied dryly and his voice didn't exactly hold the fairytale dreamy sound I had expected from the complete stranger. It sounded more casual than thunderous.

And wait a damn minute!

Did he....... Did he just say Zoe? The Brat just called my mom by her first name so casually.

I glared at him and only when he blinked his long lashes did I get the hint that I was supposed to say the next statement.

"Who are you?" I questioned after mentally drawing in a long breath.

"Ralph. Ralph Evans." He replied and I looked at him like he had just grown a horn or probably a second head. The latter does sound more interesting.

My brain was definitely trying to tell me something but I was blocking it away.

Ralph Evans?

"You know, My Father is Marrying your Mom.." He added in his self introduction and my eyes widened at the spot. followed by his boyish smirk.

What the hell????

What the actual hell???..

Mom never mentioned Fred had a son! And that too, one this Grown and urghhhhhhh...

It wasn't hard to guess he's older than me but I couldn't exactly place the age gap. Perhaps two or three years older but still..........!!!!

Why didn't anyone tell me??

"Perhaps because you didn't ever want to speak about Fred?" A voice in my head answered and I rolled my eyes at the truth it held.

I did wave away every topic that had to do with Fred. He was to marry my mom real soon and I literally know nothing about him asides that he has a grown ass son I just found out about like five seconds ago.

"That doesn't mean you could just barge in to my room, what if I wasn't dressed yet" I pointed out and once again hated my choice of words when I noticed his eyes lit up at my statement.

"That would have been a very pleasurable sight to behold" came his immediate response and I suddenly began to feel a little too embarrassed.

I wanted changing the subject but it seemed as though my tongue had abandoned me so I chose leaving the room as my next smart option but it turned out he had other plans because just as I walked past him aiming to slip out the door, he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me hard into himself way too close that our clothings didn't seem like enough barrier between us anymore.

I felt his arm snake behind my waist and I then raised my head up at him to shoot him a questioning gaze and that was one very wrong move.

What he did next caused my whole life to seize that very moment and returned shortly after with enough force to yank myself out of his grip and violently rubbed against my lips with the back of my palm as my eyes dug into his.

The jerk just kissed me!

"Get the hell out of my room." I ordered through my clenched teeth word after word, with my index finger pointing out my door that was still widely open.

"NOW!" I roared when he made no attempt to leave and that only pissed me off further.

"Nice to meet you too, Jordan." Came his relaxed reply before he turned to leave but stopped halfway again to wink at me before he continued on his way.

When I got to be alone in my room again was when I was able to realize my breathing had gone from initially calm to really harsh.

I had to sit by the edge of my bed for a few minutes to get myself settled and give a quick thought to what the hell just happened in here??

I heard my mother's voice scream out my name again and I drew in a deep calming breath.

I walked over to take one last look at my face in the mirror and not only did I look annoyed and flushed at the same time, my lipstick I spent almost an entire minute trying to perfect had been smudged all around my face.

I cussed loudly and wiped it off completely then settled for just glossed lips this time around.

With my fists balled beside me on either sides, I eventually stepped out of my room after settling to pretend none of what took place in my room happened.

I know I promised to be at my best behavior but I did not sign up for any of this.