Chapter 2

"You are what?! Getting engaged?!" Loisa's jaw dropped from the screen of my laptop.

"Fucking hell yes!" I bit my lower lip, stopping myself to curse again. "I'm going to marry a stranger. Stranger, Loisa!"

"And you're telling me that it's Pierre Moretti?!" 

"Shhh! Don't say his name again! I don't wanna hear it." I puffed a breath. "I hate my fucking life."

"Katian! You're gonna marry Pierre Moretti! I'm sure as hell you Goddamn knows him! He's famous, for Christ's sake! I mean woman swoon over him and you're telling me you're the lucky one he's gonna marry?!"

"Lucky?!" My lips parted. "You called marrying a stranger, lucky?!"

"He's not a stranger, Tiana! Everyone knows about him!"

"Still, I don't wanna marry a man I have no feelings with! I don't love him Loisa." I put my palm on my face, feeling the urge to break down again. I couldn't break down for the third time, not again.

"That's not a problem. Soon, you'll gonna learn to love him."

"That's bullshit. Mom and dad never learned to love each other." They just marry for convenience. I didn't know they were also gonna put me into something they had been through!

"You are not your parents, Tiana. Besides, Pierre is one hell of a luxury! It's impossible not to get attracted to him, girl!"

If only I could punch Loisa through my laptop screen, I already did. I just grabbed a ballpen and tightened my grip on it, releasing all my annoyance but it was sticking on my fucking chest like a mighty bond.

"I don't get easily attracted to his kind." I burst a loud breath.

I met tons of bachelors and billionaires and all they have in common was they think too highly of themselves. As if they were Kings who believe they have all the privileges in the world. I never dreamt of marrying a narcissist, never in my life, no matter how good looking they are.

"Then disobey your parents, just how you always do." She laughed with the sarcasm of her joke.

I couldn't even smile. "I can't do that anymore. My dad thinks I have enough and if I failed him again, I'm gonna lose all my hopes, my inheritance. I didn't even have the chance to save money in my modelling career, now it's too late. No big and famous agency would trust me, not again." I sighed deeply. "But, fuck, I'm not ready to get married, Loisa. It scares me."

"You know what they say? If it scares you, go for it!"

I let out a sarcastic laugh as I shook my head. I wiped the tear that fell on my cheek and I tried harder to make my laugh genuine.

"You really can't be serious for even a second, can't you?" I raised my right brow.

"What? I'm serious Tiana." She shrugged. "You never know, maybe you'll like him."

"I don't like narcissists"

"You don't like yourself?"

"Shut up, Loisa!" I threw a crumpled paper on my laptop screen where her face was located. 

She laughed. "Kidding aside, don't be so quick to judge, Tiana. You haven't even met him personally."

"All bachelors in magazines, talking about their richness is all the same."

"Don't generalise" She laughed harder. "I'll surely laugh at you if you fall in love with Pierre---"

"I would never!" My eyes widened, warning her to not continue what she was about to say.

She laughed even more as she shook her head. "Give it a try, Tiana. You might like him. Maybe he's not that bad at all."

I massaged my head. I wished to believe that thought. I didn't wanna disappoint again so it seem like I didn't have any choice but to meet Pierre Moretti and get to know him. Fuck! I wish this wouldn't be worst. 

And my nightmare arrived. It was Saturday, the day I'd meet my soon to be husband. By afternoon, the maid entered my room to hang the dress that I'd wear to the party. I felt so unmotivated when I took a shower. It felt like I didn't wanna go on with life anymore. I was scared to meet him, my fiance and it would slap me to the reality that I was about to tie the not with a freaking stranger.

After taking a bath, the makeup artist my mom hired started putting colours on my face.

"You'll be the most beautiful woman in the room, Tiana. You must be the head turner in the crowd," mom said while someone was fixing my balayage hair. "Remember what I always say, confidence is your greatest asset."

I didn't utter a word. Mom would sometimes be cold and blunt and some other times she'd be gentle and act like a mom material. I honestly didn't know what to feel about it.

I gulped deeply as I just stared at myself in the mirror. They curled my balayage hair and put a pin on both sides leaving my curtain bangs in front. I held my glittering red dress with a fire-looking effect reaching my ankle but with a slit up above the knee, showing the left side of my leg. It was a tube exposing my cleavage. I sat as our helper put my black stilettos on. I told her I could do it on my own but she seem to be intimidated by my mom so she insisted to wear it on me herself.

Mom always made the helpers do things we could easily do. As if her life revolves around asking someone for help. I mean, I wanted to feel independent and such but she always made the helpers do things for me even if I wasn't asking for it.

"You ready, Tiana?" Mom asked when I reached our big front door.

"No," I bluntly said.

She gasped. "You should be. You're gorgeous." She looked at me from head to toe. "You'll gonna slay." She held my hand. "This is your chance to prove everyone wrong, Tiana."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure when they see me at the party, they're only gonna remember my scandal---"

"Sshhh..." She tightened her grip on my hand. "We're not gonna talk about that. We'll forget it happened, besides there's no point in remembering it."

"Really mom?" I chuckled sarcastically.

"All of the invited people are only the closest friends. We already explained what happened in that scandal and sooner or later it will just fade away. People will forget your issues like nothing happen." She slightly smiled. "Especially now that you're gonna marry Pierre Moretti, that's the only thing people would remember when they hear your name."

"You think so, mom?" I couldn't remove the sarcasm in me.

She puffed a breath, looking like she was about to lose her temper. "Don't mess this up, Tiana. This is your chance to redeem yourself so behave like a totally fine lady. Let's go." She pulled me towards the exit of our mansion.

I gasped as my chest started thumping like there was a drum inside, echoing in my mind. We rode on the limousine and the cold breeze shivered my heart harder. I stared out the window, thinking about all the things that I did in my entire life. I started realizing how I wasted most of my younger years for nothing. Dad was right, he was right about me always ruining things. I couldn't ruin another thing again. I also wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't just a failure woman.

I gulped again, feeling my chest-thumping rougher. Pierre Moretti is indeed a hot ass man but he looks scary. Scary in a way that he looks like a man who knows nothing but to make women shed tears on their faces. I read news about him being a womaniser and such. I really couldn't find anything that would make my dad reasonable about him being the real deal. It was only his strong, fierce, and alluring face that makes him a good deal.

"It's your engagement party, Katiana. You should be happy or at least act happy," mom said while she was sitting beside me. Dad was in a different limousine. I guessed he hated being around me.

"Are you happy, mom?" My brows crossed at mom.

She thinned her lips as she looked away. Oh, I hit her spot. 

"This isn't about me, Tiana. This is your day. Act accordingly."

"Oh, so you're not happy with dad, mom? You're just pretending to be?" 

"Of course I'm happy. What are you talking about?" 

I laughed sarcastically. Her eyes were saying otherwise.

"How to pretend like everything's okay, mom? Cause you know, I'm not good at it."

"When you meet Pierre, talk to him like you've known him before." I could sense her changing the topic. "The visitors need to see that you're going to get the surname of a highly influential family attached to your name. It's important to show them that you and Piere Moretti are really getting along."

I didn't utter a word. Mom's voice was just killing my nerves. My family was a total clown, seriously.

"And don't ever try to stick with another man, Tiana. Do not hang out with another man and you're not allowed to fall in love unless it's with Pierre."

I glared out the window as my eyes burned and water started forming on the side of my eyes. I swallowed deeply, suppressing my tears inside, filling my chest with it as it felt heavier and heavier. So they were really gonna stole my freedom away huh, it was starting to sink in on me. Reality slapped me a million times while we were in the limousine, on our way to that formal fucking party. 

"Again, don't mess this up, Katiana. Walk with poise and confidence," mom reminded me again as we arrived at the entrance of the mansion.

Dad snaked his arm on mom's waist before we went inside. I puffed a breath with the overwhelming squirm on my chest, seeing tons of visitors in their formal attire with intimidating looks, oh God, I hate attending events with my parents. Some of the eyes went straight at me. Most of them smiled like a fake puppets. They were mostly grown-up professionals, politicians, lawyers, and doctors; a group of elites indeed.

"Mayor Kenneth Walker, it's good to see you!" A man raised his champagne when he saw my dad.

 "You just saw me yesterday, Peterson." Dad laughed. "Don't be such a boy."

They seem close and oh, I already saw the man in billboards and magazines, social media mostly. 

The old man looked at me. "Oh so here comes Katiana?" 

"Definitely." Dad put his arm around my shoulder as he pulled me closer to him. "Katiana, personally meet Peterson Moretti, the owner of L&S cargo company. Peterson, this is my daughter, Katiana Walker."

I just stared at Peterson, based on his looks, his genes were really good.

Mom slightly bumped her elbow on my waist. I looked at her, she was pointing out something with her eyes. Dad then squeezed my arms.

"Oh hi, Mister Peterson. It's nice to finally meet you." I shook his hand.

"Just call me Peterson and it's also nice to finally meet my son's fiancé." The old man smiled. "Wait, he's just here." He looked around until his gaze stopped somewhere, he lifted his hand. "Pierre, come over here!"

My body froze and I couldn't look at where Peterson was looking. My lips trembled as I tried to maintain the smile on my face. My knees started shaking. I squeezed my eyes closed, sinking to myself that I was about to meet the man I was destined to marry.

I took a deep breath before turning my gaze at the man walking toward us. His charcoal coat suits him well with the black slacks that showed how long his legs were. He have a glass of champagne in his hand while his other hand was fixing the collar of his white polo inside the coat.

I swallowed deeply when he finally stood beside his dad as Peterson wrapped his arm's around the shoulder of my soon to be fiance. God, he was taller than his dad. A six-footer, I bet.

"This is my son, Pierre Moretti," his dad introduced him so proudly whilst all I could feel was the dagger on my chest as Pierre met my eyes.