Chapter 2

Had I just heard my mother right? An arranged marriage? It all was just getting worse and worse.

“You must be joking,” I scoffed the words out. I stared at her blank expression and chuckled dryly. 

Yes, my parents were controlling but not this controlling. They would never push me into a loveless, stale marriage, no matter what that reason was. At least that was what I thought. 

“Heather, you have been alone for the past two years, it’s not healthy for you or for the family’s image,” She said to me. 

I used all my inner strength to stop myself from rolling my eyes out of respect for her. Even if it was about my life, my parents always had a way to make it about them.

I bit her tongue back, withholding from telling my mother that I had been in a beautiful relationship with a perfect man for the past two years. 

If Samuel was the type of man that my parents wanted me to be in a relationship with, then I would have told them about him in a heartbeat, and this whole arranged marriage crap wouldn’t even be happening.

“I’m not getting married to a stranger,” I said boldly as I held onto the envelope that the air ticket was sealed in. Holding it in my hand brought ill feelings, ones that made me want to throw up.

“Heather…” She said my name in a warning tone. “You are doing this, the family of the CEO is already waiting for you. And if you argue with me about this, I would have no choice but get your father.” 

“I don’t care. Do whatever you deem necessary.” I challenged her. I was sick and tired of her being so controlling. I was already in a crappy mood, I was not going to take any more crap from her. 

I had a difficult relationship with my father, and she knew that. I was even a bit scared of him but I was not going to let my fear win this time. 

Sure, my dad was always there for me and provided everything for me and even more, but he was always emotionally distant. Maybe because I was his only child and especially a girl. 

He always wanted a son. 

My mom told me the story of my birth a while ago and that has never left me. She said that they were expecting a boy; they expected a boy so badly that they had a room as big as three rooms joined together prepared as a boy’s room.

This was one of the reasons that almost everything that I owned between the ages of birth to three years was all masculine.

My father also had anger issues, and luckily for them, he did not drink; because if he did, that would have just been the fuel to the fire.

He didn’t hate me, I don’t think he did. But I was not sure if he loved me either.

“I’m not getting married to a stranger,” I said again, my tone icy. I then marched away to my bedroom, leaving my mother annoyed at max. 

It didn’t take long for me to hear his voice; for me to hear the poisonous harshness that underlined it. It was my father and he was on his way to my room.

“Heather!” He yelled with a force that caused my heart to skip a beat. I was scared, I had always been scared of him. “Open the damn door.” He knocked on my door when he reached my room, causing my breath to hitch. 

Each bang caused my nerves to go crazy. I could not take it anymore so I woke up quickly and rushed to the door so I could open it. I didn’t want to keep him waiting. Keeping him waiting would do me no good.

As soon as I unlocked and opened the door, he walked past me wearing an expensive business suit. His pepper and salt hair was styled to perfection, and his face was clean-shaven.

His blue eyes were filled with anger, and they were directed right at me.

“Tell me what you told your mother,” He demanded of me, and I gulped. Fear had captured my voice and no words could come out of my mouth.

Soon, my mother appeared at the door and walked in. “I didn’t want to involve your father, but you are just too stubborn. You left me with no choice,” She said to me, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

“She is not a child anymore, Lucia,” Dad replied to her. “She doesn’t have the luxury of being stubborn!” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “For years she has defied us, I’m done with that!” 

My eyes landed on the sealed envelope on the bed that my mother gave me. I was already incredibly weary about Samuel leaving, having a fighting match with my father right now was something that was too much for me. 

Maybe this was what I needed; the arranged marriage. But how could I just give up on Samuel like that? And I did not want to just easily give in to my toxic parents. 

“You two were never a fan of arranged marriages, considering that mom ran from hers to marry you. So what has changed?” I asked my father boldly, and a quick emotion flashed across his face before his face became hard again.

“I expect you to be on the flight to London by tomorrow.” He ignored what I just said, and began to walk out of the room.

“And if I’m not?” I bravely challenged him. My heart was thumping like crazy. This was my first time standing up to him. It felt good and it also felt like I was putting myself in front of a firing squad.

“Then you would no longer be my daughter. You would be cut off from the family and from all the benefits of being a Smith,” He replied to me, and then walked out, followed by mom.

I stared at the envelope on the bed once more, and then shoved my hand gently into one of the pockets of the hoodie I was wearing. When my hand touched what I was looking for, I pulled it out and stared at it. It was the note that Samuel left; the breakup note.

I did know why I brought it with me but it in a way was my only connection to Samuel and I did not want that gone. 

Holding it in my hand felt like my heart was being stabbed over and over. I could feel tears building in my eyes. So much was happening and I just wanted it all to be over.

I did not want to be on the bad side of my family, god knows that being on their bad side was far from good. So I reluctantly accepted my fate and accepted the arranged marriage. 

After spending a few hours crying to myself in the first-class cabin on an airplane, I arrived in London. It was a beautiful place but the reason I was there soured the experience.

It did not take long for her to meet the family of the man she was to get married to. 

I didn’t want to do this; getting married to a stranger, but if I did not, I would be cut off from my family and all the benefits that came from being a Smith. I was not ready for that. 

Especially after losing Samuel, my boyfriend.

I was wearing a beautiful dress picked out by my mother. My necklace alone cost a fortune and my hair flowed down to my shoulders in perfection. 

I hated to wear expensive things, it made me feel uncomfortable. I would rather just wear clothes from the Dollar store, or from Goodwill.

“You look stunning!” The mother of the man I was to get married to compliment me. “Oh, mine. Our Sterling is going to be blown away!” She referred to her son that was not there.

“Thank you,” I tried to sound happy, but my attempt failed. I was sad and masking it was hard. It was Samuel that I wanted to get married to, not some stranger. Tears kept filling my eyes but I used all of my willpower not to cry. 

But eventually, I did. Hot tears trickled down my face as more memories of Samuel kept filling my mind. 

With bloodshot and weary eyes from crying so much, I still dined with the family. They ignored how quiet and emotionally drained I was and treated me very nicely, considering that they just met me. 

They seemed like nice folks.

I felt like everything was happening too fast. I felt like life was trying to pick a fight with me, one that I was not ready for; one that I did not even pick. 

After dinner, I was then taken in a fancy car to where I would be staying; a castle-like mansion that took my breath away. I had not met the man I was to get married to yet nor had my parents told me why this arranged marriage was even happening.

I was led into the mansion and told that my husband-to-be would be waiting for me in the bedroom. I tried calling Samuel a few times, but this time, the phone was not even ringing. It was like he dropped from the face of the earth. 

My sadness was now fleeting and shifting into something stronger: Anger. 

How could he just walk away from me!? Was he cheating on me? Did he run away to be with the one he was cheating on me with? No matter what the answer was, I knew that I would kill him when I had the slightest glance at him.

I placed my phone away and was escorted to the master bedroom of the huge house. I took in a deep breath and knocked a few times, waiting to see my husband-to-be for the first time.

There was no turning back now. 

Hearing the door unlock made me nervous and anxious. The moment I saw him would be a transition that would bore a deep hole in my life forever. As it opened slowly, I held my breath, hoping that the guy was at least good-looking. 

Then I saw him. I saw the man that I was supposed to be in an arranged marriage with. My breath hitched and my mind spun. 

It was Samuel, my boyfriend. The love of my life who fled away and left a crappy note the morning of our anniversary. He was the man I was to get married to.

“What the hell?” I let the words fall from my lips.