Chapter 4
No matter how much I tried, I failed to understand all that happened. One moment, I was engaged to Fiona, the next I was engaged to Emily. To be honest, I was furious because I was starting to like Fiona. I was starting to get used to her. It wasn't like I was madly in love with her because I was aware from a very young age that I was destined to have an arranged marriage. I just didn't want to relive the whole experience of getting to know my future wife again, especially with Emily since I knew how awful she was. I also hated how my family treated me like a puppet. They expected me to be a robot that would fulfill their wishes without questions or objections. I despised how Emily was being shoved into my life.
Fiona told me how terrible Emily was and I didn't want that girl to be my future wife. God only knows what she had in store for me. I couldn't even comprehend how she managed to have my parents wrapped around her fingers like that. I couldn't believe how my dad offered to house her until the wedding. Fiona was never allowed to stay over even in a separate room. The way my dad jumped to her defense was jaw-dropping. It was like she had practiced some sort of black magic on him.
When I woke up beside her in bed, I was in disbelief because I simply couldn't remember going to bed with her. Hell, I didn't even remember getting drunk because I wasn't fond of getting drunk at social events and my birthday party was one of those events.
Could that possibly be one of Emily's schemes? Fiona told me that Emily had always been jealous of her and one time, she stole her boyfriend. I didn't know how deep her evilness ran and honestly, I was scared of finding out. For the events of today, not once had I seen anything bad from her, yet bad people didn't walk around with a badge on their chest.
"Why aren't you mad?" I couldn't help but ask my parents when I was finally alone with them. I wanted to understand that sort of acceptance.
"Listen, Julian. From the very beginning, I wanted you to marry Emily, but her father said that Fiona would be a better match. I didn't understand at that time why he chose her over Emily, but over time, I was able to detect the favoritism game he played. I think you're smart enough to have seen that yourself," Dad spoke calmly. Honestly, he was right. It was obvious that Jeffrey favored Fiona, but I thought that was attributed to Emily's maliciousness. "I saw you happy with Fiona, so I said nothing. I didn't even speak to you about the whole matter."
"And you thought what happened today was an opportunity?" I failed to understand his logic.
"I wouldn't call it an opportunity." Then what was it to him if it wasn't an opportunity to make me marry the girl he wanted from the very start? "I would actually call it fate. A chance to correct a mistake that was about to happen. I also wouldn't want you to marry a woman who dared to disrespect you."
"What makes you think that Emily didn't plan all of that?" I didn't understand the way he trusted that girl. How did she manage to dig her claws into my father's head?
"Same reason I didn't think that you might have been the one who planned all of this. Just like I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, I'm also giving it to her. And it seems like you've forgotten that the blood test proved that she was also drugged." That was enough to shut me up. Whether I liked to admit it or not, he had a point that I could not argue with. Without any evidence, I could not prove to them that Emily did it.
"You will be nice and civil to her. I have a feeling that she is way better than her sister," Mum says. She is also on Emily's side.
"Fine," I mumbled and got up. Two years. I was only required to stay married to her for two years. I could make it work. I was going to bury myself in work to avoid her.
My parents didn't know anything about Emily's games, but Fiona had put me in the know a long time ago to beware of her. Nevertheless, I fell into one of her traps.
Dad was convinced that she was an angel and if my dad was convinced of something, it would be incredibly hard to change his point of view, so I just saved myself the hassle.
I needed to out her to my parents. I needed to show them that she was not the angel they thought she was.
I had to talk to her. I wanted her to know that just because she managed to fool my parents, that didn't mean that she was going to fool me.
When I walked back to the living room, I saw she was still in her place, lost in her own world. Had I not known how terrible she was, I would have thought that she was actually innocent in all of that.
"Good thing you're here." Her eyes snapped up and met mine. "We have a lot of talking to do."NôvelDrama.Org owns this.
"Okay," Emily nodded. Even though Emily was a snake, she was very beautiful with her blonde hair and green eyes.
"Follow me," I said, taking her to the backyard. Although the house was big, I had to be cautious. I didn't want my parents to hear what I was about to tell her.
I sat down on one of the chairs and she did the same. "Aren't you going to ask me what I want to talk to you about?" I asked her after a few moments of silence.
"I would be stupid to ask this question and I'm waiting for you to talk." She shrugged.
"Unfortunately, I don't have any proof against you, but let me make one thing clear, Emily. I will never ever like you." Surprise took over her features for a second before she quickly recovered.
"Unfortunately, I don't have any proof that I haven't done it either, so it looks like we're both stuck. However, let me make one thing clear, Julian. If you open my diary, you won't find me doodling your name with hearts around it." I wasn't aware that Emily was sassy. "There are rules that you must follow if you want those two years to pass by peacefully." I tried to remain calm even though her audacity was getting on my nerves. I wanted to make that marriage difficult for her. Perhaps, that would make her run away from the whole thing.
"I would love to hear them." She crossed one leg over the other. Her confidence had me baffled. I didn't know if it was an act or if she was truly confident.
"I expect loyalty," I started, keeping my eyes fixated on her face.
"Seems logical, but it goes both ways, so I also expect you to be loyal." She shrugged. "What else?"
"Behind closed doors, we are strangers. In front of the people, we are a couple in love," I said. Her face held the same expression. I wanted to see her surprised or angry, but she just nodded.
"We're not going to sleep in the same bed. Hell, we're not even going to share a room," I told her. Again, her face remained neutral. Was she a robot?
"More space for me." She shrugged. What was that girl made of? Did she have a heart of steel? Couldn't she see the amount of barriers I was placing between us?
"Do you understand what I am saying here?" I stood up in anger. I wanted her to run to my dad and beg him to get her out of that marriage.
"I do, but what I don't understand is the state you're in. Did you expect me to stomp and throw a tantrum because our marriage wouldn't actually be real?" she asked calmly as she stood up with her arms folded. Her eyes were locked on mine like it was a staring match between us. Her eyes were stunning. "Listen, Julian. For the last time, I'm saying this. I did not drug you. I did not want to marry you and I sure as hell would like to get out of this marriage as much as you. So, let's make the two years we're going to spend together bearable because honestly, I'm not looking forward to them." With that, she left me standing in the backyard speechless.
I didn't know how I was going to spend two years with so much sass.