My reflection hits me as soon as I come face to face with the mirror. I honestly didn't know who it was I was seeing right now but if there's one thing that I'm certain of, it's that, this person cannot possibly be the real me. My entire body felt so numb and my eyes looked tired and swollen from crying all night. I know it would take a lot of contouring and highlighting to hide the dark shade under my eyes, courtesy of my lack of sleep and my tiredness but I was more than ready to cake my face as much as I could to hide my distress and fake a smile for as long as I could.
Faking a smile and pretending to be okay wasn't an unfamiliar territory for me. As a nurse, I, most of the time, have to keep a smile on my face to keep my patients calm and assured and I also have to pretend to be okay even when my entire body is falling apart from all the stress.
I apply contour and highlighter to cover up my eye bags before proceeding to apply blush on my cheeks. I could see my cheeks coming to life with colour but aside from that, there was nothing else to indicate any sign of happiness on my face. I finally applied a red lipstick after minutes of contemplating on whether to go for a pink shade or a red one. I concluded that using pink would be a boring choice and red would be a much bolder choice.
I decided against packing my hair in a bun and I just straightened it and allowed it to fall. I naturally have very black hair but I ended up changing it to brown a few months ago.
My hand lightly grazed the emerald green necklace that sat prettily on my neck like it belonged there. The necklace happened to be a gift from mom and it was a gift she had gotten a few years back from her father. She had walked into my room last night to apologise to me and to also give me this as a token of her apology. She claimed this was something she had kept for when I was to get married but because of the situation, it wasn't a wedding gift but rather, an apology gift.
Letting out a tired sigh, I stood up and examined how my strapless black tube dress embraced my body and highlighted my curves. After assuring myself that I looked just perfect, I slowly walked out of my room.
Every step I took as soon as I walked out of my room only intensified my nervousness and made my palms much sweatier. The fact that I had no idea who this man really was or how he was and yet, I had no other choice but to head to his place and meet with him, made the situation even more nerve-wracking for me. I didn't want to just go to him blindly so I ended up doing a thorough research on him as soon as I woke up this morning.
Apparently, Brian Huxley is no joke at all. He's a business mogul who was known for his ruthless and cold nature. He owned several casinos in Las Vegas, he also owned several hotels and resorts and is also a big name in the business world as someone who has shares in shares in several businesses across the country. Compared to Brian's wealth, my family's wealth was nowhere near his at all.
"Are you ready my dear?" my dad asked as soon as I climbed down the stairs with my hands trailing on the cold rails of the stairway. He was already all dressed up in a suit and I could tell he had been waiting for a while. What I couldn't tell was if he was actually excited about this or if he was also just trying to go with the flow because he looked way too good and way too calm and I found it very suspicious and weird.
"I don't think I have any other choice dad. As you can see, I'm already prepared to go ahead with this ridiculous situation," I responded and he simply sighed without bothering to respond and I thank God on his behalf cause if he had made the mistake of saying anything at all, I would have had an all argument with me and changed my mind.
I kept looking outside the car window, letting the cold air touch my face so that it could help me relax my mind. I had a lot going through my head and as much as I tried not to start overthinking and playing how the meeting would go in my head, I couldn't help it. At this point, the introduction could either go well if I'm able to just keep my mind in check or it could go horribly wrong, if he irritates me to the point where I can't take it.
I really did not want to say anything to my dad at all cause I had a feeling that if I spoke to him, he was only going to say something to worsen my mood and thankfully, he understood that I had no interest in talking to him and kept to himself without bothering me at all.
After a few hours, we arrived at our destination and as soon as we did, my jaw dropped to the ground. The first thing that caught my eye was the massive black gate that looked like I had just arrived in some mafia boss's mansion. My mouth hung open when I realised just how breathtaking the entire property was and how beautiful the view was. Compared to my home, this property was freaking huge and trust me, my home wasn't exactly average.
I spotted what looked like a basketball court and just when I thought my jaw couldn't drop any lower, it did. I stepped out of the car after our driver drove in and took a better look at my surroundings. I noticed that he had a pool house which wasn't very surprising, he also had a fountain and a garden that looked absolutely beautiful. From a distance, I also noticed what looked like a horse stable and a sudden feeling of inferiority overwhelmed me. I thought I knew what luxury was but as it turns out, I didn't even know half of it.
"How does it look? Beautiful, right?" my dad asked from behind me and I immediately rolled my eyes at him.
"Is this why you're making me marry him? So you can have such a rich and influential man as your son-in-law? Is all of this just another business strategy?" I questioned and even though it was only a random comment, I wouldn't exactly put it past him.
"Don't be like that Emerald. If it wasn't for our family's sake, I wouldn't be making you do this," he responded and I didn't even feel the need to give him a response. I didn't want to go back to the mood I was in yesterday and replying to him would only upset me again.
We walked towards the entrance until a young lady suddenly appeared from nowhere with a nervous and tired look on her face.
"I apologise for not welcoming you earlier madam. My name is Nancy and I'll be leading you to the master," she introduced calmly. "Please come with me," she directed and I simply followed her lead with my dad trailing right behind me like he was some kind of bodyguard.
When we entered the house– I mean, his palace– I was surprised to see several people, who I assumed were servants, based on how uniformed they all looked, lined up with their heads bowed. I was quite taken aback and uncomfortable but I said nothing and just kept following behind Nancy who was now going up the stairs and leading me to where I assumed Brian was. The fact that he didn't even think to show his face and welcome me like a proper gentleman was already a sign of how tiring this marriage or rather, this sham of a marriage, was going to be.
We finally got to the living room and I wasn't even surprised by how it looked cause everything about this place so far has been nothing short of magnificent and elegant.
"Mr Huxley will join you both soon. Please take a seat and while you wait, would you like anything to drink?" Nancy asked and I didn't hesitate to request for a glass of water. I really needed something to quench my thirst and stop my throat from running dry because of how nervous I was. She immediately excused herself for a few minutes before returning with a glass of water and I gulped it down immediately.
"Thank you," I said to her and she bowed slightly before excusing herself from the living room.
About ten minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Mr Huxley. I haven't even met him yet and I already developed a strong dislike for him. I detested men who lacked courtesy and he obviously had zero courtesy.
"I apologise for keeping you both waiting," a voice spoke from behind me and I immediately guessed that the man of the hour had finally arrived. I stopped myself from glancing back to look at him and waited until he was in front of me. Almost as if he had read my mind, he appeared right in front of me, all dressed up in casual pants and a loose t-shirt that was lazily tucked into his pants.
He had a stone cold look on his face and when I tell you that this man looked like he had fallen straight out of heaven, I mean it with every fibre of my being.