I haven't stopped staring at my wristwatch in the last five minutes. Ever since the waiter brought in our order and distracted Brian from proceeding with his 'proper agreement', I have been restless and impatient and I'm pretty sure Brian could tell that I was desperate to get out of this place. For some reason, I was having a very bad feeling about this whole thing and the logical part of my brain kept telling me that I had to get out of whatever this situation was as soon as possible if I didn't want to get myself into any kind of trouble.
"Can you stop doing that Emerald?" Brian demanded, snapping me out of my thoughts and I frowned.
"Doing what exactly?" I asked, feigning ignorance. I honestly could care less if he felt some type of way about the fact that I was constantly staring at my watch because at the end of the day, he was to blame for my attitude. He had the audacity to call me a collateral and he didn't even bother to explain himself and now, he's talking about getting into an agreement when I still don't have a clue what is going on.
"Tapping your feet and constantly staring at your wristwatch. You haven't even touched your food yet and I'm pretty sure that it's already getting cold. If you have a problem or an issue, just go ahead and ask me instead of acting so inappropriately," he demanded and my jaw literally dropped. Did he just call me inappropriate? How dare he?
"You called me a collateral Brian and you expect me to be comfortable after hearing that? You also insinuated that I had no say whatsoever in whether or not I actually want to marry and you expect to still want to sit here and listen to you subtly disrespect me? Well, just so you know, I'm no idiot Brian and yes, I want nothing more than to get the hell out of here!" I snapped back at him, forgetting anything I said about being patient and calm.
I didn't regret the fact that I just flared up suddenly but judging by the look on Brian's face, he also wasn't expecting me to go off like that. He didn't say anything for a while and he simply stared at me almost as if he was scrutinising me and just when I was expecting him to say something to me, maybe an apology for being a dick or some sort of argument to justify the fact that he had no manners and was very disrespectful, he simply went back to eating his food and said nothing else.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" I asked.
"What exactly do you expect me to say to you Emerald? I'm not exactly going to apologise for being blunt with you because as you might already know, I'm not one to care about anyone's feelings. I've tried really hard to be as calm and as polite as I can be with you Emerald but if you can't appreciate that, that's on you, not on me. If you're so concerned about why we're getting married, ask your father but I really doubt that a smart girl like yourself wouldn't know why she was asked to marry a complete stranger," he replied and at that moment, I felt like a fool.
"So what if I don't know Brian? What if I'm asking because a smart girl like me didn't ask for details and a smart girl like me just jumped into a marriage arrangement because she got told that it was the only way to save her family?" I retorted, visibly frustrated and embarrassed.
"Listen Emerald, whether or not you're aware of the reason you're getting married doesn't actually matter cause it changes nothing. Your family already agreed that someone from their family will marry into mine and that person is obviously you. The only thing I can tell you is that I didn't want things to get to this but well, it has and there's nothing else you can do besides go along with it and tell your family to do what needs to be done so our agreement can come to an end," he responded and that was when it dawned on me that I wasn't going to get the answer I was looking for, especially not from this man.
"Alright Brian, it's already clear that you're not going to tell me what I want to hear so how about we just get this over with? I clearly have no intention of eating this as I've already lost my appetite so, let's start talking about what this agreement you mentioned earlier is all about," I said, wanting to change the entire topic. As it seemed, nothing I do or say is actually going to get him to say anything to me and if I was being honest with myself, he wasn't the one that owed me any sort of explanation. The person I should be asking this question is my dad cause he's the one making me do this in the first place.
"Well, what I meant with the term 'agreements' is sort of like a few basic rules that I think that you need to know in order for things between us to run smoothly. If you also have anything that you'd like to add later, I'm very willing to hear you out and we'll come to a definite agreement after laying down our rules," he explained and I squinted my eyes a little, curious to know what rules the 'almighty' dickhead Brian Huxley was going to have for me.
"I'm listening,"
"My rules aren't ridiculous Emerald and I can assure you of that but you might not like a few of them for sure. First things first, I do not want my wife working and I'm aware that you find pleasure in your work but while you're married to me, you can't work," he said and just when I thought he couldn't be more ridiculous and absurd, he proved me wrong in barely a minute.
"I studied for about four years of my life, giving everything I had to what I love despite my parent's objection and you're telling me that I'd have to abandon that just because I'm marrying you? Do you have any idea how hard I had to work to get this far?" I asked, trying my best to remain calm even though I was fuming on the inside.
"I'm not disputing your hard-work Emerald but I'm not some normal guy. Once you and I get married, your life isn't going to be the same and I can't have you working tirelessly in a hospital and getting yourself on tabloids every single time. People are going to start watching you and anything you do becomes newsworthy to them. I'm pretty sure you're also going to find it uncomfortable working with people who won't stop talking about your personal life and trying to suck up to you for personal favours cause trust me, it will happen," he explained and I honestly couldn't believe it. I'd have to give up my job, the very thing that I love the most simply because I was marrying some rich guy. How funny is that?
"How long would I have to stop working? Would it be throughout the entirety of our marriage?" I asked.
"Unfortunately, it'd have to be but, after our agreement ends, I'll make sure to find another job at any prestigious hospital of your choosing," he replied and I mentally scoffed.
"What other ridiculous rule do you have for me Brian?" I asked.
He chuckled. "Another thing is, during the course of our agreement, you and I will not share a personal relationship but, in the public eye, we're obligated to present ourselves as an ideal couple. Once we're by ourselves, we'll live separate lives and there will be no interference from either one of us. You're even allowed to have other relationships but you'll have to make sure that you don't get caught," he stated and I simply sighed before urging him to go on. I didn't even care to argue with that since I wanted nothing to do with him and his personal relationship is never going to be any of my business.
"Even as a married couple, I have no right to your body so be rest assured that I'll never make any attempts to touch you. We'll both have our personal bedrooms and if you have anything to say to me, we can always discuss it in my office. The final rule is that no one should find out about the nature of our marriage. If the media gets a hold of that information, it'll spell a very huge problem for both of us and it'd be much worse for your family," he said.
"As you can see, not all my rules are outrageous and they're simple guidelines to keep this agreement in check. If you perhaps have something to add, I'm listening," he added and the only I wanted to do was just get out of here but not before asking a few questions first.
"If I have something to add, I'll let you know in the near future but right now, I do have something that I'm curious about," I replied and he gestured that I proceed with my question. "Do you perhaps have something against me?" I asked and judging by the look he had on his face, My question definitely came to him as a surprise.
"Why would you even ask that? Does it seem like I have a problem with you?" he asked.
"It doesn't exactly seem that way but, something about the way you've been makes me thing that you're trying hard to even sit here with me. Even on the first day we met, you didn't even want to look at me," I replied, being completely honest with him. I, at first thought I was simply being paranoid but right now, I don't think so anymore. The man looks at me like he wants nothing more than to be away from me and even though the feeling is mutual, it still feels weird, especially since the reason for my attitude is pretty much obvious whilst his isn't.
"Well, I'm not obligated to find you likeable and comfortable Emerald. To me, you're just another contract that I have to deal with, nothing more, nothing less and I never get too friendly with my 'work'. You may find my use of words distasteful but since you asked, be a big girl and deal with the response. Just like you don't think highly of me as a person, I also don't think very highly of you at all. We'll just deal with each other for a while and after that, you and I will have no business with each other," he explained and my heart immediately dropped to the pit of my stomach.
I have never been this insulted, embarrassed and furious in my entire life and for the first time ever, I actually had the thought of strangling a person.
"The feeling is definitely mutual Mr Huxley. How about we call it a night and just head back home? Cause if I have to hear you insult me one more time, I might actually lose it," I said to him and without bothering to waste anymore time, I stood up and just when I was by the door, he stopped me.
"One more thing Emerald, I just feel it's right for me to let you know that you're being watched by my men and before you freak out, it's only protocol to make sure you don't go around slipping up and making any mistakes. Remember, you and I will be married in a week and until then, you'll be under my watchful eyes," he said and I just knew then that I was marrying a mad-man for sure.