Amelie
With questioning eyes, I glared at the luminous face of Liam who sat across the room. He sure was excited to hear that I have agreed to get married again to him once again, and in his eyes I could already tell he had forgotten about our deal so quickly.
This was probably going to break my parents, and Ben was going to be mad at me for a while, but I had my reasons. It wasn't for the money as most would think, raising a child without the father was no easy feat. My monthly income from Storm was barely enough to last me an entire month, not to talk about baby expenses. Without a doubt Liam was sure to fire me should he find me no longer needed for his plans. Knowing him well, he probably had a back up plan already drafted should I refuse to birth his child or even get married to him.
His contingency plan probably involved his so-called assistant, Anna. Chances were that she was already pregnant with his child, I really couldn't tell, but I felt like it. I just found it extremely difficult that an ex wife would be able to stick around her ex husband for so long and not have some sort of plan. And if what she had for Liam had been genuine, then the reality of her just moving on was very unlikely.
"You're not thinking of backing away, are you?" Liam asked, his once bright eyes darkening at the possibility of me changing my mind. I rolled my eyes at his accusations and fell back to the comfort of the sofa, his eyes followed me steadily, watching my every move as though I was his prey. I was indeed his prey, and somehow he has managed to sink his fangs into my throat and subdue me, but only for a while.
"I want the wedding to be held today." I revealed and he fell back in shock.
"Today?" He asked in an alarmed tone.
"Yes, today." I replied.
"Why? Why today? What are you up to Amelie?"
For someone who wanted me to become his wife so desperately, he wasn't exactly excited about my announcement. He suddenly felt that I had some sort of plan cooked up, and in his eyes was a very faint glimpse of fear. I liked it, being left in the dark must hurt right?
I didn't exactly have any peculiar plan drafted out, my reasons were pretty simple, and not as deep as he might be thinking. I just didn't like the idea of being a pregnant spinster. The public didn't exactly view pregnant unmarried women with eyes of respect, also I didn't want anyone referring to my child as a bastard, ever!
"I know you have something against your stupid brother, but could you not make this a big deal, I don't want everybody finding out that I'm married to the wealthiest man in town."
"You've not answered me Amelie, why are you doing all of this so suddenly?!" Liam blared up.
"What's up with this rage? Are you perhaps planning on assaulting a pregnant woman?" Instinctively, his rage subsided and his aching fists went to sleep. "I just want you that badly." I teased with no intention of hiding my sarcasm.
He scoffed at my joke and threw his face aside to search for his cellphone.
"I'll call my lawyer and he should be here in less than an hour. But after all this has ended, you're telling me everything you know."
I sat without saying a word throughout the entirety of the call, thinking about my future from now henceforth. I had a series of things planned out for my life after this marriage, but I couldn't really conclude if they'd work or not.
Being a Hardwood opened a lot of doors for opportunities. If I hadn't returned to being a lodge and changing everything about me once again, I probably wouldn't be in a condition where I'd find myself in Liam's mercy so easily. But to completely rid myself of him it was necessary. But now, even if we should split up eventually, I was going to keep the name, for myself and my child. Not only would it help us get past so many difficulties a lot easier, it would also help secure a better future for my child.
It took exactly one hour for the lawyer to get here, and another thirty minutes to get past all the vows and certificate signings. And after all of that, I was officially married to Liam once again.
Aside from the ring on my finger, everything still felt the same. I knew I wouldn't get the same thrill like my first wedding, but I had at least expected some sparks to fly up in my belly, but neither of that happened.
"Now explain yourself Amelie, what's up with you?"
Wisely I kept my mouth shut and just glared at Liam daring him to make a move with my eyes. Unlike me, he did seem a little bit different, but not so much that it was visible.
"Aren't you going to say anything?"
"I'd rather not." I replied sharply. Dramatically, Liam threw his hands in the air before banging at the sofa like it was a target.
"I don't even want to know anymore, but you better not be planning something stupid Amelie cos I'll find out."
"This is no way to talk to your newly wedded bride, is it?"
"Just stop with the jokes, they're not funny." He cautioned with stern eyes.
"I'm not doing any of this because of you, I'm doing it for my child. You wouldn't know anything about love or thinking about another person other than yourself."
"I made a mistake Amelie, I'm trying to correct them and lead a better life."
"We both know that's not true, you only act like you care because you want something from me, isn't that true? I know you way too well Liam Hardwood." I exposed. He seemed shocked, perhaps me finding out about his blatantly obvious plan was not part of the 'plan.' " And let me just make it clear, I don't want any part in your family feud. Now that you're married and have an heir, you can end this entire drama right?"
"Yeah..." He answered with mild relief. "...I thought you weren't doing this for me?"
"Don't get ahead of yourself." I cautioned. My eyes flooded with emotions that I didn't want to surface, and skillfully I blinked them away. Part of the plan was for him to focus more on me and his baby. I figured that if we got married immediately, he would have the necessary requirements to finally reclaim the company for himself. And with that obstacle out of the way, there wouldn't be any other thing keeping him from showering his family with love and affection. Even if he didn't like me, there was no way he wouldn't love his child.
I just prayed that this was the right call. This was probably the biggest decision of my life so far, and it had the potential to make my life worth living, or completely destroy me for good.