Céline Fountaine-Cadel knew the woman standing in front of her was Electra Cunningham, but she needed confirmation because she was dressed like the maidservants at the Cadel Mansion.
"I—I am Electra Cunningham," Electra stuttered, feeling as if her heart was going to burst out of her chest. She was taken aback by the chairman's wife's question and grew extremely self-conscious, knowing she had already made a bad first impression.
Céline pulled down her sunglasses and scanned Electra from head to toe in an unpleasant way before letting out a sigh in disbelief. "Ringarde! (Basic!)" she spat, rolling her eyes. With her plan to make Ryker have a baby as soon as possible, she knew a plain Jane like Electra wouldn't be able to make it happen.
Céline wanted an attractive woman who could coax her son into sleeping with her to the extent that a baby would be involved. Someone capable of seducing him.
But then again, Céline thought, behind the ugly suit Electra wore, there was a gorgeous body hidden. She could tell from the way her shirt stretched out and the two buttons on her cleavage area struggled to stay closed.
Electra was a beautiful woman; her ocean blue doe eyes, her healthy-looking shiny ginger-colored hair, the freckles on the bridge of her nose and her cheeks, her plump lips, and her oval-shaped face. According to Céline, Electra had the perfect height and body.
The way Céline stared at Electra made her realize she had made a mistake seeking advice from Neveah. Mrs. Fountaine-Cadel didn't like simple and basic; she wanted her to look like those celebrities on the red carpet. Electra wished she hadn't cleaned off the makeup she had spent more than two hours applying.
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Cadel. I didn't know this wasn't what you wanted. I asked my stepsister for help, and she said to dress simply, but I should have realized she was lying when she said she wanted to marry your son in my place. I'm so sorry, please don't call off the wedding. I need to marry your son," Electra pleaded, thinking she had already messed up and Céline would call off the wedding. She went down on her knees, pleading with Céline.
Regardless of who Electra Cunningham might be, Céline just wanted to get her son married and with a baby so a part of the old man's inheritance could be stamped in her son and grandson's name. But then she thought, if Electra could fall for her stepsister's lies, she would be easy to manipulate.
From the way Electra's body shuddered and her hands trembled, Céline could see 'mug' written on her forehead, and someone like Electra might be better than the type of woman she initially wanted for her son. A woman easy to manipulate, like Electra.
"Get up on your feet, and don't complete your maidservant look with a maidservant behavior," Céline let out, subtly smiling to herself as she thought of a great idea. If heaven was on her side, the old man's properties would be her son's in no time.
"I-I'm so sorry..." Electra apologized again as she got up.
"Stop apologizing; it makes you look weak. If you want to marry my son, you'll have to do whatever I say. If not, I will cancel the wedding, and you will never marry my son. Are you ready to do whatever I say?" Céline questioned but already knew Electra's answer.
She nodded simultaneously with desperation written in her blue eyes.
---
"To be my daughter-in-law, I need you to look the part. You cannot, you must not be seen dressed like you are today. The funeral rags you have on do not suit my daughter-in-law, which is why you need to change out of them right this moment."
Instead of what Céline had in mind, which was to speak with Electra over a meal, she took Electra to her go-to clothing store to get her into a more elegant outfit.
"You mean I can't wear suits and slacks anymore? But I am an attorney; this is what I usually wear," Electra mumbled, not fully agreeing with Céline.
With Electra's words, Céline felt she needed to make Electra's new job crystal clear to her as her son's wife.
"You were an attorney, and in two weeks, your new job will be to conceive male grandchildren for the Cadel family, so dress accordingly and throw away the rags you call clothes," Céline turned to Electra and stated sternly. Not waiting for her response, she called, "Sophia, Angelica!"
"This is my soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Electra. Get her fixed up," and by 'fixed up,' she meant clothes, makeup, and hair. The two girls were in charge of picking her clothes; they knew exactly what she liked, and Céline knew they would give Electra the proper glow-up.
While Sophia and Angelica ushered Electra towards the backroom, she had no choice but to keep quiet. She had agreed to do whatever Céline wanted of her, and she also needed to marry her son, so there was no way she could go against her words, even though she felt highly uncomfortable.
A few minutes passed by—more like a few hours—and Electra was finally done getting 'fixed up.' She took a look at herself in the long-length mirror in the dressing room she had been in for the past few hours and almost didn't recognize herself.
She could have sworn her eyeshadow would be the other sun if she were in outer space. She had never had so much makeup on before, and it scared her that she might look like a clown without knowing.
Her short green beaded cocktail dress with taffeta balloon sleeves only made her feel like a clown. The dress was pretty, maybe too pretty, that she worried it didn't suit her.
She had white square-toe double platform heels strapped to her feet, and her hair was let down in a center part, like she had originally planned before getting lied to by Neveah.
Stepping out of the dressing room, Céline's eyes landed on 'fixed-up Electra,' and she couldn't help but smile at the perfection she had created. If she knew one thing about her son, it was that he wouldn't be able to resist Electra if she dressed up like that.
"You look fabulous, Electra," Céline dropped the scone she was munching on and stood up. "Vraiment? (Really?)" Electra asked with little to no confidence, and Céline could sense it in her soothing voice, so she felt the need to raise Electra's confidence.
"Come here," Céline walked Electra to a long-length mirror and stood beside her. "Take a good look at us in the mirror, Electra. We look gorgeous, and no one can disagree with that. No man would be able to resist us," Céline let out.
"Electra, you seem like a good girl, and I want a good girl like you as my son's wife, but you need to know that my son did not agree to this marriage, and he has enough power to break everything off. I'll try to get him to marry you, but you must do your best to keep the marriage together," Céline tucked a strand of hair behind overwhelmed Electra's ear and said.
"I can trust you to do that, right?"
Electra wasn't able to answer the question. From what she had heard about Ryker Cadel, she could already tell by how he had no failed cases that he would be extremely strict and always get what he wanted. If the marriage happened, she could already tell their marriage would be like a case and their home would be the court—and Ryker Cadel never loses a case.
There was a big chance that he would break the marriage off, or so Electra thought.
"What are you thinking, Electra?" Céline noticed Electra deep in thought after the question she asked.
"I—I don't know, Mrs. Cadel. Your son has never lost a case before, and if he wants out of the wedding, then... he might just break it off," she said.
"...and that's why you have a cheat code. Me. I'm your cheat code. With me by your side, he'll lose this case," Céline stated.