Chapter 1: The Shocking Arrangement
Bella's POV
I sat at the dining room table and peered through the wide windows overlooking the gardens. Today the house was too quiet, strangely so. There was an uneasy feeling in the air, like though tension was building. My parents had been acting strangely, chatting in private, and avoiding my queries for days. I could sense something horrible was about to happen when I was called to this "family meeting" today.
"Isabella," my father, Daniel Rodriguez, murmured in a somber and low voice. "We need to talk."
With my heart already beginning to rush, I glanced up at him. He said my name in a way that sounded worrying. I could see the stress lines on his face. Sitting next to him was my mother had her hands neatly folded in her lap and her lips squeezed in a thin line. She was remaining silent. That did nothing but increase my anxiety.
"What's happening?" I asked, struggling to speak clearly because my throat was constricted.
My father looked at my mother and then cleared his throat. "Bella, the company, the business is having problems. Serious problems"
My heart fell. It was about the business, of course. The business was always the main focus. However, his expression informed me that this wasn't simply another difficult moment. No, things weren't the same here. This was life-or-death serious.
"How severe?" I muttered.
"It's bad enough that we will lose everything if we don't act right away. The business, the property, everything. He spoke in a brief tone, as if he were attempting to maintain composure, but I could see the terror in his eyes. I was even more afraid because my father never showed fear."
I took a deep breath, my hands starting to sweat. "What did he mean by act right away? How are we going to proceed?
He leaned closer, his expression heated. "Isabella, there is just one way out of this. a merger."
Perplexed, I blinked. A merger? I was trying to figure out what he was saying, but my head was racing.
"A merger with Lucas Knight."
The oxygen left my lungs the instant the name left his lips. Lucas Knight. My childhood sweetheart, now my adversary. He came back into my life after years of not speaking to each other. No, not simply return; my dad wished to bring his family to join ours?
"Lucas Knight?" Doubt began to seep into my voice as I repeated.
My dad gave a somber nod. "Yes. The Knights are powerful and financially stable. We can save the company if we work together."
My heart clenched in my chest, and my thoughts quickly returned to Lucas. Once upon a time, when our families were still friendly, we were close. However, everything had collapsed after Lucas' father lost everything and placed the blame on me. Lucas vanished from my life and was reduced to a chilly, aloof CEO who was reviving his family's company. He would never have agreed to this, could he?
"What's my connection to this?" I questioned, my voice hardly audible above a whisper, already afraid of the response.
"You're getting married to him."
I felt as though the earth had collapsed beneath me and that the entire globe was tilting. My mind was racing. Wed him? Wed Lucas Knight? Surely this was a prank. I looked at my father, hoping he would chuckle or say anything to reassure me that he wasn't being serious.
However, he didn't. He just cast those same intent, dark eyes on me. "Bella, there is no other way to guarantee the merger. It's the only way of preserving the company."
I got up so quickly that the chair scuffed the floor. "How come? You can't mean business! Do you really think I should wed someone who despises us and with whom I haven't spoken in years?"
When my mother did finally speak, it was in a hushed voice, and she murmured, "Bella. This is for the family. You need to realize how crucial this is."
Crucial? How could they have spoken so lightly? How could they think that I would give up my independence and my life for a business deal?
With a shaking voice, I shook my head. "Not at all. You cannot simply decide that I will marry him. This is ridiculous."
With a heavy groan, my father got up from the table. "Isabella, you have no option. There are plans already in place for the wedding."
Plans? I thought my head was going nuts. "Plans? How, when, I haven't even talked to him yet!"
With conviction, my father said, "You don't have to. Lucas agreed earlier. This morning, he signed the deal."
I had the impression that the floor had collapsed beneath me. "What the heck is he?"
My father reiterated, "He's agreed to the marriage," as though it were the most natural thing ever. "It's all planned out."
My thoughts were racing. Lucas had consented to this? Without even speaking with me, he signed the contract? Why? Why would Lucas Knight agree to marry me after all these years?
I attempted to get my head around the chair before collapsing back into it. Lucas. The same Lucas who, upon his father's collapse, cut all contact with my family. That same Lucas, who was now among the city's most powerful men. What made him agree to be my husband? That was nonsensical. There was no logic to any of this.
My voice was hardly a whisper when I gazed up at my father. "What makes him do this?"
Daniel shrugged as if it didn't concern him. "He also gains from the business. The marriage is merely a formality to complete the transaction."
My blood was boiling as I looked at him. Just a formality? He was talking about my life, and he was approaching it as though it were a business transaction.
"It's been years since I last saw him," I murmured, trembling. "He's not even familiar with me anymore."
"That's not relevant," my mother stated calmly. "What counts is keeping the business afloat. Bella, the wedding is in a few days. There isn't time to think twice."
Few days? Lucas and I hadn't spoken since we were little. And now they were telling me, like, that I had to get married to him? My heart was racing; my head was spinning. I felt imprisoned.
"But what if I decide against getting married to him?" I questioned in a tiny, almost pleading voice.
My dad's gaze became sterner. "You don't have a choice."
The words felt like a dagger to the back. Not a choice. I was being forced into a marriage I didn't want to be in, with a man who most likely hated me, by my own parents. I experienced difficulty breathing. I attempted to swallow the lump in my throat as my chest tensed up.
Lucas sped back into my thoughts. How could he have known? Why did he consent to this? What was in it for him? Was he caught in the same way that I was, or was this all part of a larger scheme that I was unaware of?
I could not stay still any longer, so I got up once more. "I need some breathing room."
I stormed out of the dining room, panic and confusion racing through my head, without waiting for an answer. I stepped outside and felt the cool evening air smash my face. I paced the garden path, my pulse pounding in my chest as I tried to make sense of it all.
Lucas had consented to the marriage. He had signed the contract. However, why? After all that had transpired between us, why would he willingly attach himself to me and my family? Was this a kind of retaliation? A means to punish my dad?
Though I kept wondering these things, I couldn't come up with the solutions. I knew only that in a few days I would be marrying a man I hadn't seen in years. A man who had developed into someone I could not identify.
In the center of the garden, I came to a stop, feeling as though everything had come to blows. Now that Lucas had signed the contract, I was forced to carry it out.
But there was a problem. Lucas, why would he consent to this?