A Ruthless Bargain

Chapter Four—Knot Tied

Amelia.

Dominic closed the door behind me with a soft thud and that was only when I released a loud exhale, one I didn't know I was holding.

Coming here today was planned, but getting married was not.

My eyes darted around, taking in the room I was brought in. My legs didn't move, I just stood there, my bag against my chest while I took in the environment. The room was bigger than Uncle Mateo's entire sitting room and maybe two rooms combined.

The ceiling, the marble floors, the walls, the furnitures, they all screamed wealth silently while I just stood in the midst of it all. it was the kind of rooms I saw in the magazines Natalie used to leave on the couch.

My heart was still beating softly, reminding me of the encounter I just had. I wondered where I got the courage to present my terms without fear or stuttering. And now, I was getting married.

Married to a man I just met, someone I knew nothing about and someone who accepted a human in exchange for a bargain.

A knock interrupted my thoughts before I could finish processing my situation.

A maid walked in, pushing a silver trolley and stopped right at the bed. She set out toiletries I knew so well because Iris and I always made plans to live the best of lives. When she was done with that, she laid a silk gown at the edge of the bed before meeting my eyes briefly and looking down at her feet.

''Mr. Cross requires you shower before the stylists arrive.'' She informed.

I almost protested, then kept still.

''Okay.''

She left the room just as quickly as she came and my thoughts came back in waves as I picked up a few toiletries and headed to the bathroom.

.

The water there smelled like roses and something expensive. I stood in the shower longer than necessary, letting the hot steam numb every emotion I was having.

When I was done, I stepped out and got dresses in the gown that was laid for me, a soft beige outfit. When I caught my reflection in the mirror, my breath hitched.

The woman looking back at me looked more confident, more radiant. The dress skimmed through my curves softly like it was perfectly tailored for me, my fair skin glowing like milk and my hair not in the messy bun it was in earlier, it fell across my back now.

A knock came at the door again and the same maid who dragged a trolley in earlier, came with a different one now. She placed the food on the bedside carefully before turning back to me.

''Mr Cross wants you downstairs when you are ready.''

His name alone caused my heart to beat in frantic but I kept my expression neutral. ''Tell him I'll be downstairs soon.''

She nodded before leaving quietly.

I sat on one side of the bed, afraid I might harm it. All my life I had slept on a thin mattress laid on the floor, it was almost second to the floor. So being presented a king sized bed only made things uncomfortable for me.

I was sold to cover up a debt, so why was he treating me like this. I was supposed to be given a room outside and made to work like the maids given my presented marriage contract until I paid all of the debt owed.

I set the fork down and looked at the food for a long monent before picking it back up.

I could barely eat the meal. I ate the one I could, bile threathening to form in my throat due to my anxiety and so I just left it before heading downstairs to meet Licien.

He was already there when I arrived. I noticed the slight shift of his jaw when he looked at me, the way his gaze swept across me then went back to his phone.

''Have a seat,'' he pointed at the space beside him on the couch.

There was someone else in the room with us, a man who looked like he was in his late forties. If he wasn't there...I would have sat elsewhere but I did as I was told.

I settled on the space beside Lucien, his cologne hitting me softly, wafting into my nose and up to my brain where I registered his scent elsewhere.

Lucien's hands found mine and my body froze. It took me some minutes to register his warm hands gliding against mine, perfect, looking so perfect like we were made for each other.

He mumbled something to the man as I couldn't hear a word, my brain was in a haze. The man approached us and handed Lucien a small case and that was only when I realized he was a jeweler.

Lucien measured my fingers and handed him back the case but still yet, he didn't let go of my hand. They spoke about the ring preferences for a while before the man left.

The moment he left, Lucien let go of my hands and exited the room without turning back. Like he was not the man who placed his hands on mine a few moments ago.

Back in my room, the hairstylists arrived first. They were two of them, each radiating in their own way and offering soft smiles. They arranged the equipments while I sat facing the mirror, watching my reflection change slowly.

They tried to engage me in conversations, something I was grateful for. It made the heaviness in my chest loosen a bit until my phone chimed halfway through my hair.

It was a message from Iris.

Amelia where are you?? We promised same time tomorrow.

You didn't stick to the agreement, neither are you picking up my calls. Are you okay?

I stared back at her name on my screen and kept re-reading her text, wondering how my life truly transformed in one night. Then I typed back that I was unwell but it was a mild thing and I would resume work soon. She needed not worry.

I set the phone face down on the vanity table, pressing my tongue hard against my cheeks to stop the sting of tears I was feeling. The make up artist was working on my face and I didn't want to ruin it.

.

The time for the wedding drew faster than I could decipher and finally the dresses were brought in. Five dresses.

The dresses were laid out on the bed and I had to try out each one to get the perfect dress.

I tried the first, then the second, then the third.

The third made everyone in the room gasp, their mouths hanging open and I only understood why when I faced the mirror. The dress had a slit that ran from my thighs and down to my ankle. The dress had no neckline, it held my breast in place, revealing just enough to make a man's Adam apple throb.

The stylists kept whispering things I couldn't hear, saying I looked gorgeous and all but my mind was elsewhere, far from all of that.

Twenty four hours ago, I was called a w***e by my aunt and spent almost all my night in the laundry and now....I was getting married.

They handed me a bouquet of roses as we exited the room, white roses. Two stylists walked behind me, helping with the dress.

I took the first step down the staircase.

The sitting room was transformed entirely, it wasn't the way it was earlier when I came down for the ring. It looked like a ceremony would be hosted.

Soft lighting and white fabric adorned the place. There was no witness left for Dominic who stood few feet away.

And Lucien.

He stood at the centre of it all, clad in a black perfectly tailored suit. His hands were clasped in front of him and his expression remained the constant one I was finally understanding was his default demeanor.

Except, his eyes, they betrayed him a little. His eyes moved to me the moment I appeared on those stairs, travelling slowly. Down the dress, pausing at the slit and then slowly up to the visible skin on my chest and back to my face.

His lingering stares were doing something to me, the soft flutter of my chest but I kept my face neutral until I stood opposite him and the ceremony began.

''Shall we begin?'' the officiant a man in silver rimmed glasses asked.

Lucien answered for both of us. ''Yes.''

He cleared his throat nervously before he spoke again. ''I believe a document needs to be signed first.''

Dominic appeared before he was done speaking with two folders in his hand and set it on the table beside the officiant.

One was the marriage certificate and the other was my handwritten contract. I recognized it immediately.

Lucien picked up the pen without looking at any of us and read through the contract. He signed, set the pen down and slid both folders towards me.

I picked up the pen and glanced at my handwritten contract.

''You don't have to read it again.'' Lucien said quietly.

''You don't get to tell me what to do.'' I said back. ''I'm making sure you didn't change anything.''

He paused.

I signed after reading through the contract again before standing upright.

The Officiant proceeded with the ceremony.

''Do you, Lucien Alexander Cross, take Amelia Nightshade as your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you live?''

The room went quiet, as still as a graveyard.

The reality of the vows finally hitting me. This was an eight month thing, were making vows necessary.

''I do,'' Lucien's voice cut through the train of my thoughts.

His gaze held mine like it did when I was walking down the staircase.

The officiant turned to me. ''And do you, Amelia Nightshade, take Lucien Alexander Cross as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as you live?''

My heart raced. Everything was real now, I had spent zero moment thinking about this moment else I would have rehearsed already.

I looked at him, the man I met earlier today, the man who accepted my terms and signed them without changing a word and so I said the only thing that was left to say.

''I do.''

My voice came out steadier, more confident and I didn't know whether to be proud of myself or frightened by it.

''Then by the power vested in me,'' the officiant closed his folder, ''I now pronounce you husband and wife.''

He looked at Lucien from his rimmed glasses.

''You may kiss your bride.''

I didn't have time to register the words before I felt a grip on my waist, drawing me closer to him. His lips met mine, slow and tenacious, the warmth of his lips filling me whole.

And when his our lips parted and he pulled away, I kept my expression neutral.

But I could still feel the heat of his body against mine, the warm feel of his lips while I tried to register the taste.

A sound disrupted my thoughts. The doors to the mansion opened.

A strong whiff of feminine perfume hit me, heels clicking against the marble floors in unhurried rhythm, drawing closer to where we stood.

I turned.

Tall. Blonde.

A red dress that left very little parts uncovered. Our eyes met immediately and she assessed me like I was her prey before moving over to Lucien and back to me again, as if trying to understand the scene.

''Stephanie.''

Lucien's voice came quietly from behind me and he moved towards her. he drew her by the waist and dragged her to a room across from us and closed it shut without glancing back at me, not even once.

I stood exactly where I was.

Bouquet still in hands, dress still catching the light and the warmth of his lips still faintly present on mine.

I turned and walked away, heading upstairs towards my room.