Married by Scandal, Bound by Contract

WHO ARE YOU?

ELARA’S POV

“Are you sure this will work mom?” I hear Chloe’s voice faintly. She sounds nervous and excited at the same time.

“Of course it will work," Miranda assures her. “Everything has been put in place. She'll be out for hours. We need to move quickly."

Their hushed voices is what assure me that I'm not dead. I try to mentally break free from the force trying to pin me down but it's futile. I also attempt to lift myself but my body feels like it has been buried under a heavy rock. My arm wouldn't even lift and my eyes would open no matter how I try to make them.

I can still hear voices around me but I can't seem to stir my body to react. The last thing I remember is that I passed out sometime ago although I don't know how long it has been now.

“What if she refuses after?” Chloe asks.

I want to speak, but my lips seem numb.

I hear Miranda laugh. “She won’t refuse. By morning, it will be too late. Once the photos and news spread, she will have no choice but to marry him.”

Hearing this, my heart beats faster even though I still cannot move. Marry who?

I still think this is too far." Chloe again. Her voice is not the voice of someone who actually wants to stop, rather it's the voice of someone who wants to be told everything is fine.

Miranda makes a small sound, not quite a laugh. "You've said that three times tonight, Chloe."

"That's cause it's true mom"

"It is necessary." Miranda says through gritted teeth. Her heels click back and forth which makes me able to track her moving. "The board is already doubting her. One more push and she loses everything. So if we do this right baby, we control the outcome."

There's a long pause.

"Tell me again…who is he?" Chloe asks.

"The richest man in the country." Miranda said it the way someone says a fact they have memorized and enjoy memorizing. "Alexander Knight. He arrived in the city three days ago and is currently at the Penthouse suite at the Grand Meridian."

“Has anyone actually seen him?" Chloe asks again. "I hear he is really old and ugly”

“Almost no one. He keeps himself invisible. I heard from a reliable source that he is older and unpleasant to look at. Well, that is none of our business. What matters is his name and what it can do. Do you want the Whitmore company or not?” Miranda snaps, impatient now.

There was silence for a few seconds then Chloe spoke quickly, “Of course I do.”

“Then stop asking useless questions,” Miranda said. I paid one of the hotel staff to arrange this and I had to pull every last piece of focus I had left just to keep following the words. So it's anonymous, no names on our side. The man is drunk and is already in his room. He won't even remember clearly.”

"And if it works?"

"When it works," Miranda corrects. “...it becomes a scandal that'll finally end in marriage. Once they are married, everything connects which includes his money, influence and his name. We will take control of the company from Elara. She is too soft and emotional therefore controlling her will be easy.”

I want to scream, to open my eyes and tell them I can overhear their conversations but I couldn’t move.

“She should be waking up soon,” Chloe said.

“No,” Miranda replied. “The medicine is strong. She will not wake up until morning.”

They grab my hands and lift my body up from the floor. My head falls to the side as they drag me somewhere. I can hear heels clicking on the floor and a door opening. I know we're outside the moment cold air touches my face. Where are they taking me to?

I try to figure out what's going on but the drug is taking its toll on me again.

I slip into unconsciousness.

***

My head hurts like someone is hitting it with a hammer. I open my eyes and squint immediately because the sunlight coming through the window is too bright.

I groan softly and start to move. My body aches badly and my bones are stiff.

Wait! Where I'm I? This doesn't look like my house and it's definitely not my room.

This ceiling is different from mine. The particular room is large, beautiful and expensive, more like a suite. There are large curtains, a glass table, and a big television on the wall.

I push myself up while holding my head. “What happened last night…” I murmur to myself. Cold air hits my skin, all of my skin and every single thought in my head stops at once.

At that moment I look down at myself and realize that the blanket covering me is in direct contact with my skin. I freeze.

I'm naked. Like I'm not wearing anything!

My breathing becomes fast and uneven as a lot of thoughts cross my mind at once. I grab the blanket and cover myself properly. I look around the room fast to see my clothes neatly folded on a chair near the window. My bag and shoes are on the floor.

“Don't panic." The words hold no assurance.

Miranda!

“No… no… no…” I shake my head. Tears quickly fill my eyes.

I try to recall what happened last night. I had dinner at the Whitmore Family Mansion. That was the last thing I remember. What else? I knit my eyebrow together while in deep thought.

Hell no! I scream in my head.

I can recall that I was in the dining room when I started feeling uneasy and my body suddenly became heavy. Then Chloe and Miranda made mention of medicine.

Yes! They had induced my wine with medicine.

But they poured the drink in my presence and we raised our glasses and drank. Why didn't it affect them? Except…they didn't drink theirs.

Fear grips my entire body at once. So they had brought me here, for?

I know I look horrifying now, remembering all the conversation last night while I slipped in and out of consciousness.

The bed dips a little and something stirs besides me. I turn to the side and that is when I notice the shape beside me…I'm not alone. I've been busy engrossed in my own thoughts.

A man is lying beside me, and sleeping peacefully like nothing was wrong. His dark hair is a bit messy and part of the blanket covered his waist. His chest is bare. I look away.

Who is he and what transpired last night? I need to leave. I need to find my phone, call someone and get out of this room and as far as possible from this man.

I move backward on the bed, so as not to wake him up. My hands are shaking so badly that I almost fall off the bed. I grab the sheet and wrap it around my body swiftly then I try to get off the bed unnoticed.

The man suddenly stirs.

I stop breathing completely.

He stills again. Get up, Elara. I tell myself. Get up right now, get your clothes and get out.

I move, carefully this time…inch by inch, sliding towards the edge of the bed while watching him with every breath. I put one foot on the floor. Just as my other foot touches the floor, he turns to my side.

I freeze immediately.

At once he opens his eyes to meet my eyes, staring at him.

His eyes are sharp and cold as he looks straight at me. He sits up on the bed still looking directly at me. That's when I see him clearly. He is a young, handsome and somehow dangerously intimidating man. My fingers tighten around the bedsheet.

“Who are you…and why are you in my bed?” He drawls.

I open my mouth but no words come out because I do not know the answer either.