Love Or Money; Aubrey's Choice

Chapter 1. Aubrey. The airport was chaos as always. Babies crying, announcements blaring, the smell of too much perfume mixed with overpriced coffee. I dragged my suitcase through the arrivals hall, dodging a man glued to his phone and a family arguing over missing luggage. All I wanted was to breathe real air, get into my rental, and start the drive back to Greenbrooke. “Watch it!” a voice barked behind me. I turned, startled. My suitcase had apparently clipped the edge of someone’s shiny black dress shoe. A man in a dark tailored coat stood scowling at me like I’d just run him over. “Oh, sorry...” I started. “You should be more careful,” he snapped, cutting me off. Okay. That tone? Not necessary. I blinked at him. “I said sorry.” He gave me a look, one of those slow, head-to-toe glances that made my skin crawl, then smirked. “Maybe next time, keep your eyes where you’re going. Not that it’s surprising, considering…” He didn’t finish the sentence, just waved a dismissive hand and turned away. What the hell? My jaw tensed. I stared at the back of his perfectly styled head, imagining about twenty different comebacks. But I took a breath. I was not about to start my homecoming by arguing with some arrogant airport jerk who probably thought the world owed him something. Let it go, Aubrey. I walked off, ignoring the heat rising in my cheeks. I didn’t even know who that guy was but something about him rubbed me the wrong way. Rude. Entitled. Completely full of himself. Ugh. The woman at the rental desk was kind, which helped. In a few minutes, I was in the driver’s seat of a modest silver sedan. I adjusted the mirror, started the engine, and whispered to myself, “Greenbrooke, here I come.” I turned up the radio and hit the road, smiling. It felt good to be going home. The wheels of my rental car hummed against the smooth road as I finally crossed into Greenbrooke. I couldn’t help but smile. Everything looked just like I remembered, the old bakery on the corner, the crooked street lamp that still hadn’t been fixed. After four years away, it felt strange being back but in a good way. Familiar. Safe. The moment I turned into our little street, my heart fluttered. There it was, our small white house with the peeling paint and flower pots my mom still insisted on lining up by the windows. It was the only place in the world that felt like mine. I parked, stepped out, and took a deep breath. I could hear laughter, kids playing, a dog barking. Everything was so… normal. I missed that. I grabbed my bag and rushed up the steps to the front door. Before I could even knock, it swung open. "Welcome home, graduate!" my dad beamed, pulling me into a tight hug. "Oh my God, Aubrey!" my mom’s voice was bright, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. She hugged me too, but it felt... brief. Still, I smiled, “I missed you both so much.” “We missed you too, honey.” Dad stepped aside, letting me in. “Now get in here. You’re not getting through that door without at least two bowls of my famous chilli.” “And apple pie,” Mom added, quieter now. “I made your favorite.” I laughed. “You guys really pulled out all the stops. I haven’t had a proper meal in weeks.” Inside, everything smelled like home, spices, warm bread and something slightly burnt. The kitchen looked just how I left it, cozy, cluttered, lived-in. We sat at the table and began to eat. Dad kept the conversation lively, asking about my classes, my professors, my roommate drama, everything. We laughed a lot. Maybe a little too much. But I couldn’t shake the feeling. Something was off. Mom kept glancing at Dad. Her smile would falter anytime I mentioned future plans, work, grad school and travel. And she barely touched her food. At first, I thought maybe I was imagining it. But the longer dinner went on, the more obvious it became. They were hiding something but I tried not to pay too much attention to it. **** The next morning, I hummed to myself as I pulled on a hoodie and headed downstairs, expecting to find the smell of coffee and maybe my mom fussing in the kitchen. But instead, I walked into something that felt... off. There was a man sitting stiffly on our living room couch. He wore a dark suit like he had walked straight out of a business meeting. His hands were folded neatly on his lap, and his expression was unreadable. Mom stood beside him, her smile tight and unnatural. “Hello, dear,” she said, her voice way too cheerful. “We have a guest. This is Mason Bentley, an old friend of your father’s.” I blinked. “Oh… hi.” Mason stood up, towering slightly as he reached out a hand I didn’t take. “A pleasure to finally meet you, Aubrey,” he said, his voice smooth and deep. I looked from him to my mom, whose face was slowly falling from fake-happy to something much more serious. “Aubrey,” she said, her voice quieter now. “There’s something important we need to talk to you about.” “What is going on?” I asked, crossing my arms. “Mason and I have known each other a long time,” My father said. “And… we’ve come to an arrangement that will benefit everyone.” An arrangement? Mason stepped forward, smiling slightly. “We’ve agreed that you’ll become my wife.” The words slammed into me like a punch. "What?” I choked out, staring at him. “His wife,” my mom repeated gently, like I hadn’t heard it the first time. “No,” I laughed nervously. “That’s not funny.” “We’re not joking,” Dad said. I looked between them all, my parents, the stranger in a suit, the man I was apparently supposed to marry. “I just graduated college. I had plans. You can’t decide my life for me!” My father looked away. “We didn’t have a choice.” I stared at him, stunned. “When you were little, I got very sick,” he continued slowly. “We had no money, no insurance. Mason stepped in. He paid my hospital bills. He paid for your school. Everything you have, your degree, your future, he made it possible.” “And this is the price?” I whispered. My mother reached out, trying to touch my hand. “He’s giving you a good life, Aubrey. Comfort. Security. That’s more than most girls ever get.” I pulled away from her. “More than most girls ever get?” I repeated. “You sold me off like a bargain deal. You didn’t even tell me. You just waited until I walked through the door to spring this on me?” “We didn’t know how to,” Dad said, his voice tight. “We made this deal when you were still a child. We never thought it would come to this.” I stepped back. My heart was pounding. “I need to think,” I whispered. “There’s nothing to think about,” Mason said. But I was already walking toward the stairs, not even hearing the rest. This couldn’t be happening. I had just come home. And already, it felt like I was trapped. And I wasn’t going to let them force me into a life I didn’t want.