Unforseen Love

Chapter 7

Iris's POV

It's been a week since that day. We packed all of our belongings and said goodbye to the mansion that had been our home for over 20 years. It was hard and sad, and I had to pull my sobbing mother out of the house. She unfortunately cried her eyes out all the way to the ancestral mansion. And when we got there she refused to go inside for over an hour before it started pouring. Then she had no choice but to face her fears and go inside.

I don't mean to make fun of my mother, but she was hilarious. My mother was really spooked out. She would jump and shriek at any sound made in the house. I was just grateful that we had cleaners come clean the place or else it would have been a job that neither of us was up for.

A few days later, my father was discharged, and we took him back to the mansion. When he got here, he got emotional. He started rambling about how he failed his father and how he was sorry he had to come back home as a failure. I couldn't help but feel emotional too.

Presently I am in a room that is now mine for the time being as I am to get married in a month, getting dressed for a private engagement. Today was the day I got to meet the man I would have to tie the knot with. I had mixed feelings at the moment. This was not happening the way I would want my marriage to happen.

I am worried about a lot of things. My father showed me a picture of the man. Julian Harrison. I have to admit that he is handsome. Way more than I had imagined. Seeing his picture made me feel at ease just a little. But it's not about the looks. He could be a jerk with a dreamy face and that would be a shame.

1 month is less time to get to know the guy. I don't know who he is or what kind of person he is. Had could be a secret serial killer, a narcissistic stuck-up jerk, or a womanizer, for all I know. Hopefully, he is neither. Anyway, I don't want to find myself getting married and then finding myself in a sticky situation. It would suck.

It's not like I've never dated before. I didn't date until I was in college. Not that I couldn't before then. It's just that high school was a rough period for me. I barely enjoyed my high school experience because of a certain someone hell-bent on making my life miserable. Anyway, that is a story for another time. In college, I dated a guy who loved playing piano. I fell for his music and often went over to the secret room he would play in just to listen to him. I stood outside and peeked at him. I lost my focus one day and he caught me. Turns out he knew I was always listening, so he came there regularly. He liked me and I liked him, so one thing led to another. He was my first but after a few months, he got insecure and tried to manage my life, telling me what to do. The infatuation I had for him faded away, and I broke up with him. He confessed his love for me and told me that he would die without me, so I told him to die and even handed him a knife to do it. The punk couldn't do it. I knew it would and I was glad. It would have been another story if he had done it.

Then came the hockey player. He was hot and many girls swooned over him, but he chose me over them. I thought he genuinely liked me, but it was all a bet between his friends to hook up with me. I gave him a hard kick on the balls. Let's just say, I'm not sure if he will ever be able to give life to a junior jerk like him.

The last one was a year ago. A regular bartender I met at a club. He was fun and chill. We actually had fun together until I was approached by his heavily pregnant ex asking me to leave her baby daddy alone. She made a scene at the café and attracted a lot of attention from the audience.

Because she was pregnant, I controlled myself and refrained from doing anything stupid. Leave her baby daddy alone? She didn't need to tell me twice. I told the guy that I was not up for dealing with baby mama drama, so just like that, what we had was over, and I have been single ever since, trying to avoid any more drama from anyone. Thank God I had no attachment issues, and the relationship between us was not that serious, so it was easy to cut them loose. I never expected love but still, it was disappointing when things ended badly. I guess I had no luck with men.

Reminiscing about the past was making me nervous.

I put on light makeup to keep things simple and let my hair down. For the dress, I was wearing a backless silk black bustier midi dress with straps. I put on red bottom stilettos. For jewelry, I went for diamond studs and a half-pearl half-chain with a silver heart pendant. I put on a few rings on my fingers, and I was set. I gave myself a once over and nodded my head in satisfaction. I looked simple yet classy. Nothing over the top. I didn't want to appear cheap or desperate. That's not the first impression I want to make.

I grabbed a jacket and my clutch and headed downstairs. My parents, who stood at the bottom of the stairs, were awed by my appearance. I blushed, feeling embarrassed under their gaze. They were dressed and ready as well.

" My daughter, you are looking so beautiful tonight. Just like a princess," my father said with a proud smile. It made me happy to hear him say those words. Our misfortune had a silver lining after all. My father, who was only interested in business and always busy with work, never giving me a time of day, is here now paying attention to me. Even if deep down I know he is just trying to soften me up for this marriage, he is still making an effort rather than forcefully pushing it on me.

" She looked just like me when I was young. It shows that she is my daughter," my mother said, giggling to herself. Of course, she had to find a way to make this about herself rather than giving out a simple compliment.

" What do you mean? She looks way more beautiful because she is my daughter too. Don't try to take all the credit," my father argued, and my mother huffed in annoyance.

Before it could turn into a full argument, I intervened.

" Of course, I am both your daughter. So thank you for your contribution to my beauty," I said sarcastically.

" Shall we go now?" I asked, wanting to get things over and done with. I was so nervous, but it would wear off in some time. Hopefully, things proceeded smoothly, but I couldn't help but have a nagging feeling that it was not going to go as smoothly as I wanted.

" Yes. Let's not keep your future in-laws waiting," my father answered, happily leading the way out of the house. The cab driver we called was waiting for us outside. We all got in and drove to the restaurant where we were going to hold the engagement dinner. I looked out the window and sighed. I wonder what awaits me.