Chapter 1
In a torrential downpour, I got soaked to the skin when I brought medicine to Mason Blake, who was burning with fever. But when the door opened, Tessa Grant, his female best friend, was standing there in the matching pajamas Mason and I had bought as a couple.
She rolled her eyes at me.
"Unbelievable. You're such a pathetic doormat. Have some self-respect."
Before I could react, laughter burst from inside. "Mason, how did you get Elena so obedient? Teach us."
Another voice chimed in, "Half the roads outside are underwater. Tess made a bet with us that Elena Foster would still show up. If she did, we'd approve of her and Tess would take the punishment. If she didn't, Mason had to marry Tess."
My grip tightened around the box of medicine. Mason's hometown buddies had come for our wedding. He called them his benefactors because they had pooled money to put him through college. He said he couldn't marry me without their approval. That was why our wedding had been delayed for a full year.
Mason wrapped an arm around me and laughed. "Babe, I knew you would come. Now I don't have to marry that menace."
Tessa hooked an arm around his neck.
"As if I'd marry you."
His buddies started egging her on. "A bet's a bet. You said you'd pick someone and French-kiss them for 5 minutes. You can't back out now."
Tessa scoffed. "It's just a kiss. You think I can't handle that?"
Then she grabbed Mason and kissed him. When they finally pulled apart, a strand of saliva still connected their lips. Tessa shot me a defiant look. I calmly took out my phone and texted my family-arranged match.
Elena: Does our pact to marry at thirty still stand?
Family-arranged match: It does!
*****
5 minutes later, Mason finally pushed Tessa away. Seeing how strangely calm I was, he panicked and rushed to explain.
"Baby, it happened too fast. I didn't have time to react."
He snatched up a full bottle of mouthwash and poured it straight into his mouth. The sharp smell of alcohol hit my nose. He wiped his mouth and smiled at me. "See? I even rinsed my mouth out. It was just a bet. You're not really going to care, are you? If one stupid bet gets us to the altar, that's a pretty good trade."
I let out a humorless laugh and pulled out my phone to call Adrian Hayes. He was my childhood friend and my family-arranged match. We had made a pact that if neither of us was married by thirty, we'd marry each other. "Can you come get me right now?" I asked.
"Yes," he said without hesitation.
After I hung up, I looked at Mason.
"Then let's make a bet too. If my childhood friend gets here within 1 hour, I'll marry him. If he doesn't, I'll kiss someone else once, and our engagement stays on."
The room went silent. I smiled.
"Don't worry. I'll use mouthwash afterward too."
Mason frowned. "Drop the act. You think I wouldn't know if you had a childhood friend like that? Besides, you're supposed to be my wife. How can you kiss another man?"
He stepped toward me and reached for my arm, but I backed away before he could touch me. I stared at him. "You can kiss Tessa. Why can't I kiss someone else?"
Mason's face darkened, while everyone else traded uneasy looks. Tessa jumped in. "So this is all because I kissed Mason? Can you stop being so petty? If anything were ever going to happen between us, it would have happened years ago. You wouldn't even be in the picture."
One of his buddies added, "It takes two. If you had treated Mason well enough, would he really be this insecure?"
I gave a cold laugh and looked at Mason.
"So all of this was your idea?"
He suddenly pulled me into his arms, his eyes reddening. "I just love you too much. You come from a wealthy family, and I'm only an orphan. Even though I have my own company now, I still feel inferior next to you." His arms tightened around me.
I used all my strength to break free and looked straight into his eyes. "If this is what your love looks like, standing by while your buddies humiliate me, then I don't want it."
He lowered his head and avoided my gaze.
His buddies crowded around us.
"You're seriously making this big a deal over one kiss?"
Another sneered, "Mason is self-made, and his company is about to go public. You're just a spoiled rich girl living off your family. If you lose him, where exactly are you going to find someone better?"
Then one of them went straight for the sorest spot. "You can afford to wait, but can your father? He's got late-stage liver cancer. His greatest wish is to see you married."
At that, Mason's confidence returned. He looked at me as if he already had me completely figured out. "Enough. Stop making a scene. We're about to get married. Don't be so petty."
My nails dug into my palms. There it was again. He was calling me petty. The first time we tried to get legally married at the clerk's office, his buddies deliberately hid his ID. When I got angry, Mason called me petty. The next time, he finally brought his ID, and our number was only two spots away from being called when Tessa pulled up a screen showing that our slot had been canceled. His buddies laughed at how desperate I was to get married.
Every time, Mason looked torn and insisted they only wanted what was best for him. Then he swore he would marry me. I loved him. I trusted him. I was also terrified my father would die before he got to see me married. So I put up with it. But I wasn't going to put up with it anymore.
I looked at them coldly. "Do you really think that if I, Elena Foster, left Mason, no one else would want me?" No one answered. Mason's expression darkened.
Tessa tried to talk me down. "Your dad is practically at death's door. Once he's gone, Mason is all you'll have. Don't push this too far. You're just scared he won't marry you, right? Relax. If he dares back out, I'll beat him to death myself."
I was shaking with rage. "How dare you talk about my father dying?"
Tessa pursed her lips and muttered, "This is why I hate dealing with people like you. You try to help and they bite your head off." I was so furious I nearly hit her.
My phone screen suddenly lit up. It was a message from Adrian.
Adrian: The underpass is flooded. I can't get the car through. I'm coming by boat. See you in 30 minutes.
Before I could put my phone away, Mason snatched it from my hand.
