Marriage bargain
1504 Words
I felt a tap on my shoulder and I woke up with a jerk.
"We're here" he says, and I nod and get out of the car. I stood in front of a huge house...more like a mansion. It was even bigger than Daphne's.
There are a few people standing at the gate to welcome us. They all seem rather nice. As soon as we walked inside, we saw a group of men in suits sitting in the living room.
“Ah, you are here.” My husband says and walks towards them.
"This is my wife, Demetria," he said. Hearing someone call me by my full name after years feels weird.
I try my best to smile and greet them back.
"I have an important meeting, I will be in the library" he says, and heads off with the men. I stood there staring after him. As soon as he was out of sight, I let out a sigh. So it's not a real marriage. That was why he was okay with it.
The others then introduce themselves.
"I am Marcus, your cook. I will make you a lovely breakfast tomorrow." He says and heads off after I greet him.
"I am Harold, the house butler and this is Mrs Primrose, the housekeeper here. We also have Angie, who will be your personal maid, but she is currently at the hospital to visit her mother." He says.
Harold seems in his 50s with graying hair, while Mrs Primrose is like the typical angry housekeeper.
"I will take you to your room, Miss Demetria" she said, and started walking with Harold taking my suitcases.
I thank them both. "You should not thank us yet." Mrs Primrose says gruffly.
"A bride should not be alone on her wedding night" she says, with
a temper. Harold coughs at the back and Mrs Primrose gets even angrier.
As soon as I am left alone, I walk to the bathroom and take a long cold shower. This was going to be my life from now on. My future looked even more bleak.
As soon as I am done, I walk towards the bed. I have a distinct feeling that I will be sleeping alone in it and I relish the thought. Sleeping with a total stranger was just too weird.
There were lots of questions in my mind...what would happen now, what kind of relationship we would share. But right now, the bed seemed so inviting, and I was sure to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I woke up to wake at the door. It takes me a moment to situate myself. I glanced around and saw my husband on the sofa. Why would he sleep here? He is awakened by the noise too. He gives me a sharp look, one that says, you need to look at the happy bride. I take a minute to compose myself while he opens the door.
"You need to come greet the guests. They are all leaving" a female voice said. "We'll be there in a few minutes", I heard my husband say, and I walked to the bathroom even before he could turn around. I wanted to avoid conversation with him at all cost, scared that he might say that we should be husband and wife in the real sense. In a few minutes, I shower and brush and get dressed in a blue dress.
"You look so lovely" Mrs McMillan gushes as soon as she sees
me.
*I am so sorry you could not go on your honeymoon." She says with a sigh. Wait, there was supposed to be a honeymoon?
She looked at me with guilty eyes. "My son is a workaholic." She said, and I nodded and assured her it was all fine.
She tries to feed me again, and I look up for help. The relatives have been feeding me and asking me countless questions. Apparently, his relatives never thought he would get married. Nor could they believe I was Dove Hunter's daughter.
"Stop now, mom" my husband told his mother with a chuckle as she was feeding me yet again.
"Oh okay." She says. "I understand we are taking all your time' she says and winks.
My husband just takes my hand and drags me to the room. "Rest, you need it" and closes the door behind him.
That night, the house was still abuzz with guests. I walk out to see his relatives everywhere.
"Where's..?" I was about to ask for my husband, but I realized I did not even know his name.
"Your husband?" my sister-in-law chuckles. "Cannot bring yourself to say honey or darling yet?" she teases with a wink.
"He went out. Urgent thing at work. And don't worry, we will give you your much-needed privacy. We all leave in the evening". She says, and I see my mother-in-law walking towards me.
"I cannot say I approve of his leaving like this." She says, sounding exactly like Mrs Primrose.
I smiled. "Don't worry. It's fine. We have our whole life together now." I lied even though it pains me. She is the closest thing to a mother I ever got to know. It seemed wrong to lie to her. But what else could I do? Tell her that this is how we would probably spend our lives?
"Oh dear, you are so understanding." She says with a smile, but then frowns. "Still, this is not what a new husband should be doing" she says and excuses herself when someone calls her name.
I spent the rest of the night getting to know my relatives. And as usual, no news from my mother. I sigh as I make my way to my room.
"Demetria, can we talk?" I heard Katherine, my sister-in-law's voice. I turned around and saw her in a beautiful white dress walking towards me.
I nodded. "It's Dimple, please."
She nods and we walk into my room.
"Look, I know this may sound too forward, but I know this wedding was arranged, and you didn't agree right away." She says, looking sympathetic.
"But I want you to promise you will never hurt my brother" she said, and I frowned. Why would I hurt him? It's more like him hurting me if he ever wants the relationship to be real.
"She won't ever", I heard a voice coming from behind me, and when I turned around, I saw my husband standing there, looking magnificent in his immaculate suit, but tired.
He walks close behind me, and hugs me from behind. I instantly freeze. "Isn't it Dimple?" he asks. He was way too close. I take in a deep breath and force myself to smile and nod.
"There you go." My husband says and Katherine nods, though she continues to frown. I highly doubt she believed this little façade.
"Well, why don't you leave with mother now? I need a little time with my wife" he said, and Katherine colored. She nods and bids us goodnight.
As soon as she was out of the room, I said "I don't think she believed that."
"That's because you cannot handle your end of the bargain well," he said in a cold voice. Gone was the nice man who was talking to his sister. Instead, he turned cold...just like those silver eyes of his.
"What bargain?" I asked, suddenly feeling left out of something.
He looked puzzled for a moment. "Our bargain" he said.
When I still looked like I didn't have a clue, he took out some papers from his bag and passed them to me.
"You have a law degree, I trust you can understand what he said in that emotionless voice again.
It was a contract that my mother signed with MY signature as well. It stipulated that McGregor and McMillan were entering into a partnership and our marriage was an assurance that McGregor would not betray the McMillan Corporation.
"I never signed this" I said, staring at my signature.
He frowned. "Dove said you did."
I closed my eyes at my mother's name. I knew it. I knew my mother had some selfish reason to force me to do this. With my father gone, she had no source of income, and as the McGregor family business was going down, she needed a means of keeping up with her lifestyle.
"It says here that it's a contract marriage, but it does not talk about the duration or even what we are supposed to do."
"It's for as long as there is a partnership between the two businesses. And as far as what we are supposed to do, is to make people think we are a happy married couple, especially my mother," he says, and I feel as though a burden has been lifted.
"So we can still have our lives as long as we lead others to believe we are happy?"
I ask and he nods. "That's basically it. Any more questions?"
I nodded. "What's your name?"
- Writer
