Tucked Away Bride

Chapter i

Roman

"Impossible!" was the only word I could use to describe the condition my father had for my sister to inherit her inheritance, and for me to acquire the estate I wanted.

My inheritance didn't really matter to me, and my father d*mn well knew that, thus, he used his last card to make me do his bidding, the estate my mother lived in before she died. He also knew how much I care for Allie, my younger sister, and he used it to his advantage.

I could provide for her, I can even give her the world. I had my resources, and I worked for it without his support. I didn't need his money, I could give up all of it to anyone, but what I could not give up was the estate that meant so much to my mother, that she spent her last days in there.

I took another glance at the picture, and my jaw clenched. She's impossibly young, and innocent-looking. What brutal man my father was to ask me to marry her? I would definitely destroy her.

I was cut from my musings and Rex ask for admission. In his hand, an envelope, and I knew exactly what it was. I had him follow the woman my father wanted me to marry, to know what kind of woman she really was, and from the looks of it, she's not a simple woman.

I asked the man what was new, and he shook his head.

"She's gone there again this week, and she stays for almost half a day each time. The unit is occupied by a man, and he's involved with disagreeable men."

Looks could be deceiving. She might not look like the part of it, but things could plummet from there. The pictures showed her entering an off grid inn where men could be gawking at her. My anger grew and thought that it was due to the idea that she might have been connected to the old man for something the same while he let my mother suffer her days. Some pictures were taken from the cafe she was working at, and men did gawk at her.

I had been receiving photos of her for a while, but I had not yet gotten used to it, each time my anger flared up. She smiled at them, while they ogled her, only ignorance could make someone think they were simply being nice to her.

I saw Rex smirking, and I knew what he was doing, "Get out!" I shouted at him, and he scurried.

"Is this your way of amending your woman? Marrying her off!" I grumbled as I couldn't help but taste something bitter in my mouth. Had I known better then, I would have destroyed her earlier.

***

Ivanita

I tried hard to smile at the customers even when I knew they were staring excessively. They were loyal patrons and I couldn't do much about it. I was just glad that Fahad was my employer, and they could not do anything more than stare. He would immediately make them leave if they did something stupid, and would not even let them in the next time they asked entrance.

I was sorry whenever he had to do that, but also grateful that he looked out for me, actually, he looked out for all his employees. We had several waitresses who had the same experiences and he did the same.

The door opened and I immediately went to usher. I was just taken aback by the atmosphere that the man exudes. He was not a regular, and he didn't seem to be from anywhere near the area. He was immaculate and handsome and the place immediately dulled at his entrance.

"Welcome!" I said and tried hard to smile even when his expression was hard.

"This way, sir." I immediately directed him to the table I just cleaned and went to get him the menu. He was simply observing the area, clearly not used to these kinds of spaces. I returned to his side, and his hard stare pierced.

"What would you like to have, sir?" I waited on him, and he ordered a sandwich, and some strong coffee.

I left him after serving his order and went to welcome other guests. I ushered, waited and served. I also cleaned some tables, and all the while he stared. I didn't want to be presumptuous, but he was openly doing it. He didn't shy away whenever my glance passed his way, and stayed almost half the day doing exactly just it. I didn't know what to make of it, that I was glad when he was gone.

Being stared at really scared me, but I almost got used to it after several years of working in the cafe. The first few weeks were the worst of it. Some man even stalked me to my place, and although he was not able to follow me up to my place, it gave me nightmares at night. I almost didn't want to sleep since it happened. I was glad my neighborhood was a good place and I was gradually getting over it.

I was able to breathe properly the moment the door closed behind him. I clenched my fist, and tried to calm the trembling I didn't know even started. I didn't realize I was scared until after he was totally gone. I was conscious, I knew, but I didn't know I was scared. He looked dangerous, maybe it was what triggered it, and the last thing I need was to be reminded of dangerous men in my life. I shut my eyes for a second and persuaded myself to paste a smile for the next few hours.