A Mistaken Marriage Brought Me Mr.Right

Chapter 0.3

Melissa woke up and yawned before sitting at her place. She rubbed her eyes and blinked several times to activate her mind. Suddenly all the events from yesterday came rushing back to her mind, making her stressed. Her shoulders automatically dropped as she thought about her encounter with Asher last night. He scared her.

She frowned upon last night's events. The last thing she remembered was laying down on the couch so how did she wake up in her room? Did Asher carry her here or did she walk by herself and didn't remember? But if Asher had carried her to her room then that should mean he cared, right? Because he looked like he didn't give a crap about her.

Removing the covers from her body, she dragged herself towards the bathroom to get ready. She looked at herself in the mirror and grimaced at her reflection. The girl staring back at her wasn't the Melissa she had grown up to be. Her eyes were sad and also not to mention the dark circles. And those puffy cheeks made her look even worse.

Not caring about how she looked she washed her face and brushed her teeth. After coming out of the bathroom and dressing up in pair of high waisted trousers and a tee shirt that she tucked in to her trousers, she wrapped a scarf around her neck and pulled her hair up in a high ponytail.

She glanced at the clock and it struck 9 am. Asher won't be downstairs because he had a company to run and it wasn't a normal marriage that he would take off from work. Of course Melissa had taken one month off from university but she thought about going back from tomorrow. There was no use of staying at home and think about horrible things.

She walked downstairs, pressurizing her brain to remember the way to kitchen because she felt hungry. She entered the threshold of kitchen to notice a manly figure dressed up in suit, sitting on one of the dinning chairs.

She stiffened and decided to just turn around and go back to her room. She didn't want to get him mad at her again. So that's what she did, Melissa turned around abruptly but fate wasn't with her this time.

"Mrs. Loretti, good morning. Come have breakfast!" She heard the chirping voice of their house keeper Mrs. Gilbert. Melissa gritted her teeth hardly and forced a smile on her face before turning around to see two people watching her. One of them happened to be her husband.

"Morning to you too." She smiled forcefully at her and pushed herself to face her husband. "Salam!" She nodded at him with a small forced smile whereas her heart was pounding so harshly, it felt like her rib cage would burst open and reveal her heart. She was so nervous and slightly shaking.

"Wa Salaam," Asher nodded and eyed her from head to toe and then back to head all the way having a blank expression on his face. "Come sit Mrs. Loretti!" Mrs. Gilbert pulled out a chair just besides Asher which made her cringe. Couldn't this lady just call her Melissa and couldn't she select any other chair? But she didn't know anything about the heated atmosphere so Melissa just nodded and obeyed her.

Mrs. Gilbert served her pancakes with maple syrup and some OJ. Melissa tried hard to stop herself from trembling under the gaze of intimidating man who happened to be her husband but that was too difficult, especially when he kept on staring at her. He had his gaze locked on her like he couldn't be bothered if he was making her uncomfortable.

She concentrated on her food and prayed to God for his mercy. She didn't understand why was he sitting there when he was done with the breakfast and had no purpose to be in kitchen. But she couldn't say anything, after all it was his house.

Would he stop staring at her? She wasn't that of an interest, now was she?

"You are," her eyes widened and she stopped chewing on the food inside her mouth. Had she said that out loud? Probably yes! God, how embarrassing. Melissa could feel the blood rushing towards her cheeks due to embarrassment so she turned her head to the other side and continued to shove food down her throat.

After few moments she felt something covering her hand that was rested on the table. Her heart quickened the speed and she knew who he was, her husband's hand! God! What did he want now? She paused and waited for him to say something and brush away the awkwardness.

"Melissa..." his voice was barely above a whisper. "I...I am so sorry for what I said last night. I was not in my senses and," she slowly turned her head towards his direction and to say that she was shocked, would be an understatement. She felt heat rising up inside her body as he squeezed her hand and moved the wedding ring around her finger. She slowly met his gaze and saw him frowning. She could tell that he was guilty after all it was not all the time this man showed any facial expression.

"I didn't mean a single word I said, I definitely didn't mean to hurt you. It's just, I was so stressed, everything happened in a small time that I," he sighed and covered her hand with his both. Melissa eyed their hands and again met his sparkling blue eyes. "I just needed to take out my frustration and unfortunately you appeared on the wrong time. I truly am sorry and I promise I won't do any such thing again." He said, inching closer and bending his head at her level. Melissa just stared at him, dumbfounded.

"I promise I will try my best to make this work between us, I will do as much as I can but please just forgive me," his eyes were pleading and Melissa almost melted in those eyes.

"It's okay, I understand." She tapped his hand and smiled, her voice coming out squeaky due to how nervous she was. "If I were in your position I would have done the worst." She assured him. ? Asher nodded at her and slipped his hand away. He frowned at the plate in front of him and felt his heart beating loudly for the reason that now he had to see this unknown woman in another light. He had lived alone for a long time now and to accept that a woman was going to live with him, a woman he didn't know was hard. And he wasn't very fond of the idea either. "I'll try to settle things Melissa. You have to be patient so are you willing to be?" He waited patiently for her reply as she was biting her lip continuously. He guessed it was her habit to bite her lip whenever she was nervous.

He wanted her to forget about her ex fiancé who was unfortunately his brother. But he didn't want her to fall in love with him either. He wasn't practically fond of the emotion and he didn't see himself falling in love with her. It would be useless to even try.

"I am..." she nodded and he released a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

"I am getting late for office, I would have left an hour ago but I wanted to apologize for last night. I must leave now." He said and she nodded. After breakfast, she was just staring at her plate thinking how nervous Asher made her and their future together seemed impossible. She sighed at her thoughts.

"Mrs. Loretti, do you need anything? Did you enjoy your breakfast?" Mrs. Gilbert asked, smiling warmly at her. "Yes, I did and no thank you I don't need anything. But I'll prefer you calling me Melissa." Melissa smiled at the middle aged woman who grinned happily at her.

"Of course Melissa." She said and that was when Melissa heard her cell phone. She grabbed the phone from the table and walked upstairs in her room to talk in privacy. She noticed that the call was from Salaar. Instantly, she became happy and received the call without a second thought.

"Salam!" She chirped in glee and propped down on the bed. "Wa Salam! How are you?" Salaar's voice made her feel like home again.

"I am fine. What about you? Is everything okay at home?" She asked as she laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah! Everything's fine. How is Asher? He didn't trouble you, did he? if he did just tell me and I wo...."

"He did no such thing," she groaned. "He was cooperative and I don't know, things are normal between us." She told him, skipping the heated argument from last night. She didn't want to worry him.

"Okay, can you meet me at cafe Atlanto around the corner? I would like to have a talk with you." He demanded. She knew he would lecture her again but she was not complaining. "Okay, I am free." She nodded.

She got ready to meet her brother and asked Asher's chauffeur to drop her off because she couldn't drive by herself. Back in her home, her father was very strict. He officially belonged to Qatar and was arabic so he was conservative in girls' matters. He never let her stay out with friends for too late at night, and he had a certain control over his children's life especially Melissa.

She wasn't allowed to have guy friends, she was not allowed to go to concerts or late night parties and she liked that. She never complained about those restrictions because that was how she grew up. But that didn't mean her father didn't love her, he loved her from all his heart. He fulfilled every single wish of her. He laughed with her, played with her but he never let his children cross certain line and that was why Melissa was also conservative.

She did not wear hijab but she definitely covered herself properly. She covered her body properly and didn't wear too fitting clothes. Fitted clothes were strictly restricted in her family, even chiffon sleeves were not allowed by her brother and father. But they never forced her to cover her head properly.

Of course she covered her head with small shawls or scarves but she didn't wear hijab. She knew her limits and she would never cross them, even if she was married now. And for a fact she knew that Asher was also like her family men so there was no great difference between her married life and single life.

The driver stopped the car at her destination and after a small thank you, she got out and walked inside the café. Stepping through the threshold, she noticed her brother sitting at a booth in his casual jeans and tee shirt. She guessed he hadn't been to office today.

"Salam," he stood up and Melissa hugged him while smiling.

"Wa salaam," she nodded and pulled back. "I have already ordered our favorite drinks," he informed her and she nodded her head.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" She asked once their drinks arrived and they both dug in.

"Nothing," he shrugged "I just wanted to know how were you. Dad was worried about you, he thought you would do something stupid to yourself and mom couldn't stop crying whole night." He sighed, placing his drink on the table in front of them.

Melissa frowned. She didn't like it one bit that she had made her parents worry about her. She felt so guilty for causing everyone trouble.

"Everything's okay Salaar. Don't worry about me, Asher has been good to me. At least we're trying to make it work between us so you can assure mom and dad that we're okay." She smiled at him and she saw the relief that crossed his face. She didn't need to tell him that both of them had no intentions of making anything work between them.

"Asher's a good man. I had a talk with him yesterday. I don't know why we didn't see him before that dickhead," he spat, clenching his fists tightly

"Salaar! If dad heard you right now cursing like this he would have shoved your head down the pool for good fifteen minutes." She laughed. Suleman didn't like to hear curses from anyone. So, his children weren't allowed that too. Salaar rolled his eyes at his sister before saying, "Oh but the old man is not here yet..." he shrugged and Melissa shook her head. They talked and Salaar cracked lame jokes making her laugh. She knew he was doing that just to lift her mood and it was working. She knew her brother too well, he didn't hate his father but he was scared s**t of him. He would obey him but behind his back he would talk like that.

"Are you seriously twenty four?" She laughed again and he groaned.

"Don't remind me my age, in just six moths I will be married to some unknown woman," he wiped the fake tears form his eyes. It was a rule in his father's family that girls were married at the age of twenty one whereas boys at the age of twenty five, and no one could change that rule.

"Right!" She chuckled. Just then her mind drifted to the very touchy topic of her life. With the lump in her throat she finally spilled the question "Do you know anything about, about Salah?" She asked biting the insides of her cheeks.

Salaar's eyes turned ice cold at his name and he huffed in anger. "No!" He spat like it was poison for him. "Sofie, do you - do you still love him after all he did to you?" He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Melissa's posture went rigid at the question. Did she love him?

No. Yes. Maybe? She didn't fall out of love but her feelings weren't strong anymore. They were replaced by slight hatred somehow.

"No," she shook her head fiercely, not wanting to give Salaar another reason to lecture her about. "I never loved him, it was just - just my obsession for a perfect husband. God! What life could do to you." She laughed humorlessly while her eyes became glossy. Salaar noticed her condition and moved towards her side of booth before hugging her from side.

"He didn't deserve you. I guess it was God's sign for you to get away from him," he squeezed her shoulders and smiled. She smiled back at him and nodded. A waitress approached their table and asked for the bill while eyeing her brother shamelessly. Melissa smirked and watched her brother straightening himself to show off his arrogance. He raised his eyebrows at the waiteress and gave her the bill with a rigid face.

The poor girl seemed like she almost pissed in her pants. Once she left Melissa burst in to fits of giggles.

"Well, aren't you a charmer?" She poked his cheek and he glared at her. ? Melissa - صوفیہ