A Mistaken Marriage Brought Me Mr.Right

Chapter 0.5

Asher didn't want to leave her behind and it was annoying him to an extent. He was used to being alone and now he had a woman to take everywhere with him. But anything could happen, especially when his lovely brother was out there. He couldn't leave her behind.

The thoughts he had been trying to suppress lately were bugging him now. Melissa wasn't the woman he loved or could love. He didn't like women like her, she was just not his type. He had always imagined himself to be with a woman who was confident, blunt and who could think like him. But Melissa, she was totally opposite of that. She was naive, she was scared easily and she was submissive. He couldn't stand the thought of her going back to his brother. He wouldn't want to come out as a fool, a person whom she used and then went back to her lover. The thought ticked him off because now that Melissa was married to him, everyone knew about it, all the influential people and he was known out there. Everybody knew that Asher was off market now. And he could only imagine what would become of his reputation if she went back to Salah, the man she loved. He would have to be very clear with her about the topic that without his knowledge or permission, she couldn't be in contact with Salah.

Not that he knew about his brother's whereabouts. Out of anger - that he was still very much feeling, Asher had not tried to reach out to Salah. He might even seriously harm him if he came face to face with the bastard. What he did couldn't be forgiven easily. The rumors about him being the replacement would have hit the news if he had not paid hefty amount to agencies to keep their mouths shut. With his empire spread all over America, he couldn't have rumors circulating him. And he wouldn't let his bastard of a brother ruin him or what he had built over all those years.

Asher had only known Melissa for a month now and in that short time, he couldn't trust her. He was not that generous to hand over his wife to another man even if she loved him. She had accepted to be his wife so she also had to forget Salah, she had to move on with him. Because he wasn't willing to be a replacement, he wasn't willing to be used. And he would make it damn sure that a woman didn't use him, not even Melissa.

That was the only thought bugging Asher. So what if they couldn't love each other, they could at least stick together as normal husband and wife. Not every couple had love between them and they still worked out, so why could they not? If they could only live as friends or even civilly with each other, he was content with that.

He knew it was difficult for her to accept him and she only did it for her family but so did he, there was no difference. But the damage had been done and if they both tried, they could at least live with each other peacefully. The least they could do was to try and work out.

His private jet was waiting on the runway. Asher placed his hand on the small of her lower back and ushered her inside the plane. He had already asked Mrs. Gilbert to pack her necessities so her bag was ready before she came back from university. And he couldn't be bothered to give her time to pack for herself because like any other typical woman, she would pack a suitcase and he didn't have that sort of time on his hands.

Asher greeted the captain and introduced Melissa before going to take their place. He sat besides Melissa and fastened his own seatbelt as Melissa did the same. If he wasn't wrong, she seemed to be a little jittery. He frowned as he looked at her shaking hands but didn't say anything.

?

Melissa was a nervous wreck, she had a phobia of flying. Back when she and Salaar went on vacations she had taken sleeping pills and had slept all the way from New York to London, so nothing was there to worry about. But now that she was with another man, her husband, she didn't know what to do. If he had let her pack her bag then she would have put some in there.

She didn't want to embarrass herself by telling him. He would probably laugh at her or think she was weak. But knowing Asher he would not show any reaction, but better safe than sorry, she didn't want to prove herself a coward and weak. She was not the strongest of persons but she was not weak either and telling Asher would only conclude that she was weak.

What would she do when plane would take off? When plane would land? She felt like she was going to die today. Asher sat besides her, taping on his phone with one hand and his other hand rested on arm of the seat. She wanted to grab it so desperately but she couldn't, could she? And what would grabbing his hand do? It was just like the arm rest so it wouldn't make a difference. She could feel herself panicking as she thought about every possible thing that she could do to avoid getting scared shitless.

She had another fear and that was much bigger than that one. What if Asher tried to do something? She didn't trust him. Some part of her brain was telling her that she was being ridiculous but another part was panicking. She wouldn't be able to defend herself because she would be in the air, thousands of feet above the earth. She couldn't allow that, she was scared. She did not trust him.

When captain made the announcement of departure, her heartbeat quickened. She knew she was going to panic. Nothing could stop it. She knew she would embarrass herself in front of him. Just when her breathing came out shallow, she knew that things were out of control now. She could not do anything to stop her trembling hands and escalated heartbeat.

Out of consciousness, she grabbed Asher's hand that was rested on the armchair and squeezed it with all the power she could muster. Her eyelids were glued together and she had no desire to open them because then tears would start to fall. She should have told him when she had time. Now the plane was running already and nothing could be done. She thought she heard a scared squeal but her ears were ringing so she couldn't be sure.

"What is wrong?" Asher asked, probably because the force on his hand was too much. Hearing his voice, Melissa opened her eyes and turned her head towards his direction. She could see the confusion in his eyes which soon turned in to panic as he glanced at her face. "What happened? Melissa?" He turned his whole body in his chair to face her and gently squeezed her hand.

Oh God! Couldn't he see that she was scared? He just had to ask questions.

"I am scared, I, I need..." Melissa could feel the wetness on her cheeks due to the tears but she didn't care if she looked like a wimp or even pathetic. She was frightened out of her mind. She let out a small squeak as the plane lifted in the air.

"It's okay, calm down!" He nodded and tugged his hand, trying to get it out of her grip.

"I can't bloody calm down!" She shouted and tears trickled down her cheeks. What was wrong with this man, he was telling her to calm down when clearly he could see that she was in panic. Asher flinched at her shrill voice.

"Okay look, just close your eyes and count to ten. It is going to be okay. Do you have prescribed medicines? If yes, then tell me I will see what I can do," he patted her hand, trying in his own way to calm her down.

"I can't close my eyes, I just... I just need sleeping pills. That will do." She breathed heavily. Melissa felt slightly bad as she looked at his face. He looked so panicked and scared, his shoulders were squeezed together as he examined her with his usually cold eyes in worry. She let go of his hand, feeling like she had burned him by his facial expressions.

"Okay, I will check them..." he nodded.

"If you had told me about this god damned trip then I would have known!" She snapped at him with tears on her cheeks. One minute Melissa felt embarrassed and the next she felt like hitting him. It was all his fault. Asher ignored her outburst and called a hostess. He talked to her as she sat in her seat, gripping the arm sets tightly. She was starting to calm down but again the thoughts of being in the air invaded her mind making her shake.

When in the time hostess was looking for medicine, he tried his best to soothe her but only got 'will you shut up?' and 'will you stop talking and hurry?' She was feeling bad that she was being a b***h to him but it felt good to blame someone and take out her anger on him.

The hostess came back after few moments and handed him two small pills with a glass of water which Melissa snatched from his hands and downed them with water while glaring at him all the time. "You okay now?" He managed to ask in a small voice after some time whereas her nails were still digging in his skin. When he winced, Melissa realized that she had grabbed his wrist again and she was gripping it quite tightly.

"Fortunately!" She spat and he noticed her eyelids becoming heavy. When she was on the verge of sleeping, he cautiously removed the arm set from between them and pulled her closer, silently praying that she would obey rather than insulting him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and rested her head against his chest. At least she didn't punch him or clawed his eyes out. Her breathing became even and he realized that she was slowly drifting off to deep slumber.

?

The announcement from pilot that they were landing woke her up. Melissa inhaled heavily and then exhaled through her mouth. She was feeling rather refreshed and relaxed. Sighing, she opened her eyes and noticed that she was resting her head on Asher's shoulder whilst he typed fiercely on his laptop.

Suddenly, she remembered what a fool she had made out of herself and groaned inwardly. Why did she always lose her senses whenever she had a panic attack? God! How would she face him now? She had been so harsh towards him and she had said wrong and mean things to him when he was only trying to help her.

What would she say? Asher sorry for being a b***h to you?

"You drool way too much Mrs. Loretti," she almost jumped at his voice and lifted her head from his shoulder to look at him. He had the smug smirk on his face as he eyed her. Instantly her hand flew to her chin to point out any signs of drool but there were none. He was lying.

She blushed and turned her head away from him. He chuckled at her and it was the first time in last month that she had heard him chuckle and boy was it good? It was an attractive laugh that made her blush even more. Melissa cleared her throat and shifted in her seat.

She couldn't say anything. It felt like she was there to embarrass herself in front of him. She just prayed that he would not bring up the topic again.

The plane came to a halt and after taking off their seat belts, Asher stood up soon followed by Melissa. They walked outside the jet and a driver with a black SUV welcomed them. Thank God he didn't bring up the topic.

"You can be scary at times, you know?" Oh there he goes! She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. She knew she was red by now, with embarrassment and she couldn't bring herself to look at him as he watched her through hooded eyes.

Melissa looked at him from the corner of her eyes and noticed the small scratches on his hand. Oh wow! That was a cherry on top. It felt like she was just out of labor, because she had thrown witty comments at him and also scratched his hands.

God Damn it!

"I, I am sorry for... um, being... for being.." she couldn't find the right word to describe what she had been. A b***h? Definitely but she won't say that.

"Frightening?" He asked with amusement. She groaned inwardly and nodded at him.

"Yeah that." She said reluctantly looking at his face. A small smile was playing on his lips and his eyes had amusement in them.

"Don't look at me like that. I am already too embarrassed." She turned her head towards the other side and murmured. He chuckled once again and even this time, Melissa was only able to hear it. She couldn't bring herself to look at him.

"It's okay! I survived, didn't I?" "Shut up!" She blurted out and gasped when she realized what had she said. She was going to apologize but his light chuckle came in the way. She looked at his face to see him chuckling with his head thrown back. She smiled sheepishly at him and giggled.

"You should have just told me instead of uh, you know?" He hesitated and she knew what he meant.

"I didn't want you to laugh at me..." she shook her head and tucked the loose curls of her hair that had came out of her scarf over head, behind her ear.

"I would never laugh at something serious. You almost made me go insane, I didn't know what to do..." he sighed and massaged his temples. He truly was worried and it amazed her how they were talking like friends. Maybe she was making progress? Yes definitely she was!

"I am sorry." She smiled and squeezed his hand by grabbing it. Her eyes widened at her gesture but before she could retrieve, Asher covered her hand with his.

"It's okay, just don't do that again." He said and she nodded before smiling.

As soon as they reached the hotel, Asher told her that he was going to a meeting and she should rest. Melissa wanted to ask him why he wasn't taking a rest because he must have been tired as well but she didn't, she didn't know how to. So she just nodded and went inside her own bedroom in the suite that he had booked. She opened her bag to take out the pyjamas that Mrs. Gilbert had packed for her and after changing in to them, she fell on the bed and went in deep sleep.

?

Asher returned from a tiresome meeting where he had to talk some sense in to his dumb associate. He was feeling cranky and really tired. The muscles on his shoulders hurt from being hunched over the files at the uncomfortable office and not to mention the lack of sleep. All he planned was to take a warm bath and then go to sleep because he was sure Melissa was sleeping too. Not that he had anything to do with her if she wasn't asleep.

He went inside his room and took off half his clothes, running a hand over his face tiredly. He placed his tie and cuff-links on the bed and threw his phone against the pillow. Then after looking at it for some time, he grabbed it again to put it on silent mode because he didn't want anyone disturbing him when he was about to relax after a long period of time. As soon as he unlocked the phone, he noticed two voice messages that gained his attention right away. These must've been received when he was in the car because he had heard the ping of his phone but didn't bother to check. Asher opened the messages and started reading through the lines but soon wished he hadn't bothered opening them.

'You must be quite happy Asher. How could you! I didn't expect this from you and you managed to shock everyone this time. But don't you dare forget that you are just a replacement and I was the only one who gave you the love you deserve.'

'Do you think she would have bothered to look at you if it wasn't for your brother running away? Don't make me laugh Asher! Salah used to tell me how his fiance didn't like you! Only I could love you and you go and do something like that! Well, you got what you deserved! Being a replacement, being used that is! I hope you're f*****g happy!' the screaming stopped as he threw the phone against the table making it switch off. His jaw clenched and his brows turned in to a frown as he repeated the words over and over in his mind. It made him angry. How dare she talk to him like that? Who did she think she was? But she was right, wasn't she? About everything! He was forced to f*****g accept someone he had never met or loved! He was forced to pause his life and then resume with a woman he didn't even know and a woman who probably did God knows what with his brother!

He walked inside the bathroom and banged the door close. He was so angry and he didn't think he would find any peace if he kept thinking about those words. He went back inside his room and crossed the door to walk towards the lounge. He needed to relax and a good walk would do that to him. Half of the buttons of his shirt were opened and it was even un-tucked, the cuffs were opened too. He looked ridiculous.

"Asher?" He realized that he had been pacing when he heard her call him. Asher stopped and turned to face her and all the anger that he thought was draining away was coming back. There she stood, acting like an angel when she was half of the reason he was in this situation. She would have gotten married, she was ready to get married but he wasn't. He was never ready to settle down and now she was attached to his hip like a f*****g glue.

"Go away Melissa." He grunted, he still had some of his sanity left so he didn't want to yell at her like he did the first time but if she kept standing there like that, looking all innocent, he might hurt her.

"Um, do you want me to make you coffee? You look tired." She frowned, walking closer to him with her hair all over the place and dressed in pyjamas. So she was trying to play wife with him now?

"Why?" He clenched his jaw and his toes curled as well to stop himself from lashing out at her.

"What do you mean why?" She smiled, "I have rested but you look like you need some. And if you still have work, I can make coffee?" She ran a hand over her head to smooth her hair and smiled at him.

"Why do you care?" His right brow rose in a mocking way making the smile drop from her face.

"Er..." She rubbed her arm, looking rather nervous.

"Just go away." He rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking.

"But Asher-"

"Stop it Melissa! I don't know you! I don't know who the f**k do you think you are but I don't want this! I don't need your f*****g coffee!" He yelled, wanting to march over to her and shake her.

"Asher stop you di-"

"I am telling you to leave me alone then why can't you just do that? I want to be alone like before this stupid darned marriage that was forced upon me."

"I was just-"

"Melissa please," he dragged out, looking at her in exasperation, "I don't want anything right now. Can you leave me alone for fu-" he pressed his lips together, his heart beating furiously and let out a breath, "sorry." He clenched his jaw and turned around.

"You said you would try." Her small voice made him pause. He ran a hand through his hair and turned around.

"I am Melissa but can you please just give me some space?" She looked like she was debating with herself as she bit her lip and looked at him like a kicked kitten would.

"You brought me here." She accused, her lips trembling.

"I had to." She glared at him, her tiny hands curled in to fists.

"I am not a kid." She argued.

"Melissa, do you want to fight?" He glared at her and his stance became rigid.

"You wanted to fight because you said what you wanted! You cursed like a sailor and now you're acting like I am the one being silly." He pressed his lips together at the word 'silly'. It seemed funny. "Sorry for trying to be your friend!" She huffed, "you're so spoiled!" She snapped and then walked away, stomping angrily. Asher scoffed at her back, she looked like a child who didn't get what she wanted. Asher let out a breath. He shouldn't have promised her to make things work between them. It wouldn't work.