Unwanted Matrimony

Chapter4

Reuben’s POV

I held my glass of wine tightly wishing it would shatter into pieces as my best friend laughed after I narrated what happened between I and Anne.

“The only reason why you would be so pissed is because you still love her”, Christian stated, between laughter. “Even though you hate to admit it”.

“I’m pissed because she asked me to forget what she did as if all she did was forget to put the icing on my birthday cake after how much pain she caused me. It’s not fair I’m the only one who has to live with the memories while she’s free”, I seethed, frowning.

“I know it going to be hard but you need to let the past go”, Christian adviced, with a frown.

“Let go of the past after the emotional damage she caused me?” I questioned as I walked towards my bar to get another bottle of whiskey.

Nobody understands how long it took for me to move on from the woman who claimed to love me more than anything and how much pain she caused me, yet everyone asks me to let go of the past.

Christian suddenly cussed at his phone, his expression morphing into an angry one.

“Are you good?” I asked as I sat back, already knowing his reply.

“Yeah, my fiancée is just being a brat”, he said, standing up while I chuckled. “I’ll see you at the meeting tomorrow”.

With that, he was gone, leaving me with my thoughts.

I picked up my laptop and went into my office.

****

My focus was disrupted by the sound of my phone.

“Grandma?” I said into the phone.

My grandmother never called me unless she was scheming something that involved me.

“I miss you so much, when are you coming home?” She whined.

“I don’t know yet, but it might take a while. I have some contracts to approve and contracts to settle”, I replied, typing away on my computer. “How about in the next two months, I’ll come home and stay the whole month”.

“What if I die before then?” she questioned. “I’m sure you'd be glad if I did anyway”.

“Of course not. You promised me you wouldn’t die until you saw all your great-grandchildren”, I replied with a smile on my face. “I haven’t given birth yet”.

“You’re saying it like it’s something that would happen. You have no woman by your side…no rumor or speculation about your possibility of being in a relationship on the internet or media, even if it’s with a man”, my grandmother sassed while I groaned. “I'll accept anything at this point”.

“Grandma, I’m trying to find someone suitable for me… I don’t want to date or marry just anyone”, I said with a sigh.

After what happened with my ex, I have been more cautious about getting into a relationship.

“And then you'll grow old and die trying to find someone suitable”, my grandmother said, and I could imagine her rolling her eyes.

I have never been lucky with women anyway.

“Whatever”, my grandmother dismissed, causing me to grin. “How’s my favorite baby doing?”

“I always knew I was the favorite”, I said, laughing. “I’m good, just exhausted due to contracts and whining clients. How are you?”

“I’m great, everything’s fine here. We are just finalizing the preparations for the Christmas party coming up next week”, she said, and I could feel how cheerful she was. “You should be there.”

“I'll try, but I make no promises”, I said.

“Half bread is better than none,” she said, laughing. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Okay, love you”, I said.

“I love you too”, she replied and disconnected the call.

I already had plans on traveling back to London this Christmas, since it's been a long time since I visited. I now have a solid reason.

I went back to typing on my computer and putting a few things in place.

I put a call across to my secretary to look into The Forte’s company file and workers' file.

My job was the kind of distraction I loved. It distracted me from everything “my pending heartbreak”.

When I checked the time again, it was an hour to midnight.

I rubbed my palm over my face tiredly as wheels spun in my head.

My grandmother’s party is next week and only God knows what she’s up to. She has never personally called me to invite me, she always sends her invitation through her assistant.

I walked downstairs and switched on the lights, and immediately my dog ran towards me. She’s been the best companion.

“Hey Sweetheart”, I said, and kissed her forehead.

I headed straight towards the kitchen where my prepped meal sat on the kitchen island.

I took a bottle of water and went up to my room, Princess, my dog following closely behind me.

I discarded my clothes and went into the shower. After having my bath, I did my entire routine before going back downstairs for supper.

I popped my food into the microwave as I spoke to Audrey, my assistant.

“Something seems off with the worker’s file in The Forte. It seems to be on a glitch and their background check isn’t yielding any result”, Audrey stated.

“Contact Alex and his team to visit the company tomorrow to investigate the glitch immediately”, I ordered and poured my food into a bowl. “And tell him to ensure to examine every worker’s phone record for any mole activities”.

I began preparing my dog’s food for her, still on a call with my assistant.

“Alright, Sir. Have a wonderful night”, Audrey whispered with a yawn.

“And you too”, I replied and disconnected the call.

I began to eat while scrolling through my phone for any news about the business circle. I subconsciously peeped into the entertainment feed and the first thing that popped up was my ex-girlfriend’s red carpet photo after her newly released movie.

After my breakup with Anne, she spread rumors about me being an unfair lover through her friends. And that did a number on me because of the amount of hate I got for supposedly treating her terribly behind closed doors during our relationship. I try to avoid rumors even though that’s impossible because of my family background.

I sighed and turned back to my food to finish it.

While I was cleaning up the kitchen, I heard the front door click, causing my dog to lift her head on alert.

“Reuben”, the female voice called, causing me to frown.

No one has access to my house apart from my assistant, secretary and my family.

I quietly walked into the living room, my dog following behind.

When I got to the living room, I saw my twin sister standing in the middle with a big grin on her face and my niece on her hip.

“Laurie, what are you doing here?” I asked, pinching in-between my eyebrow in frustration while she laughed.

“I need you to watch Ria for the night, Mark and I are going on a date”, she said with a sly smile.

“You could have called instead of coming unannounced”, I said to her with my hand hooked to my hips.

“That's not fun. I need to put a little fear in you every now and the”, she replied, dropping my niece who ran toward me with a toothy smile.

“Hi babygirl”, I cooed as I picked her up and turned to my sister. “Drop my keys on your way out”.

“Don't forget we have a flight to catch tomorrow night”, she reminded in between laughter as walked out.