Familiar Strangers

Acceptance??

Marissa straightened, hands clenched at her sides, voice sharp and heated.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re obnoxious, detestable, and despicable? If nobody has… then there you go!” she snapped, taking a step closer. “Tell me, why haven’t I gotten over the rudeness you displayed inside, and now you’re out here, spitting nonsense to my face? Do you really think you rule the world?”

Antonio’s expression didn’t change. His eyes met hers calmly, completely unreadable, as if her tirade were nothing more than background noise. He didn’t flinch, didn’t react, not even a twitch of emotion—just that icy, unwavering stare.

Marissa’s frustration only deepened, realizing her words barely registered with him.

Antonio’s gaze locked onto hers, unwavering and sharp. “Are you done?” he asked, voice calm, almost bored. “It would be a one-year thing, bound by contract. You’d have the liberty to do whatever you want. When the year is over, we tell my grandfather it just couldn’t work out between us.”

Marissa blinked, momentarily speechless. The sheer audacity of his words, delivered with such icy detachment, only fueled her irritation. She opened her mouth, ready to snap back, but the weight of his calm, unbothered stare pinned her in place.

“You are sick.”

That was all Marissa could manage, her voice tight with disbelief and fury.

Antonio’s expression remained untouched, his gaze unwavering, as if her words barely registered. The cold precision in his eyes only made her blood boil more.

“It’s a proposal that would benefit us both,” Antonio said, calm and measured, as if stating a fact rather than making an offer.

Marissa crossed her arms, scowling. “Well, I don’t care for that… at least not with that attitude,” she shot back, her voice dripping with annoyance.

Antonio’s expression didn’t waver. His icy gaze met hers, unwavering, unbothered, as though her words were barely more than background noise.

“Take it or leave it,” Antonio said, voice flat, eyes cold. “It’s a good deal.”

Marissa’s eyes narrowed, lips curling into a biting smirk. “Wow… I didn’t realize we were in a workspace now, and that a marriage that would make me a divorcee is a ‘good deal.’ I’m...I'm sorry for not getting it,” she said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

Antonio’s expression remained perfectly unreadable, his gaze steady and unflinching, making her sarcasm hang in the air like a challenge he didn’t even notice.

“Given the reaction of your parents,” Antonio said calmly, “they didn’t expect this… and they looked embarrassed enough to kill you.”

Marissa’s eyes widened. “That sounds like blackmail.”

“It’s not,” he replied instantly, tone flat.

“But it is,” she shot back, voice rising with irritation.

Antonio didn’t blink. “It’s reality.”

Marissa let out a breath, half-laugh, half-scoff, shaking her head at the sheer audacity standing in front of her.

“I never knew someone like you existed,” Marissa said, staring at him like he’d crawled out of some CEO-shaped nightmare. “And I’m just… wowed. In a not so good way.”

Antonio didn’t flinch. Not a blink. Not a twitch. Just that same cool, steady stare.

“Good,” he said calmly. “At least we understand each other.”

Marissa let out an incredulous laugh, throwing her hands up. “Oh, trust me I'm not in the least happy about that. And it seems I'm regretfully understanding you than you understand me.”

Antonio didn’t react—not a blink, not a shift. His expression stayed carved from stone. “Understanding you isn’t a requirement,” he said coolly. “The arrangement doesn’t need feelings. Just compliance.”

Marissa’s jaw dropped for half a second before she scoffed, stepping back as if he were radiating pure audacity. “Wow. You really don’t stop, do you?” she muttered. “You’re like… rudeness with a heartbeat, but you do have a heart right?”

He simply looked at her, unbothered. “If you’re done, I’ll have the contract drafted.”

Marissa stared at him, somewhere between offended, amused, and ready to throw her heel at his head.

“Unbelievable,” she whispered. “Absolutely unbelievable.”

He turned and strode back inside, not even bothering to look at her. Marissa blinked, processed, and sighed. Fine. She had a life to live, things to handle, and zero interest in more awkward blind dates. And with that attitude of his, catching feelings was impossible anyway. Decision made.

Without waiting for her to settle beside him, Antonio faced the guardians, expression unreadable.

“We’ve reached an agreement,” he said smoothly. “We’ll be getting married.”

Two pairs of eyes shot toward them in pure shock, confusion written all over their faces. Grandpa Johnson, on the other hand, lit up instantly, a wide grin stretching from ear to ear. “That’s wonderful!” he boomed.

“And the wedding’s this Friday,” he continued like it was nothing.

The parents’ eyes stretched even wider, Grandpa Johnson looked ready to break into a victory dance, and Marissa whipped her head toward Antonio with a glare hot enough to melt metal. Friday? News to her.

“Really? That’s amazing!” Grandpa Johnson beamed. “The earlier, the better. Finally, my grandson is getting married!”

But Mr. and Mrs. Joel exchanged a worried glance before speaking up. “Isn’t this too soon? You two just met. Even with money, planning a wedding takes time… and everything else involved.”

“Well, apparently I and…” she paused, letting the silence stretch, hesitant because she still didn’t even know his name. “…we understand each other so well that we want this sooner rather than later,” Marissa said, sarcasm dripping from every word but lost on the older generation. Antonio, of course, caught every ounce of it.