Playing the Ice Princess

"Arranged marriage is such a funny concept... All your life you are taught not to speak to strangers and suddenly you are told to sleep with one!" -Unknown CHAPTER ONE: In which she is told a horrifying nightmare Ah, it"s summertime already. The time of year where the sun shines proudly, the oceans reflect tranquility, sandcastles being built emphasizing happiness at the beach, children running around, basically smiles for everyone... And I hate it. It"s nothing compared to my precious winter. Cold winds howling, snow sprinkled everywhere, people freezing while I causally sip my hot chocolate... that"s how it should be. This annoying scorching heat... how could this be enjoyable? This is why I don"t understand or like people... "Liliana?" I heard someone call my name, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Huh? Oh, yes?" I said dazed. My eyes were met by ones full of worry. "Mom, Dad! I"m okay, I promise. I was just thinking." I reassured. "Thinking? That"s scary, knowing you." My dad joked, his lime green eyes full of mischief. "Haha, very funny." I said sarcastically. "Honey, stop teasing her. The poor girl can"t handle it." My stepmom said, her chocolate eyes meeting my ice blue ones. I"ve always wondered where I got my eye color from. It wasn"t a color I had inherited from either my mom, my biological one, since she had the most beautiful shade of sea green, or from my dad, since his eyes were a unique lime green. I was basically the black sheep of the family... the one who preferred books over guys, and unlike my step siblings, I was the one who despised summer, taking comfort in the frosty winter... thus I was dubbed the elusive Ice Princess by society. The title Ice Princess has been hanging on my neck since forever. Glancing at the magazine in my hands, I read "Liliana Silverstone, Ice Princess who will inherit the Silverstone Hotels! Can life get any better for the heiress? Oh course it can! Lately she"s been seen with actor..." "Ridiculous." I scoffed. "I don"t even know who the hell this guy is..." "Tabloids do anything for people to read, don"t fret too much about it, darling." My stepmom reminds me gently. Before I could reply, the waiter had brought out our food. Today was a "special" day, according to my dad. He had a surprise he was going to tell me, which is why he invited only my stepmom, me, and himself. He kept exchanging secret glances with my stepmom, making me even more nervous than I already was. Before I could dig in and enjoy my pasta, my dad said, "Sweetie, since you turned twenty-three last month, your mother and I have been thinking it"s time for you to settle down, so we arranged an engagement with the son of Peterson Oils" CEO.." I choked on my water, barely containing myself from spitting it out. "WHAT?" I yelled, not caring the stares we were getting from the people around us. "You heard me." My dad said calmly, as though he hadn"t dropped the biggest bomb on me. "An arranged marriage? What century are we living in?" I snapped, fuming at the fact that they were shoving this down my throat. "Well, you both are single, and unless you show up with a guy that you"re in love with and are marrying, you"re stuck with this guy." My eyes widened in horror as I stared pleading at my stepmom, silently begging her to help me. She shrugged apologetically, a silent message of not being able to do anything. "Padre, per favore non farlo a me!" I randomly sputtered out in Italian, desperate for him to take back what he said. "Mi dispiace, mia figlia," he looked at me dead serious, "but this is necessary for you." He finished in English. "But why! Why is it necessary?" I whined, echoing "Mrs. Peterson" in my head, hating the sound of it. "And what if I refuse?" "It"s necessary since you are to take over Silverstone Hotels in the near future, and if you refuse... well, let"s just say you have a cousin who"d sell his own flesh to be where you are." I shivered thinking of the person my dad was referring to, my cousin Raven... I can"t believe dad was so desperate to the point he"d give away the family business to a savage like my cousin... Suddenly a lightbulb lights in my head, "Dad, you said this engagement could be canceled as long as I marry someone I love, right?" "Yes, but that doesn"t mean you hire a fake fiancé," he said his eyes narrowed. "Awe... there goes that idea..." I sighed as I feigned disappointment. "So are you will to go through with the engagement?" My dad asks, as though I have an actual choice in this. I rolled my eyes, "Of course dad... there is no way I"d allow you to give the company to someone like Raven," I mentally cringed at the horrifying thought. He nodded, pleased that I agreed so quickly. If only he knew... If I couldn"t cancel the engagement, the other party can... and only by falling in love... looks like Lila Shaw needs to take care of a couple of things... Dad, you have no idea you just woke up a sleeping tigress... *** Translations- "Padre, per favore non farlo a me." "Father, please don"t do this to me!" "Mi dispiace, mia figlia." "I"m sorry, my daughter."