THE MARRIAGE PACT.
1312 Words
NATALIE POV
“You can't spend another weekend hiding in your apartment,” Maya said. “It should be illegal not to go out at least once.”
“It's my fiancé's birthday this weekend, and we're going to one of the clubs at the City Sphere.
“I have an appointment with a vet this Saturday regarding the adoption of a Pomeranian dog,” I replied.
“Clubbing starts at 7pm till dawn, and you are coming,” Maya said,kissing me goodbye.
After my appointment with the vet, I headed straight to the boutique to get a proper club dress and shoes. I picked a backless red sequin gown with a thin strap at the neckline. I paired it with glossy black leather high stiletto heels with a strap crossing just above my ankle.
An hour after I got home, Maya called me to say she would pick me up by 7pm.
I slipped into the red gown I had picked earlier, adjusting it around my shoulder, and smoothing the fabric. It hugged my body perfectly, sculpting out every curve.
“This dress is definitely skimming my thighs,” I murmured to my reflection. “But I like it.”
I applied light makeup, curled my lashes, and applied a soft pink lipstick-natural,but polished.I straightened my glossy black hair carefully until it fell in a sleek cascade down my back.
The sound of a car horn outside my apartment was my clue,so I grabbed my purse and headed outside.
At the club, I leaned back against the bar, watching Maya sway against Bobby, her fiancé. I lifted my glass for a sip when I noticed him.
A man in a dark, well-fitted shirt paired with navy pants, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbow revealing tattoo.
My breath caught.
It was the stranger I had collided with weeks ago.
I met his gaze and smiled.
He didn't smile back.
How rude!
Perhaps he is still annoyed about the coffee spill.
I looked away, my attention focused on the crowd, but somehow my gaze wandered back to Mr. Stranger.
When I looked again, he was still looking at me.
“You should try tequila instead of cocktails.” Maya shouted to make herself heard over the club's noise.
I heard her voice faintly.
I didn't move.
I couldn't.
I stood there,rooted to the spot as the stranger stepped carefully from the stairs,and began walking towards me.
The intensity in his gaze is overwhelming and irresistible.
The way he walks commands attention, each step slow and deliberate. My heart beat faster and faster, pounding harder with each step he took.
By the time he stood right in front of me, it seemed like my heart was going to break free from my chest.
“The lady with the lethal coffee,” he said.
The corner of my mouth lifts with amusement “I am usually not clumsy, but I see my reputation precedes me,” I replied.
“Dance with me,”
His voice was low, smooth and commanding, it brushed over my skin like a physical touch.
“I guess it's your lucky day,” I replied. Smiling to hide my nervousness.
He slid his hand around my waist, firm and possessive. And I was welcomed by the scent of his masculine perfume.
I placed my palm on his shoulder.
His fingers moved against the bare skin of my back, tracing it slowly, in a deliberate circle.
Every touch sparks a wave of heat in me
His blue eyes held mine,intense and unreadable.
“You don't strike me as the type who comes to the club,” he says.
“It's actually my first time. I came with my friend.” I nodded slightly toward Maya.
“Hmm…first time,” he muttered, his gaze dropping briefly to my dress. “And yet your dress speaks loudly…even to me.”
I let out a small smile, brushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. “First-timers can be full of surprises."
“We have not properly introduced ourselves,” I said. “I'm Anita Cole.”
His lips curved slightly.
“Does it matter what I am called?” He asked.
Before I could formulate a reply,he was already touching my hair. Slowly wrapping a strand of my hair around his fingers.
It was an intimate gesture. Too intimate for a stranger. Touching someone's hair.
It should bother me.
But it didn't.
“So,” he continued,his voice softened “what brings you to New York, Anita? ”.
I hesitated.
That was the part I hated,regarding meeting new people.
“I…just needed a change,” I said carefully. “I'm from a small town in Texas. There's not much to do there.”
A lie-but a white lie.
I couldn't risk revealing who I really was.
“Do you have something to hide?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “What could I possibly have to hide?”
“I don't know… maybe a wife and children waiting at home.”
“Wife and children have never been part of my plans.” He said.
A small voice in the back of my mind said something about boundaries and strangers and the fact that his hand was still in my hair.
“Tell him to stop! He's crossing boundaries, you can't just let a stranger do that.”
I ignore the voice completely.
“So what do you do in real life, Mister Mystery?” I asked.
“You could say I'm in management,” he replied. “I run my family business. It was expected of me.”
I nodded slowly. “I understand that.”
My fingers tightened slowly around my glass.
“It was expected of me also. In my case,I was expected to be something else entirely.” I said. “A doll. No emotions. Just… leverage.”
I exhale softly
“But, it is not happening.”
I looked up at him, “If your family demanded you give up your dreams for their own gain… would you do it?”
He leaned close.
Too close.
The scent of his cologne lingered around me, I couldn't help but lean forward just a little.
His facial expression remains completely neutral as he says, “I don't give up what is mine,” he said evenly, “unless I decide the price is worth it.”
Maya's voice chimes in.
She appears beside me, slightly tipsy and unable to contain her excitement.
"The club has a guest spin wheel for the birthday groups!” she said.
I blinked. “A What?”
“It's just a harmless game,” she insisted.
“It'll be fun.”
“I don't know, Maya…What if all this is too much.”
“Too much is exactly what you need,” she cut in, "Don't be boring, Anita.” Please-it'll be hilarious!”
“I have an access card to the VIP lounge,”Mister Mystery said smoothly. “If you decide to participate in the game,you won't need to stand in line.”
“Wow,” Maya whispered beside me. “Who is he?”
“I have no idea," I whispered back.
He led us through the crowd. His tall frame body moving effortlessly through the crowd, as people stepped aside without question. letting him through.
There was something about him.
Something powerful.
A hostess greeted us as we entered the vip section.
“Guest spin wheel rules,” the hostess announced. “No refusal. No explanation. Tonight's categories are : Secret Confession… Dance Partner… Marriage Pact…”
My stomach tightened.
Marriage pact?
This suddenly didn't feel harmless.
Before I could change my mind,Maya pushed me forward.
“Go.”
I spun the wheel, it slowed…and stopped.
Marriage Pact.
The arrow cursor pointing directly at him.
Mister Mystery.
- Writer
