After an intense one-night stand with a mysterious stranger the night before her wedding, Astoria runs away to start life afresh

chapter one Astoria 's POV. What a stressful day it had been! I got back home and luckily, I didn't meet any of my family members as I went back to my room. I shut the door behind me and kicked off my heels, sighing at the relief. I wasn't in the best of moods today, as things just kept on going spectacularly wrong at the office. I pushed all thoughts of the bad day I had to the back of my mind as I planned out my next course of action, deciding on a long and steaming hot shower, a hearty dinner and a glass of red wine. I stripped down, gathered my skincare products and went into the bathroom, allowing the hot water to melt away all the residual stress of the day. I had just stepped out of the bathroom and was drying my hair with a towel when I heard a soft knock at my door. “Come in!” I called out, turning towards my closet to look for what to wear. “Hello there, Nessie,” the person who came in said. I smiled as I turned to see Enide, our housekeeper, sitting on my bed. “I heard a sound, so I assumed that you were back.” she supplied. “Yeah,” I replied, deciding on an old band tee and a baggy pair of black sweatpants. “Today was hectic, and that's putting it mildly.” She gave me a sympathetic look, and I knew that she understood my plight. I worked for The Harper Corporation, the company owned by my adoptive parents. Now, I knew that they didn't really care for me, as that reflected in my wages at work and their attitude towards me at home. Enide was actually the only one in this house who even cared about me, and I always felt my heart warming in joy and appreciation when I thought about our camaraderie. “Did you see anyone on your way up?” She asked me. “No,” I answered, collapsing on top of the bed beside her, “the house was empty when I got back, thank heavens.” “Well, Karol and Maximus are back,” she started, and my eyes rolled at the mention of my foster parents names, but my mood plummeted to the depths of the earth at her next words, “and they're looking for you. Actually, they sent me here to call you.” Now, I should have been accustomed to my foster parents random summons by now, but meeting them always caused spikes of dreaf to shoot through me. Since I was the expendable daughter, I was usually the one that got sent on fishy business trips, which almost always ended up yielding no results. “Do you know why they're looking for me?” I asked, getting up and wrapping my damp hair into a high messy bun. She shook her head in the negative, and I just shrugged, “Oh well. It shouldn't be different from any of the previous times. Thanks Enide, tell them I'm on my way.” She left the room, and I followed shortly after, making sure I looked presentable enough to meet my foster parents. As I went down the stairs to the living room, I tried not to ponder too much on why I was called, knowing that the reason would be revealed sooner rather than later. “Hey Karol, Maximus. Good evening.” I greeted as I sat on one of the couches. I stopped bothering with calling them mom and dad years ago, as I grew older and their apathy for me because more evident. “Astoria . How are you doing today?” Karol said in reply to my greeting. “I'm good. I see that you're doing well yourself.” I replied in a bland tone. She didn't react to my tone, and I didn't know whether to be excited or pissed. However, the energy in the room, matched with the way they looked at me as I entered, hinted to me that this conversation was going to be far from pleasant. “So, Astoria ,” Karol began, “How are things at work?” “Fine. Is there a reason you called me here?” I was starting to get irritated at the whole thing. I was really tired and I hadn't had anything to eat, so the sooner I got this over with the better. “Now, you know the state of things at the office, don't you, Astoria ?” It was Maximus this time. I nodded in the affirmative, agreeing with him for once. Things at The Harper Corp. were not going well, to say the least. Investors were pulling out, stocks were falling, and to say the truth, we needed a miracle really soon, or else we would have to declare bankruptcy. Now, I may not have really cared for my family, but I loved my job at the company, and I didn't want to see it fail. “Things aren't looking up, and without any outside support, we may have to declare bankruptcy in about three months,” Maximus continued, confirming my thoughts. “However, we have come up with the perfect solution, one that is sure to benefit all of us.” Karol finished for him. An ominous feeling went through me on seeing the weird smile on her face as she said those words, but I forced myself to ask, “And what exactly is this solution. And why are you telling me?” “Because it involves you directly.” Karol said, that smile still on her face. At this point, I was convinced that this plan of theirs was nothing good, as they would never willingly put me in any situations that would be favor me in any way. “How? Please stop going around in circles and tell me what it is.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest. “You're going to get married to the mysterious CEO of the Colchester group, and in exchange he'll support our family. The details have been discussed already.” Karol announced, a sick glee present on her features. A myriad of emotions went through me at her words. The deafening silence of shock and the tingle of confusion took precedence, before flames of cold, hard rage spread through my veins. “What? What do you mean, I'm getting married?” I shot to my feet in front of them. “You heard me,” Karol replied smugly, “The wedding will take place tomorrow evening.” I stood there, frozen in anger and shock, as my foster parents only looked at me. “Listen to me, you two,” I began, “I don't know how both of you came up with this hairbrained scheme, but you're out of your minds if you think I'm doing any of this! Getting married to some stranger? What if he's some disgusting old man, or a pervert or something? Do you hate me that much?” “Calm down, Astoria . It won't be as bad as you're putting it. You get a chance to live in a lot of luxury, and don't you want to save the company?” Maximus stated, knowing that the company was a sore spot for me. “No, I'm not doing it. I don't care.” I refused, walking out of the room. “We knew that you'd react like this, which is why we put forward a few stipulations. If you don't go ahead with our plan, we'll cut off all your privileges and exclude you from the will. Do you want that, Astoria ?” Karol said from behind me, stopping me in my tracks. I should have known that they would stoop so low to trap me. Defeated, I turned around to look at Karol, seeing a triumphant smile on her face. “Exactly, that's what I thought,” she began, sealing my fate with her next words, “You are marrying Rhys Colchester tomorrow, and that is final!”