Bargained Marriage

Ella Samford's POV A Tricky Proposal "Ella! I just got back from Mauritius! You wanna come see me?" I heard Eileen shout over the phone. For the first few seconds, I was lost for words. I was speaking to my best friend, Eileen, who we have been together since childhood. Both of us were orphans from the community orphanage and when we were eighteen, we were left to tend for ourselves. We literally had nothing. We were poor. Weeks ago, Eileen had told me that she was going on a trip. I didn't even ask for details about this trip of hers. I couldn't believe she went to Mauritius which had been our lifetime goal. I had heard about the beauty of the city. But that wasn't even the point. The issue here was how Eileen had ended up going to Mauritius. How did she get enough money to take such a trip? "Are you serious?" I finally asked her after a long pause. "Yes, Ella! Do you disbelieve me?" Eileen asked me. I could sense the pride and excitement in her voice. "It sounds unbelievable, dear. Where did you get the money to go on such a trip? Tell me!" I urged. I was happy for Eileen but I was still struggling to believe her fully. "Come to my hotel room. I will text you the address right away…" Eileen told me now and cut the call. I dropped my phone as well and wondered for about thirty seconds. I had learnt a lesson there. The lesson was to never underestimate anyone. I would never believe if someone had told me that Eileen would travel out of New York City. But it was all okay. I heard a beep from my phone. I knew it had to be the arrival of the message containing Eileen's hotel address. I heard another beep still from my phone but I didn't pay any attention to this. I moved towards my wardrobe quickly and picked up a random shirt and a pair of trousers to head to Eileen's hotel room. After dressing up, I checked the message from Eileen. Surprisingly, I had two messages. The first one contained the address of Eileen's hotel. I checked it out and almost fainted when I saw that it was the famous and luxurious Starbucks Hotel. For goodness sake, Starbucks Hotel was one of the most expensive hotels in town. According to what I had heard, their services were topnotch as well. I didn't care about this again. My main emphasis was how Eileen managed to have money to lodge in that kind of hotel. This got me really amazed. Then I checked the other message. It was a credit alert from my bank. The sender was none other than Eileen. The description was "transport fare". It was at this point that I realized that Eileen had to be really rich now. The amount she sent to me for transport fare could feed me for two weeks. Eileen knew this as well. Gosh! I literally used to be richer than Eileen. She used to beg from me. Calm down, I was never rich but even still, I was never poorer than Eileen. I could remember a few months back. That day, Eileen had came to my house since she had nothing to eat. I had to feed her for three days before she received her salary and moved out. So, how come? In the past, the amount of money Eileen had sent me could be used for her own feeding for four weeks. The financial growth was too surprising to believe. I wondered. After taking a deep breath and numerous conviction to myself that this wasn't a mystery, I ended up going to the hotel. It was quite a long distance for me. On my way to the hotel, I didn't cease to think about Eileen and her sudden wealth. It was totally unbelievable. Upon getting to the Hotel's gate, I called Eileen and she came to pick me up. Looking at her at first sight, I knew things had changed a lot. From her look to her outfit, I knew this. Eileen led me to her room. She made sure she flung the room ID. Eileen had a mission and that was to probably impress me with her new wealth. She almost told me a million times that she didn't have to use a key to enter her hotel room. All she had to do was to run the ID on the door's scanner. Of course, I nodded. I now knew the reason why I was invited to her hotel. "Hey there, I am the client at room forty-five at the V.I.P floor. My friend is going with me and I need you to bring in the most expensive wine you have got. I have to celebrate something with my friend so bring two glasses…" Eileen told one of the bartenders as we moved. This was even more shocking. Of course, I knew it was to impress me. I had learnt that her room wasn't the regular one, it was the V.I.P room which was usually the most expensive. Also, she was requesting for the most expensive wine the hotel have got when there were more affordable wine we could use for the celebration. I didn't bother to stop her from taking some actions. She wanted to show how wealthy she was and I was also ready to let her do this. Finally, we got to Eileen's hotel room. It was a long way from the first floor. We could have used the elevator but Eileen convinced me to let us use the stairs. I still knew this was intentional. She simply wanted me to see the beauty of the hotel which she was staying. Phew, that is what you would expect after you get rich after being poor for too long. "Welcome to my humble abode!" Eileen shouted after I had entered the room. I was jealous, no doubt. I would have told her that this wasn't her humble abode since she was only there for a limited time but I knew this would show that I was really jealous. I had to congratulate her. "Ohhhh! This place is really beautiful…" I admired. "This has to be the most beautiful room I have entered in my life. Congratulations, Eileen." "Thanks, Ella," Eileen told me now. "And yes, this would be the most beautiful room you have seen in your life. You have always been poor, dear. This is your first time of being in a hotel room, right?" I was pained. But I had to laugh it off. It was obvious that Eileen's sudden wealth had made her proud. I felt like reminding her how she used to beg from me in the past. But once more, I didn't. I ended up staying in the room while discussing and celebrating with Eileen for about two hours. And guess what, those two hours were the most uncomfortable moment of my life. It was funny how Eileen had ended up being so proud. She made sure she criticized almost everything I did. "That's not how you hold a glass cup…" Eileen would tell me. "Oh, I forgot. This is the first time you're drinking wine, right?" I was sick and tired of this visit. And when it was time to leave, I let down my pride and asked her the means she got her money from. Of course, Eileen refused to tell me. I asked her for some money to start up a small business but once more, Eileen refused. She urged me to continue working and one day, I would be rewarded. I was shocked and displeased at this new attitude of hers. I also envied her status. I wanted to be rich no matter what it took. And then, an opportunity presented itself. It was an opportunity I would have never hopped on in the past. A tricky proposal!