Chapter 6 And Why Tomorrow?

• “Wait what?” Sophie said while scrambling out of the bed where Freddie lay shirtless sleeping.
• “You heard me right, I am getting married to Liam Devlin tomorrow," Rosie repeated.
• “The Liam Devlin...as in the Liam Devlin,” Sophie said in half shock and half confusion.
• “Yes, Liam Devlin of Devlin Reserves Co,” Rosie responded, still trying to wrap her head around it herself.
• “Wait, how? And why tomorrow?” Sophie asked, still as confused as ever.
• “So that’s it, a win-win situation,” Rosie said as he ended a retelling of the entire evening.
• Sophie still couldn’t believe what she had just heard. There was so much to unpack; her elder sister was getting married to a multi-billionaire whiskey magnate to save his company and theirs.
• “Rosie, are you sure this isn’t some form of prank?" Sophie responds, trying to make heads and tails of this Pretty Lady-type situation.
• “Well, like I said, I went to their office to talk further," Rosie said, attempting to convince her sister. Alistair and Liam took her to the Delvin Reserves Co. head office to discuss the marriage contract and terms further.
• “I saw his picture on the wall, the name on the door, and all that. This is real,” Rosie continued.
• Sophie was too stunned for words, and they were both silent for two minutes.
• “But Rosie, are you sure you want to go through with this?” Sophie asked, more concerned than confused now. “Yes, it might just be one year, but you are not exactly ‘Miss I keep my emotional walls up’, you know? It's too much of a sacrifice, even for the family.”
• Rosie smiled, knowing her sister always looked out for her. Sophie might be flaky, but she is loyal to a fault, and that’s why they aren’t just sisters, but best friends.
• “You don’t have to worry about me,” Rosie assured Sophie. “Liam promised, he is going to stay out of my hair, and we will only have to be around each other for business events.”
• “So minimal contact, no hubby and wifey bedroom business. So no getting hurt, just pictures for the paparazzi,” Rosie continued.
• Silence from Sophie’s end.
• “Sophie, I won’t get hurt, I promise!” Rosie continued, seeing that Sophie wasn’t convinced. “This is the break we’ve been looking for. It would be good for the podcast, the business, the family dream, everything.”
• Still nothing from Sophie.
• “I need your okay, Sophie,” Rosie said in a lower, softer tone. “If I don’t get your okay, I won’t go through with it.”
• “We can give Daddy’s dream, our dream, our family’s legacy, a fighting chance.” Rosie continued in the same tone. "Sophie, please, it’s worth the shot.”
• Sophie sighed, giving in to Rosie’s pleas. She said, “Alright, Rosie, I am in.”
• "Wait, what dress are you wearing?" Sophie asked enthusiastically, letting go of her concerns and letting the fairy tale flood in.
• "Scratch that. What dress am I wearing? I am invited, right?” Both sisters kept talking into the night.
• ***
• Liam was in his study with his third glass of whiskey. Alistair had just left his place to drop his soon-to-be wife.
• The more Liam thought about it, the crazier it all seemed. By this time tomorrow, he will have someone bearing his last name.
• He thought about the board; they had been quite angsty, but they would buy into it. After all, his parents barely knew each other, dating for three months before they tied the knot, and they had a beautiful marriage.
• He picked a frame from his office desk, smiled at the picture of his parents and their children, and traced his finger over it.
• He had a happy childhood. His parents were in love with each other, and all three of them, his younger sisters Maria and Margaret, and he himself.
• They were close-knit, but Maria was in Italy, overseeing the business there, and the youngest Margaret was in New York, studying art.
• He wanted to call them, but he thought better of it. They might talk him out of it.
• He had to go through with it to save the family business. It might not be a marriage for love, but it was a sacrifice worth taking.
• He made a vow to his father on his deathbed to take care of the family business, expand it, and protect his sisters, ensuring the family legacy lives on.
• Enemies were circling, trying to snatch the business from their line, and he couldn't have it. The last thing that should cost him and his sisters the business was his love life.
• He would have loved to still wait for love, being romantic at heart, but with all the heartbreaks from the past. He couldn’t risk it, and time was of the essence.
• He had to make do with what he had. His thought went to Rosie, and a faint smile crept up his cheek; he wouldn’t call that making due though.
• She was intelligent, beautiful, and feisty. He shook his head and took a gulp of whiskey, muttering, “Snap out of it, Liam; it’s just business.”
• He couldn’t afford to get his heart broken one more time; the business was in a delicate place, and falling for another girl that would most likely break his heart was far from being the right move.
• The plan is simple: get married, go to a couple of events, smile for the cameras, then come home and sleep in separate rooms. No couple dinners, no kissing of plump lips, nothing.
• Just business.
• Besides, it is obvious she has taken a liking to Alistair.
• "Typical," he said, smirking. Every lady he had ever dated took a liking to Alistair. Only one stayed with him, but she had to move to another continent, ending the relationship.
• All the other ladies wondered how he and Alistair could be friends; Liam was cold and pushed people away, and Alistair was the warm, friendly, accommodating one—the life of the party.
• Alistair was the safe place, Liam the icy cold one. But Alistair understood him.
• Liam felt deeply—too deeply, many would say. So he kept walls up to protect his heart.
• On many occasions, Alistair tried to explain to Liam’s past girlfriends that he wasn’t an icy cold monster; he just had difficulties letting people in.
• This only made them fall deeper in love with him. But Alistair, good ol’ Alistair, was a loyal friend; he wouldn’t even think of dating any of his exes.
• They both lived by a code; no lady comes between them, none at all. Many tried, but none succeeded.
• But Rosie seems different; Alistair seemed less guarded around her, too carefree, too flirtatious. But could he blame him? There is something about her—not just her innocent look but also her animated personality—the way she gesticulated and talked with honest, carefree exclamations.
• He smiled before his thoughts went back to Alistair, wondering if he would make a move on his almost wife.
• "Does it even matter?” Liam muttered to himself while pouring himself another glass. It was a phony marriage, just for the sake of business.
• Plus, Alistair would never jeopardize their business and friendship like that. He couldn't have a thing with his wife, marriage of convenience or not. So many things were at stake.
• But as he gulped the last shot of whiskey in his glass, something deep down told him things might be different with Rosie, and that is the reason he was still awake with a glass of whiskey as company.
• He slammed the whiskey glass down and walked to the door. Switching off the light in the study, he said out loud to himself, "I trust Alistair.”
• But the strange feeling from within never left, keeping him tossing and turning all through the night, barely having a wink of sleep as he rose from bed on his wedding morning.
• Deep down, he knew this feeling would never go away, and his gut feeling was never wrong.