Chapter 2 Paige Harper Part Two

• It's not fair that he's doing this to me. I thought he believed I was capable of taking over the company. Why the hell does he have to ask someone to marry me? I don't understand any of this.
• "Why do we have to get married? We can sign a contract, but we don't necessarily have to get married," I say, searching for an answer to this madness.
• "If you refuse to marry him, he will still take over the company, but you won't have any rights to it," he says to me seriously.
• "What? Are you fucking me?" I exclaim, annoyed.
• "It was an agreement we made many years ago. I never imagined it would come true, daughter. It's something beyond my control. If you don't get married, we will lose our company and everything," I look at him, searching for sanity in his expression.
• "You can't just tell me something like this so calmly. I insist that this is a joke in very bad taste," I say, very upset.
• I'm pacing back and forth without stopping when someone knocks on the door of my room. My father tenses up and looks at me cautiously.
• "Permission to enter," says the voice of a very attractive man. If I weren't so upset, I might even give him a smile.
• "What do you need?" I say politely.
• "Well, to talk to you first, and then go down to the guests who are whispering things every minute," he says, shrugging.
• "Come in, son. I'll wait for you downstairs," says my cowardly father, yes, cowardly!
• "I don't think we've had the pleasure," he says, entering my room.
• "I agree with you," I reply, crossing my arms.
• "Let me introduce myself. I'm Mason, your fiancé," he says, smiling, and I lose color in my face.
• I must have a terrible expression for poor Mason to approach me cautiously and sit me down on my bed while offering me water to recover.
• "I don't understand. How can you be so calm about marrying each other?" I ask, realizing that for him, it's something normal that has been going on for a while.
• "I found out a week ago. I overheard your father talking to mine about that contract, which was a stupid decision made by young and drunk versions of themselves. When they found out they would both be parents, one of a boy and the other of a girl, and thanks to my grandfather, who was always a greedy idiot, they created that agreement stating that we had to be married for a minimum of three years, or else they would lose all their assets. That's why I'm here to talk to you. I can do it and I want to tell you that I won't force anything. We'll just be two strangers living together, and after the three years, each one will have what belongs to them, and we'll go on with our lives," he says, smiling.
• I think I'm living in a parallel universe. That must be it. I can't believe this is happening to me.
• "Weren't you in a relationship? Are you willing to give it all up for the foolishness our parents did?" I say, still trying to process all of this.
• None of this is right. I don't understand how my whole life went to shit because of an agreement my father signed many years ago. I wasn't even born when he did it. I'm not to blame for any of this, it should be illegal to do something like this.
• "I don't have a girlfriend; I wasn't planning on having one. I won't cheat on you or tarnish your name during these three years. I ask the same in return..." he says so calmly that it makes me want to punch him.
• Upon closer inspection, he's quite handsome. He has grayish-blue eyes, a two-day beard, and brown hair. For a moment, I feel like getting lost in the blue of his eyes, but I snap back to reality when I realize he's waiting for a response to something he asked, which I obviously didn't hear.
• "Eh?" is all that comes out of my mouth.
• "If you agree to what I recently mentioned, you're not the only one who dislikes the idea, believe me, I'm not happy about this either. However, I think about the future. I don't want to lose my family legacy because I can't spend three years with a girl I don't know, not to mention that we won't have to be together privately as spouses. Clearly, in front of others, we must pretend to be happy, but I think the sacrifice is worth it. I'll repeat what you didn't hear, I won't make you look bad in front of anyone, no one will see me being unfaithful, and I expect the same from you. We can come up with ideas over time to ensure that no one finds out," he says, looking at me expectantly.
• "I'm trying to process everything. It's not easy to know that at 21 years old, I'm going to marry someone whose name is all I know. For that same reason, you'll understand that I can't blindly trust your word regarding infidelity. You should get used to the idea that we won't be intimate; it's not going to happen. I'll continue with my studies during this time, and when I finish, you'll teach me about my father's business so I can manage it properly after the three years," I say, standing up from where I was sitting.
• "Then we have a deal. We can discuss more rules between the two of us, but right now, people are waiting for us, my future wife," he says, smiling and winking.
• "This won't be good," I mutter more to myself than to him, but to my misfortune, he hears me, and it makes him smile even more.
• "Look at the bright side of all this, you won't have to live with your parents during these three years," he says, smiling.
• "How old are you?" I ask, looking at his face, lost in thought.
• "Physically, I'm 26 years old. Psychologically, it's a different story," he replies, taking my hand and looking ahead.
• At that moment, I realize that everyone is watching us curiously. I think I would do the same. This doesn't happen every day. I smile automatically, as I've been taught since I was young, following my mother's teachings about appearances. What would they say if they knew everything that's happening with this engagement for marriage? I want to scream and show everyone present that it's all a lie, the smile and Mason's hand on my waist as he comments that love caught us by surprise, and that's why we're getting married. I've even had to endure insinuations about pregnancies.
• It is that they have no life? that they are pending mine, because it does not end all this at once. I just want to sleep and think that all this was a nightmare, that none of this is real. I look at my mother smiling proudly for the early wedding of her only daughter, I am surprised to see how she tells how she always knew we were destined for each other,
• I didn't even know him until a few minutes ago!
• It is that they have no life? that they are pending mine, why doesn't all of this just end already? I just want to sleep and think that all of this was a nightmare, that none of this is real. I look at my mother smiling proudly about her only daughter's upcoming wedding. It surprises me how she talks about always knowing that we were meant for each other. But I didn't even know him until a few minutes ago!
• The gathering continues, and I check the clock every minute. I just want to leave. I don't even want to sleep in this house. I don't have loyal and sincere friends. I can't tell anyone about this. I'm sure that if I confide in any of my friends, it will end up as the gossip of the week in the news.
• I sigh as they start saying their goodbyes, and I tense up when Mason approaches me and whispers in my ear.
• "We need to talk. We can go somewhere else to have a conversation," he suggests. I consider the idea for a moment, and desperate to get out of here, I agree to go wherever.
• "Alright, let's discuss our agreement, separate from the one our parents signed," I tell him, taking his hand. I approach my parents and smile as I see them saying goodbye to some people. "If you'll excuse us," I manage to say, but Mason interrupts.
• "Parents, if you'll allow me, I want to take my fiancée for a walk," he says with a charming smile.
• "Of course, dear," my mother responds, smiling.
• My father doesn't have the same smile as my mother. He just nods after looking at me and realizing that I don't want to see him right now. I feel to upset and betrayed by everyone. I feel like a toy, or rather, a commodity being traded to keep the business in the family. I even question if this was always my purpose from birth, perhaps.
• We leave my parents' house in silence, both still smiling until we get into his car. It's like a theater. The smiles vanish in an instant, and we sit as far away from each other as possible. Mason clears his throat and tells the driver that we're going to the hotel.
• "We're just going to talk. I think we'll run out of time to clarify everything," he says more to himself than to me.
• I sigh and look out the window of the vehicle to clear my mind. I just want to sleep, but not before clarifying everything with Mason. It gives me chills just thinking about our "marriage."
• We arrive at the city's finest hotel, and he gets out and helps me do the same. If there's one thing I appreciate about Mason, it's that he's a gentleman. We enter the elevator in silence, not even looking at which floor we're going to. I twi st my fingers as I think about all the conditions I want to set in this agreement.