The contract marriage ( identity disguised)

Chapter 1

"Keen Steakhouse Victoria era. Meat lover."

This is the seventh time he's sent me to this same location. The seventh time!

"Dude, I get it. I'm late," I mutter, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as I accelerate.

The notifications on my phone keep buzzing, and it's testing my patience. I'm ten minutes late-definitely not the impression I want to make.

Ugh, this is not going to reflect well on me.

Lost in my thoughts about speeding up, I nearly miss the truck heading straight for me until it's almost too close to dodge.

"Urrgghh!"

The driver is livid, screaming and shouting as I pull my car to a stop beside him. "ARE YOU BLIND, CAN'T YOU SEE, YOU WANT TO GET KILLED?-blah blah blah, blah blah blah- I COULD CALL THE POLICE, I ALMOST CRUSHED YOU, PAY ATTENTION!!!"

And with that he is off, barreling down the road. Goosebumps litter my skin at the thought, I almost died, damn.

I check my phone, more messages, I'm 20 minutes late, and the steakhouse is still like 100 miles away.

Briefly, I contemplate turning the car around and just going home. Telling father that I didn't go because it was too late and then I shook my head and wrenched the car to start again.

It takes 15 minutes of me speeding down the road like a fugitive on the run with motorists screaming bloody murder at me but I

FINALLY arrive at the steakhouse.

A fancy-looking hotel, restaurant thing. Taking deep breaths, I step out of the car.

I'm unsure of how I'd find him, should I text him, or....i

"Miss Caliste?"

The guy that approaches me is a nondescript, black suit, shades, and all.

"Who are you?"

"We were sent to escort you to your table, my boss awaits you" I eye him warily.

"We? Who's your boss?"

"Mr. Darius miss," he says, bows, and then gestures toward the long line of bodyguards behind him

Yep, that's Mr Mason.

I say a silent prayer, praying I don't end the night with a noose on my neck, and nod to him.

The table he leads me to is tucked away from the rest of the resort, beautifully arranged and with tasty-looking tart cake on the table.

I'm so preoccupied with eating the cake with my eyes that I almost miss the man sitting.

"You're 26 minutes late," He is beautiful, my groom but a marriage wasn't happening on looks alone

"I apologize," I say, sitting down in front of him.

"Hi," I say again, taking out my hand for a handshake. He completely ignores it, looking away. That was rude.

"Okay um, let's get to the point then" I feel like a fool, gosh

"I do not want this wedding, I doubt you do too, but if we both object to it, our families can let us be and..."

"We have nothing to discuss. I'm here to see who the bride will be," he says, finally looking at me. He has great thas great hair, I expected someone younger. He has pretty eyes, thin lips, and serious eyes. He's attractive, and he knows it. Ew

"I do not want to get married to you" I counter

"This is a business deal, so don't take it personally," he responded.

Argh

"This is my life, Mr Mason, I thought you'd understand. I beg of you, there are several ways to boost the partnership. I can't just marry you, I barely know you.

Certainly, this isn't how you envisioned your life, let's drop the marriage plans"

He sends me a scowl

"Your theatrics will not do anything Miss Caliste, this union is necessary for your family and mine. You're not a child so drop the tantrum"

I feel my eyes well with tears and I look outside to stop the tears from pouring out, the view was nice.

"The wedding is tomorrow."

"What?" I asked, my eyes widening in shock

"Do you have a problem with the date?" His voice is low, daring me to object

"You can't just make decisions for me like that. What happened to consulting me and ensuring I was okay with it?" I say, my irritation evident as I grit my teeth.

"Well, your opinion doesn't matter," he replies dismissively.

I can't stand him. I can feel my anger boiling beneath the surface.

With a snap of his fingers, the earlier guy approaches our table, bowing slightly as he waits.

He retrieves a blue document and lays it on the table before bowing once more and walking away.

"Read it carefully; your father has outlined the details of this agreement for you," Mason states, leaning back with a smug look.

"A court marriage license? Who gets a license without the bride being present?" I demand, clenching my fists as I glare at him. This man infuriates me.

He chuckles coldly, and I wish he would just scowl instead. According to this, he would be my husband in just a few hours. It's best I start asserting myself now.

After scanning the document, I close it, realizing how everything is stacked in his favor.

He grabs his phone, stands up, and dusts off his suit, behaving as if he hasn't just shattered my dreams.

"The marriage will happen, and I agree, but not tomorrow," I assert, grabbing his hand before he can walk away.

"Don't touch me," he snaps, shrugging my hand off. "Be at the hall by midnight. I won't tolerate being kept waiting again." He turns to exit, leaving me momentarily stunned, my mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"This isn't fair," I call after him, but he ignores me, signaling his men to escort me back to the car.

"You're so mean, OLD, and ugly and rusty and... and OLD!" I shout after him, frustration boiling over.

"Be on time," he responds without looking back. "I won't deal with your delays."

"Well, forget you!" I shoot back, my irritation igniting further as the guards attempt to usher me away.

"Wait, I need to grab my cake!" I manage to break free, snatching the cake before they can stop me.

I refuse to let that deliciousness go to waste, I remind myself as I walk back to my car, cake in hand, determined to hold onto at least a sliver of my dignity.

************

Next day morning

I am a mess this morning, racing against the clock to get to the wedding on time. It's 9:48, the ceremony starts at 10, and I'm still not dressed. This is unacceptable.

"Where is the designer?" I demand, frustration boiling over.

"Damnit!" I try to struggle with the corset myself, but that's clearly a mistake. I can hear people outside my room buzzing with urgency.

"I just need to calm down," I tell myself, though it feels like my insides are about to burst.

I'm getting married! To a man I barely know, who I suspect might be one of the rudest guys on the planet. Fantastic.

A knock on the door jerks me back to reality. Please let it be the designer, I think as I stride across the room to open the door.

It's Emma, my best friend.

"Pookie! You look stressed," she says with an encouraging smile. Emma has always been my rock. I cross my arms, feeling the pressure of it all.

"Honestly, this is not an ideal situation," I reply, sitting down on the bed.

"Caliste, you really should be excited. You're marrying one of the hottest bachelors, and he's incredibly wealthy, too."

I frown as she launches into a list of Mason's qualities that she's read about in the magazines.

"I promise you, he's a gentleman. You'll be happy," she insists.

"Well, he is an asshole" I grunt

She frowns, stepping closer to pull me into a hug and kissing my cheeks. I felt the warmth of the gesture but remained conflicted.

"Cheer up," She says

"Your dad is happy. You have the perfect family, the perfect figure, and now the perfect husband," she says, still avoiding my gaze.

"You know my life isn't perfect, right?" I reply firmly, shaking my head.

"Here, have some water." She pushes a glass toward me, and I down it in one go.

"There's no need to worry. Mason will love you, and everything will work out," she insists, taking my hand.

"And if it doesn't? What if life doesn't improve, and I'm stuck with him forever?" I catch her rolling her eyes from the corner of my vision, a gesture that feels patronizing, but I choose to ignore it as she beams at me. Maybe I imagined it; my head is pounding.

"Caliste, it will," she asserts.

"Thanks for everything," I say, giving her a hug.

"It's okay. I will always be here for you," she replies reassuringly.

"Wedding dress arrival, ma'am Caliste!"

Finally, I stand up and make my way to the door, a bit too quickly, and I feel my head pounding and the room spinning.

"Emma, something isn't right," I manage to say, my tongue feeling heavy.

"Caliste, love..."

Gradually, my vision blurs, and I feel myself sinking down to the ground.