Wedded To A Stranger

25

That night, Andra got prepared for her night out. She had no concerns as she dressed up. Dominic's threat of interference did not bother her. He would not dare stick his nose where it did not belong.

She checked her time on the wall and saw that it was almost 9:00 pm. The party would begin thirty minutes later. She was running out of time.

She grabbed her purse and headed out. Upon reaching the living room, Dominic was not there. She was relieved at his absence because she dreaded a confrontation with him deep down. She didn't need any. She needed her peace.

Andra walked out to her car and noticed that Dominic's car was not there. She felt relieved again. He was out. Perhaps, he was busy with taxi work. Well, good for him.

Andra entered her car and let herself out. She was starting to feel the inconvenience of not having a gateman. At her father's place, there was a gateman available to open and close the gate. She missed that.

The thought was on her mind as she went ahead to open the gate. She felt like she needed one in this new and temporary home of hers. But then, she would have to pay the gateman and she didn't have any money to afford such a service.

She could not see Dominic bothering to provide a gateman. Maybe she would bring it up, she thought. Still, she reasoned. If he had decided not to help her financial situation, why should she bother talking to him about employing the services of a gateman? Gosh, she was in a dilemma with this whole contract arrangement. She would never forgive her father for this.

An hour later and Andra was at her friend's mansion where there was a party going on in the large living room. Andra was dancing with a random man when her phone began to ring.

She took a moment's pause to check the number and saw that the caller was Dominic whose contact she had saved as Flatmate. She ignored the call until the phone stopped ringing.

Then the phone started ringing again. This time she ended the call. The call resumed a few seconds later and she repeated her action, rejecting his call once more.

***

Dominic stared at his phone, watching it beep. He could tell that Andra was rejecting his call. He stood outside the house, before his car, regretting that he was just reaching home.

He forgot about her plans of going to that party she was earlier invited to. He had been occupied with work. A particular client, a businessman who had a series of engagements had paid him a significant sum for the day up till the evening and he lost track of time.

He wondered where she was right now. Because she could be anywhere even if she was not at the party, which destination he knew nothing about.

Yes, she was not his real partner but under the contract, she was. In the eyes of the public, she was. If anything happened to her, he was expected to be concerned.

Her father had put her under his care for the duration of the contract. The earlier she accepted this, the better for everyone concerned.

Dominic called her again and watched the call get rejected. He began to type a message intended for her.

***

Andra heard her phone vibrate in her purse and retrieved it. She saw a message from Dominic. Rolling her eyes, she excused herself from her dance partner and found a quieter spot in the nearest corridor where she proceeded to read his message. It was a simple question;

Where are you?

Hissing, Andra typed her response, meeting question with a question:

How is that any of your business?

Dominic read her response with impatience. As he stared at the words, he felt anger rising. If only he knew exactly where she was, he would be on his way, but he didn't. But this would be the last time he would not be in the know. She should enjoy it while it lasts, he thought as he began to type his response with a displeased look on his face.

Andra saw his response and was overcome with indignation as her eyes took in the words;

Whatever you do, see that you do not end up on the news for the usual reasons. You had better respect yourself. Do not test me.

She froze with anger at the last statement. Was that a threat? She told herself, she refused to dwell on the annoying words 'respect yourself.' She took those words as an insult. Who was he to threaten her or tell her to respect herself?

There and then, Andra felt like returning home and giving him a piece of her mind but she managed to put a rein on her emotions. She was in a good partying mood. She would not let her joy be ruined because of him.

Andra was distracted by her party frenzy friend at that moment. The girl strode over with a handsome man, both smiling as they approached her. Andra suspected the guy and her friend were going to get some privacy and have sex. Angie was always like that. Not that she was judging her but Angie had a steady date for crying out loud. Although the guy was abroad, she often mentioned that she was no longer sure he would return to marry her. So, she was free to have fun, she had said. And she could never pass up a handsome man if he was willing to play with her. Andra assumed the man currently with her was one of such.

She found the man to be handsome. Although Dominic was hotter in her opinion, she reasoned. Still, there was no need to compare them anyway, she chided herself.

"Andra," Angie said. "I was wondering where you were."

"Angie." Andra greeted. "I was just checking some messages."

"Okay. I hope you're having fun."

"Sure."

"Good. I want you to meet Jack." Angie said, introducing the handsome man to her. "He just got here. He is the guy I wanted you to meet."

"Oh." Andra had forgotten about that, thanks to her father and his evil plans.

Now she remembered. Not so long ago, Angie had told her about her cousin who was interested in her after seeing their picture together. He had been requesting to meet her.

"You forgot?" Angie asked.

"No, of course not." Andra denied. "You know that recently I got uh..."

Angie nodded in understanding. "I know, right? You got engaged."

Andra didn't want to miss the opportunity of getting to know the man, she thought. Despite her current reality, she was somewhat concerned about her relationship status after the contract was over. Because then she would be single. Not that it mattered. After all, she was single before the beginning of the contract. And she preferred her freedom for now but still, she liked to have friends.

"Who says an engaged woman cannot have friends?" the man asked, smiling politely at her and it was just as if he had read her mind Andra decided as she met his smile with a polite one of hers.