Dammit I am not in love with you!!!!

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures!

The Spatula incident had insured that my mother was out of the limelight for at least a week if not more. According to Matilda's statement to the media as my mother's PA, my mother was recuperating in some far off expensive spa as she couldn't handle the pressure of the last few days. Personally I think she was holed up in her mansion hiding. But her temporary exile had three benefits for us.

Firstly, since her disappearance from the public eye she couldn't cause any more mayhem in my life. The press too had seized reporting on yours truly and the status of my relationships. Secondly, it had scared off Ronald who had not approached me or my grandparents since the Spatula Incident. One less person to worry about.

Thirdly the spatula incident had given us much needed time to deliberate on what to do next and how to deal with this mess. Not only was there no solution to this problem but there was the added pressure of limited time. I was due back in New York soon. And this mess had to somewhat get sorted so that I could return to New York with some hope and some semblance of normalcy. It looked like it wasn't happening anytime soon.

Unfortunately, I couldn't put my life in New York on hold for much longer. I had a masters to finish and a desperate boss waiting for me to return. Anymore delays could potentially disrupt my life in New York. And I couldn't afford that.

So here we are. Dad and Alex were pacing on different sides of Alex's living room while my Grandparents sat in thoughtful silence on the couch. I was booking flight tickets for sometime next week and plotting murder of atleast three people.

The atmosphere of the room was far from lively. In fact it was the very opposite. Neither Alex nor dad had come up with any ideas as to how to deal with Ronald. Adrian hadn't had anything to report on Felicity's front either. It was a mass of dead ends and confusion.

Honestly at this point I was willing to accept even the worst of the worse ideas provided someone (anyone) offered any. The silence was deafening and very disheartening.

I was more worried about my mother's reaction. She might be temporarily out of order in some spa but sooner or later she will come back. And she is not going to take the slap lying low. In fact I knew she was planning something very deadly for me. The bitch slap was something I was going to have to pay for. It was only a matter of time. Everything in this room knew that.

"As far as I can think of, there's only one or two ways out of this whole mess." My Father finally seized his pacing and faced us. "Either Livvy and Alex elope and get married or Livvy agrees to the engagement."

"Wow! That's all you can manage? Marry me or get married to that dipshit. " Alex was frustrated and pissed. And he clearly hated the idea of me with Ronald." This is not a solution. This is what we will have to do if no solution comes out. Think harder Blaine. Use that legendary imagination of yours. "

" I am sorry if my ideas are not appealing to you. But my imagination doesn't work to your bidding. Specially when I am as worried as you are about my daughter. "

" Guys please stop fighting. We already have too many issues to deal with. Lets not create another one. "

" She's right. We have to think of something fast. Virginia is not going to let this idea of engagement go. I am pretty sure she is upto something else other than recovering. " Papi was right. We had storm clouds gathering and they were dark and gloomy.

"What if.... No forget it. You won't like it." My father was going to say something but decided against it. But I needed to know.

"Just come out with whatever crosses your mind. We are desperate dad and if you have to invent then do so. No matter how bad we need to hear out every possible idea. Come on dad! Tell is!"

"Okay I was thinking what if you agreed to the engagement? "

" Forget what I said. If you are going to offer such bad ideas then perhaps I should run away to some far off place and live like a nun. "

" No No just listen. What if you agreed to it but you were just pretending? Maybe if you acted as a perfectly horrid bride to be they might let go of the idea of you getting married to Ronald. Maybe you could convince him that you would make a miserable wife and ruin his life. So that he backs out of the wedding. "

" And what if he is not convinced and still wants to marry her. Should we give her to him? " Alex asked.

" Well if it doesn't work then she can still say no at the altar. And it would give some much needed time to figure out what everyone stands to gain by this wedding. And its only pretending."

Dad's idea had merit. But Alex wasn't convinced and it was going to be troublesome getting him on board. He would not let me get near Ronald at any cost. He was very possessive. I knew that for a fact. And there was no way I could go ahead with the idea without his agreement and support. He is my boyfriend and he has to have some say in this matter.

" And we know Peggy is not going to let Livvy get away with the slap. She's going to throw Ronald at you as soon as she can. Why not use her to our advantage? I know Peggy. If she thinks she is getting her way she gets careless and makes mistake. We need to just make sure she doesn't suspect anything and she will definitely make a mistake. "

Given a choice I wouldn't have agreed for this. But desperate times call for desperate measures. No matter how abhorrent I find this I have to do it. So here I am. I know this is going to have repercussions and I will have to face them too. But right now I had something else weighing on my mind. How was Alex going to react to me getting close to Ronald? Would he understand that I was acting? Would he support me in this decision? Would he even give me time to explain if something goes wrong?

All of these questions were swirling around in my brain and I needed to talk to Alex before I reached any decision. I needed his support and it was crucial for him to not misunderstand my motives for doing this. This was going to be tough on both of us but I knew given a chance we would get through this. We just needed to trust each other and have each other's back.