Arranged Marriage [s.g. || j.b.]

A Different Path

A few days had passed since Justin and Selena tried marriage counseling, which he hasn't heard from her since then. She was so keen on getting a divorce, but it was the last thing that he wanted. He couldn't help but think of that afternoon when he was as drunk as he was and fooling around with Demi. Even with as undressed as she was, they didn't do anything but kiss. Still, that isn't any better but he wasn't even in the right mind to have sex with her. She seemed to want nothing more than he did. Maybe he kissed her because his drunk vision had him in a different mindset and he thought it was Selena?

He let out an audible groan, forgetting his windows in his car were open and looked over to see the older woman in the car beside him giving him a rather confused look.

Justin rolled his eyes and backed out of the parking space and floored it on the gas to drive to their old house, where Selena was. It was just a few minutes away, a feature they liked when they were scoping out the neighborhood when they were thinking of purchasing the home. Even in the short amount of times they spent together, Justin had so many wonderful memories with her and all he wanted to do was continue those; not stop.

He pulled into the driveway and parked his car beside her's and killed the engine, taking off his seatbelt and grabbed the big paper bag that was sitting on the passenger side seat. He got out of the car and walked through the path to the front door. Just standing there he could feel the anxiety building up, but if he wanted things to work between them, he had to get through this.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door three times, taking his bottom lip between his teeth as he waited for the door to open. He already knew in the back of his head that she wasn't going to let him in, but he wasn't going down without a fight.

To his surprise he heard the door unlock which snapped him away from his thoughts. He glanced up to see Selena standing on the other side in sweatpants and a crop top, her hair pulled up into a messy bun. She looked exhausted, wether it was his fault or Rose, he had no clue.

"If you would allow me, I want to come inside and talk to you one on one about everything. Without a marriage counselor, Scooter, friends, or family involved. Just you and me, please."

Selena stood there for a moment thinking to herself before letting out a sigh, stepping aside so there was enough room for him to come inside. "I'm not fond of giving all of these chances, so it better be worth it Justin."

He nodded his head and quickly stepped inside just in case she changed her mind at the last second. "I promise it'll be worth it."

She closed the door behind him and led him to the kitchen to speak, she grabbed her water from the counter and sat down. Justin pulled out a chair opposite of her.

"Before I start, I did bring you some lunch. I didn't know if you ate already or not, and you don't have to eat it if you don't want to." He set the brown paper bag on the table which inside was a small container of pickle slices and a Buffalo chicken quesadilla. At the bottom of the bag was a single rose. He knew none of this could make up for anything, but it was just a kind gesture. He still loved her, and deep down he knew that she still loved him.

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that, but Rose had me going all morning and afternoon and I haven't had a moment to eat yet. Luckily she's taking a nap right now. Also, this is one of my favorite meal's so I can't say no to that." He could tell there was the slightest smile on her face, probably excited about the food more than she wanted to be nice towards him.

"So... I wanted to talk about us." He said as she took a bite of her quesadilla. "What happened at marriage counseling wasn't my idea, although I did bill Scooter for it. He came up with this convoluted plan thinking you would fall for it. Everything that the counselor was saying, he paid her to say. I was really trying to go along with it but I realize how stupid it was. She didn't like it just as much as me, I guess I wish I knew what he was capable of before I got with his record label. So I am sorry about that. I didn't know any of that was happening until it happened, she talked to me about it after you left and I felt terrible for going along with the entire charade. It was just yet another thing that you didn't deserve."

He slowly licked over his lips as he looked over at her, she was keeping quiet and eating so he figured he could just continue. Although it felt like his heart was racing in the bottom of his throat.

"I should also explain what happened at that hotel with Demi. I know you probably didn't know this, but she had just got signed to the label as well so the entire team went to the bar at the pool to celebrate. I know the two of us got pretty drunk and Scooter was keeping an eye on things. Him and Yael didn't tell me that you were coming, and it would've been a wonderful surprise. I just honestly don't know why he would watch me get so shit faced and not stop me, or something." He looked down and shook his head. "We didn't have sex. She was more undressed because she was in a bikini, I was still fully dressed. She did kiss me. I guess with how intoxicated I was and how much of a blur everything was I kissed her because I thought it was you. I wished it was you. I wish I didn't have to travel so much to record. I wish a lot of this could've been different. I just feel uncomfortable thinking about everything because it just seems to fishy to me that my own manager would set up and pin so much to blow up in my face. Maybe he thought with a broken heart and a broken family he would get better material from me. Or he was planning a pr relationship with her. Girls flock over me and I swear he wanted to abuse it."

"Justin —"

"One more thing, please." He said, glancing over at her. "Fine, go ahead." He nodded as a thank you and let out a deep sigh, stuffing his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie.

"I'm going to finish this album and then im going to leave the label. I want to support you guys with the money I will make from it, but after that, that's it. I rather go back to posting covers or music on YouTube like we used to do. I don't want it to be like how it is now, I want our lives to be like what it was before. My first taste of fame and it's been so chaotic, I just don't think this scene is for me. I'm willing to give all of this up to fix our marriage and to be with Rose. We're just getting started on the finishing touches, and the day after it drops im cutting ties. You two are more important to me than someone who is continuing to sabotage my life. I just want you to know that im serious and I'm here for this. I'm not leaving without a fight."

He let out a quiet sigh. Finally it felt like a weight had lifted off of his chest saying all of this, keeping it held in was just eating away at him.

"It's nice to see a change in pace at your faith in things and a relationship. Because I see how open and vulnerable you are, I'll give you one chance. You can come back and stay with us, but I'll set up the guest room for you and your belongings. I appreciate you being open with me, but this is just the start. Nothing is going through tabloids or interviews about a separation or anything that happened. If you're asked anything about me or Rose you respond as if nothing has happened. The world doesn't need to know about this. This is just the first step of gaining my trust back. But if you're willing to make this work, so am I."