-Isabelle Quinn-
The doorbell rang and the noise boomed loudly around the huge house that it could startle anyone. I quickly stand up and run to the front door, but the maid (who’d helped clear up the broken vase on my first night) had already attended to the door, and in came my screaming best friend. She jumped on me and pulled me into a tight embrace. I pushed her off to take in some heavenly oxygen that she starved me off for a full minute.
“Hi!” she squeals and I smile at her.
“So, why did you go home?” I ask and she follows me into the living where I sat before.
“Mom, wanted to know where I was yesterday. I just told her I was with you.”
“So we’re all lying to our parents, then?” I grin at her and watch her stare at the chandelier.
“Mmhm, I can’t believe you don’t want to marry Nathan. You’d get to live here” She said saying the last word in a sing song voice.
“I don’t care about where I live. It’s who I live with and if I like them.” I point out and sit down watching Caroline take in the interesting (and valuable) ornaments around the house.
“Please, move, we’re busy, busy, busy.” yells Alison, who is carrying flowers and white balloons in her hand. After a couple of second she is followed by some maids carrying decoration and white roses.
Alison turns back to me and I smile. But her expression is dry.
“Have you seen Nathan?” she asks in her monotonic voice.
“No, I haven’t” I reply truthfully and watch Caroline in the corner of my eye.
“Well, if you do, tell him he needs to be at the office to have a video chat with the Benson Company.” She informs and storms off with the flowers and balloons.
“WOAH!” Caroline croaks and skips towards me. “Wedding preparations. So cute.”
“Not cute.”
“Isabelle, try and be more positive.”
“About what?”
“I don’t know, just be more positive and less negative.” She orders and I cross my arms. I was about to answer back when Nathan walks in wearing a thin, white shirt that was see-through enough to see his toned abs beneath the thin, silk material. I’ll admit, my heart leaped when I saw him in a suit, looking so smart. He had his jacket in his arms and flung it around himself.
“Hi, guys” he says with a half hearted smile.
“Oh,” I shriek and jump up, remembering the message to pass on. But I knock my seat back and it falls to the floor with a thud and to make it worse, I trip and fall backwards too, but thankfully Nathan grabbed my arm.
He pulls me up and I’m leaning on his arm to stay on my feet, but this impossible guy is laughing.
“Oh god!” he chokes on his laughter and Caroline joins in. I tug my arm away in a huff and watch my best friend and my so called fiancé laugh at me. I glare at the pair of them and Nathan stops and watches me.
“I’m sorry, but you always manage to make me laugh.” He snorts and laughs into his hand. “Sorry, so what were you going to say?” he asks, tears in his eyes from all the laughing, but Caroline was finding it difficult to contain herself and slumped into a chair. (Still dying of laughter)
“Alison said you had to go to the office.” I grumble and he leans in.
“Sorry, what?”
“I said” raising my voice, over Caroline’s uncontrollable cackling. “Alison needs you to go to your office and video call this…Benson Company or something.”
“Ahh” he says fixing his tie and smiling at me. “I’ll go now.”
But instead of turning around and walking straight out the door. He leans in closer until his cheek is on my cheek and I could feel the rough stubble on his face. He hadn’t shaved. “Aren’t you going to give me a kiss?”
If anyone asked me that I would slap them silly. Nathan must be pretty brave after experiencing my wrath and the strength of my slap to be asking something stupid once again. But I don’t, I wasn’t going to slap him, regardless of how pathetic he was being. I quickly pecked him on the cheek and he retreated.
“I guess that’s not bad.” He smirks and looks at his silver Rolex. “I’m sure you can do better.” And left with one last wink at me. I looked out into the sky, it was still blue and I saw Nathan get into his Ferrari and back up onto the road. It slowly started to get dark but the air was still warm and all the windows were wide open so all he traffic was audible from the busy streets. I hear Nathan’s car zoom off, until the sound fades off into the distance.
***
-Nathan Blake-
“I’m very sorry to hear about your father, an excellent business man he was.” Said the Alexander Benson, the owner of the company. I nod appreciatively at him and watch him fiddle with his moustache over the video call.
“We will still go along with the deal made before your father pasted away. It will help both businesses bring in money.” He states and looks down at some papers signed by my dad.
“Also, he talked about my daughter and you.” His eyes were slightly cold and mean now. But I didn’t care, I had no interest in his daughter and I’d proudly tell him that I had Isabelle.
“About that, my father let me find my own wife, I’m sorry but I’m marrying a girl called Isabelle.” I tell him and lean back in my chair.
“I see, so this girl, do you love her. Was she someone you knew from before?” he asked with a gleam in his eyes and I scoffed but disguised it as a cough. Why the heck did he cared if I loved her or not.
“Astrid is a very loving person, you and her would be quite the match.” He suggests but I turn my face away and internally laugh at his attempt to get me married to his daughter.
“I’m sorry, but yeah, I love Isabelle.” But it sounded fake and he looked pointedly at me.
“And she loves you, I assume.”
I chuckle and rub my chin, the stubble prickling my finger tips.
“We love each other, Mr. Benson. So this call was jus-“
“Just to confirm that this deal will go forth. I’ll need another signature off you since you’re taking over your father business. I’ll have my personal assistant visit you tomorrow with the papers.”
“Good” I say and quickly click ‘end call’ and watch the screen fade out. I sat there for minutes, drowned in my own thoughts and the lie that me and Isabelle were in love. I know for a fact I’m falling for that clumsy girl, I wanted her to be my wife but she didn’t love me.
There’s two knocks on the door and Thomas peaks in. “Sorry to disturb you, sir. But there was a call from home, they need help with preparations. Ms. Isabelle insists you get home quickly as possible.” He notified and a grin appeared on my face. Isabelle wanted me to get home? I shot up and ran to the door, quickly brushing past Thomas and to my car.
***
-Isabelle Quinn-
“NATHAN” I shrieked when I saw him present in the doorway. I ran to him and grabbed his arm, dragging him to the centre of the living room, where his eyes fell on the decorations. White balloons, ribbons and flowers. It was all dumped in the middle of the room and I was bombarded with questions about how I wanted the venue to look. I panicked and needed help from Caroline but she was as dumbfounded as I was. I had to call Nathan and tell him to get here and deal with it all.
“Your future bride, doesn’t know how she wants it to be like on her wedding day. I mean you’d think the bride would know what she wants on her big day, but no” Alison says, probably trying to sound witty but I narrow my eyes and glare at her.
“I’m sorry, but you just asked all these questions I couldn’t answer.” I said in my shaking voice.
“Ok, ok, leave me and Belle to decide and we’ll let you know later, ok? Please leave us now.” He ordered and they all left, including Caroline. But what really got my attention was that he called me Belle. Hardly anyone ever called me that unless they knew me, but they way he said it; you would have thought we were old high school pals.
“Sit down and we’ll go through all this.” He motions towards the chair next to his and we sit near a table with red wine. He pours himself a glass and glances at me. “Want one?” he offers and drinks his.
“No thanks, bad experiences” I chuckle and he does too.
“Good to know you learned from your mistake” he says and crosses his leg. “Ok” he jumps and leans into the pile of decorations.
“How about these white, silky fabric? Could be draped around the hall. Y’know, where it’ll be held.” He said without looking me in the eye. I hug myself and smile nervously.
“Sounds good” I reply and pick up the white rose. “These could be on the tables” I suggest and he nods in agreement, smiling at me.
“Sounds good” he repeats and smirks. This goes of for the majority of the night and we make a list. Funnily, we got on fine and laughed through the night, but the clock struckmidnightand the bells chimed loudly.
“I’ll give this list to Alison, you better get some sleep.”
He was right, my back was in pain after sitting for the whole afternoon. I get up and stretch followed by a long yawn. Nathan sniggers silently but I shuffle out of the room to get upstairs and see Caroline. (if she hadn’t gone home, she never said). But I wasn’t fast enough and Nathan called me back.
“Oh and the dress has all been sorted out.” He smirks and twirls one of the white roses between his finger, occasionally smelling it.
“The dress?” I ask and he looks at me like I was dumb.
“You know, the big white dress that every girl wears when they get married.” He explains and I roll my eyes.
“Yeah, course, I knew that.” I scoff.
“Good.” Was his final word before I give a curt nod and leg it out of the room.
***
“It’s time” Caroline squealed while I waited outside, nervous, scared, the world upside down and I wanted to run. I could, but my heels were high, I’d only make it to the door. My breathing increases and so did my temperature. It was boiling in my dress. My wedding dress. I heard the murmurs inside and the dull organ playing.
The door flew open and my eyes fell on about a hundred people. All eyes were on me, there were gasps and cheers. I couldn’t put one foot in front of the other, but Caroline pushed me, after all she was my bridesmaid, also some housemaid was too.
I was walking, slowly as possible, mapping it out in my head and getting to grips with it all. It was my wedding day, and waiting for me was Nathan. I saw his back as he stood. I screamed in my head. I was about to get married.
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DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA!! argh, ok, I'm still not that happy with this chapter, but I hope it's ok!
Is this real or a dream?! I'll let you figure it out!
Hope you liked it and please comment and vote! I see loads of views and votes but no comments :( I'd love to know your thoughts! Thanks and bye x