Episode 1: Rude Awakening
"Strip! Strip! Strip!"
The group of frivolous women proceeded to chant the indecorous word at the male dancers as they resembled libidinous teenagers that couldn't get their fill no matter how hard they tried.
Looking like a wilting rose beneath the multi-coloured flashing lights as she displayed an excessive amount of deference, Emily Pinault sat there in the VIP lounge and sipped on a margarita with a bored expression on her face.
Her sister collapsed beside after her third round spent gyrating against the half-naked pole dancers that were hired to "entertain" them for the night.
"God, I'm exhausted!" Chelsea exclaimed. "Do you think I can take that one home with me tonight?" She pointed at a particular stripper that was role-playing as a police officer.
His gaze met hers right on time and sent a delicious wink her way.
Chelsea squealed like a teenage girl that got noticed by her crush. "Did you see that? He totally wants some of this!" She proclaimed whilst nudging her sister in the side.
Emily forced a smile at her.
"Good for you."
"Hey," Chelsea said as she took both of Emily's cheeks in her hands. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
The brunette raised an eyebrow at her silently saying something along the lines of "bullshit".
Her piercing golden brown eyes finally had Emily caving in.
"I'm just exhausted 'tis all."
"But it's your bachelorette party!" Chelsea hopped on the couch they were sitting on, struggling to find her equilibrium in high heels and gestured to the spacious club. "We booked this place out just for you!"
Emily's eyes scanned the large area of the famous club in the upper East side of Manhattan. It was just as classy as people said it was. She had gotten many invites before, even from its owner upon it's grand opening, but she never had the time to attend. Her schedule barely allowed for her to have the leisures of nightclubs.
Okay, that was a lie.
Compared to how her schedule was two years ago versus now, she had all the time in the world.
It was a matter of preferences really.
Crowded places with sweaty bodies and irresponsible intake of alcohol wasn't really her taste when it came to picking hobbies.
Plus she preferred not to worry her fiancee, Jake.
She had noticed how he reacted negatively every time she wasn't within his field of vision for too long. To imagine spending an entire night out was simply nothing short of a disaster in her mind.
Though she had to admit that cold reaction he usually had whenever she ventured outside hadn't been the case recently...
Still she had to take the necessary precautions to not start a fight with him. God only knew how long it took for them to make up after they started shooting bullets at each other. She'd always have to be the one to apologise first. It was out of consideration for the shy person Jake was.
Despite him being the co-owner of Starz Entertainment he was a bit of an introvert.
Most times, it was an endearing trait of his.
Emily was broken out of her reverie when her sister took her by the shoulders and shook her -- hard.
"Loosen up, will you?! A night like this is once in a lifetime. Well, unless you get a divorce and decide to re-marry in the future..."
Emily's chocolate brown eyes were as wide as saucers at that last remark.
"What did you just say?"
"Calm down, Little Miss Muffet. I'm not trying to curse you or anything. It's not like something that happens in less than," The semi-copper haired woman checked the watch on her wrist. "Eleven hours can make you change your mind from walking down the aisle. For Jake maybe, but you, nah..."
The glare her sister sent her way had her backpedalling," Kidding! Gosh, Ems, can't you take a joke?"
The elder sister drew for a drink from the table before them and forced it in the hands of the bride-to-be.
Emily blanched at the nasty colour of the liquid Chelsea poured in her glass.
"Drink up!"
"Uh..."
Rolling her eyes, Chelsea took the glass from Emily and forced it in her mouth.
She had no choice but to swallow its foul contents.
"Ugh." She gagged a few times. A shiver went up her spine at how nasty it tasted. "I'll just stick with the one I was having earlier."
Her sister tried to argue but she held up her hands. "No buts."
Chelsea knew that once her baby sister had set her mind on something there was nothing that anyone could do to stop her.
So with one last encouraging smile on her face, she let Emily be and tried to get that hottie from earlier phone number.
The night grew darker and Emily watched from the secluded position as her friends and sister had the time of their lives.
Taking a sip of her drink, she glanced at the time on her phone screen. She wondered what Jake was up to.
A smile bloomed on her face at the way he pouted earlier on at the sight of her all dressed up.
His hands had encircled her waist and he pulled her to him possessively.
"Damn, Emily. I don't think I've ever seen you wear something this sexy. Are you trying to drive me insane?"
Emily had blushed a deep red. Her face grew even hotter at his hand that crept up the skin of her leg.
Batting his hand away, she ignored his groan.
"Come on, babe. Just a little touch. I promise I'll make you feel good."
Emily bit the inside of her cheeks in contemplation.
Oh, how it hurt to keep herself from him like this but she wanted to save herself until her wedding night.
She was a firm believer that a husband should be the one to deflower his wife.
Though, she did not judge those who engaged in sexual activities before marriage.
It was their choice, just like this was hers.
There was no doubt that wait would be worth it then.
Stepping on her tippy toes, Emily granted him a soft kiss on the cheek. "I promise I'll make it up to you tomorrow."
Jake let his head fall on her shoulder. She laughed as he stomped his feet like a petulant child. "But I wanna do it now..." He whined unashamedly.
Caressing the side of his handsome face, she gave him a look that she hoped showed him all the love she had for him.
"Soon."
The switch to an EDM song jerked Emily back to the present. She let out a sigh at the growing cognizance that Jake hadn't even checked up on her.
Maybe he was afraid he'd come off as too territorial.
Yeah, that must have been it.
With that assumption in mind, Emily began to type a text to Jake's phone inquiring what he was up to.
He had already had his bachelor party yesterday which left him all alone in his house.
Emily began to frown at the idea of him up working on projects again.
To: Jake ♡
Today, 10:18 p.m.
Hi babe.
10:21 p.m.
What are you up to?
10:25 p.m.
Please tell me you're not up late working again.
10:32 p.m.
The light from your laptop can damage your eyes if you stare at it for too long...
Anyway, I miss you.
Twenty minutes later after ceaselessly checking her phone, there still was no reply from him.
Emily figured the best way to get this night over with was to be in a state where time held no meaning.
In layman's term, she was about to get wasted.
You see, she was a lightweight and got drunk easily.
An even greater factor of her alcohol intolerance was that it was to the point where she would even pass out.
After drinking a little too much at her bachelorette party, Emily's fiancee finally arrived after calling and hearing how wasted she was.
The slurring and non-stop hiccuping were all verbal signs.
He brought her home to her apartment.
Albeit, it was a heavy task as she was completely wiped out.
An auspicious text lit up his phone.
He looked at Emily warily from the driver's seat before he called the girl.
"No, don't come over. I'm staying at her place today. Don't start this- hello?"
Jake heaved a sigh at the temper of the girl on the other side of the line.
If she kept this up they were gonna get caught.
Although he entertained the idea for a minute, wondering what Emily's reaction would be like.
She'd probably cry, like she always does when things don't go her way. Such a fucking baby.
Jake had successfully carried Emily up to her apartment after unlocking the door with the password he knew.
He threw her down on the bed as he placed his hands on his knees and panted.
Was she gaining weight? He thought in disgust.
If her sister hadn't phoned him after he finished talking to the incoherent mess she was earlier, he wouldn't have picked her up at all.
The things he had to put up with in order to maintain his image of the perfect boyfriend.
Just as Jake was about to start taking off his shoes to call it a night, the door to the apartment clicked open.
His eyebrows flew up in surprise. Who could it be at this hour...
He looked down at Emily so fast he almost had a whiplash. Is this bitch cheating on me?
Jake shook his head. No, she didn't have the guts to do that. She loved me so much she would sell her whole family if I asked her to, he boasted proudly to himself.
Oh, how she was so innocent in every aspect. To the degree that it was almost pitiful.
Then who could it be-
His feet were on fire as he raced to the front door.
Jake prayed that his presumption had been wrong but there Stella Peterson stood in all her glory.
"Are you fucking insane? I told you not to use her passcode unless I'm inviting you over and you need to prepare in advance." He attempted to shove the tall woman out the door.
"That's what I should be asking you!" She screamed at his question only.
Her nails dug into the palm of her hand at the thought of him spending the night with that stuck up brat Emily.
It was the weekend!
Jake was supposed to be with her.
How could Emily be so selfish and plotting as to keep him all to herself?
Enraged she stormed to Emily's bedroom where she found her passed out in the queen sized bed like she figured she'd be.
"Dumb bitch!" Stella swore at the sleeping form of Emily making her stir at the loud noise.
Jake panicked and covered her mouth.
Both of them stood still as they watched Emily roll onto her side and face them.
However, at the realization that her eyes were still closed, Jake blew out a breath of relief.
Stella just huffed.
"Come on, babe. Let's get out of here before you do something you'll regret."
Emily, somewhere between being awake and asleep, heard the endearment spoken by Jake's voice.
She smiled against the pillow a little because of it.
"Whatever," Stella flashed his hands off her but allowed him to bring her to the living room and away from Emily.
However, her next words had the woman more cognizant of her surroundings.
"Just so you know, if this happens again, I won't be held accountable for what I do. You're mine, Jake Mallion. And I don't like sharing what's mine." At the end of her speech Stella slammed her lips against Jake's.
Finally coming to her senses, Emily forced open her eyes, holding back an excruciating headache.
Her vision cleared to a dark room.
However, the woman was sure she had heard Jake's voice so she went in search of him.
Her feet halted at the end of the hallway when she could make out the figures of a man and a woman kissing passionately in her living room.
What the-
Numb to the core, Emily looked at the two of them in shock as she realized it wasn't just any man but her man.
The anger inside her began to boil.
It heightened upon noticing that the woman was someone she knew too.
Stella freaking Peterson.
Her certified understudy in the acting industry.
It wasn't until recently she had made a name for herself and look at what she was doing with that newfound reputation.
Dragging it through the mud.
A part of her considered confronting them.
To storm over there and slap Stella across the face and deliver a double dosage to Jake as well.
However, she never operated like that.
She was the type of woman that was rarely impulsive.
Even in heart-wrenching scenarios like this.
It took a lot for her to lose her composure and she realized that because of what Jake had done, he didn't deserve to get satisfaction from witnessing that side of her.
"Stella, stop fucking with me." The man warned through clenched teeth after pulling her away from sucking his face off.
"What? Are you scared we'll wake your little ice princess?" Stella teased with a sense of aggravation, "You're gonna sign your marriage license tomorrow anyway so why don't you give yourself to me tonight, hmm?"
"Babe, you're gonna be the death of me. I swear to God."
Stella batted her eyelashes at him.
"Okay then, but let's go to your place." He easily surrendered.
Emily could hear the smile in his tone and it made her heart ache even more.
"Fine..." She agreed unwillingly. "But you have to go down on me first." The dark haired vixen nudged the man's chest towards the door of Emily's apartment.
As soon as the man turned to leave, Stella was coy enough and screamed, "Go ahead and sign those papers tomorrow, you brat! But just know Jake's mine. Always has been and always will be. Oh, and did you know? I'm currently bearing his child. I'm pregnant!"
Emily felt her heart stop.
"Stella, are you insane?" She heard Jake hiss before grabbing the girl and pulling her towards the door. "What if she hears you?"
It wasn't until Emily heard the front door slam shut that she felt her world come crumbling down.
How...how could he do this to me? She thought feeling as if she was suffocating.
Two years ago, Emily was once America's youngest top actress. But, because of this man, she gave up everything, handing over her hard-earned position to Stella.
Emily shook her head in disbelief as she started pacing the length of her living room.
The vicious giggles of Stella still echoed inside her head.
This was, without a doubt, the second most devastating thing that has happened in her entire life.
The next day, as planned, Emily drove to the marriage license bureau with a dark cloud hanging over her head.
She sat in her Mercedes Maybach with her head against the steering wheel.
Taking a deep sigh, she decided to give Jake a call.
His female assistant answered. "Mr. Mallion just escorted Ms. Peterson to the hospital due to her complaints about not feeling well. He said to tell you if you called that he has to, um, cancel the plans you had together."
That's it, Emily thought absolutely livid.
She had called the bastard to have him confess and beg for forgiveness. To ask if this was what it had really come to.
Everything couldn't have been more clear in her eyes.
"Would you like to leave a message-"
"No, thank you." Emily hung up the phone abruptly.
In a moment of seeing nothing but sheer anger, she threw the phone on the pavement out the car window, watching it smash into a million pieces.
A passerby hopped away terrified at the indirect assault.
"Ahh!"
Emily covered her mouth in shock. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry!"
The woman gripped her purse against her in fear, her eyes wavering and began to powerwalk away with a look of judgement.
"Crazy rich people." She mumbled not so softly.
Emily sighed as she stared at the broken IPhone.
It pinged with a message and a sardonic smile came on her face.
What a surprise.
It wasn't dead.
She stepped out of her car and slipped on her sunglasses. They were to conceal her eyes that were awfully swollen after the sleepless night she had.
Emily bent down to retrieve the damaged phone but at that moment, her eyes were drawn to a lean figure approaching.
He had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks. She guessed he must be used to that, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way followed by an overcompensation with a nonchalant gaze and a dismissive smile.
Her eyes sparkled at how the grey suit enhanced his fit body. It was brought off by a pair of freshly polished black leather shoes which looked brand new.
As his face came more into view, she noticed his bone structure was perfectly symmetrical.
It was manly.
His well defined features inclusive of sexy lips were enough to bring any woman to her feet.
Emily recognized this man, he was the CEO of Royal Entertainment—Nicholas King.
When she was out and about in the social events, they had crossed paths once. They hadn't shared a word between one another. They just stood in the same room for a few hours.
Is he also registering his marriage today?
A part of her was curious to see who the woman was to have tied down a powerful man like him.
"Mr. King, Miss Hamilton has not arrived as yet. It's been half an hour. Sir, I think she has schemes with her family to try and sabotage you." The gentleman that looked like his assistant reported behind him.
"Call her family and tell them this marriage is no longer in the works. If their daughter can't even be on time for the registration of it then what's the point?"
"Yes, sir." The assistant complied.
Then he gave him a rather grave look.
"Unfortunately, the chairman of this company keeps pushing to work with a family man. I'm afraid of the heights he will go to convince the board of your illegitimacy again because you're unmarried, despite all that you have achieved."
"You're telling me," Nicholas chuckled coldly.
He released a sigh as David's expression became more defeated.
"I'm sure there's a woman from a socialite family out there who's willing to marry me. Find anyone...anyone but her will do." He spoke plainly as if he was talking about ordering clothes online.
Though there was no chance in hell that suit of his wasn't tailor-made.
Isn't he- isn't he being a bit impulsive? Emily asked herself with her mouth wide open.
Of course, he was aware of his social standing.
Nicholas King was a man of great reputation.
He could get any woman he wanted without much effort. After all, he was one of the most sought after bachelors in New York, not to mention the whole country.
Was he under so much pressure that love wasn't even going to be considered when dealing with marriage?
Her guess was right based on the unbothered expression on Nicholas' face as his assistant scanned through his phone.
He looked like he just wanted to get this over with.
Suddenly, a horrible idea came to Emily's mind.
It was driven by the bloodthirsty need for revenge and before she knew it, Emily was stopping Nicolas King as she seized his hand.
The man looked down at the small lady before him, wondering who could be disrespectful and clueless enough to block his path.
His eyes widened slightly at her beauty and grace when Emily took off her sunglasses. Her hair flowed behind her with a light caress of the wind and she looked up at him with daring eyes.
"Will you marry me?"
The assistant on his phone that had overheard this couldn't help but choke.
He scrambled clumsily for a hold of the device that almost fell from him due to shock.
Emily stood strong with confidence oozing from her figure.
She was not going to falter.
It had taken all her courage as well as pride to do this.
Nicholas who had been sporting a pair of raybands removed them, revealing a pair of dark almond shaped eyes; the colour of coffee as he looked at the little lady before him. After a short moment, he turned to his assistant asking, "What is the meaning of this?"
The fellow, scared for both him and the lady, scurried over after quickly finishing up the conversation with the Hamiltons.
"Miss, I would advise you to step aside—wait. Aren't you Emily Pinault?"
An odd sensation filled Emily's chest.
Something she only felt years ago when she had been in the spotlight with a reputation that made her feel self-important.
"Yes. Yes, I am."
The assistant startled Emily when his stern guise transformed to that of an excited fanboy.
"Oh my god! Can I get your autograph? I've been a fan of you since you debuted in Monster in Me. I cried for an hour straight after you had died in that car accident. It felt positively unfair that you had to undergo so much and end up-"
"David."
The strict voice of his superior had the rambling man coming to an halt.
The assistant cleared his throat with a blush dusting his cheeks.
"Um, I apologize for my sudden...burst of excitement. I'm just a huge fan you see."
Emily laughed softly.
"It's alright. I've had worse experiences."
The man rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "But Miss Pinault, why haven't I seen any current works from you? I heard rumors that you're retiring. Is that true?"
Emily swallowed harshly at the personal question.
"Uh..."
"David," Nicholas had interrupted with a deep voice. "Prior to your little chit-chat, I had asked you what the meaning of this was. Are you well acquainted with this young lady?"
David took a step back.
"Well, not necessarily, sir. This is Emily Pinault."
"Who?"
Emily felt a punch delivered to her ego.
After all the joy she had experienced a moment ago from David, it didn't take long for Nicholas to hammer her down to size with one single word.
David stared at his boss in disbelief.
"Only the best movie star to walk the planet!"
The heat from before reached Emily's cheeks.
"If that's the case how come I've never heard of her?"
Her lips pursed at the arrogance in his manner of speech.
It had a way to break a girl's spirit.
"I've retreated from the industry for a while. Only focusing on a few modeling jobs here and there." Hearing the woman speak up for herself pulled Nicholas' attention onto her.
He gave her an obvious scan from head to toe. "And why are you suggesting that I take your hand in marriage?"
"Because I heard you're in need of a wife."
His eyes darkened. "Who sent you here?"
Emily held up her hands in mock surrender.
"I simply overheard you."
"So you were eavesdropping?"
"No! I was simply-" Emily sighed. "Okay, maybe I was eavesdropping but does that matter? I need a husband as much as you need a wife at the moment."
His dark eyebrows sloped downwards in a serious expression.
His sarcastic smile had drawn into a hard line across his face. "And who told you that you were a suitable candidate for that position, little girl?"
Emily's nostrils flared.
"First of all, I am not a little girl. I am a twenty-five year old woman, thank you very much. And secondly, you didn't seem to be picky about your bride a minute ago. A socialite? I'm right here. My family background might be satisfactory as well." She didn't mean to brag but the degrading treatment of this man was getting on her nerves. She was starting to second guess her impulsive actions. Just as she was about to tell him forget it, he spoke up.
"Run a background check on her. I want to know every single detail in the next twenty minutes before we do this," he ordered roughly to David who nodded in compliance.
"Any objections?" His intense eyes locked Emily in.
She faltered for a moment before a smile blossomed on her face.
"Right now, no. As for the future, I make no promises."
Nicholas licked his lips, trying to quell the interest that sparked inside of him at that.
"You're going to be a hard case, aren't you?"
She shrugged.
He ran a hand through his hair before looking up to the sky. "What the hell did I get myself into?"
***
And so the story begins...
Tell me what you think about Emily's bold decision. Was it absolutely insane or absolutely insane?
Well, I don't know about you guys but this is my mood at the moment: