Marriage Bargain

EMILY'S POV

I stood admiring the arts hung on the wall along Hoffman's hallway when my phone rang and I also heard someone call out my name.

“Emily,is that you?” He asked , raising his eyebrows.

'Ethan? What's he doing here?” I muttered, clenching my fists.He is the last thing I want to see right now, seeing him makes my blood hot.

“Babe , you are here.” Ronald said, walking towards us.

“ Babe?” Andrew muttered but audible enough for us to hear.

Ronald introduced us and I was surprised that his family is related to the Hoffman's in a way. It's such a small world.

We went to eat dinner with the rest of the family. All eyes were on me as I sat beside Ronald , making me nervous.

Ethan kept staring at me from where he sat across the table making me more uncomfortable but I ignored him.

Soon,we were all done with dinner and it was dessert time. Ronald stood up from his chair to break the news of our wedding to the family and we were congratulated.

I excused myself from the gathering to get fresh air in the garden.

‘ This garden looks beautiful,' I said in my thoughts, admiring and touching the rose flowers.

“ Beautiful, right?” Ethan said, smirking , cigarette in between his fingers.

I focused on the flowers, ignoring him.

“I wasn't expecting to see you here,Emily.” He said ,puffing out circles of smoke from his nostrils.

“ You are getting married to that asshole? Was that the reason you broke up with me? You know you can't do this to me.You love me , don't you?” He paused,grabbing me by my arms. “Look at me, I'm not done with you yet. I will make sure this wedding does not hold,mark my words ,bitch,” he spat , gritting his teeth.

“ You wouldn't dare , you asshole.” I said , irritated by his behavior.

“Try me,you know I always keep my words,” he said tightening his grip on me

“ Get your hands off me, you are hurting me,” I said , struggling to get out of his tight grip.

“ What's going on here?!” The sound of Ronald's voice vibrated through the air, clenching his fist.

“ We were just chatting. I was just getting to know Emily.” He said smirking, loosening his grip on me.

“ It doesn't look like you were chatting,you were hurting her!” Ronald said

“Ronald ,I'm fine. See I'm not harmed,” I said , showing him my arms.

“I didn't mean to…I was just having a conversation with her,” Ethan said,his voice trembling.I guess he wasn't expecting Ronald to walk in on us.

“ Just a conversation? You need to leave. Now.” Ronald stated authoritatively.

Ethan walked out of the garden without glancing back.

“ Are you sure that you are okay?” He asked, worried, laced his voice.

“ I'm okay,” I forced a smile , assuring him the positive.

“ You don't have to waste your energy pleasing the members of the family. I know it's not an easy fit getting to know them so don't succumb to pressure about pleasing them. I promised to protect you according to what we agreed on but I want you to protect yourself too.” He said , folding his hands on his bosom as we walked back to the mansion.

I yawned, nodding at his words, fatigue kicking in. It's bee a long day.I craved a hot bath and a peaceful sleep.

“ I guess you are exhausted. A room has been prepared for us to sleep for the night,” he said .

One of the maids led us to the room prepared for us .

“ We are here. This is the room Ma'am Claire prepared for you. Provisions have been made available inside the room but if you need anything ,you can call on me.” The maid said.

“ Thank you. You can leave” Ronald said, dismissing her.

Ronald unlocked the door and we entered the well furnished room.The room decor is the best I have ever seen,it exudes comfort and elegance. The night sky is shown through the window into the room. ‘ I guess I would be having the best night's rest tonight' I hummed, unpacking my small bag.

“Ahem,” Ronald cleared his throat. I will be working downstairs,I have some work to cover. You can have the bed,I will sleep on the sofa.” He said , picking up his laptop and going out of the room.

“ Okay” I replied, smiling from ear to ear .

I rushed to the bathroom to take my shower afterwards and retired to the bed to sleep.

The ray of light sipped through the half opened curtains. I rubbed my sleepy eye and sat up on the bed.

“ Good morning, I trust you had a good rest,” Ronald greeted, adjusting his tie. “You've got an hour to prepare. we have to be on our way,” he said, working out of the room.

I rushed to take my bath ,got dressed and was on our way back. Our breakfast was packed for us to eat in the car because Ronald was running late for work.

We had a quiet and short journey back. Ronald dropped me off on his way to work.

I stood in front of my apartment searching for my keys in my bag when I realized that my door was slightly opened.

‘I remembered locking my door. How is it now opened? " I said in my thoughts.

I felt a chill run down my spine, finding anything that I can use to protect myself from the intruder. I finally found a baseball bat which my former neighbor left behind. I walked into the apartment as quickly as I could and saw the intruder in a black trouser and hoodie backing me .

“ Got you” I shouted , knocking out the intruder with the baseball bat making him fall flat on the floor.

I moved closer to the intruder , uncovering the hoodie. “ You?” I spoke out,my eyes dilated, looking at the person on the floor.