Chapter 4- Marriage of Mischief

Kieran’s POV

The disgust was evident in my eyes as I gazed fervently at her and the words of the priest floated past me.

There was nothing significantly interesting about my bride. Not her excessively full and flowing rose gold hair which in the least was something she had taken her time to style. It didn’t matter the style she wore; I loved my women with dark hair. Brunettes. Not blondes, or brondes, or the metallic color that was hers. Tall, with shapely legs. Hers was shapely, but she was a size six.

Aside from her hair, the white dress she wore lacked the taste of a classy woman and the shoes. Oh, God, the shoes… she could use a new one. Her angular face was well-defined, and one could almost think her pretty with that straight nose and a rightly placed fully glossed lips.

She kept her eyes on her feet the whole time, so I couldn’t decide their color. But I assumed they would be as plain as the lady herself.

Dad should know better than to bring a woman as plain as this one was to be my wife. If he was going to impose something on me, then he could at least do it right!

“Kieran, you may kiss your bride.” The priest called my attention.

This entire event was already a torture and a bore, there was no need to drag it longer. I was eager for the end.

So, without wasting time, I took a step closer to her and used a finger to tilt her head upward. Her lashes fluttered open to reveal a pair of staggering stunning pupils as our eyes met for the first time.

For longer than a second, I was sucked into the most beautiful depths I had ever seen. Had I thought, her eyes would be plain? How greatly mistaken I had been! There was not the slightest thing plain about those eyes. Staring into them felt like one had ventured into a maze.

Saving me, she looked away again, and I was reminded of the task at hand. Unceremoniously, I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers, stepping back almost immediately.

The claps and cheering of the guests made me turn. My eyes rolled through the crowd of unfamiliar faces and landed on Dad’s. His gaze slashed through me, pausing for a second on the woman who had just become my wife. A woman who I knew nothing about. When Dad’s gaze returned to me, there was no nod of approval, no warming smile, just a careless nudge for me to join the priest in the signing of the marriage certificate.

It was all a façade.

All of it. Making it look like a real marriage when we both knew that paper was probably fake, just like the smiles on the faces of these people and the vows this lady and I made two seconds ago on this pretend altar.

None of it mattered to Dad, as long as he was getting what he wanted. And me agreeing to this marriage was what he wanted. But what he didn’t know was that I had plans of my own. If he thought for even a second that this scheme of his to control me would work, then he had another thing coming for him.

I plastered a smile on my face throughout the greeting phase from guests and so-called well-wishers. My wife-awkward-and I had barely said more than two words to each other, aside from the vows.

It was a while before the guests began to disperse little by little. Thankfully, after long hours of arguing and prolonged verbal confrontation between me and Dad after finding out about this arrangement, I was able to dissuade him from holding a reception. If a wedding was going to be a sham, it was better to keep it as quiet as possible especially if you had a household name like ours in the society. These were the exact words I used to convince him.

I was more surprised that he had listened to me than I was about the lady he had chosen to be the candidate for whatever game he was playing now. Although watching her stand among my mom, and a few of mom’s friends, I could understand why.

Abash. Outclassed. Unsophisticated.

Dad always knew his prey and went for them headlong, using their vulnerabilities to get what he wanted. I wondered what deals he has made with this one now. I snorted, not my problem!

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” A familiar voice whispered in my ears, making the hair at the back of my neck stand.

I didn’t take my eyes off my ill-suited bride as Sophia stood beside me. “I wouldn’t exactly call her ‘pretty’.”

I saw Sophia's face take on a disapproving frown at my words, from the corner of my eyes. “Can’t you at least pretend to be happy for the innocent girl who had nothing to do with the orchestration of this?”

“I wouldn’t vindicate her either or call her innocent. For all I know her father found a way to talk Dad into this. And she went along with all of it.” I sounded irritated.

“If the drama from earlier between them were any indication, then I’d say father and daughter don’t walk the same path. Just like you and uncle.”

I turned to face my cousin, staring stupidly at her for trying to insinuate that I and the ‘wife’ had any similarities just because we saw them argue before the ceremony started.

“Don’t delude yourself into thinking she and I have anything in common, Sophia,” I warned.

She shrugged, “Well, no one can coerce Uncle Jasper to do something he wasn’t already hatching.”

Sophia had a point, I might believe that this girl and her father had schemed my father into this, but I knew that could hardly be the case. Jasper Vasques only listened to Jasper Vasques.

“On the bright side, Kie, Andrea is a beautiful bride.” Sophia patted my shoulders, walking away to join the ladies.

Beautiful? Hardly. Fair to look upon, yes.

Either way, her naivety which I glimpsed from the onset would be serving the purpose of making my plan work.

~~~

I pushed open the sturdy doors, and they groaned in utter agony from years of unuse. The smell of dust and stale greeted me as I stepped aside for my bride to precede me. She glanced wearily at me, her eyes fluttering at the house and then back at me.

Skeptically, she placed one foot after the other entering the wide foyer. I watched from behind her as she stared nervously at the room. It was enveloped in darkness and smelled eerie.

The looming structure and secluded location of this house were the reason I had chosen it to be mine. It was detached from the outside world, and miles away from my father’s house. A perfect choice for when I wanted my privacy.

But I was rarely ever here. I was rarely ever in L.A. I spent my days staying as far away from my father as I could. And Jasper had had to use a ploy to get me back here luring me into this trap. He deceived me and lied to me that my mother had been diagnosed with an ailing illness, and I came rushing.

As much as I wanted nothing to do with either of my parents, I’d sure be damned if something were to happen to them, especially my mother. For my father, the grief wouldn’t last. He was a shady man, who cared for no one but himself. He used his wealth and power to suppress and get anyone to do his bidding, and I was sure he was deep-rooted into shady things perpetuated at the Glamor Hotel.

I aimed to get to the bottom of it all. I needed to know what sort of illicit business my dad was running at the hotel, which was why I said yes to this.

Jasper had made it clear when I arrived that the only way I’d get hands or step foot to claim my right to his empire was if I got married. After presenting his proposal, I had a choice to accept it and get my hands on the information I needed to expose him, or reject it and be cut off.

It had to be one or the other.

I let my eyes trail the back of the woman I brought home with me; I had yet to let her name sink into my head. I leaned on the side of the door, not bothering to take a step into the house.

“Your name?” I said curtly.

She turned, slowly facing me. Her brows tinted with a slight frown as if she thought my question was insane.

“Andrea. What about yours?” She retorted.

I could swear on anything she knew my name but was only trying to get back at me.

“I’m sure you already know my name,” I said carelessly.

“I’m sure you knew mine seeing as we signed a marriage certificate barely an hour ago.”

Sassy. That’s a fair trait seeing she was lacking in other aspects.

“You never use this house, do you?” She asked when I didn’t say anything else. Her eyes rolled around.

“Hardly.” I crossed my hands on my chest. “But now you do.”

Her eyes shot to me, brows lifting. “I think you meant to say…now we do…”

“I know exactly what I meant to say, Andrea.”

“I don’t understand your meaning, please explain.” She tried to act coolly.

“My words are clear, Andrea.” I was getting irritated by her many questions. “You’re staying here. Alone.” I drawled on the last words

Panic flew into her eyes. “Just me? What about you, where would you be staying?”

I pushed myself from the door.

“You shouldn’t concern yourself with that.”

“But we just got married!”

“In paper only. I have no intention of consummating this marriage, didn’t you know that?”

Her mouth gaped. I sneered.

She had been thinking we were going to live as husband and wife. How delusional!

“Well, you do now,” I added when she remained speechless. “The house is in a messy state, but Ms. Ada will be here tomorrow to fix that. You can use the first room upstairs to your left, it’s the cleanest you’d find. You can ask Ms. Ada for anything you need when she arrives tomorrow. No need to worry, you’ll be in good hands with her.” The last words came out when she continued staring at me with scared and confused eyes.

I gave her one last look, before turning and walking away. For some reason, I wanted to go back and stay with her, but her captivating eyes flashed again in my mind, and I thought it was best not to. Andrea may not be as beautiful as the girls I was known to hang out with, but there was something dangerously luring about her that warned me to stay away.