Trading for Love

11. New Day

Charlotte POV

I made my way downstairs, following my nose to the smell of coffee. My time at college and with Ty had made me appreciate a good cup of coffee and that meant I could practically smell one a mile away. I started down the hall for the kitchen only to stop short at the first doorway.

It was a formal diningroom. A long mahogany table big enough for twenty taking up the center of the room. Light paneling covered the room, a deep red carpet situated under the table. What had me stopping short though was who was sitting at the table.

Vincent was sat at one end, looking like he just stepped out of a romance novel. He was dressed in all black dress shirt and pants, a book balanced in one hand a fork in the other. His hair was brushed back, a few loose strands falling across his forehead. Everything about him screamed perfection.

"Staring is a bit rude isn't it?" I jumped as he spoke, his eyes never leaving his book as he lifted another bite of eggs to his lips.

" I- I- uh-," I stuttered out, unable to form a sentence. My mind was having a hard time catching up after being wowed this early in the morning.

" Come sit Charlotte, we have much to talk about," Vincent said gesturing to the seat to his left.

I couldn't move for a moment, my mind still struggling to catch up with me since I was still lacking some much needed caffeine. Apparently this was to long for Vincent though.

" Now Charlotte," he ordered setting his book down. My body moved without a second thought. I quickly moved, sitting beside Vincent in one swift motion. He was obviously use to getting what he wanted, when he wanted.

" I am not a man of small talk so let us jump right into it. You are here because you agreed to be but I will not hold you to your decision yesterday. Do you still wish to be here? You need not be the person to pay for your fathers debts."

The thought of leaving since arriving here was yet to cross my mind but thinking about it now made my stomach roll. If I left, Andres debts would no longer be forgiven, but even worse, there would only be one solution to pay off Vincent. I would have to marry Anthony to get the money Andre needed and that would mean a life much worse than here. With Vincent, he was more of a gentleman than I had ever expected and I could see things working out here. Anthony would be a nightmare. I wouldn't have the privacy of my own room, or even half the respect that Vincent had shown me so far. Leaving was not something that was feasible by any scope of the term.

" I stand by my decision."

" Good. Lets get down to business than," Vincent had barely raised his hand when a man in a black suit with thinning gray hair appeared carrying a small stack of papers. I expected him to place them in front of Vincent but instead he dropped them in front of me, moving around the side of the table to stand by the window.

I glanced down the title of the document, the bold letters searing themselves into my brain.

Marchello-Kessing Marriage Contract

I could feel the words being burned into my fog filled brain, working their way through the mist till they were a blinking neon sign buzzing in my head.

I knew I was supposed to pick it up, read it, give my feedback, anything but what I did. I stood, pushing the chair back so fast it almost fell over. I left the diningroom, walking down the hall to the kitchen and straight out the door into the back garden. My body went into autopilot as my mind blanked. I needed away from everything serious for a minute. My brain had been running full throttle for days trying to cope with everything and now I had hit my breaking point with that contract. I had been prepared to be a wife in name alone but I wasn't prepared for everything else that may come with that. I hadn't considered the possibility that Vincent may expect more from me. I wasn't prepared for what that contract may say, not yet anyway.

My feet carried me, guiding me on their own accord until I was pulled from the void in my head by a raised voice. I look around, the house (if you could call it that) now a ways behind me, a large gray barn and fenced arena in front of me. I followed the now multiple voices to the barn, their volume growing with each step I took. As I rounded the door the reason quickly became clear. There was a stable with three men standing in front of its open door, none of which were familiar to me. Beyond them there was another man collapsed in the hay of the stable, a gnarly gash bleeding on his forehead as he clutched a clearly broken arm to his chest. Beside him laid an over turned saddle and a saddle blanket long past stomped into the dirt. The look of fear on his face was warranted since there was an almost eight foot tall horse bucking and blocking the door to the stall.

He was gorgeous, a sleek black coat and mane shining in the sunlight steaming into the barn. His reigns swung free in front of him, each man making a grab for them as the horse moved farther out of the stall. With one graceful arch he swung his head from side to side causing each man to jump back as I stepped forward.

My feet carried me forward on instinct as I reached out to calm the frightened beast. I wasn't prepared for him to turn, eye me for only a moment, and then charge straight at me.