Till Death Do Us Apart

I adjusted my dress so it covered my knee, and gave a small sigh as I glanced over to my dad. He was fidgeting too, fixing the watch on his hand, the only one remaining out of the entire collection he used to have. Looking at us, you would think we were here for a business meeting, but it was far from it. It was a business in a way, but it was more like an auction. And guess the item up for that auction? Me. I am not seeking the highest bidder, no. That has already been taken care of by my dad. I am here to sign off my life to a man I do not know. To the man who has enough money to salvage my family. A man I will be stuck with for the rest of my life. I turned to Dad again. I didn't resent him, we have had so many problems. And there was no way he would have known that his friend would run away with so much money from the company, leaving the account almost empty. He had also taken out so many loans in father's name, loans that required us to sell most of the valuable things we had to pay them off. What is worse? Mother was suddenly diagnosed with cancer. In as much as I wanted a life, a love story like every other girl out there, I just knew I had to give in. It was already a big help that father's old time associate just needed me to marry his first son in order to pool money into our company. I did wonder if the man I would be marrying knew that I would be doing it for money. Would he treat me like a gold digger? I pushed those thoughts away. For my parents, I would do anything, even if it meant being around a man I did not love. I swallowed as the door suddenly opened, and a middle aged man walked in. He was dressed in a black suit, and maintained an elegance quite decades below his age. Safe to say, he was almost perfect. The gelled back hair he had somehow speckled light gray on top in an elegant way, and the light blue eyes. He had an agile walk, and instead of shaking my father's hand, he pulled him into a manly hug. I immediately felt myself soften at him, and I smiled broadly as he turned to me. "Aurora, right?" I nodded. "Nice to meet you." "Oh, the pleasure is mine. I thought you would think of me as some senile old man upon my rather absurd request." I smiled again. Truth be told, I had. I thought it was crazy. Was his son having difficulties with women? Was he shy? But then, he had explained to my father, that he thought, marriage would be the best solution to tame him. I wasn't sure what that meant, but if he needed taming, then he was definitely wild. I swallowed and took a seat he gestured us back to, as he sat opposite us, his smile big. "He is still on his way. The traffic outside is crazy. I was hoping I would not keep you waiting too long." I smiled at his utmost respect towards us, knowing fully well to what extent we could go just for his money. It did gladden me however. I wouldn't be able to stomach any disrespect towards my father. "We would gladly wait, Gerald. You are already doing us a huge favour by coming. And I am sure you are busy." He shrugged. "Not so much. I have been handing things over to Fabian, and regardless of his...well, recklessness, he seems to be doing a good job. At least, I haven't had to kick him out." They both burst into laughter, but I found myself tuned out of the conversation. Fabian. It reminded me of deadly prospects. I remember the only Fabian I used to know like the back of my palm. He was the reason I had to change schools, the reason I thought leaving everything behind me was best. I swallowed, closing my eyes. I hated how the memories flooded back like it had not been years ago. He was bad, hell he was worse than bad, and he had absolutely hated me. I still remember his voice, and the very first time I had met him. Well, he had come up to me first, and the way to introduce himself was to splash bills of thousand dollar notes across the book I was reading. It fell on my face, my lap, my book, and I looked up, absolutely gutted. "What do you think you are..." "Enough for a night?" He asked, sitting on my desk, his leg swinging back and forth, his brow raised. "What?" "Is that enough for a night?" He asked again, his eyes cold, his hand resting on the other. Safe to say, I have never been so disrespected before that. Safe to say, he had never been slapped before that. He had been two years older than I was, and was in senior class then. But both of us had walked away from that meeting with our first times, and a vow. Well, his vow. To make me miserable. He had absolutely succeeded. Paint, embarrassing videos, cheap tricks, expensive tricks, you name it. Fabian was up to it, and he made sure I knew it in a not so subtle way. One day, I had simply decided to never go back again. It was the best decision I have ever made. Thank goodness he hadn't been psychotic enough to follow me. I sighed, opening my eyes again. Gerald was smiling as they talked about some things with my dad, and I nipped at my fingers. Now that I looked at Gerald, those icy blues... "Dad." I stopped in place as I heard the voice, my chest heaving. Gerald looked up, then broke into a rather proud smile for someone who had needed to tame the man. "He is here. Charles, meet my son. Fabian, come around," he said. I stayed seated, my hands anxiously rubbing against each other, hoping to the heavens that I was wrong. That I was hearing things cause I was still traumatized. I kept my eyes low as his cologne whiffed past me, and I saw as two elegant legs covered in a tailored suit pants walked across to my dad. "Nice to meet you, son. It is a real pleasure." "I assume," he muttered, releasing my father's hand. "Fabian, this is Aurora. She is the girl I have chosen for you to marry." I slowly looked up, trying to keep my eyes calm and neutral. I went past the carefully placed tie, the broad shoulders, and then to his face. I couldn't help the gasp that left my lips when I finally took in his face. Hard chiseled jaw that looked right about to cut me into pieces, and the icy blue eyes that had held a tinge of humor every single time he had made me miserable. It has been so long, but... "Aurora," he suddenly said, walking to me. My name always left his lips like that even back then. He pronounced it slowly, his voice drawling over it, clouding it in darkness. "Who would have thought?" He added with a small laugh, and broke into a smile. It showed off his sharp canines that looked almost fang like now, and my heart beat like crazy in fear. Of Fabian. Fabian Stone.