Chapter 5
1058 Words
Amara Nicholas;
"Ah!" I screamed, almost causing the driver to have an accident. I was so shocked to see the face of the man I am married to.
"What's the problem, my lady? Are you alright?" Mr. Timothy asked with concern as he slowed down and gazed at me cautiously through the car's rearview mirror.
"I'm sorry, sir. You can continue driving; I was just shocked to see my husband's face online," I said nervously. Mr. Timothy smiled understandingly, and I made a mental note not to scream out so foolishly again.
The drive continued, and I looked again at the face of the man who was about to become my husband—Darlington Briggs.
I had seen him before when I got into the university. We crossed paths once, and I mistakenly stepped on him while walking with my friend, Esther Peters.
Esther was an accountant; she was seductive and never failed to notice all the handsome and well-to-do guys in the university.
I wondered how a rich girl like Esther could be so easily swayed by money, as she wasn't from a poor family. Her parents were billionaires, but since we graduated, Esther traveled to another country far away, and I lost contact with her.
She wasn't on f*******:, which would have made it easy for me to search for her online and get her new contact, but she hasn't reached out to me either, despite knowing that I use my real name online.
I marveled silently at the handsome sight on my phone screen. When I had apologized to Darlington, not knowing his name, I simply said, "I'm sorry." He only stared at me in shock, not responding, and then he strode away.
Until I finished my schooling there, I never saw him again. I learned that he might have been a final-year student when I met him. Esther was the one I confided in about my secret crush.
Now, looking at the handsome face that had matured, I realized he was the only guy I saw and admired.
I saw other guys too, who usually admired me, but I didn't give them a chance. I had gone out several times with Esther in hopes of running into Darlington again, at least to know his name and know him better, but I never saw him.
I couldn't stop thinking about him, about how my heart raced when he held me close to prevent me from falling after I had stepped on him.
I felt his firm arms wrap around my waist and hold me tightly before I could hit the ground. Lost in admiration, perhaps that was why he didn't speak to me.
I learned from Esther that it wasn't good to drool over a man and that I should maintain a cool demeanor and let the man pursue me instead.
Well, that hadn't been intentional. Darlington was tall and looked so handsome in the casual clothes I saw him wearing. Even when he walked away without responding, I saw other young ladies at our school glaring at me, as if I had stepped on him on purpose to get his attention.
I sighed and asked myself, "So this man is my husband now?"
I couldn't believe my eyes at how handsome Darlington looked. I closed his profile picture to look at some of his timeline photos, but then my eyes grew sad as I saw a photo of him with another woman.
"Did Father not tell me that Darlington was single and would be expecting me?"
My heart broke as I saw a photo of Darlington Briggs with a slim, glamorous model he had proposed to.
Seeing the smile on their faces and how he went down on one knee and proposed to her broke my heart.
I could almost hear the shattering sound of my heart, seeing how lovely they looked together and how Darlington captioned the post, saying, "She said yes to me. I am so happy right now."
Tears welled up in my eyes, and my heartbeat quickened. I felt the urge to scream and ask the driver to stop the car and take me back to my father's house.
But I remembered my father's words about coming home with kids and future grandchildren. I also remembered asking my mother if Darlington was already in a relationship.
I knew I hadn't been in a relationship; I was untouched. But the case might be different for a man who grew up in the city, whose father, as my mother described, was a billionaire, which is why she told me not to pack too many clothes the previous night. My mother wasn't pleased with my fashion sense.
I didn't know I was crying until I felt cheated, seeing the photos of Darlington and his girlfriend, as he tagged her profile along with his own as "my baby."
Her name was Jenna Colton online, and she had a lot of followers—at least a million. She was a celebrity in Country Z, and I wondered how they would treat me now.
"I'm sure this man didn't know he was married to me. I'm certain he wouldn't accept me, not when 'his baby' is there." I didn't want to continue with the journey to the city, but I still wanted to obey my parents, even if it was the last thing they wanted me to do before I finally became an independent woman. I wanted to get to the Briggs Family Mansion to see Darlington and his family. To know if I am indeed married to him or not. Or if my father had been deceived by his friend, who claimed to have settled everything.
I didn't want to believe that I had been married off by my father's friend, with the disguise that I was his son's wife. Well, when I finally get to the city, I will find out.
I felt sad after seeing many photos of Darlington and that pretty, fair-skinned lady. I didn't look pretty and sophisticated like her, and I feared being cast aside and labeled a homewrecker for entering another woman's relationship. But I wanted to confirm the whole truth before making any concrete decision.
I leaned back against the car seat as it continued driving for hours to the city. Soon, I fell asleep in the back.
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