A Secret Affair with the Billionaire

05

My whole world felt like it stopped.

Even after the lunch ended and safely returning to the office, my mind is still clouded by the thought of marriage. I have imagined and thought of many things to talk about for today’s lunch with the Barnes, but marriage—an arranged marriage—never came to mind.

Is it even true? Am I really getting married? With Elijah?

A knock pulls me back from my distracted thoughts. As soon as it opens, my brother shows his face in such an immature way, acting like he doesn’t have such a high position in this company at all. He didn’t need me to tell him anything as he just sat on the couch in silence, watching me worriedly.

“Are you okay?” He carefully questions.

I look at him, unsure of what to say. I opened my mouth, but nothing even came out. For someone who has long-term hidden feelings for her childhood friend, this arranged marriage is an act of fate already. For many years, none of us ever directly showed romantic interest with one another because we were childhood friends, and I never dared to show mine because I don’t think Elijah will accept that fact. But how come fate is suddenly clearing its path and making what I have been imagining since then possible?

“I… don’t know.” I can only say. I let out a deep sigh. “I seriously don’t know, brother.”

His brows furrowed. “I understand why you are thinking like that, Ciara, and I can’t blame you. Do you remember when Dad first told me as well that I will be having an arranged marriage with my wife now?” I nod my head a little. “I was in the same position as you. My emotions were mixed. I was happy and glad yet terrified as well because it could be a wrong move. But look at us now!”

Francis, as the heir of our family business, Dad already made it clear to him before that there is a huge possibility of an arranged marriage. Nonetheless, he still insisted on loving someone behind our father’s back even if the woman could easily pass Dad’s standard. But fate played its card and he ended up being arranged with the woman he loves, so it was never hard for him to accept and adjust anymore. In fact, he was even ecstatic because he didn’t need to hide his relationship anymore!

His and his wife’s arranged marriage was perfect just like them… but it is also made out of luck.

In this world we are in, marrying someone we truly love is rare because of the customs and words our parents gave, making it impossible to love freely. My brother and his wife are just lucky because their parents ended up having a conversation on having them marry one another. If Francis ended up marrying another woman, he would probably be different now. Maybe he is playful with women even up until now, but one thing for sure, it was all just a game for him and he is already satisfied with his wife.

“You and Madeline are different, Francis. The two of you love each other and are just lucky because Dad chose the right family. If you end up having to marry another woman, I am pretty sure that you will understand what I feel right now.” I reasoned out.

He slowly nods, understanding what I meant now. “But… don’t you have feelings for Elijah? Isn't marriage with him good news for you? I think Dad just helped you figure things out.” He pointed out.

“It is… if he feels the same way.”

But it was never the case.

Secretly.

That is the only way I could admire him without him knowing. From afar, I can see his face and his whole presence much clearly without needing to worry whether he will question me or he will be weird for being looked at by me. From afar, I can look at him much more comfortably and smile like those people lost in love. It was enough… but never completely enough.

“Hi, Elijah. I baked this cupcake for you.” One of our blockmates gave him another dessert for today like she did for the past three weeks now. She extends her hand and shows a shy smile. “I hope you will like it.”

Elijah stares at it for a moment before forming a smile and accepting it. “Thank you, Kate.” His eyes suddenly went past her and landed on me, making me flinch by the sudden eye contact. “Ciara!”

I waved my hand to him and smiled “C-Coming!”

I ran towards our table and occupied the space opposite to him. With an awkward glance, I tried to not think about the presence of Kate and her friends on Elijah’s side, but it is hard when they keep glancing at me until they just give in with the thought of my presence at the table and proceed to talking with Elijah.

I really wished that I could be like her. Someone who has courage to speak up about her feelings and show it proudly without worrying about anything.

For the past five years, since the very moment when Elijah who used to love running without worrying about the sweat and dirt on his face turned into someone who is conscious of his sweat and never let any dirt go on his face, I have already developed a huge crush on him. I wasn’t sure when it started, but he just suddenly started to glow right in front of my eyes. The whole world starts to rotate slowly while he speaks and moves. It was like I was watching a movie with several effects around it, but this time… it was him who was glowing and having those weird hearts around him.

Come to think of it, it has been so long, but I never even dare to tell him about it. We were together since elementary up until high school then we even got in the same department in college. We have been staying together for so long, but it never for once occurred to me to tell him what I feel because… he probably never looks at me the same way I look at him.

“Elijah, are you coming to the party tonight? Jessica will be having her birthday party at the usual club. Do you think you can come… and maybe be with me the whole night?” Kate flirtatiously said, batting her eyelashes repeatedly.

“It depends.” He suddenly turned to me and looked at me excitedly. “Are you going? Should we come?”

I pointed to myself with brows raised. “Me? Why are you asking me? She was inviting you.”

“Ciara is right, Elijah! I was inviting you! Why did you need to ask her?” Kate pouted like a small kid, only making me look at her in judgment.

Does she really think it will work on him?

“Ciara, are we going?” He asked for another time.

“Why are you asking me, Elijah? I have something I need to do tonight so I can’t, but you should come if you want. After all, you are the one she is inviting.” I pointed out, but he only let out a sigh.

He turns his attention back to Kate. “I would love to come, but if Ciara is not available, then I don’t think I am too. I’m sorry.” He exclaims, making me look at him in disbelief.

“Elijah—”

“This is frustrating! Why do you even need to ask for her permission? Or why does she need to be there for you to come? It’s not like she is your girlfriend anyway.” Kate complained nonstop, gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

Suddenly, Elijah stood up and sat next to me. He draped his arm on my shoulder, making me flinch and worriedly look at the frustrated Kate standing in front of us. I tried to remove his arm, but he is too persistent to keep it there.

What is he doing?

“It’s because I can’t live without her!”

He… can’t live without me? I look at him in shock. I could feel the butterflies circling around my stomach, giving me such an overwhelming feeling. Is this it? Is this his way of telling me that he has feelings for me?

“She is my closest friend! Like a sister! So, wherever I go, she needs to be there as well. Right Ciara?” He looks at me with such a cheerful face, but I already have a different one.

Hearing the guy whom you liked for a very long time say that you are his closest friend, and worse his sister, is probably the most terrible thing in the world. It is like he created such a hard, tall wall between us that can never be broken anymore. Why did I even expect it? It was impossible in the first place anyway.

“R-Right. We are… closest friends of one another.” I can only say.

Since the very beginning, he knows what he wants and what it is that he thinks about the two of us. For him, we are just friends, childhood friends, each other’s closest friends, and siblings. We were never more than that. So this marriage, I don’t know whether I should take it as a curse or a blessing. Even if it is a blessing, it has to be considered as one for the both of us.

“How can you assume something like that if you never dare to ask him?” I look at my brother in slight hope. “You know, this arranged marriage could be a turning point. Many years have passed already since the two of you graduated from college, Ciara. There is a huge possibility already that he thinks of you differently than he did back then!”

If there is one thing that my brother is good at, then that is raising up my hope. It was never in my plan anymore to go after Elijah no matter how deep my feelings are for him because I wanted to accept that we are impossible. However, if my brother will keep insisting, things will be harder for me.

“And what if it didn’t change?” I questioned back.

“Then you will have years after the wedding to make him fall for you, sis!” He pointed out that it isn’t a big deal. “You see, that is the thing with arranged marriage. Having two strangers tying the knot to get to know one another and eventually falling in love! There is nothing impossible anymore once you live under one roof, Ciara. You just need to make an effort this time to show him what he feels already… if you really like him.”

My head tilted a little, doubting my brother’s words. I was never someone who will judge my brother big time, but somehow, I feel like judging him for his thoughts about Elijah and I. He is good with business, but I am not really sure about personal matters. After all, he ended up marrying the woman he really loves.

“Fine. I will think about it. But…” I let out a sigh. “I need to talk with Elijah first. We never got to talk earlier about the arrangement so I don’t have any idea if he actually agrees to it or not.”

As he shrugs his shoulders, it was the cue that my brother already reached his limit and the rest is already up to me.

There is nothing wrong with trying, right? After all, Elijah has known me since then. We might have distanced ourselves from one another during the past years because we were both busy, but we still care for each other. Besides, we will be getting married already anyway. He will find it eventually once we start living together.

For the remaining day, I just tried to distract myself from the things that were going on around me. It is what I need the most so I decided to have a small drink with Hailee in the bar where we usually go so we can talk and I can tell her about the news already. She knows about my feelings for Elijah and I am sure that she will have a better suggestion of what I should do.

Like usual, the bar is much more peaceful than the nightclub. Everyone is at their own tables, talking with one another and just relaxing in there while drinking and laughing. I’m pretty sure drinking here will be better than in the club since I want to avoid what happened last time as much as I can. I don’t want to end up having Elijah bringing me back to my family home again, drunk and unconscious.

“Sorry I am late! The photoshoot ended late and there was traffic too.” She exclaims, occupying the chair next to me.

I shake my head and look at her right away. The obvious puffy eyes she has on is noticeable despite having it covered with concealer. She doesn’t look so good as usual either. As if she is just forcing everything.

“Hailee, is there something wrong? Did you cry?” I worriedly asked and instantly asked for the waiter. “Can you please give us a glass of water? Thank you.”

“I am fine. I just…” She let out a heavy sigh, tearing up. “The day is just hard and… I also received bad news so… I am not sure how to handle it. Lucky me because you asked if we can drink together.”

I smiled a little before taking the glass of water that the waiter just handed me then giving it to her. “Drink first then we will talk.” I said.

If there is someone I know who is the strongest among all, it is Hailee Davis. The two of us have been friends since we were in college after meeting one another during a department night out and since then, we have been close with one another. Since that night, tonight is the first time I have seen her with such puffy eyes because even when things were hard for her when she first started as a model, she never cried at all. That bad news is probably so bad for her to be like this.

“Can you tell me what happened? Who made you cry?” I worriedly asked once again.

She looks at me for a moment, looking hesitant to speak up. It took her a whole minute to even force a smile and shake her head.

“Let’s just… not talk about it, can we? I don’t feel so comfortable talking about it right now.” She insisted, avoiding the topic.

I wanna ask her more about it, but there is nothing I can do anymore if she doesn’t want to. I don’t want to force her as well because it will be too much, so I just let it go. I nod my head and gesture at the waiter so we can have some drinks with us already.

“How about… let’s just talk about your news? You said you have one?” She changed the topic right after the waiter left.

“Right. About that,” I took a deep breath and exhaled. “I… I am getting married.”

I was expecting her to scream, but when I looked at her, she was only looking at me blankly. My eyes blink in confusion for her sudden act. I was about to question her again when she squeal, making me cover her mouth right away.

“Keep it down!” I said in a small voice before apologizing to the people around us. “I thought your soul was already taken because you weren’t speaking at all.”

“That is because you gave me such a big shock! I didn’t expect that that would be your news at all!” She exclaimed with such a cheerful tone. “Who is the groom? Who are you getting married to?”

I look at her hesitantly this time. I know that I can tell Hailee everything, but we are both aware that she used to like him as well back in college. I remember how fond she was of him during that time so we ended up talking about it together. Right now, I am not sure if she still feels the same, but judging from her reaction, it is probably different now considering that she has already met several men of different nationalities.

“Well… we had lunch with Elijah and his family this morning. The adults said they want to make a partnership for a new hotel, but they want to make sure it will be strong so…” She raises her brows in expectation. “They want me and Elijah to get married.”

“Oh my God! Ciara! Your dream is finally coming true!” She exclaimed excitedly. She pulls me for a warm hug which I return. “I am so happy for you, my dear best friend!”

“Thank you.” I pull away with a grin. “But I am not really sure if it is the right thing, you know?”

“How come?”

A big sigh escapes my lips, closing my eyes for a moment then opening it again to look at her. “You know that he doesn’t feel the same way as I do to him, right? If I know, Auntie and Uncle probably just forced him into this marriage and he doesn’t want it at all.” I pointed out.

“But… did you ask him about that already? Did he tell you about it himself?” I shake my head a little in response. “Then what is the worry all about? If he didn’t tell you about it, then that should be the least of your concern now. Besides, he knows you so well, Ciara! In an arranged marriage, I’m pretty sure he will be more glad to be in one with you than a complete stranger.”

She has a point. However, I don’t want to assume anything at all yet. Not when Elijah and I haven’t talked yet.

“But I have one question though. Is he… single?” I raised a brow at her in confusion. “I mean, we both know that Elijah is super private about his life. Many women have been after him as well since then, so I just need to ask because if there is someone… then… things will be hard for you.”

That is the point. I don’t know anything about him anymore after we graduated. I don’t know if he has someone or what it is that he wants now. All I know is that… this marriage… he is forced for it.

Hailee reached for my hand and held it, squeezing it gently. “Just… make sure to check that first because I’m sure that… you wouldn’t want to be the one to ruin someone’s relationship, right?”