The Greeks Contract Marriage

CHAPTER EIGHT: CHANGE OF PLANS

Demetrius’ heart beat faster than it had ever beaten before, patiently awaiting for his mother to explain what had happened that caused her to call him like this. In his mind all the negative scenarios that could have played out, played in his mind. He remembered the time when his mother’s admission into the hospital, for more than a month she had not come home.

“Well I’m sorry to say this but dinner had been moved to tonight” his mother apologized and just then Demetrius’ heart rate decreased.  His mother was okay and that was all that he had wanted… no, what he had needed.

“Mother I thought, I thought—“

“That something had happened to me? Demetrius I’m okay, I’m taking my meds and following the doctor’s instructions” she told Demetrius, her voice softening as she spoke to him.

“I know mother, but it scares me to think that I might lose you” Demetrius confessed to his mother. He could feel the tears burning behind his eyes but he was not one to cry in the presence of people and he would not start now.

“Look you’re not going to lose me and besides I did not call to speak to you” Demetrius’ mother told him, causing Demetrius to lift a brow in confusion.

“Then who did you call to talk to?” Demetrius questioned his mother, interested in what his mother had to say to him.

“I called to speak to my future daughter in-law of course!” his mother told him, her voice laced with excitement. Now Demetrius knew that he had a bigger problem and that was getting Bailey ready for his mother by tomorrow night.

“Hello, are you still there?” His mother asked him.

“Yes mother I’m still here. As a matter of fact Bailey can’t speak right now” Demetrius told his mother, his eyes impatiently scanning to see if Bailey was nearby.

“Oh her name is Bailey?” his mother asked him.

“Yes mother that is her name”

“But why can’t I speak to her, she is going to be my daughter in-law soon”

Oh, mother if you only knew the entire truth then you would not have been so excited about all this, Demetrius thought to himself, slapping himself for getting himself into such a mess in the first place.

“We’re out shopping mother, I thought I’d take her out for a treat” Demetrius told his mother, who seemed more than pleased with his gesture towards his pretend fiancé.

“Okay, I must say that I am very disappointed that I can’t speak to her today, but I’m looking forward to seeing her tomorrow night”

“Sure mother”

“Son?”

“Yes mother”

“I just want to tell you that I’m so proud of you for taking this step” his mother told him and Demetrius felt a piece of his heart, break off. He was lying to the most important woman in his life.

“Thanks mom” he replied and his mother ended the call between them. A guilty feeling was now setting into Demetrius.

On the other side of the store, in the dressing room, Bailey’s heart rate shot from one to one hundred in less than a second.

“Two thousand dollars for gown!” she yelled so loud that Catherine jumped from where she was standing. Bailey held the tag from her nightgown, shocked. She looked closer at the tag, hoping that she would see one less zero but it was of no use because the dress was in fact two thousand dollars.

“Bailey is there something wrong?” Catherine asked her innocently.

“Yes there is something wrong Catherine, this dress is two thousand dollars and I can’t wear it”

“Well do you want something more expensive than this?” Catherine asked Bailey, whose eyes grew wider in shock. It seems as though she was the only one who noticed how ridiculous the price of the gown was.

“Why would I want something more expensive? You know what, hand me the black gown” Bailey asked and the dress was handed to her and she looked at the tag, Bailey pulled a chair and sat on it, allowing the price of the second dress to sink in.

“Catherine this dress is four thousand dollars” Catherine took the dress from Bailey and looked at the tag.

“Yes Bailey, it is indeed four thousand dollars it is a Louise Viton” Bailey could not believe it, that people like Demetrius would spend this much money on a single piece of clothing and there she was struggling to make that much in a month.

Bailey looked up at Catherine and then handed the black dress back to her.

“What are you doing?” Catherine asked Bailey who did not seem to listen to her. Bailey stood up from the chair she began taking off the expensive gown that she had worn.

“I can’t wear this” Bailey said. The worry in her eyes was evident but none of the females could know just how deep Bailey’s pain went. All the money that they were spending on such expensive garments, could have been used to feed the less fortunate, rather than such materialistic things.

“Mr. Evan please we need your help” Demetrius turned his attention away from his phone to the assistant standing beside him. The poor assistant looked worried.

“What’s the matter?”

“Catherine needs your help; your fiancé is not cooperating” the assistant told Demetrius. He rolled his eyes, irritated that Bailey would choose this exact moment to make a fool out of him. Demetrius stood up from the couch and followed the assistant to the dressing room, outside the dressing room, Catherine stood there looking worried.

“I don’t know what I did not wrong Demetrius, she simply looked at the price tag and she lost her mind”

Demetrius did not have to guess why it was that Bailey was upset, it did not take a rocket scientist to figure it out. Demetrius held up his hand to stop Catherine from talking.

“It’s okay Catherine, you may leave. I will talk to my fiancé” Demetrius told both sales women who immediately left after he had ordered them to. Demetrius turned to the door and knocked.

“Bailey, can I come in?” Demetrius asked and there was no answer from Bailey’s end and Demetrius was quickly running out of patience.

“Bailey I won’t ask you again” Demetrius raised his voice and still there was no response. He tried to knock one more time but Bailey unlocked the door, her eyes swollen, she had been crying.

“You can come in” Bailey told Demetrius, opening the door so that Demetrius could enter and he did, soon after Bailey shut the door behind herself. Now it was just the two of them in the dressing room and Demetrius looking down at her.

“Explain yourself” Demetrius demanded from Bailey in a boss like manner, the type that Bailey hated.

“Can you stop demanding me to do things?”  Bailey asked him.

“Why did you pull such a stunt? You embarrassed me in front of both those women” Demetrius scolded at her but Bailey did not seem bothered by any of Demetrius’ threats.

“You lived your entire life without being embarrassed and everyone worshipping you, what’s one time going to do?”

“Why?” Demetrius asked Bailey one last time, he was serious about it and Bailey knew that it was best not to thread on such rough waters with Demetrius.

“Doesn’t it bother you that you guys throw money around, whilst there are people out there who have nothing to eat?” Demetrius did not understand why it was that Bailey was speaking like this.

“What does shopping have to do with poor people?” Demetrius innocently asked her. Bailey grabbed both dresses from the hanger and handed them to Demetrius, who studied each piece of clothing.

“They look beautiful; I don’t see why you don’t like it”

“That’s not the point! Look at the price tag” Bailey told him. Demetrius did just that and then he looked back at her, seemingly unbothered by what he saw.

“I don’t see what the problem is” Demetrius answered. Bailey was shocked. It seemed as though she was the only one who saw how expensive everything is.

“Demetrius these cloths cost a fortune and I am not wearing it!” She yelled at Demetrius who did not seem moved by a single word that Bailey had said to him.

“Why are you so concerned about the poor?” Demetrius asked her, baffled by her newfound generosity to the poor.

“Because, because—“

Because I am part of that group of people that struggle to get a meal, I am also part of the group of people that will most likely never see this much money in my life. Bailey thought, her eyes not once wavering from Demetrius’ eyes.

“What?” Demetrius questioned her but Bailey was not going to bear her heart out to him, she did not trust him.

“It’s nothing; I just won’t wear such expensive cloths”

“You are my fiancé and you have to match my status, Bailey”

“That’s where you are wrong. I am your pretend fiancé and this entire mess will be over in a months’ time!” Bailey yelled at Demetrius this setting off anger inside of Demetrius.

“Keep your voice down! Remember no one is supposed to know about this” Demetrius warned her.

“Look if you are so worried about the poor then I suggest we make a deal”

“What deal?” Bailey asked Demetrius.

“I’ll donate fifty thousand dollars to any charity or organization of your choice” Demetrius offered her, Bailey did not know what to do, on one hand she could not accept such expensive gifts and on the other hand she knew how much impact fifty thousand dollars would have on many people’s lives.

“Think about it good Bailey, I don’t like waiting” Demetrius told Bailey. A thousand thoughts ran through her head and Bailey did not know what to say, so she said the first thing that came to her mind.

“I’ll take it!” Bailey responded but quickly wondered what it was that she had just assigned herself to.

“Good, then I’ll call Catherine here so that you can get all the clothing that you’d need” Demetrius told her. He placed both gowns onto the hanger and he stepped out of the dressing room.

Bailey breathe out a sigh of relief, being in such close proximity with Demetrius was something that she had not enjoyed. This was all new for Bailey, at the strip club she was always within close range of different kinds of men but here Demetrius was.

Maybe there is something about him that draws you close to him? She pondered on that thought. Bailey knew that she was definitely not attracted to him for his money, as much as she needed money, there was no way that she would allow herself be swept away by greed.

Shaken by the abrupt opening of the door, Bailey turned around only to find that it was none other than Catherine. Bailey smiled to hide her disappointment, deep down she was hoping that it was Demetrius.

“Catherine, I’d like to apologize for my behavior earlier. I didn’t mean to—”Catherine raised her hand, in a sweeping gesture and smiled at Bailey.

“There’s no need to apologize to me at all. Now let’s get you in these gowns and model them for your fiancé” Catherine said.

Here she was, standing in front of the mirror wearing a four thousand dollar gown. Bailey did not recognize herself; the woman staring back at her was not the Bailey she knew. The beautiful black, mermaid gown fit her perfectly and outlined curves that Bailey had not known she had.

From the corner of her eye, Bailey noticed that Catherine was studying her every move, without turning to face Catherine, Bailey wanted to know what it was that Catherine was thinking.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t I look nice?” Catherine walked towards Bailey and stood next to her.

“You look like a princess, no wonder Demetrius fell in love with you, you’re not like the rest” Catherine’s words fell onto Baileys heart like bricks. Bailey did not know whether to look at her words as a compliment or an insult.

“I’m sorry but I didn’t understand what you’re trying to say?”

“What I’m trying to say is that I’ve styled Demetrius for as long as I can remember and what I’ve learnt is that he doesn’t do shopping with his women, you’re the first. Moreover, you are by far the most sensible; the rest of them would not bother how much the dress was. Why would they? It is not their money to spend” Catherine laughed as she spoke to Bailey, but little did she know that what she had just said got the clock in Bailey’s head ticking.

Still looking at herself in the mirror, mesmerized by her own reflection she was tempted to ask Catherine how she had come up with such an outrageous notion.

“What makes you say that? That he loves me?” Bailey heard herself ask the question and she soon regretted it. It sounded so innocent in her head but now that the question was out it seemed like she was snooping behind Demetrius’ back.

Bailey’s hands now sweating, scared to hear the truth from the horse’s mouth.