Chapter 1
The amount of emotions I feel inside are all consuming. I feel as if I am drowning in them. He is sitting right across from me, the reason for all the pain I have felt, all the humiliation I endured, all of the self-hatred and thoughts of suicide, caused by the man that sits before me. We grew up together. Our mothers had been best friends, our grandmothers had been best friends even. It goes even farther back then that. We were just the first generation that both born were not the same gender. I had a crush on him as long as I can remember. He had been my best friend. I told him everything and trust him without a doubt. At seventeen I had decided to tell him everything. So I had gone over to his house, dressed in my prettiest dress with my hair and makeup done. I was ready to confess to him how I felt. Before I stepping through the slightly open door I heard him and some of the more popular kids talking.... about me. I didn’t even know he hung out with them.
“Why do you let that fat freak hang around you so much?”
“I don’t have a choice. Our parents are friends. If I had my way I wouldn’t ever see her. She is such a bother. Always clinging to me, wanting to do things with me.”
My heart was shattering. The boy I had loved all my life hated me. He didn’t want to see me at all. He didn’t want me around him.
“Raina, it is so good to see you. Oh darling why are you crying?” his mother says standing behind me. The gift I had made him falls from my hands and shatters all over the floor, his door flying open. There he stands with a scared look on his face.
“Sorry I was just leaving. Didn’t mean to bother anyone.” the last part I said while looking directly at him. My way of letting him know that I heard every word he said. I took off running.
I don’t get far before he is grabbing my arm and telling me to stop and let him explain. But there is no need. I heard everything. I kept telling him to let me go, but he just gripped tighter. So I did what my older brother taught me. I punched him right in the face with all of my strength. He finally let go and stumbled back away from me. His mother screaming in the background asking what the hell is going on. I’m to devastated to try to explain and I can’t be there another second. So I ignore her and rush into my car and took off. I didn’t make it far before I had to pull over. My crying wouldn’t stop and everything was blurry. I called my brother and tried to tell him what happened, but all he was able to understand was that I was on the side of the road, crying and unable to drive.
It hadn’t taken my brother long to find me. He had opted out of the family business and joined the service instead. He was older by six years. One of his buddies got in the driver side of my car as I was helped into the passenger seat of my brothers. My phone was blowing up with messages and calls. But I was ignore all of them. I couldn’t face the world at that moment. I just needed my brother and I needed to get as far away from Donald as I could get. My brother, the amazing protector that he has always been, just seemed to know that I couldn’t go home and deal with mom and dad who no doubt had gotten a call from Donald’s mom. So he took me to his apartment instead.
I was there for three days before I could finally pull myself together enough to tell him about what had happened. We then formed a plan. I was already ahead enough in credits that I didn’t need to even finish my junior year or complete my senior year. I had only stayed so I could be with Donald. So he helped me to get signed out and off to college two years early. We had finally told my parents about what had happened once everything was done. Brent agreed that I needed to already have my exit done and there just in case they tried to stop me. Luckily they didn’t and agreed to let me go. It was never talked about what had happened that day. Mom and Patricia (Donald’s mom) had even managed to stay friends.
I had went to college at an Ivy league school and graduated top of my class with honors. By the time I came back home, I had two masters degrees and a PhD all in different areas of science and business. I came back and took over the family company as well as running the one I had started while still in my first year in college. I was still the fat girl, that hadn’t changed. I had just become cold and calculating.
Donald’s family was in trouble. They had made some bad investments and needed help. It was our grandmothers who had come up with this stupid idea of getting married. I honestly wanted nothing to do with him. I didn’t want him in the same vicinity as me. But I love my grandmother more than anything. She had been my source of comfort when Brent had left for the military. She had even given me the start up funds for my business when both my parents thought I was just going to distract myself. Don’t get me wrong I love my parents, but since that day, it’s been strained. They kept trying to force situations on me where I would have to be around Donald.
Here we sit now though. So I guess they did get what they wanted, it just took a decade and the O’Hera’s going broke. He looks nervous and keeps nervously playing with a wring on his middle finger. I am nervous as well, but I am not showing it. Gently sliding a folder across the coffee table between us, I watch him pick it up and open it. Reading the contract inside.
“I will agree to marry you in order to help out your family. The friendship between the two families goes back hundreds of years, all the way back to the old country even. So here is the deal. We will go into a contract marriage. But in order for it to be believable, since we have had no contact for almost ten years, we will ‘date’” using air quotes around that word, “ for three months and then announce that we have fallen in love and plan to get married. We will give our mothers 6 months to get it together and then be married for one year. At which time we will file for divorce claiming that we realized we rushed it and fell out of love.
He started to say something but I stopped him by putting my hand up.
“I have rules. I know how you really feel about me so I do not expect any sort of feelings. This is a contract and it is purely for the benefit of our families. We will have separate rooms and will only have to be around one another at events. Otherwise, you leave me alone because I have no intention of being part of your life.” something crossed his eyes, like what I had just said had hurt him. I know it is fake though. He pretended all those years for the benefit of our parents, I won’t fall for it again.
“I understand you have a girlfriend or plaything or whatever the hell she is. But I will not tolerate you bringing another woman into my house. You want to go somewhere and screw your little whore that is your choice, but there are going to be rules. You cannot be caught cheating. It will embarrass both of our families and I won’t tolerate that. If any of your hookups gets pregnant during this time frame, your name cannot go on the birth certificate until after the divorce. Any of your little girlfriends try and start some kind of drama, I will sue them and ruin their lives. My sole focus is to help bring your family back into glory and recover from your uncles bad investments and public scandal. If you don’t agree that is fine, I will just lend your family the money and you can figure out how to get all the clients back and how to fix the image of both your company and family.”
I gave him a moment to let everything sink in before I started talking again. “My staff here at the house knows this is going to be a fake relationship, but in order to keep both families happy, we will pretend every where else. If you decide to sign the contract just leave it in the office I set up for you across from your bedroom. One of the maids will bring it to my room. Also have your assistant contact mine to converse about events so things can be rearranged if need be. I have two events a year that I will not change the dates for because it is the anniversary of when the companies started and have always been held on those exact dates. My staff is live in and work around the clock in shifts. If you get hungry just ask and they will make you anything you like. They already know about your food allergies. We will not be having meals together unless at events, so don’t think you have to wait and eat with me. I am going to bed now. The staff will show you around and take you to your room.”
With that I got up and walked out of the library. I had no intention of hearing him out about anything. This whole thing is a major pain in my ass, but I will get through it. Once I get into my room I send a message to the head chief and let her know that I would like something light to eat. Just a couple sandwiches and some chips is fine. I know I have to eat because of medication but honestly I don’t feel like eating anything. After about ten minutes one of the young maids who just joined the team comes in with my food. My staff is actually a family that I hired back when I was still in college.
They were a homeless family living out of their van. I hired the husband to be my driver for when I went to events and had been drinking, the wife became my cook and the oldest kids cleaned my apartment after school. They lived with me even and I helped their kids get into college. The young ones are now about to graduate high school and the older ones choose to come back and work for me still and even brought their own families. I have a staff of ten that live in the house with me. The young girl who brought in my food is actually their youngest daughter who just turned 17, she is a really sweet girl and just wants to have some work experience before going off to college next year. She actually was accepted into the same college I went to. She told me she wanted to be just like me and make a difference in the world. She doesn’t know it yet, but I have already gotten my old apartment set up for her. I plan on giving her a debit card when she leaves so she can use it for things like books, groceries and other necessities. She got a full scholarship, even though I had offered to pay for it like I had her older siblings.
After chatting with her for a bit while we shared the sandwiches, I told her good night and got ready for bed. I already knew Donald was going to sign. His family was in serious trouble with the scandals and they needed this wholesome childhood sweethearts couple falling in love and getting married image to help win back some of their clients. Plus this marriage to me makes it look like all three companies could end up merging together (even though that will never happen) thus even drawing in new potential clients for them as well.
