Chapter 1 Beginning

Hot air hit my face as I left the recording studio. I quickly walked over to my car, got in and turned on the cooler. I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the cold air started to fill the car and gave me a chill that felt like being roasted.

Today, I finished recording my third single, after which my contract with the management ended. My cell phone rings as I start my car.

"Yes, Ariana is here."

"WHERE ARE YOU??"

I pushed the phone away a little when I heard Caroline's screams, my manager and cousin are very loud and chatty more than my mother.

"I'm on my way."

"Hurry up, Ana! Or you will be replaced by another model!"

"Okay, on the way."

I stepped on the gas pedal deeper to increase the speed to get to the location where I was filming a commercial for one of the most famous Coke products.

Arriving at the set, I immediately ran towards the crew who had gathered and were working on the set for the ad shoot.

"You tortoise! Come here quickly. You will take it!" nagged Caroline. I just let out my horse grin. She would look like the Goddess of Death when she was angry.

After shooting the commercial was over, it was getting late into the night. Caroline came home with her boyfriend, Andrew; I saw their intimate scene near Andrew's car before they disappeared. Sighing heavily, I've never been in love and dated any man.

Whenever a man approached me, I would only consider him a friend, nothing more. About dating invitations, I often refuse for various reasons; I don't know, I haven't thought about having a special relationship with a man; I'm still busy thinking about my career. And again, I don't want to fall in love yet.

Once, I liked a guy, but he didn't like me and just thought of me like a little sister and feelings were not reciprocated. I'm disappointed, of course, but what can I do??! Maybe love isn't on my side. My phone rings again and interrupts my unimportant daydream.

"Mom??!"

"Where are you, honey? Hurry home; I want to talk to you about something."

"About what?"

"Go home first; I'll tell you when you get home."

I quickly got into my car and drove home. My mom seemed to want to talk seriously this time; suddenly, my heart was pounding, and I felt nervous and curious.

I rushed downstair when I got home and parked the car in the garage. I saw a very expensive grey Mercedes Benz parked in my large yard; I just shrugged and assumed there must be guests.

"That's Ariana, honey; come here," Mom said, which made me look at her as I was still in the doorway of the main entrance of my house. My gaze turned to my mom's guest, and those eyes seemed to hypnotize me, fading everything around me. A handsome face was looking at me, who just stared at him in silence. That gaze seemed to nail my feet.

"Ariana," my mother called, which jolted me back to reality; with a slight bow, I walked over to my mother and sat beside her. There was a man, about half a century old, sitting beside him, a beautiful woman who looked graceful at her age. They smiled at me; I smiled back and nodded respectfully before sitting down.

My gaze turned to the man with gold eyes sitting in front of me; the man looked at me with a sharp gaze that made my heart beat abnormally; I hastily lowered my face to hide the nervousness that seemed to squeeze all my nerves.

"Honey, this is Aunt Ramia and Uncle Abraham; they are here to propose to you."

My mom's words are like Thor's thunderbolt, which is very powerful in the Avengers movie; I was shocked, and my tongue went numb.

What? Propose Marriage of me?

My Inner Goddess was stunned on her red sofa, while my senses narrowed her eyes with her mouth open, surprised by this.

"And that's Sean, your future husband," repeated My mom; I peeked at Sean from behind my eyelashes while twisting my fingers between my thighs. I'm nervous, this handsome man is my future husband, whether this is a gift or a disaster, but I can't say anything and choose to be silent; my mind is debating between wanting to deny and accept this fact.

"Auntie heard Ariana is a singer; is it true?" asked Aunt Ramia; I looked up at the charismatic, beautiful woman who smiled shadily; I smiled then nodded.

"Yes, Auntie, I'm a singer," I answered briefly with a feeling of shock that I was still trying to suppress.

"You know, Sean likes to hear your song. Auntie caught him listening to it," said Aunt Ramia with a witty glance in her eyes; instantly, I turned to the handsome man in front of me and looked at him with a surprised look; the man chuckled. Aunt Ramia giggled, as well as Uncle Abraham.

I looked down again when Sean's gaze met mine; I couldn't stare at him for so long. Curse my blushing Inner Goddess shit! Isn't the time to be dazzled, though I admit in my head that he's handsome?

His gaze seemed to intimidate me; my whole body seemed to melt with his gaze, and I was helpless with that gaze. Never before had I felt this way when a man stared at me; this man's gaze was different and caused a spark of alien feeling within me.

"Your engagement will hold in a week, and Sean can use that time to get to know Ariana more," said my mom, smiling happily. I swallowed my saliva with difficulty, my throat suddenly dry.

Being in a position like this makes my heart feel like it's about to explode, especially if I have to spend much time alone with him; I could die young before getting engaged. When Uncle Valentino and Aunt Ramia were going home, the graceful woman gave me a warm hug; I hugged her back and gave them both a sincere smile before they left my terrace and headed for the car they were riding in.

"I'm sure Ariana will be able to make Sean the happiest man in the world," said Aunt Ramia; I smiled awkwardly, hearing her very convincing words.

"Tomorrow, Sean will pick up Ariana to come together to Rani's birthday party," added the elegant woman again; Mom agreed, and they looked happy, except for me, who was struggling with my thoughts and still trying to digest this incident.

"Mom, are you serious about this?" I asked. After an hour, our guest left. We're sitting on the living room couch, Mom sipping her tea.

"Honey, Uncle Abraham's family was your papa's best friend when we lived in Thailand; maybe you've forgotten when your father died; Uncle Abraham promised to be part of our family by being with us," said My mom; I was stunned to hear that. Hell yeah! Since I wasn't even born, arranged Marriage isn't fair, isn't it??!

"But, Mom, isn't it too rushed? I just got my career." I'm trying to negotiate here, but I want to refuse. In this day and age, I don't want to be matched??!

"Mom is sure this is the right time for you and Sean to get married. It would be better that way; momMom will be calm if you marry Sean," said my mom, and I didn't have the ammunition to argue with her; I lost badly.

"Where are they from, Ma?" I asked curiously.

"They're from Dubai, honey. Uncle Abraham is the owner of one of the oil and gold mining companies, Jahar Enterprise Holding," answered my mother, who was trying to be patient with my curiosity, and at that moment, my mouth fell open.

"You mean that was Abraham Al-Abbas?" I asked again, making sure; my mom chuckled lightly; I know my current expression must be ridiculous; my mom nodded.

"And the man sitting across from me is Sean Valentino?!" I added, and My mom nodded again, but I was unfamiliar with the name; I tried to remember it, but nothing. I only knew them as one of the most famous business people with a series of successes in the business world.

"And Rani?" Still, I heard that Aunt Ramia mentioned that name about the Abraham family.

"Rani is Sean's older sister; tomorrow is her birthday, and she is celebrating her wedding anniversary."

My mom put her empty cup on the table. I still can't believe this; I'm getting engaged to a man in the world's top 10 most desirable single men.

"You have a schedule tomorrow?"

I shook my head at my mom's question.

"Be ready at 5 pm tomorrow; Sean will pick you up," Mom said. I nodded weakly, then said goodbye to my room.

Again I thought about Sean's figure; I pressed my chest, which seemed to want to explode because of my beating heart.

What is wrong with me? Why does remembering his gaze make me feel like someone has a heart attack?

I exhaled regularly to neutralize the strange feeling that came over me when I remembered Sean's handsome face. I rolled over to change my lying position, then hugged my favourite bolster pillow; I still can't believe what I experienced a moment ago; I haven't even thought about Marriage; it's too soon.

As I kept thinking about what happened a few hours ago in the living room of my house, I fell asleep. And that night, my dreams were filled with Sean Valentino's face.