Chapter 3 Fake marriage

I had no reason to cast myself another look in the mirror, but I did it anyway. And as I lingered there for a while, the reflection of my figure faded into thin air and instead, images from my life began to play before my eyes.

If this was the universe that planned my life, then it did a bloody great job.

When I was young, so young to even remember my age, I lost my family in a separation my parents had. While the divorce built a permanent gap between my parents, it also separated my twin, Nick and me, who had to live with either of the parents. While I stayed behind with my mom, Nick chose my dad.

With passing years, our frequent visits came down as did our daily calls. Misunderstandings grew to a point where complete ignorance of each other seemed like a better option. We only met after my mother eloped with one of her lovers leaving me alone for my father to take in.

I moved to LA to be with my brother and father, in other words, the only family I had left. Things eventually started to get better between us and we finally were leading a comfortable life with each other. That was when I fell in love with Ethan Parker.

He was rude, notorious and also the biggest rival of my brother. His friends and my friends never got along. They had their rivalry going on since the longest time I could ever think of. Things turned different when we started off our relationship and soon enough, my friends fell in love with his, and I, with him.

When things turned great for all of us, and when everyone was ready to let go of their rivalry, something so terrible had to happen that separated Ethan and me forever. The gap that formed between us was so huge that we hadn't met each other until now.

I masked my face with the veil before Ethan could notice my tears. I knew for certain that nothing could change his mind. He absolutely hated me. Which led me to believe that, maybe, it wouldn't matter to him if he called the wedding off, and perhaps, he was doing this because he had found an excuse to hurt me.

Of course, he would never agree to that.

"Are you done?"

I nodded in response. And there he stood in all his glory with not even a worried crease disturbing the calm aura around him. His nonchalance almost created a ripple of frustration within me.

I couldn't help but remind myself why I had ever agreed to marry him. The words he used to instigate me into marrying him still sounded so fresh in my mind. How he had reminded me that if the word gets around that I had a part to play with Lindsay's elopement, nobody would want to work with me.

Luke, Lindsay's father, was a brutal man. I was aware of his wicked ways and his merciless treatment of those that opposed him. My word or Ethan's would hold no weightage against his power as I was but a mere budding artist. I could lose everything I'd tried to build on my own in a span of a day.

"And even if Luke were to excuse you, the word would go around and no production house would want to work with you," Ethan told me.

"And how will marrying you help that?"

"Because then, you won't be Skylar Summers who helped her friend elope but Skylar Summers, Ethan Parker's high school girlfriend, who married him after being together for seven years."

My jaw dropped, "That's the image you're going to paint in others' heads?"

"What's there to lose?" He said, "It's going to save both of our asses. I cannot afford this PR nightmare, and neither can you. My company is in shambles right now. We've been trying to protect that secret but we can only do it for so long. Once more investors start withdrawing their support, I'll be left with nothing. I need this marriage."

"Ethan!" I cried, "Do you realize what this means? We split seven years ago for a reason. Can we afford to have this marriage? I'm not ready for a marriage right now, much less with you!"

"You think I want this?" He questioned calmly. "I have no choice. I am forced to make this decision, and I assure you, I dissent this more than you do."

"What is Nick going to say about all of this?" I mumbled to myself in agony. "And dad. Oh, God! It's going to break his heart."

"They will understand." He said, "If you speak to them, they will understand. It'll take time, but they'll come around. The world won't. Your career and mine won't."

I released a sigh of frustration. I hated that he had an answer for every qualm I had, and although they were logical, I still didn't like them.

"What if we can't make it work?" I asked, "This isn't how people get married. So many marriages fail despite the couple being in love-"

"Who said anything about making this work?" He frowned as though I had introduced an entirely foreign issue to our current conversation, which I later realised that I had. "This is a marriage of convenience. When we reach a point where we can't stand each other anymore, we take a divorce and go separate ways."

I was well aware of him and how he worked. I knew that he meant every single word he said and that he wouldn't hesitate before making it all come true.

But the question was, did I have the power to fight back? No. I knew all too well that I stood no chance against him in this battle. He rendered me powerless and I knew that I was utterly helpless right then. I simply had no choice but to obey him.

He was capable of putting me in a mess that I could never come out of. He was also capable of ruining the career I had always dreamt of having.

Refusing this fake marriage didn't seem worth the risks that came with it.