Page 51 of His Bride Bargain
“Does it have to be?” I mumble.
The cooing turns concerned, like I might actually be about to pack up and leave, but before anyone can start dissuading me, another woman slips into the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. She has a shock of ginger hair that looks like no amount of taming would make a difference, and a constellation of freckles all over her nose. She flushes when she sees me, like she’s nervous too.
“Hello," she says softly. “My name is Martine.”
“Okay…?” We stare at each other for a while until she clears her throat and fumbles with some papers from her briefcase. Despite the impression of professionalism given off by her business suit, her manner suggests that she is a young person starting out in her career.
Part of me envies her. I miss that naïveté.
“Um, I’m here on behalf of Mr. Fletcher and his senior lawyer, Mr. Richardson, to give you an update on proceedings.”
“Wait, I’m being arrested?” I bite my lip, wincing at hearing such stupid words come out of my mouth.
Martine flushes harder, shaking her head. “No. Oh, I’m sorry, I… Miss Metcalf, I’m sorry to say that Mr. Fletcher is about to rescind his proposal due to some last-minute discoveries by the legal team.”
“We’re not going to merge?” I shout, jumping to my feet. All nervousness flies away, replaced with a searing rage. If he thinks I’m going to marry him and not merge, he’s got another think coming!
I kick off my heels, my feet immediately thanking me, and start clawing at the buttons on the back of the dress. The woman who did them all up gasps in horror, and I feel a tiny bit bad for undoing all her hard work.
“No, no. This is all coming out wrong.” Martine shakes her head again and clears her throat. “You’ll still merge. You just won’t marry.”
“What?” I let my hands drop to my sides, dumbfounded. All I can do is repeat myself. “What?”
And then the door flies open again.
It’s Aiden, his face tomato-red, panting and sweating like he’s run a marathon, half the buttons of his shirt undone and his tie hanging sloppily around his neck. “Candice, thank God you’re still here!”
My mouth drops open and all I can manage to stammer is a nonsensical, “I… am?”
“What have you been told? What do you know?”
“Nothing!” I exclaim, startled by the intensity he’s showing.
“Everyone, get out,” he says, so calmly that the words barely register until he raises his voice to say it again. “Get out!”
Everyone shares a panicked look before they all collectively decide not to argue with the guy who gives them their paychecks. They all file out of the room, and as the last woman goes, she clicks the door quietly shut behind her, leaving me and Aiden alone.
“You look good,” he says, his breath still coming hard.
I scoff. “I look like a fucking idiot.”
“But a very attractive one,” he says, grinning and taking a step towards me.
I’m having a rollercoaster day, again, so I hold out my hand to halt him. “You can’t flirt with me when you’re jilting me.”
“I’m jilt— what?” He screeches to a halt, giving me that confused-cat look again like he’s thrown a toy under the sofa.
“Isn’t that what you’ve come here to say? That this ridiculous marriage is off the cards after all? That we wasted all this time and effort for nothing?” I put my hands on my hips, but the lacy ribbon has such a frustrating texture that I want to rip it all off, so I go back to trying to claw the dress off me.
Aiden shakes his head and surges towards me again. “Candice, please listen to me,” he says, his fingers brushing over my back, our knuckles colliding as he sets to work on the buttons. I thrash under the touch like I’m being electrocuted. “Please, let me help, and listen.”
Much as it pains me to admit it, I do need his help, so I relent, letting him free me. “What’s going on, Aiden? Tell me.”
“Clearly Martine told you something, but the truth is this: they found a loophole, so we can still merge, but if we don’t want to, we don’t have to marry. The companies will be okay regardless.”
He unhooks the final button and pulls on the string that laces me in, releasing the corset from my waist. I sigh as he helps me step out of it, and I kick it aside for good measure. I should be embarrassed to be stood here in my underwear with a full face of makeup and a hairdo caked in hairspray, but all I feel is the relief of being in my own skin again.
“So, you don’t want this stupid wedding after all?” I ask, angry at my own sinking disappointment.Isn’t this what I wanted all along? To be free from him?