FUNERAL CRASH

"Great call." Ace said.

Leaning forward, he tapped the partition, calling for his driver's attention. It began to roll up, and Fay's tear stained eyes bulged as she watched.

"Sir." His driver called.

"To the Deep Blue Sea Hotel." He ordered.

"Yes sir." He kick-started the car immediately.

"Wait, why are we going to a hotel?" Her brows lowered.

Before he could give her a response, she jerked forward when the car started to move without warning. His hands quickly reached out to steady her.

Carefully, he pulled her back into a sitting position. "Are you okay?" He asked, removing his hands from her arms. To his surprise, he could still feel the softness of her skin in his palm.

"I--- I'm fine." She breathed out, her eyes darting everywhere but towards him. His reflexes had been amazing to say the least. If only Gabriel had the reflexes to not sell her out, she thought bitterly.

"You're going to sleep at the hotel tonight, and after we get married tomorrow, you'll return with me to my house." He explained after ascertaining she was fine 

Her gaping jaw shut forward in surprise. "What? I'm getting married tomorrow? But I still have my things at the restaurant. My phone, and clothes. I haven't received my salary for the month, which judging by what happened today, I may never receive it. I also have to inform my aunt, and cousins. How can I be getting married tomorrow?" She rushed through her words, as her heart began to pound against her chest.

"You need to calm down. Your phone is not a necessity. Clothes will be provided in abundance. You don't need a miserly salary with what I'm offering you, and who cares about your aunt?" He half shrugged.

She breathed out loudly. "You're crazy. I don't even know your name?" 

"Ace." He said, purposely withholding his last name.

"Ace?" The change in her voice caught his attention.

"Yes. Why?" 

"Like in games or the drink, which by the way is one of the best selling drinks in our restaurant. Did you know it's flavours origi----"

He moved his head forward as she went on, and on about the different type of Ace's. Maybe he had jumped the gun by believing Grant. He only picked her because she cried. He didn't like women that cried. When the one year of their contract was over, he could easily discard her.

But if he had known she could talk a hole through one's ears too, he would never have entertained this.

The Deep Blue Sea sign finally came in view, and he sighed in relief.

"We're here." He announced, interrupting her dive into the origin of red wines. She definitely took her introduction to restaurant cuisine services seriously.

As she stepped out, she took her sweet time looking around. She had never been to this side of town. Everything seemed so sparkly like diamonds. Her eyes skipped past the luxurious cars around, to the hotel building itself. "Am I really going to spend the night here?" She turned when she felt him beside her.

"Let's go." He ignored her question.

Feeling like the rough in this diamond land, she twisted her hands in front of her, and with her head bowed, walked a few paces behind him.

Ace was already at the front door when he realized he couldn't feel her. He turned to see her looking like a turtle, crawling towards him. He sighed, lines of frustration spreading across his head.

Walking back, he grabbed her hands, and pulled her along.

"What are you---' She gasped, feeling even more naked.

The door to the hotel lobby swung open, and an automated sound welcomed them. She jumped in fear at the sound, leaning even closer to Ace.

Contrary to what she had expected, they were not stopped at the lobby. It was actually the opposite. Everyone around bowed as they walked past.

She had figured he was rich, but this was really an eye opener.

They arrived at an escalator, and as soon as they got in, he dropped his hands, and turned to face her. 

The elevator was without much space, and his movement almost made them pressed together like a sandwich. Her heart began to beat faster.

"You need to stop acting like a child on her first Disney trip." He said.

She blinked, sensing the irritation in his voice. "I'm sorry for embarrassing you." Her face fell.

"It's not--" He wanted to explain, but thought better of it. "Let's just go." He said when the elevator came to a stop.

"Where are we headed to?" She hurried out, stepping beside him.

Again she was ignored as he flipped out his phone, and dialled a number. "Is everything ready?" He asked.

"Good." He ended the call.

"Is there a problem?" She looked around the isolated pathway. 

He shook his head, and continued walking. They arrived at a turn where they met two women standing. 

"Sir." They both bowed as Ace came to a halt.

"We have just thirty minutes. Make her look presentable." He said. Without so much as a glance, or explanation to her, he turned and walked away, leaving her in the hands of these strange women.

Fay was beside herself with fear, as the women on neatly ironed suit turned to her. "Good evening Miss." They bowed in sync, like robots.

She looked behind, but there was no one else around.

"Please, raise your heads up. I'm not a miss, I'm Fay." She pleaded, feeling awkward by the show of respect.

"I'm Maria, and this is Melody." The taller, of the elegant ladies introduced.

"Nice to meet you both." She said, offering an enthusiastic hand.

"Sorry ma'am, maids don't shake the ladies. Please come with us as we prepare you for tonight." Melody said.

She didn't have enough time to respond. In a split second, she was being ushered into a room with three other women already waiting for them.

Ten minutes later, she was fully dressed, and adorned.

"Wow!" She heard, followed by collective gasps.

That was the first human reaction she had gotten, and she wondered why. She finally understood when she was led to the larger than life mirror. Her breath caught against her chest, as she stared at her reflection in disbelief.

Surely, this stranger couldn't possibly be her. The long black sleeveless dress gave her curves she didn't know existed. Her red bushy hair had a shine she had never seen before. Everything seemed too perfect, too manufactured.

"Thank you." She turned to the ladies with teary eyes. 

"Please ma'am, save the tears for later." 

She didn't understand what they meant, and before she could ask, a knock sounded on the door.

"Come, your man is here to fetch you." Maria said, pushing her forward, at the same time Ace came in.

"Here she is sir." She was presented before him like a trophy.

He stopped dead on his tracks, his eyes studying every inch of her. Momentarily he forgot about his plans for the night, as the more he learnt, the louder the alarm bells in his head rang. 

"She looks wonderful, right sir?" 

He cleared his throat, shaking off the very graphic thoughts that just formed in his head. 

"Let's go." He stretched out his hand.

Her face fell, as she gave him her hands. She couldn't help but feel a little hurt he had all but discarded her appearance. Not even a compliment.

She didn't have time to be in her feelings for too long. As soon as they stepped out of the room, they entered into the adjacent room, which as she raised her head, she found was a path to another room.

She felt his hand tighten around hers as the door to the new room slid open, revealing what looked like an ongoing funeral.

Everyone turned to see who had just interrupted the peaceful gathering.

Fay's eyes instantly went to his face, but his were straightforward. Following his gaze, she discovered it's recipient; Tall, blonde, didn't look a day over fifty.

She stared right back at him too, until her eyes slowly shifted towards Fay.

That was the cue Ace needed. Dragging her along, he walked forward, and didn't stop until he was in front of the priest. Letting go of her hands, he turned around to face the crowd.

"What are you doing?" The woman he stared at before, asked.

Everyone else remained silent, contented with watching instead.Even the priest who was speaking when they came in, took a step back.

"Paying respect to my grandfather." He replied cooly.

"And this is the way to do it? Badging in when the ceremony is almost over? This is disappointing even for you Ace." The tone of her voice was harsh and spiteful, but Ace didn't flinch.

"Think whatever you like Aunt. Like I said, I'm here for my grandfather."

A tense silence followed his response. Everyone sat glued to their sit, watching the heated exchange.

"Security!" She suddenly screamed, looking around. "Come get this imposter out of here!" 

A woman jumped up from the crowd. "You can't do that Cel---" 

She couldn't complete her words, as suddenly a loud wail spun across the room.

Every pair of eyes followed the direction of the sound to the girl on her knees, in front of the open casket, bawling her eyes out.

"Who is she?" Someone from the crowd asked.

Ace smirked. "Thank God everyone is present. She's my wife to be, and the wedding is slated for tomorrow. But seeing we have a priest here, and grandpa wanted to see me married more than anything. What do you say?" He turned to the priest. "Do you think you can join me and my lovely lady in holy matrimony tonight?" He asked, triggering a collective gasp from everyone present.