We’ve certainly met already.

Crystal stands in front of the mirror, eyeing her own reflection. It was now only a few minutes until the commencement of the engagement ceremony and she could proudly say that she had represented the Pembrokes family.

Her brunette hair was styled in loose waves, cascading down her back in a natural and effortless way.

The makeup was subtle yet striking, with a focus on the eyes. A smoky eye was created using shades of deep brown and black, complemented by a nude lip.

The dress she chose was a stunning, long, violet gown that hugged her curves in all the right places. The design of the gown was exquisite, with intricate beading and embroidery adorning the bodice and trailing down the skirt. The dress flowed gracefully behind her as she moved, adding an extra touch of elegance to her ensemble.

To complete the look, she opted for simple yet elegant accessories, including a pair of diamond stud earrings and a delicate silver bracelet.

"Are you really not going to wear the dress Orion picked for you after he put in so much effort?" Karen asks for the third time that day, a little sad.

"Have you found out why my parents can't make it?" Crystal ignores Karen's question deliberately, there was no way in hell that she would wear the dress picked by someone who accessed her from head to toe and then concluded that she was a maid.

It was clear that his opinions about the right way a person should dress were tainted so she didn't bother to even look at it and decided to go with her original plan.

She wasn't surprised about Karen's disappointment because she hadn't told her about what she had seen earlier in her room so she was still a fan of his.

"They claim to have an emergency but from the sound of my mom's voice, it's obvious they are upset about your engagement to Orion." She responds, taking the hint that her boss did not want to talk about the dress or the one who picked it.

"So what you're saying is that my genius plan from earlier would have worked since my parents aren't going to show up?" She scoffs with regret.

If only Eunice hadn't already seen her today, maybe she would have been able to still pull it off. Coincidentally, Orion had mistook her for a maid so it would have been a lot easier. She hisses as she remembers his insults.

"It's too late now." Karen says playfully, packing everything Crystal would need to touch up her makeup in the party.

"So they ship me to a bunch of strangers and don't have the courtesy of attending the engagement at the very least." Crystal states, turning to face Karen.

"And look at how beautiful you look right now, someone might think you were the one getting engaged. My plan would have easily worked out so well." Crystal adds, smiling at her gorgeous best friend.

"Yeah yeah, I'm awesome and everything but can we go already? You have to make a good first impression." She says, nudging her towards the door.

"I think that advice is meant for someone else." Crystal says knowingly to herself, taking Karen's hands as they both head out.

**************************************************

The elegant hall was illuminated by a stunning chandelier, which exuded a serene ambiance throughout the party.

At one end of the hall, an orchestra played soft classical music, while paparazzi, stationed at the entrance captured the event. Although some were permitted inside to take photographs, Crystal attempted to evade them to avoid revealing her identity, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she became the center of their attention.

The remaining space in the hall was tastefully decorated with tables arranged to form a dance floor in the center. Across from the dance floor stood an enormous buffet, completing the luxurious atmosphere.

The place was packed with people who were all dressed elegantly as expected, what she didn't expect was for there to be so many persons present. She felt like there were people at every corner of the huge hall and it was no surprise that she couldn't recognize any one of them.

If her parents weren't coming for the wedding then there definitely wouldn't be any relatives or business partners of theirs coming either, after all, most of them weren't aware of her existence so how could they attend?

"Excuse me miss, Madam Eunice is calling for you." A petite waiter whispers to her and starts leading the way without confirming if she was following behind or not. "These people needed to be trained by Madam Rosa for at least a week", Crystal thinks to herself as she walks behind the waiter.

She sees Eunice laughing and obviously doing a better job at socializing than she had been doing, next to her was Richard Kellington. She knew what he looked like from attending some of the political meetings Ryan held at home with his PR practitioner.

She looks around but doesn't see Orion, sighing in relief, she walks towards them with her head held high, counting every step that she took.

Eunice immediately dismisses the couple she had been talking to and pulls Crystal in for a hug when she sights her.

"You look absolutely gorgeous tonight my dear." She says adoringly, making Crystal blush a little bit, it hasn't been up to a day but Crystal could see herself getting along with Eunice just well.

"As do you, Mrs. Kellington." She compliments in turn, more out of honesty than of courtesy.

"What did I say about calling me so formally?" She warns.

"It will take some getting use to." Crystal admits, making Eunice give a sharp laugh.

Crystal averts her gaze from Eunice to Richard, who had not uttered a word but just stood, observing her suspiciously as though she was going to pull out a bomb and blow up the whole place.

"Good Evening Mr.Kellington." Crystal says curtly, not bothering to hide her dislike for him. He was an enemy to her father so she wasn't exactly ready to give him the warmest reception and she could see that the feeling was mutual as he responds with a nod rather than speaking.

"I think Orion would be disappointed to see that you didn't wear the dress he picked out for you." Eunice breaks the awkward silence, at the same time signaling a waiter to give a glass of champagne to Crystal, who smiles in appreciation.

"I think there must have been a mistake with the rooms because it seemed like it was somebody's else's." Crystal says, deliberately ignoring her question. Besides, she wanted to understand why Orion would go to her assigned room of all places to do his business.

"There's no mistake, you and Orion will be sharing a room starting from today. After all, this whole engagement is just a formality." Richard finally speaks, and sure enough Crystal wished he had remained silent.

"What?!" She exclaims involuntarily, she was thankful she hadn't taken a sip of her drink because she would have definitely started choking.

"Why are you so surprised? Your father must have failed to inform you again but starting this night, Orion and you will start trying to produce an heir." He says, as if it's the most common thing to say.

Crystal immediately starts choking on her saliva, coughing uncontrollably while Eunice starts to rub her back in a calming way.

As though he had heard his name, Orion appears behind Crystal, replacing his mother's job of rubbing her back without looking at her face. Crystal immediately stops coughing when she feels a much stronger hold on her back and stands up straight, alarmed.

"No need to be startled darling. Let me introduce you to your soon to be husband, Orion and Orion to your soon to be wife, Crystal." Eunice says, all smiles.

As Orion turns to face her, his eyes widen in horror as realization dawns on him that he had made a very terrible mistake, as opposed to Crystal, who had the most taunting smirk she had ever mustered, plastered on her face, clearly enjoying herself.

"There's no need for the introductions, we've certainly met already." She says, smiling sweetly at Orion.