Bethroted

Sylvie

I thought his mother was going to be the last person to walk through the front door for the day. But two hours later, a young lady of my age came strutting in. Just like Elizabeth Black, she had come with her luggages, and unlike Elizabeth, this lady had no intention of hiding her hate for me.

She had entered with a scornful look on her face, and minutes later had yelled at me for not making her a welcome meal. While I felt the urge to scream back at her, I restrained myself merely because Michael was in the room with us. He had pulled her aside for a minute, and even though I couldn't hear what they were saying, I was certain he had chastised her properly.

"Who is she?" I asked after the new visitor had run upstairs with tears streaming down her cheeks. She was obviously a drama queen, and from the way Michael interacted with her, it was safe to assume that the two were very familiar with each other.

"She's Melanie Grant, a childhood friend of mine." Michael explained in an exhausted tone.

"Michael, why is she here?" I asked, my voice soft but insistent. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

He shifted uncomfortably, and his eyes traveled away from mine suspiciously. "She came because of my mother, they're very fond of each other."

I nodded, though skepticism played relentlessly in my mind. "I'm sorry that I got suspicious, it's just that you never mentioned her. Her appearance caught me off guard, and—"

"Forget about her Sylvie," Michael interjected silkily. He pulled me closer to his warmth and wrapped me in his strong arms. "Let's focus on us for now. Don't worry about anybody else unless it's me."

I smiled, but deep down I knew something was off somewhere. It felt as though something was missing from the answers Michael had given me, and it made me restless for a great majority of the day.

Dusk soon came, and I made dinner for the family. I excused myself from the dining table five minutes into dinner, and while the three ate their meal I made my way into Melanie's room. It was probably a stupid move on my part, but curiosity had gotten the better of me. Something about her was just odd, and the way Michael casually shoved topics about her aside made me even curious.

I started with her boxes, and in them I found several pictures of Michael, both normal pictures and very sexualised images of him. I definitely admired Michael Black, both his figure and his face, but to have this many images of him could only hint obsession. Leaving the box, I headed for her wardrobe, and that was when I heard footsteps behind me. I froze and immediately rushed to hide, but it was too late.

"What are you doing in my room?" Melanie's spiteful voice thundered. I turned around slowly and met her storming towards me, her face tight with contempt.

"Umm...I..I was..."

"You were what?!" She bellowed before pulling me by the hand and yanking me out of her room. I watched as her hand rose into the air and swiftly began its descent towards my face. I folded my hands against my face waiting for an impact, but it never came. Instead, Michael's baritone voice thundered through the atmosphere.

"What do you think you're doing Melanie?!" He had her hand restrained in the air, and gently he pushed her a few centimeters away from me.

"What am I doing?! Why don't you ask your little girlfriend here what she was doing in my room?!" Melanie screamed back, her rage growing steadily every passing second.

Michael turned towards me with inquisitive eyes, but I swiftly lowered my head in shame. I could tell he was disappointed, but he didn't show it, not in front of Melanie at least. "She must have gotten lost, she's new to this house too." Michael said in my defense before throwing his arms around me.

"Lost? She was going through my stuff! There's no way she could have gotten lost!" Melanie argued, but Michael wasn't listening. He merely took me to the side before turning to meet Melanie's angry expression.

"Just let it go, everybody makes mistakes, I'm sure it won't happen again." With that, Michael took my hands and led me straight to his room. He locked the door behind him before turning to glare at me condescendingly. "What were you thinking Sylvie? What were you doing in her room?"

Even though my head was lowered, I could feel his burning gaze at the back of my neck. I had no excuses to give, so the only option left for me was to tell the truth. "You're not telling me everything about Melanie, are you?"

"What are you even talking about? Melanie is just—"

"I saw her phone, I saw the pictures in her bag, so don't lie to me Michael." I interjected. The truth was stretched, but it was necessary if I wanted to get anything out of Michael. I could tell that he had a history with Melanie, one that he didn't want to share with me.

His once intense eyes mellowed down considerably and his lips fell open for a counter but no words came out. I could tell Michael wanted to say something, but at the same time he didn't want to lie to me anymore.

After twenty seconds of silence, Michael finally sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair to help him cope with the frustration within before finally telling me what I needed to know. "Melanie and I used to be betrothed to each other,"

My jaw dropped in shock, and all I could do was glare at him with utter disbelief. After another exhale, Michael continued.

"Her father was a co-founder of the company I now own. And as a sign of cooperation between her father and mine, they decided to get their children betrothed to each other in order to keep the partnership between the two families running."

"So, she's your wife?" I inquired just to be clear. If they were betrothed to one another, then this was basically adultery. I was sleeping with another woman's husband, and I still had the audacity to point fingers at her.

"I'm not marrying her, it doesn't matter what agreement our parents have. I'm sure Melanie understands that too." Michael clarified before walking forward and wrapping me up in his arms. "The person I want is you Sylvie, don't ever forget about that."