FORTY EIGHT (Engaged?!)

"…I'd like to announce the engagement of these two, Miss Kimberly Maelle Shao and my second son, Ethan Reginald Regal."

There was a brief silence before the entire hall erupted with loud cheers and clapping.

Ethan looked totally confused; he couldn't believe the entire family had set him up like that, at the same time his eyes met that of Mia and could tell she was taken aback by everything that had just happened.

Tears swelled in her eyes as she quickly ran off. Suddenly an idea popped into his head and so he ran after her and just before she exited the hall, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to himself. Cupping her soft cheeks in the palms of his great hands, he planted a long and soft kiss on her lips, causing his mother to lose her balance and taking the entire hall by surprise.

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"…Do you care to explain to us the meaning of this disgraceful, Ethan?" His father bellowed after a long awkward silence in the study. Reginald Regal had summoned his entire family including Mia to the dark study. The place has this dark feel, it had tall wooden shelves stacked with books and heavy had heavy furniture. With one look, one could tell it was a man's study.

"…Like I said earlier on, Miss Anderson here and I have been engaged for a while now, and we intend to marry in the new year." Ethan told his father straightforwardly, Mia simply raised her head and stared at him.

"…Engaged?! To a…peasant who is obviously out to get your money!" His mother snapped, "How can you be so blind—"

"Mother! My decisions are mine to make—"

"Well we all know the result of that decision, don't we?? A motherless son!—"

"Enough! I will not stand here and let you speak of Noel like that mother! He's your grandson! Why can't you just accept him and stop being a snobbish—"

"Ethan! You will not speak to your mother like that in front of this…" He paused as he glanced at Mia.

"Leave us." He said instead.

Mia whose eyes had been covered with hot tears let out a small sniff and cleaned her face as she quietly made her way out of the study.

Ethan immediately went after her, grabbed her and pulled her into one of the random empty rooms in the grand hallway and shut the door.

"…Mia look I'm—"

"I really have to go Sir…My shift resumes in a few hours." She told him coldly.

"…I know my brother and I haven't been entirely honest with you…But you can't leave now, we've already come so far—"

"Lying to your family, is that how far "we've" come—"

"You don't understand, I did what I had to, Mia. I can't get married to Kim—"

"So I became your safest escape route—"

"I had no other choice Mia! Goddamn it!" He snapped.

They both stared fiercely at each other till Mia broke away first and turned in the opposite direction.

"My goodness, what am I doing…" She face palmed as she sobbed. "I should never have gotten involved with you, your son or your brother in the first place." She croaked.

"…Let's get married, Mia…First thing in the morning, we'll go to a court…"

He was interrupted by Mia's sarcastic laughter,

"Marriage, that's your way out of this? How about walking back in there and simply telling them the truth—"

"The truth doesn't change anything, I kissed you in front of a lot of people, in front of the Shaos….I can't be with Miss Shao—"

"Your families seem to think the opposite, what exactly do you want?" She asked,

"…Marrying Miss Shao is simply a contractual agreement between our families to create an alliance between our families for the sake of our businesses…The only way out was to be engaged to someone else before the year ran out, and since I couldn't present anyone, I have to marry her… But I can't stand that woman, my son can't stand her either…She's this while, I've been doing what's expected of me just to please my parents…You did this in Japan, how hard can it—"

"I cannot be your puppet again, Mr. Regal." She told him firmly as she walked to the door.

"Wait." He called out.

Without turning, she paused in her tracks and listen to his footsteps, the next thing she felt was his body heat over her back.

"You do realize you might just spend the rest of your youth cleaning rooms and making beds, right?"

"Wh-What do you mean?" She stuttered as she turned and came face to face with his poker face.

"With no connections, no money or power, you might never realize your dreams of becoming an actress." He told her in a cold tone as he walked passed her.

"I on the other hand have all these three key things…And I am willing to help you…If you help me." He concluded.

Mia's heart suddenly skipped a beat as her eyes widened,

"Yes Miss Anderson, I'm ready to make you as famous as Miss Shao, an A-list actress…So, what do you say…. A contract marriage…We get married in the morning, you quit your job and I give you your dream?"