Chapter 6 The Devil and the Red Sea
\-Celeste-
Damn it. I must have fallen asleep.
I only realized that when the sunlight crept through the window and onto my face like a rude intrusion. My corset was still laced tight, my body stiff from holding the same position the entire night.
I let out a small sigh. What was I thinking? Falling asleep after what I had pulled in front of everyone. In front of Grandmother.
My thoughts drifted to the man I had dragged into my mess. Those ocean-blue eyes that looked at me like he could strip me with a glance, too sharp, too consuming, like he already knew how easily I'd break if he pushed.
Damn, I should have been furious when he played me on this bed. Instead, the heat remained in my chest, making me react in ways I didn't want to think about. Shit. What was I doing?
I barely knew this man, and yet I had agreed to be his bride without batting an eye.
I finally figured out how to get myself off bed. My main goal now was to get past every prying eye around, to my room, then out of the mansion, and probably to a hotel. At least till everything calmed.
For Lucien, I didn't know if I'd see him again.
I walked to the door, grabbed the doorknob and twisted. Nothing. I tried again, before realizing that something had locked it from the outside.
"Hello?" I knocked twice, hoping it was just an oversight on the staff's part.
But when I heard footsteps shuffling outside without stopping. It hit me. I was trapped.
Desperately, I banged hard, screaming for help, but no one came to my aid. I felt invisible, like a ghost trapped in a box. My phone was in my bedroom, and there was no other way out of here.
Finally, after what felt like an hour, the shuffling stopped, and the clicking of heels against the marble floor filled the air. Sharp and commanding. They were different, at least three of them.
"Get me out of here!" I screamed on top my lungs.
"Oh, for Christ's sake, would you stop screaming like a mad child?!"
Grandmother.
So she was behind this? My thoughts reeled.
Vanessa chimed in, her voice laced with false concern. "Do you realize the mess you've created, or the stress you've caused your Gran?"
I scoffed, but before I could reply, Lilith's voice filtered through.
"You embarrassed Colin in front of everyone. How could you-"
"Then you should go console him. He's probably sulking over me right now." I bit back. How dare she act like she was innocent, like she cared in front of everyone?
I knew there was a reason why I never liked my new sister after Father brought them home. There was always something about her that made me hate her guts!
Grandmother continued, voice cold. Distant.
"I've decided to keep you in here until you learn. You will take responsibility, and you will announce your engagement to Colin. The staff have provided all you'll need for now. There's a stack of neatly folded clothes, you'll have meals in-"
"So basically, I'm a prisoner in my own home?" I said glancing at the clothes in corner, staring back at me like an insult. Either way, I needed them.
"I don't understand why you're doing this, you loved Colin."
"Yes, Vanessa. I did, until I discovered he was cheating on me with your daughter!" I snapped, pointing at the door like I knew the exact position Lilith stood. Too bad I couldn't see the look on her face.
The silence though. It said enough.
"Lilith, what is she talking about?"
I listened, frantically trying and failing to unlace the corset. I could barely breathe under all the tension.
"Gran, it was an accident." Lilith's voice trembled on the other side. "It only happened once, I swear."
But it was going to happen again. Until you both would decide I was better out of the way and plan my death.
"Have you lost your mind, child?!"
Vanessa defended. "Mother, please...she said it was an accident."
"An accident? Of all the men out there, you choose your sister's then called it an accident?"
If there was one thing about Grandmother, she always stood for what was right when it came to us.
The argument continued, but that was the least of my concern at the moment. I carried myself about the room, trying to ease the lace off the dress, while searching for a knife or anything I could use to rip this dress off.
But before I could find anything, the chaos outside seized, replaced by another tensed silence.
Lilith's voice came through first. "L-Lucien, what are you doing here?" She stuttered.
"I came looking for my fiancée. I've been calling her all morning, and she's not answering." His voice filtered through, calm and collected.
My throat tightened at the sound of his voice. He came back for me.
I smiled to myself. At the same time, I had to let him know I was trapped in. So I hurried back to the door.
"Lucien!" I screamed, banging against the door, like some primal beast. "They locked me in! They won't let me out please!"
Vanessa's voice came through next. "We don't know what she's talking about Mr Blackwell...She's locked herself in, and we're trying to help her out.
He retorted sharply. "But I don't see any tools for that."
"Young man, I locked her in there myself. I don't care what foolish games you two think you're are playing, but I won't let you ruin what's to be. So you might as well let yourself out the way you came in." Grandmother said, her tone brute and final.
Then I heard him scoff.
How dare he? And in front of Grandmother? Oh, how I wished I could see the expressions on their faces.
"Patricia Ashford. What will everyone think when I let them know that you're keeping your grandchild hostage, so you can force her marry the man of your choice. We all know that this union was meant to be political, but won't be sound...shameful-almost as if you're giving her up for some power-"
"Watch your tone, young man!" Grandmother snapped.
"But I wasn't done yet. Do you know what this will stir? Rumors. Rumors that the Ashford family has dirt to hide. I know my father has the prosecution under his thumb. He owns politicians, business men and women. I know he-"
"That's enough!" Grandmother cut him off, voice bouncing off the walls. Next, I heard the jiggling of keys.
"Here," she said, her voice stern and laced with contempt. "Take her and never set foot here again. But let it be known that your union will never stand. I will make sure to see to it. So enjoy it while it last, and brace yourself for what's about to come your way, Lucien Blackwell." With that, the clicking of her heels resumed and faded down the hall.
Somehow, those words sent shivers down my spine, reminding me how reckless I was to have dragged an innocent man into my business.
I stepped away from the door as it opened, my heart pounding shamelessly against my chest.
As he entered, his expression remained neutral Almost as if he wasn't affected by any of my Grandmother's threat. Then, without a word, he grabbed my wrist, firm yet gentle, and pulled me out of the room.
I dragged myself along, trying to keep up with his pace. In the hallway, Vanessa and Lilith stood arms crossed, like two defeated villains planning a comeback.
Lucien quietly led me through the halls like he had studied it, known every nook and cranny. Finally, we made our way outside to a black Mercedes. And no one dared to stop us.
So this was it, Grandmother had really let us go. Then, why couldn't I shake off this pitting sense of dread.
We entered the car, and the strong scent of his cologne mingled with the polished new car smell filled the air.
His fists were tight against the steering, jaw clenched and brows knitted in annoyance, and maybe frustration.
"Thank you." I murmured as he sped off the grounds, gravel crunching under the tires.
He didn't meet my eyes. "For what? Aiding your foolishness?" He sternly said. "Might I remind you that I'm not a knight in shining armor, Celeste? You provoked a lion then slept in its den! What were you thinking?!" He snapped.
He was right, I wasn't thinking.
"I'm sorry." I murmured against the tension in the air, but he didn't respond. And he didn't say a word until we arrived our destination. An apartment.
The heavy silence that followed from here on was maddening. From the halls, to the elevator, and to his unit.
The apartment was nothing grand or out of the ordinary. Modest, yet there was something exquisite about it. He murmured for me to sit while he disappeared into the space.
He reappeared again, this time with an envelope.
He held it mid-air. "I had it prepared last night, read and sign."
I collected it. "What's this?"
He walked over to a mini-bar, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. "It's a prenuptial contract. You may be an Ashford heiress, but I come from a long line of ruthless lawyers. Call this, leverage."
I opened the file to see a bunch of clauses, carefully stated out. I scanned the paper till I saw a rather ridiculous clause that froze.
"A child?" I blurted without thinking.
"Correct. I can't waste an entire year of my life on your affairs and walk away with nothing." He sipped his drink, like he was casually asking for candy.
"So you want us to have sex?"
That was a stupid question.
He paused, a smug smile playing on his face. "Isn't that what married people do?" He didn't give me a chance to respond. "Look, if you can't do this, then leave. Go back to Patricia and marry go old Colin."
With that he dropped the glass and walked away like hadn't just placed me between the devil and the red sea. A cruel ultimatum.
Minutes later, he returned with a brief in hand. "Make yourself comfortable, I'm off to work."
"Wait!"
I turned my back to face him. I had no choice.
"Could you...unlace my dress?"
He didn't act at once, and I was starting to believe he would walk away, but then I suddenly felt his warmth behind, then the touch of his fingers against my skin.
I swallowed hard, trying and failing to remain composed as he walked his way up and down the dress. He was just too close. And his fingers? Every touch sent tingles through my body, like magic.
Was he really oblivious to what he was doing to me? Damn, I wish he'd touch me just a little bit longer.
As if he read my thoughts, he stepped back. "You can handle yourself from here on. I'm late for work."
With that, he walked out, leaving me there like a hot mess.