Chapter 1: 1 - Wedding in a week

In the spacious living room of her family's mansion, Sapphire's feet tapped restlessly against the marble tile floor. A wave of nervousness and confusion washed over her as she patiently awaited her father's arrival. It had been so long since he had personally summoned her, and his earlier tone of voice left her uneasy.

She was at the hospital earlier with a patient when her father's call came in, and as soon as she picked up, he told her that her presence was needed at home and that it was important.

She tried calling her mother earlier to ask what could possibly be the problem, but the only response she got from her was that she should show up and figure it out for herself. A response that wasn't very surprising to her since her mother has always been like that.

After what felt like hours, she finally spotted her father, Jack Matthews, climbing up the stairs and walking towards where she was seated.

"Hello, father," she said as she watched him take a seat directly opposite where she was seated.

She let out a deep breath as soon as she spotted the serious look he had on his face.

She wouldn't say she was scared of him or anything, but her parents weren't exactly the kind of parents that checked up on their children, often much less invited them for any kind of discussion if it wasn't very serious.

"I'm very sure you're wondering why I called you all the way here." He went straight to the point without bothering to greet her back, and Sapphire wasn't surprised at all. "As you know, I wouldn't call you all the way here if it wasn't for an important reason, and I apologize if I interrupted your work."

Sapphire wasn't one to drag on inevitable conversations, so she wanted nothing more than for her father to just get straight to the point. "No offense, Dad, but can you just get straight to the reason I'm here? I have tons of things to do, and I'm not sure I have any time to waste," she told him hurriedly, not meaning to sound rude in any way.

"You're getting married, Sapphire," her father responded almost immediately, and Sapphire didn't realize it when her jaw dropped to the floor.

She wasn't too sure if she had heard correctly or if her ears were just playing a sick joke on her, but whatever it was, she hoped that it was the latter option, because the former made absolutely no sense at all.

"What...did...you...just say, Dad?" she stuttered a response, staring back at her father with her brows furrowed in confusion. "Did you just mention the word marriage, or am I tripping?" she asked, refusing to believe that her father would suddenly bring up marriage out of nowhere.

"You heard me correctly, Sapphire. You are getting married, and it's happening in just a few days," he responded in his usual calm but serious tone. "I know it's confusing, but I have no choice but to make you do this, my dear. His name is Fabio Rodriguez, and I'm very sure that you're familiar with his name. He's the man you're set to marry in the next seven days, so I'll have to ask you to prepare yourself because you'll be meeting him very soon," he added, and honestly, Sapphire had already stopped paying attention to whatever he was saying since she heard him say that she was getting married.

The very last thing she was thinking of getting into at this moment was marriage, and out of nowhere, her father was telling her that she was getting married.

"I still don't get a word you're saying right now, Dad. What do you mean I'm getting married? Why should I be getting married? I don't recall ever mentioning to you that I had any intentions of getting married anytime soon, so, what exactly is going on?" Sapphire questioned, trying to understand the nonsense she was hearing from her father.

"It's completely my fault, my dear, and I don't think I can ever apologize to you enough for putting you in this position," he was saying, and Sapphire cut him off.

"What position are you talking about? Be straightforward with me, Dad, and explain to me what marriage has to do with whatever is going on." she snapped furiously, raising her voice a little more than she intended.

Sapphire was naturally a very calm and easygoing person, and she wasn't one to yell or flare up at any point in time, but right now, she was losing it. Her mind was completely blank, and she was utterly confused.

"If you don't marry Fabio Rodriguez in a week, we're going to lose everything, Em. Our house, our businesses, and even our lives. Getting you to marry him is the only way we can save ourselves from ruin, and even though I'm ashamed to have to ask you for such a huge favor, I have no other choice but to do this," he responded, and Sapphire froze.

She could not believe her ears. Her own father was asking her to get married to a complete stranger in order to save himself from losing everything. He didn't even seem like he had a second thought about asking her what she thought first before concluding that she had no other choice but to marry this man, and the thought alone broke her completely.

"How come, Dad? Just how come? How is it that we're about to lose everything from one day to the next? What business did you get yourself into now that's making you go this far?" Sapphire questioned, and Jack sighed.

"They're things you won't understand, my dear, and I don't think I can start explaining things to you right now. Running a business can be very complicated, and sometimes we have to make sacrifices in order to keep the business running," he replied to Sapphire, and she scoffed.

Here he was talking about making sacrifices as if he were the one being asked to marry a complete stranger and still not being given a reason why. "Do I even have a say in this? Can I refuse?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, Sapphire. We have no other choice," he responded to her, and Sapphire didn't need an interpreter to interpret what he meant. Her only options were to either accept the marriage or not, and there was nothing else she could do about it.

"Does it have to be in a week? Can't I get a chance to know him first?" Sapphire asked, and even though she was aware that her question sounded somewhat childish, she didn't care.

She had always thought that she'd have the fortune of marrying the man she loved, but now that this was happening, she still wanted to get to know who this Fabio man was.

"The wedding can't be postponed, but you will get a chance to meet him and get to know him. We'll be paying him a visit tomorrow, and you two will be introduced," her father explained, and Sapphire didn't realize when she sucked in a deep breath.

Everything felt so sudden and so rushed that it almost felt like her life was being planned by someone else and that all she had to do was follow the plan.

"This is just crazy," she muttered under her breath, closing her eyes shut and trying to understand why this was even happening to her in the first place.