2 - Meeting Fabio

Sapphire's reflection smacked her as soon as she looked into the mirror. She honestly had no idea who she was seeing right now, but one thing was certain: it couldn't be the real her. Her entire body felt numb, and her eyes appeared exhausted and puffy from crying all night.

She knew it would take a lot of contouring and highlighting to disguise the dark shade under her eyes caused by her lack of sleep and exhaustion, but she was more than willing to cake her face with makeup to hide her pain and fake a smile for as long as she could.

Faking a smile and pretending to be okay wasn't unfamiliar territory for Sapphire. As a nurse, she, most of the time, had to keep a smile on her face to keep her patients calm and assured, and she also had to pretend to be okay even when her entire body was falling apart from all the stress.

She applied contour and highlighter to cover up her eye bags before proceeding to apply blush on her cheeks. She could see her cheeks coming to life with color, but aside from that, there was nothing else to indicate any sign of happiness on her face.

She finally applied a red lipstick after minutes of contemplating whether to go for a pink shade or a red one. She concluded that using pink would be a boring choice, and using red would be a much bolder choice.

She decided against packing her hair in a bun, and she just straightened it and allowed it to fall. She naturally had very black hair, but she had ended up dying it brown a few months ago.

Her hand lightly grazed the diamond necklace that sat prettily on her neck as if it belonged there. The necklace happened to be a gift from her mom, and it was a gift she had gotten a few years ago from her father.

She had walked into Sapphire's room last night to apologize to her and to also give her this as a token of her apology. She claimed this was something she had kept for when Sapphire was getting married, but because of the situation, it wasn't a wedding gift but rather an apology gift.

Letting out a tired sigh, Sapphire stood up to examine the strapless black dress she had on and how it embraced her body and highlighted her curves. After assuring herself that she looked just perfect, she slowly walked out of her room.

Every step she took as soon as she walked out of her room only intensified her nervousness and made her palms much sweatier. The fact that she had no idea who or how this man was, and yet she had no choice but to head to his place and meet with him, made the situation even more nerve-wracking for her. She didn't want to just go to him blindly, so she ended up doing thorough research on him as soon as she woke up that morning.

According to her internet-based research, Fabio Rodriguez was no joke at all. He was a business mogul who was known for being very ruthless and cold, especially when it came to his work. He owned several casinos in Las Vegas, owned several hotels and resorts, and was also a big name in the business world as someone who had shares in several businesses across the country. Compared to Fabio's wealth, Sapphire's family's wealth was nowhere near his at all.

"Are you ready, my dear?" her dad asked as soon as she climbed down the stairs with her hands trailing on the cold rails of the stairway. He was already all dressed up in a suit, and she could tell he had been waiting for a while.

What she couldn't tell was if he was excited about this or if he was also just trying to go with the flow because he looked way too good and way too calm, and she found it very suspicious and weird.

"I don't think I have any other choice, Dad. As you can see, I'm already prepared to go ahead with this ridiculous situation," she responded, and he simply sighed without bothering to respond, and she thanked God on his behalf because if he had made the mistake of saying anything at all, she would have had an all-out argument with him and changed her mind.

She kept looking outside the car window, letting the cold air touch her face so it could help her relax her mind. She had a lot going through her head, and as much as she tried not to start overthinking and playing how the meeting went on in her head, she couldn't help it. At that point, the introduction could either go well if she was able to just keep her mind in check, or it could go wrong if he irritated her to the point where she couldn't take it.

She did not want to say anything to her dad at all because she had a feeling that if she spoke to him, he was only going to say something to worsen her mood, and thankfully, he understood that she had no interest in talking to him and kept to himself without bothering her at all.

After a few hours, they arrived at their destination, and as soon as they did, her jaw dropped to the ground.

The first thing that caught her eye was the massive black gate that looked like she had just arrived at some mafia boss's mansion. Her mouth hung open when she realized just how breathtaking the entire property was and how beautiful the view was.

Compared to her home, this property was freaking huge, and trust her, her place wasn't exactly average.

She spotted what looked like a basketball court, and just when she thought her jaw couldn't drop any lower, it did. She stepped out of the car after their driver drove in and took a better look at her surroundings.

She noticed that he had a pool house, which wasn't very surprising; he also had a fountain and a garden that looked beautiful. From a distance, she also noticed what looked like a stable horse, and a sudden feeling of inferiority overwhelmed her. She thought she knew what luxury was, but as it had turned out, she didn't even know half of it.

"How does it look? Beautiful, right?" her dad asked from behind her, and she immediately rolled her eyes at him.

"Is this why you're making me marry him? So you can have such a rich and influential man as your son-in-law? Is all of this just another business strategy?" she questioned him, and even though it was only a random comment, she wouldn't exactly put it past him.

"Don't be like that, Sapphire. If it wasn't for our family's sake, I wouldn't be making you do this," he responded, and she didn't even feel the need to give him a response. She didn't want to go back to the mood she was in yesterday, and replying to him would only upset her again.

They walked towards the entrance until a young lady suddenly appeared from nowhere with a nervous and tired look on her face.

"I apologize for not welcoming you earlier, madam. My name is Nancy, and I'll be leading you to the master," she introduced herself calmly. "Please come with me," she directed, and Sapphire simply followed her lead, with her dad trailing right behind her like he was some kind of bodyguard.

When they entered the house—I mean, his palace—Sapphire was surprised to see several people, who she assumed were servants, based on how they lined up with their heads bowed. She was quite taken aback and uncomfortable, but she said nothing and just kept following behind Nancy, who was now going up the stairs and leading her to where she assumed Fabio was. The fact that he didn't even think to show his face and welcome her father and her properly was already a sign of how tiring this marriage, or rather, this sham of a marriage, was going to be.

They finally got to the living room, and she wasn't even surprised by how it looked because everything about this place so far had been nothing short of magnificent and elegant.

"Mr. Rodriguez will join you both soon. Please take a seat, and while you wait, would you like anything to drink?" Nancy asked, and Sapphire didn't hesitate to request a glass of water.

She needed something to quench her thirst and stop her throat from running dry because of how nervous she was. Nancy immediately excused herself for a few minutes before returning with a glass of water, and Sapphire gulped it down immediately.

"Thank you," she said to her, and Nancy bowed slightly before excusing herself from the living room.

About ten minutes passed, and there was still no sign of Mr. Rodriguez. She hadn't even met him yet and she had already developed a strong dislike for him. She detested men who lacked courtesy, and he had zero courtesy.

"I apologize for keeping you waiting," a voice spoke from behind her, and she immediately guessed that the man of the hour had finally arrived.

She stopped herself from glancing back to look at him and waited until he was in front of her.

Almost as if he had read her mind, he appeared right in front of her, dressed in casual pants and a loose t-shirt that was lazily tucked into his pants.

She wasn't one to judge anyone based on their first impressions, but, judging by the stone-cold look he had on his face, she knew that he wasn't going to be the nicest person in the world.

She pushed aside her thoughts and attempted to say something to him, and when his eyes met with hers for a split second, she saw an expression that she wasn't expecting to see at all.

Repulsion.