Charlotte:
I see something flash through Anthony Crosswalk's eyes as his son ignores him.
I look away when he glances down at me. Goosebumps rise on my skin as I feel his gaze on me. He is an intimidating man.
"Excuse him. He's not used to not getting what he wants."
I appreciate his honesty, despite his words.
"It's alright Mr. Crosswalk. If he loves someone else, why not get married to her?"
"I'm sure you of all people know how our world works, Ms. Daymond. We don't marry for love. It is a mere abstract concept. Marriage is just a tactful strategy to further improve our businesses."
I shake my head vehemently, completely at odds with his words, but I know it's useless arguing with men of his power. Men like my father. They're thick headed and refuse to listen to what the other person has to say. If Sebastian's childhood was anything like mine, then I feel sorry for him.
Everyone knows about Anthony Crosswalk and his ruthless reputation. I could guess having him as a father is not an easy feat, so I don't hold Sebastian's rude behavior against him.
"Well, I guess I should leave now. It was nice meeting you Mr. Crosswalk."
It wasn't a pleasure to meet you. My heart was pounding furiously the entire time and if I stay any longer, I may risk the chance of getting a heart attack.
"My intention was not for you to meet me. It was for you to meet my son. I could have closed a deal in this time."
I look down at my shoes. I can't help but think it's all my fault. Maybe I could have dressed up nicer. Put on more make-up. Made an effort. But, at the same time, he could have told his son to put some effort too.
"I should go now." I inform him and abruptly take my leave.
"Franco." I smile at my driver.
"Where to, Ms. Daymond?"
"Let's go to the boutique."
"Very well."
We exit the gates of the Crosswalk household and enter the familiar traffic of New York.
My wedding boutique, Charlotte's Secrets, located in SoHo, attracts all brides. It's all about the location, after all. We're a boutique and wedding planning combined.
I thank Franco and exit the car. I take a moment to appreciate the chic, yet rustic building. My life's work. With a bright smile on my face, I step inside, and the air conditioning slaps me in the face, cooling my heated skin.
"Good morning Ms. Charlotte."
"Just Charlotte is fine Harper. Any new customers?"
I hear her click away on the keyboard.
"Two actually. One is supposed to meet you in the afternoon. Precisely at three o'clock.""Perfect. I'll be in my office if you need me for anything."
She nods and I go into my office cabin at the back. Dropping my handbag on the loveseat, I sit down in my chair and start up my computer.
Just as I'm about to open our accounts, I get a call from father dearest.I pick up on the first ring because God forbid, Charles Daymond even wait a second.
"Charlotte." His stern voice rings out."Father." I greet softly.
"Have you met Sebastian Crosswalk?"
"More like his father."
"Anthony?"
"Yes, father. Anthony Crosswalk. Look Dad, Sebastian is in love with someone else. Why do I have to marry him?" I hold my breath for his response, which I expect won't be too nice.
"Who he loves is irrelevant. Me and Anthony will both benefit from this union. We have both agreed upon it, and that is what is most important."
With a frown, I say, "Yes, Father."
"I know you're frowning. Stop that."
I let out a deep breath and focus on the conversation.
"How's Mom?"His tone immediately changes into a soft, loving one.
"She's wonderful. Worries about you everyday. You should come visit this weekend."His words create a pang in my chest. I miss her so much.
"I'll try my best to.""Daymonds don't try Charlotte. They do. You are a Daymond and this is the least I expect from you."
"Yes, father. I have to go. Take care."
"The same goes to you Charlotte."
I hang up and sigh heavily, resting my chin on my palm. How is it going to be to plan my own wedding? One that I don't want. One that the groom, himself doesn't want. A wedding that, only our fathers want for us.
I shake my head of those thoughts and focus on work.
By the end of the day, I'm beat and before I go, I tell Harper to clear my schedule for the weekend.
What Father wants, Father gets.I look down at my phone to book a flight to Arkansas. I could use Dad's private jet, but I don't think it's worth taking the jet just for one passenger.
When I step outside, I collide with someone and my phone crashes to the ground.
"Mr. Crosswalk, what are you doing here?" I ask as I bend to pick up my phone, checking for cracks.
Anthony Crosswalk looks at me through narrowed eyes. He and his son share the same bone structure. High cheekbones and a sharp jawline. Whereas his son's jaw is peppered with stubble, Anthony has a neatly trimmed beard.
"I came to see how my future daughter-in-law's business looks like. Maybe I'd even buy it if I like it well enough."
Rare anger bubbles in my chest at his words, so with the sweetest smile on my face, I say,
"I'm sorry Mr. Crosswalk, but it's not for sale."I see his lips quirk up in the faintest of smiles, before it's gone. It makes me wonder if it was just my imagination.
"Where are my manners? Come. I'll show you around."
So, I make introductions between him and Harper and show him around. The wedding dress section, the trial section, my office, and the brainstorming section. It's like a sun room really, with glass walls, a high vaulted ceiling, plants and warm colored lights.
By the time I'm done showing him around, I don't know whether he's impressed or not.
His sharp ringtone cuts through my thoughts. He picks it up on the second ring and listens to what the other person says.
"What do you mean?"
I watch different emotions flit across his face. Disbelief, hurt, disappointment, and finally anger.
"I trusted you with this, and you sabotage me for what? All because I won't allow you to marry a no good whore?"
Ah, so that must be his son. Whatever Sebastian says makes Anthony's eyes flare.
"Sebastian!" He shouts his name with such high volume, that I flinch and a lock of his black hair falls on his forehead, that, which had been previously neatly gelled back.
He catches my flinch through his peripheral vision and places his hand on top of my head. His gesture is shocking, because I can only assume he's trying to reassure me.
When he ends the call, he removes his hand from my head and brushes the lock of hair away from his forehead.
"Excuse me. I'll have to go now."
My tongue is too twisted to form any words, so I just nod and watch him walk to his car, get into the driver's side, and drive off.
Anthony:"Charlotte's parents have invited us to lunch at their place. Clear your schedule for the weekend."He crosses his arms over his chest, an arrogant look on his face. When he does that, all I can see is Della, and I prefer not to remember her. "Who said I'm going?""Sebastian. Don't make this harder than it has to be.""I'm not going. You can drag me, but I don't think you'd succeed."I may be taller than my son, but he's buffer. I can't threaten his inheritance for every miniscule thing. That is the one card I have already used. "Why don't you get to know Charlotte? She's smart and successful." I don't say that she's beautiful, since it may not be age appropriate of me. I only want the best for Sebastian. "But she's not Adeline." He counters and I almost lose it. "So you want Charlotte to be a whore?"He smacks the wall in anger, looking like the spitting image of me. Every time I look at myself in my bathroom mirror at night. The same anger and hatred in his eyes. "Sh
Charlotte:The next morning, I brush my teeth, take a shower and pack a bag. When I finish zipping up the bag, my phone buzzes with a text. I open it and find an address to a private airport. I eat an apple and banana for breakfast and sling my bag over my shoulder, locking the door behind me. Franco, being his usual punctual self, waits for me. "Good morning Franco." I toss him an apple which he deftly catches. "Good morning Ms. Daymond.""Oh Franco, just call me Charlotte." I say over my shoulder as I get into the backseat of the car. He closes the door and gets behind the wheel. "Where to Ms. Daymond?"I sigh. "We need to go to Teterboro Airport."He nods and starts the engine. I look through my phone to check my mail and respond to the ones that say 'Immediate response required'. When I'm done, I have nothing else to do, so I decide to bother Franco. He's only been my driver from the past two weeks. "Franco, are you married?"He laughs. "For the past 25 years miss."I lean
Charlotte:Anthony Crosswalk is meticulous in everything he does. From what he eats, to the way he chews, to choosing a wife for his son. I watch him cut his food into neat little cubes. As I chew my own food, I count the number of times he chews the food. I'm not surprised to count thirty two. Of course he chews his food thirty two times. "Charlotte, how's business going?" My father snaps me out of my counting. "Business is going great, father." I put some roasted carrots into my mouth, hoping he doesn't berate me. "She doesn't want my diamond business, Anthony. Can you believe that? My billion dollar business.""Charles..." My mother tries to stop him. "No, Elise. She has everything handed to her on a silver plate, and yet she just doesn't want it. She goes and opens a boutique, something that's only good as a hobby."I put some mashed potatoes in my mouth and find it hard to swallow. Well, there goes my appetite. I sip some water and remove the handkerchief from my collar, wip
Anthony:"I do not want a wedding ceremony. Forcing a woman upon me wasn't enough for you? Putting my signature on the papers is the most I can do. The only wedding I ever wanted was with Adeline, and you so selfishly robbed me of that. Only Adeline will ever be my bride. So, if you think I'd even attend my own wedding, you're poorly mistaken, father dearest."It takes all my effort to push down my anger. What the fuck is that bitch Adeline doing to him? "Crosswalk Industries and Daymond Diamonds. Both of them Fortune 500 companies. You expect us not to throw a grand wedding? That's what your future wife does for a living, mind you""I don't give a shit about her, least of all, about what she does. You can throw the biggest wedding ceremony you want.""Thank y-""But the groom won't be attending." He finishes with a smirk and leaves. As soon as he closes the door to my office cabin, I launch a dart. Bulls eye. I continue to throw more darts till I've expelled all my anger. Just the
The engagement party is way sooner than I expected. It does make me nervous, but Anthony's words keep replaying in my head and to some extent, they still reassure me. The engagement is going to be held at their house and Anthony told me he would send a driver, but I declined. Franco can drop me off. It's quite odd that Sebastian has not even spoken to me yet. It may become problematic in the future. A shriek causes my spine to snap up straight. I'm immediately held in a chokehold. "You look so fuckable right now."I laugh and turn to hug Fiona. "Thank you."The glittery gold bodycon dress attracted my attention as soon as I saw it through the display window. I knew I had to have it, so I bought it. The fuckable comment is probably because of the slit that starts at my thigh, extending all the way to my ankle. I look into the mirror and weave some golden flowers into my French twist. I put in some chandelier shaped earrings, clasp a gold chain around my neck and turn to look at
Sebastian:She doesn't hold a candle to Adeline. She's ugly. Her face is ugly. Her shoes are ugly, and her style is ugly. She gives me a smile, but I ignore it. I can be civil to the parents, but to her? All cards are off the table when it comes to her. She's the wall standing between me and my Addy. A wall I'll go through any lengths to destroy. My father goes onto the makeshift podium to deliver a small speech, which I tune out because I'm focused on Charlotte Daymond, thinking of all the ways I can make her miserable.She must sense some malice in me, because she looks at me again, but this time she holds my stare. A nudge to my elbow brings me face to face with my father. His speech was over quick. He hands me a ring box and gives the other to the Daymond bitch. I open the box and see a simple gold band encrusted in small diamonds. I bet he picked out the rings himself. He seems more invested in this sham of a marriage than the groom himself. Why can't he marry her instead? The
The 26th arrives sooner than I expected. So here I am, in the courthouse, in a white lace dress, all alone, rocking back and forth on my heels, tossing my bouquet from one hand to the other. "Why aren't they here yet?" Fiona whispers to me. I shrug. "I swear if they ditched you, we're getting on the next flight to Vegas."I hold a finger up. "I do not object to that decision. At all.""Are you sure the date is today?" The official asks me after one hour, not including the 40 minutes I had waited before that. "Yes, I'm sure." He looks skeptical, but doesn't question me further. "Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Come on Char, we're going." I grin at her, despite the weight in my chest. I don't know why my heart feels so heavy, I should be happy that I'm not getting married. Maybe it's just the feeling of not being enough weighing me down. I throw my bouquet in a nearby trashcan outside the courthouse and loosen my hair from its updo. "That's right girl. Get ready to get wild in Ve
My favorite part of Casa de Crosswalk is the abundance of palm trees. We all get out at the same time and I marvel at the black rose bushes once again. The black SUV goes into the right garage and I ask Sebastian, "Which garage is yours? Right or left?"There's a long pause before he answers."Left." It's grumbled so low that I almost hadn't heard it. Of course the SUV belongs to Anthony. I stand in the foyer and take in my surroundings. To my right is a wide marble staircase which leads to the second floor and to my left, two wide archways lead into the hall. Sebastian just storms up the stairs, leaving me and Anthony to stare at his retreating form. "You'll be sharing the same room as him. As you are, after all, husband and wife now."I clear my throat and nod at him. I expect him to leave as well, but he looks like he wants to say something. After a beat of hesitation, he looks straight into my eyes with his hazel ones. "If Sebastian gives you trouble...you can tell me."I d