Chapter Nine

Faith was deep in thought. She was currently sitting on her desk in her cabin which was very close to Josh's. She wanted to tell him everything; but Alex hadn't told her anything about saying everything to his father so she decided to keep quiet, for the time being. Yesterday she had seen the contract for the first time, god, she still felt scared. She was rummaging through a few documents for upcoming projects when someone knocked at the door.

"Yes, come in."

"As you say, sweetheart."

She recognized that sickeningly sweet voice. What was he doing here? The question rose up to her throat like hot liquid but she restrained herself, it was his father's company so it wasn't strange of him to come here. She shuddered within as he came up to her desk and sat on the chair opposite to her.

"What's up?" He asked, tapping his fingers on the desk. "I think you're in a deep thought."

Faith nodded her head in negative, "Not at all."

"Okay then, let's go." He stopped tapping his fingers and got up in haste.

"Where?"

"To share the news of our marriage with my father." He said that so plainly as if it didn't matter.

Faith's skin tickled with perspiration, her hairs standing up in chilling goosebumps that racked her body. This was the moment she dreaded. How would she face Josh? Josh had asked her to marry his son a few days ago and she had clearly denied him; and now she would have to tell him that she was marrying his son. How?

"What will we tell him?" She stalled Alex's move and approached him in steady strides. "We can't say the contract thing, I guess."

His smile grew wider, smoother than silk. "We tell him that we are in love."

She chuckled at herself, sarcastically. Had he known how his father had tried to match her with him long before he had proposed the contract, he wouldn't have asked her in the first place. How could she tell Josh that she loved his son? Days ago she barely knew him and love? Well, it took time to develop something as fragile and complex as love.

"Would he believe it?"

"I don't care if he does or doesn't. Do you?" He asked, his eyes changing colour again. Emotionlessness surged deep within them.

Yes, she said to herself. She did care if Josh believed or not. Because when Josh had asked her to marry Alex, she had denied, giving him the excuse of barely knowing his son. And now what had changed within such a small span of time? If Josh questioned her about her sudden likeness in Alex, what would she answer him? That when he had asked her to marry Alex, she was dignified and due to situations, when Alex had proposed the contract, she had taken it and agreed to marry him.

No, she couldn't tell him.

Josh would hate her, the bitter statement floated in her mind.

"Sweetheart, you think too much. I'll go in first and tell him a made-up story about. Then I'll call you and you will validate the story."

As if it was that easy, she muttered under her breath. As if Josh would ever believe her validation after she had bluntly rejected his request. Anxiety came to her as an electrical shock in her brain; she was getting agitated again. No, Alex couldn't see her like this. She wasn't going to act all insane and mad in front of him. Bouts of nausea hit her as she lunged forward, her heels tripping, falling into oblivion.

Alexander was turning the doorknob when he heard a sound. He turned around to see her sitting on the floor, squirming and sweating. Her hair was messy, her face all pale and white as paper. Her lips were dry; they were no longer soft and luscious as they looked.

Wasting a single second, he rushed towards her, scooping her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing. Her small, voluptuous body fit perfectly into his six feet tall frame as he made her sit on the sofa adjacent to her desk. Her eyes were starting to close, the dark brown was getting lighter, fading out. Something told him to stay close to her and he sat beside her, taking her head on his shoulder. He was feeling awkward like anything; he had never let a woman so physically close to him. Sure, women had been near him for his sexual pleasures but without sex involved, no one could come this close to him, to his body.

His body was getting tensed by the minute as she wrapped her arms around his waist and dug her face deeper into the nape of his neck. Her smell was tantalising, he couldn't understand what it was but she smelled like fresh vanilla flowers. Her hair was wet with sweat, getting all messy and sticking into his skin. He flinched at the contact of her body on his, his heartbeats going faster than light. She was breathing heavily, like a load was dumped on her lungs, she was craving for air. His hands were clammy as he held them rigidly on his sides to avoid touching her.

But seeing her condition, something in him coerced him to comfort her. Burning with the need to comfort her, he held her shoulder and began to caress it, softly like a gentle breeze touching autumnal leaves, making them fall. She kept holding his waist with one hand while her another hand tugged at the collar of his white shirt. She was tightly clutching his collar with so much force as if she was trying to pull him into her, deep inside her secrets, her wishes, her dreams.

He felt a sudden jolt of electricity travel through him, surging through his blood, making him warm. His lungs expanded with briny air as he felt that familiar feeling of peace. "Faith, are you okay?"

She didn't answer him and further nuzzled her face into his neck. Hell, what was he feeling? The sudden outburst of emotions pained him. Panic rose at the back of his throat as he took a few long deep breaths. Her lips were touching his Adam's apple and he gulped down his saliva in order to control himself.

He could feel the warm moisture on her lips which was making contact with his neck. "Faith." His voice was coming hoarse.

It was as if sense was hammered into her as she jerked away from him, looking confused and dazzled at the same time. She realised her state and immediately got up, wiping the droplets of perspiration from her face. She took a deep breath through her nose and adjusted her dress.

"I'm so sorry," Her voice was laced with remorse.

"It's okay. What happened, Faith?" He asked, getting up.

He called her Faith? The newness of the thing made her happy, somehow. "Nothing. It's just, I get panick attacks sometimes."

He waited for her to say something more but she didn't disclose any other detail so he decided to nod his head. "Okay, let's go, then."

She nodded and followed him as he led the way towards Josh's cabin. "I'll wait here?" She stopped just outside the door.

"Yes, I'll call you."

Alexander entered his father's cabin in grave silence only to see him going through a file. "Hi, dad."

The old man looked up, surprised. "You're here now? I thought you were busy finding a good and decent woman to marry." He smirked, "You don't have much time left, I think you know that."

Alex retorted back. "Yes, I do know that, dad. I came here to give you good news." The expression on his father's face was nil, "Well, I found the woman, the one who is perfect to be the daughter in law of the Hamilton family."

Saying Josh was shocked would be an understatement. Alex smiled again, that same fake smile. "Wanna know who she is?"

Josh nodded. "Tell me."

"Faith Cole." said Alex, striding towards his father's desk. "Shocked?"

Josh couldn't believe it. The same Faith who had rejected his request? He was shocked. Didn't she say that she was least interested in marrying Alex?

"I know it's shocking. She wasn't interested in me but, you know, I can be charming." Alex winked devilishly.

"I don't believe it."

"Well, I don't care, dad. I wanna marry her, that's it. I've never felt this way about someone before." His voice was cool, uncharacteristically calm.

"Does she feel the same way?" Josh wasn't ready to accept that Faith was capable of falling in love in such a short time. She wasn't, he knew that.

"Yes, ask her if you don't believe me." Alex strode towards the door, opened it and dipped his head outside. "Come in, sweetheart."

Faith stepped inside the cabin, looking at Josh and Alex in a switching glance. Josh was looking at her, expentantly expecting the truth but sadly, she couldn't tell him the real matter and she felt utterly guilty about it.

With a stone on her heart, she stared right at Josh and announced, "I love Alex. We are marrying each other."