Chapter Four — The Start of a Bad Day

I stared at my reflection in the mirror and for some reason, I'm actually mesmerised by myself. I wasn't one to ever brag about my looks or compliment myself very often but right now, I couldn't help but be mesmerised by how beautiful I looked. I was dressed in a royal blue long sleeve square neck mini dress that showed off my curves and this time, I decided not to wear as much makeup as I did the last time I met with him and I also had my hair in a neat bun so I don't unknowingly hide any of my facial features.

It may seem weird that I'm putting this much effort into looking appealing to a man that I don't even like but, Brian Huxley was a very good looking man and I couldn't afford to not match his looks and be intimidated by him again.

I was feeling very nervous about what could end up happening later today and even though my nerves were all over the place, I refused to take any calming pills so I don't have to depend on them all through the night. I was lost in my thoughts of the possible outcome of today's dinner but I snapped out of my reverie when I heard a sudden knock on my bedroom door.

"Who is it?" I asked, wanting to confirm first just in case whoever it was turned out to be my dad. I knew it would definitely not be my mother cause she would never be respectful enough to actually knock first instead of just barging in like she'd normally do and if turned out to be dad, I intend on telling him stay as far away from me as he can because I have absolutely nothing to say to him, yet.

"I apologise for bothering you, but I was asked to inform you that Mr Huxley's driver has arrived to pick you up," the familiar voice of Marianna, the head maid, informed me and I was a little surprised to hear that Brian had sent a driver here.

"Come in for a second Marianna," I told her and she immediately did as told. "Where's my father?" I asked. The only reason I decided to ask was because I wanted to avoid running into him on my way out because seeing him is only going to worsen my mood.

"He's busy in his study room, Lady Emerald. If what you're worried about is running into him on your way down, be rest assured that it won't happen Miss. He's very much aware that you do not want to see him and he told me to let you know that he intends to respect your decision," Marianna informed me and I mentally rolled my eyes. As much as I appreciated the fact that he was self aware enough to do the right thing which is avoiding me, I still hated the fact that he made no attempt to even try to talk to me and assure me that everything was going to be just fine.

He just assumed that I didn't want to talk to him and did absolutely nothing to change my mind.

"Thanks for letting me know Marianna. You may leave now and please, inform Mr Huxley's driver that I'll be down in a few minutes," I instructed and she bowed slightly before turning back to leave and then halting in her tracks suddenly.

"By the way Miss Dawson, you look absolutely stunning today," she complimented with a smile and I thanked her with a small smile before watching her walk out of the room.

I was heading downstairs after finishing up with my make-up. At first I was thankful that I was running into anyone I didn't want to see, specifically my parents but my happiness was short lived when I noticed that my mom was walking towards me and to make things worse, she had her usual annoying smile on her face.

"Oh my goodness sweetie, you look absolutely stunning! There's absolutely no way Brian wouldn't fall for you, especially not when you're looking this breathtaking," she complimented with her eyes scanning me from head to toe. I honestly wanted to roll my eyes at her but at this point, nothing that came out of her mouth deserved an eye roll cause I was already pretty much used to her nonsense.

My mom and I aren't exactly what you'd call a perfect example of what a mother, daughter relationship should be like. We weren't exactly close cause we don't talk very often except when we need to talk and I don't really have any issues with how our relationship was because I preferred it that way.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against my mom and I do love her and care about her but, her personality and her mentality was just something that I could never relate to. Mom was pretty materialistic and everything about her was centred around her social status. She was literally obsessed with looking perfect to the public and she never allowed any room for mistakes or any flaw of any kind.

She was born and raised in a wealthy family, so she literally grew up with the belief that she was better than everyone else and that a person is only important depending on their social status. She even admitted once that her biggest reason for marrying dad was because he was successful and that if he wasn't, she wouldn't have ever thought of being with him.

"Thank you mother," I replied, not bothering to tackle the fact that she had insinuated that I looked good to impress Brian. I admit that I did dress up to look good but it wasn't to please him but rather, to not look plain and boring next to him so I don't feel intimidated or insignificant.

"May I ask why you have such a sore look on your face? You look like you're going to break into tears any second from now," she said and I can't believe that she would honestly ask such an obvious question.

"If you can't think of any reason why I'd look like this then that's your problem mother. I honestly don't have the time to start trying to explain myself to you," I said to her, genuinely not in the mood for her nonsense. I'm more than certain that she wasn't completely clueless but she probably doesn't care because as far as she's concerned, this marriage was going to do her more good than harm.

"Don't tell me you're still sad about having to marry Brian? Are you being serious Emerald?" she asked. "Sweetie, how can you still be hung up on that? Didn't you already meet the guy? Does he look like someone that isn't worth marrying? Imagine being the lucky woman who gets to call herself the wife of such a perfect man. Not only is he rich and handsome, he is also widely influential. This man literally owns half the properties in Las Vegas and he runs so many businesses across the world that make him a billionaire. How can you not be ecstatic about marrying him?" she added and I would have been surprised by her words if I wasn't already expecting her to say something like this.

"You are such an unbelievable mother and I am repulsed by how shallow-minded you are. So you're telling me now that I should be happy about walking into a blind marriage with a total stranger just because he's rich? Really mom? Well guess what, not everyone thinks like you and I am so happy that I am nothing like you. I'm very much aware that the only reason you're in agreement with this marriage is because you intend to brag to everyone in the world that your daughter is married to a billionaire but believe me mom, I will not give you the satisfaction of having everything your way,"

"If I eventually have to marry Brian Huxley, once the wedding is over, you're not allowed to be anywhere near me or near him. Let's see how you get to brag to your friends when you can't even get close to me at all. I won't be surprised if you end up lying to them just to keep up with your useless appearance," I hissed at her and judging by the look on her face, she wasn't expecting me to go off on her.

"My useless appearance? Well mind you young lady, this useless appearance as you call him was how you were lucky enough to be raised in such a prestigious home where you never lacked anything. Your father and I kept our prestigious reputation in order to succeed and in order to give you the life that you've had all these years and the fact that you have the audacity to insult our efforts, just shows how ungrateful you are Emerald," she fired back defensively and I scoffed.

"Mom, don't try to pull that card on me. Our family was just fine and our business was doing just fine. You and dad's greed is the reason why I have to marry Brian Huxley and it's also the reason why you've gone to extreme lengths to uphold a reputation that was built on lies. You know what mother, I don't have time to argue with you. Just put in mind that if I eventually marry Brian, you can forget about being a part of my life. It shouldn't be too difficult for you since you were never really a part of it in the first place," I hissed and without bothering to wait for her response, I walked away from her.