Chapter 5
Chapter 5
"Tell me."
"Divorce. And it has to be Amelia who proposed it."
It was a night with a starless sky. Amelia returned to her apartment by her electric scooter.
A man was yelling next door. Amelia didn't feel right about it and called the police to investigate the late night disturbance.
Back in her apartment, Amelia sat on a rattan chair and awaited her roommate Jessica's interrogation.
Jessica shot her questions like a tommy gun. "Spill it. Where did you go tonight? Who did you meet? What did you talk about?"
"Jessica, I'm not a murder suspect, okay?" Amelia took a sip of water and told her the truth, "I'm getting married. My husband- to- be is the next CEO of Roxxon, with a face of an angel who lives like a king. Wish me luck."
"What... what?" After a moment of silence, Jessica screeched so loud she almost broke all the glass windows.
Jessica was utterly stunned and speechless, while Amelia added with an unusual serenity, "Commercial marriages. You know how it is."
To Jessica, commercial marriages would be something she can only see from some soap opera. But she believed that Amelia must have a strong reason to make such a decision that could determine the rest of her life.
"By the way, soon after you left for the blind date, Daniel Phillips showed up. I said you weren't here, so he asked me to give you this."
From the coffee table, Jessica took out a letter with a red envelope laced with gold on the side and handed it to Amelia.
Although she prepared herself mentally, she still felt a stake stabbing her heart when she found out it was a wedding invitation.
Suppressing the urge to burn it, she read the invitation word by word.
There is an engagement party on the 11th next month, on the first floor in Hampton Hotel. The groom would be Daniel Phillips, and the bride would be Brittany Ramsay...
Jessica sounded furious, "Amy, if I were you, I'd rather die than go to that party. Let those wicked couple rot with their stupid party."
"Let's talk about it later." Amelia closed her eyes, trying to hide her fatigue.
Within a day, she lost her virginity to a one- nightstand who happened to be both her current boss and her future husband...
On the other hand, Daniel, who promised Amelia to spend their life together forever, was about to be engaged to her half-sister next month.
On a Saturday.
Amelia slept soundly in her dimmed bedroom. Suddenly, her alarm clock went off, so she reached out to stop the alarm.
Later at 9, Amelia and Patrick would meet up at the Civil Affairs Bureau to get their marriage certificate. But it was only 8 o'clock, she had more than enough time to get prepared.
She got up and pulled out a dusty suitcase under her bed. She stared at the image of a mermaid on the suitcase and took a stroll in the memory lane.
This suitcase was a souvenir her mother bought her from Disneyland when she was a child. The small suitcase could not carry much, but a lot of sentiment to her.
Three years ago, she brought this suitcase with her as a runaway. Three years later, it was still with her now as she was about to be a married woman. This suitcase had been with her through her life's ups and downs.
As for her mother who had rested in peace, she could only watch over Amelia in a different way.
"Amy, what a gorgeous ride your husband has. Can I touch it? If I can, may I take a ride in it?"
Helping Amelia carry her suitcase, Jessica had been gawking in awe at that limited-edition Lamborghini since it was parked outside the Civil Affairs Bureau.
When the man in the driver's seat took off his sunglasses, he opened the car door and stepped out. Seeing Patrick, Jessica pretended to faint and fell into Amelia's arms. "Oh honey, I can't do this anymore. Your husband already looks tasty on the photos in the financial newspaper. He is even more breathtaking in person..."
"What do you want?" Amelia asked uncomfortably.
"I wanna rip that shirt off and let him play me in a
million ways..."
Amelia was shocked by Jessica's homy comments. Just as Amelia turned around, she saw Patrick lifted his right eyebrow, as if he was silently judging her choice of friends.
She faked a cough and pushed Jessica away, who was still leaning on her. She snared, "You little vixen! I hope your future husband is seven feet tall who will work you every night!"
Assuming Jessica would feel embarrassed, she actually muttered with joy, "Well I don't mind that."
Patrick rushed Amelia, "Are you ready or not?"
Jessica instantly dropped her goofiness and said to Patrick on a serious note, "Mr. Hopper, my dear Amelia has never been loved since she was a child. Please treat her well."
Patrick's facial expression remained unchanged, giving no response to Jessica's request.
Right after Jessica left, Patrick asked Amelia "So, you want me to play you in a million ways, eh?"
Amelia's face turned red in a flash and replied, "Hey, it wasn't me who said it!" Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.
"Who was that? Your baby sister? By the way, she doesn't look too bad, if only..."
"Patrick Hopper!" Amelia shrilled with her eyes locked dead on him. "If you dare to even have the slightest idea of touching Jessica, I WILL destroy you!"
Witnessing her rage, Patrick chuckled and asked, "You just can't wait to control my life, can you?"
She took a deep breath. "Once we got our marriage certificate, I could care less if you were out there being playboy every night and scoring every woman in Northville. Anyone BUT Jessica!"
Finally getting the promise he hoped for, Patrick gave a wicked grin, "Your words. Not mine."
Civil Affairs Bureau usually was not open to the public on weekends. Since it was the Patrick Hopper who came to apply for the certificate, the staff made an exception for it.
Amelia and Patrick provided relevant documents and wrote their names in the column of "Name of Declarant ". After a while, Amelia was delighted to finally receive her very own marriage certificate with a ruby red cover.
Patrick didn't give a hoot about what color it was. He simply shoved it into his pocket, got up, and said to Amelia, "Let's go."
Once they got out, noticing Amelia was on the backseat of the car, Patrick knocked on the glass window frowning, "Move upfront. I'm not your driver."
So Amelia moved up to the passenger seat right next to Patrick.
Amelia buckled up with her head down when Patrick turned to her and declared, "Let me make it clear. I do not love you. Marrying you is simply my father's wish."
Amelia locked her bright eyes on the dashboard, feeling like she had fallen into a trap, replied, "With your power, since you don't even want this, why didn't you stop it before we signed?"
"You didn't refuse the offer either, did you?" Patrick pointed out, "Given there is no escape in this, why shouldn't I find someone who won't get in my way?"
Amelia heard and nodded, "That makes sense."
Her voice was so calm that Patrick, who had read countless faces, could not tell whether she actually agreed with him or just being sarcastic. But on second thought, he felt relieved again. Who cared what she thought?
As he started the car, he said, "Let's go back home and meet my parents."
Amelia asked, "What are your family's hobbies? After all, this is the first time we meet and I don't want to go empty-handed."
Patrick glanced at her at the corner of his eyes. All he saw was the sincerity on her face, not an ounce of pretense.
Seeing him distracted, Amelia reminded him swiftly, "Eyes on the road please."
Patrick was startled for he never thought she would be so considerate, "I've prepared the gifts in advance. You just need to tag along."
Amelia was well aware that Patrick was not doing this out of courtesy, but his way of distancing himself from this 'marriage'. So she just nodded.
Her reaction once again surprised Patrick, who assumed women would not give up until they got to the bottom of it in situations like this.
During the ride, he spent most of the time briefing Amelia of what she needed to pay attention to after joining the family.
Although there was no love for her, Patrick didn't want her to embarrass herself in front of the elders.
After all, he chose Amelia to be his wife. It would be a shame to him if she was not anything but remarkable.