Arranged Marriage With The Billionaire

“Blair, I know that you want to feel loved again, especially after what Richard did, but this might not be the right way to go about it. I’m not saying this because I hate you or don’t want you to be happy, but I wouldn’t want you to suffer later. Okay, first of all he was giving you serious trouble, and then he changed all of a sudden. What if this is related to what his cousin was saying the other day?”

Blair did not even know what to think again. The inheritance… her heart started to slam against her rib cage as she reasoned the possibilities that Dylan was using her. But he didn’t seem cruel. And the change, he had said he regretted treating her bad and he wanted them to start all over again. Dylan could not be using her, right?

“Sam… it’s not related to the inheritance. Even my parents knew about it, I was the only one in the dark. He didn’t even know that I was not aware. And… Sam, he treats me really well, I swear. He feels the same about me.” This was Blair trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince Samantha. Maybe if she said it out loud, she would be assured once again.

“Blair. If not the inheritance, he could be using you for his release, you know? Come to think of it, he was forced into this as you were, he could have had a girlfriend before getting married to you. In that case, he would definitely want to be seeing her. How do you know that he is actually faithful? Cause men like him cannot hold their appetite-”

“Dylan would never cheat on me, Sam.”

“And how do you know that?” She shot back. “He keeps late nights, right? You remember when he used to do that and you complained to me, what did I tell you?”

That he probably was seeing someone. Not that Blair would say that out for Samantha to hear. She had to convince Samantha that Dylan was a good man. He would never do all these to her.

“Sam, you’re being paranoid. That time he was…” She never asked Dylan about that either, so what would she say?

“Yes, that time… what did he say happened?” Samantha asked.

“He was avoiding me because he felt bad about what he did the other day.” It was a lie, but she had to say something, anything to defend Dylan.

“Oh, cut the crap, Blair. We both know you’re lying. He told you nothing like that. Look, I’m just saying you should tread carefully. I don’t want you getting hurt again, Blair.” She took Blair’s hands into hers, pleading with her eyes.

Blair dropped her head, still having an internal battle as a result of all that Samantha was saying. She told herself over and over again that Samantha was only being paranoid, but it was getting more hard to believe now. However, no matter how she thought about it; how she had formed a strong relationship with Dylan, all the time they spent together, she had no reason to doubt his being genuine.

He did not treat her bad again, and he never got angry with her, although she had tried to be on her best behavior to avoid getting him angry. Not that she was walking on eggshells around him, but that she was trying to make him happy the way he did her.

“Think about it carefully, Blair,” Samantha said after a while of silence. “And if you’re still certain that things will continue to go well then go ahead. Just don’t get hurt.”

“Sam… can we change this topic? Cause I really don’t want to think too much about this.”

“Sure. Okay, not completely though. What about Richard? Has he still disturbed after that day?”

Blair rolled her eyes. That crazy man. “Richard is just crazy. How did I forget to tell you this? He barged into the house early this week, crying about so what he heard was true? I left him for another man?”

Samantha sucked her teeth, letting out a hiss sound. “He must really be mentally ill. You left him or it was the other way around?”

“I know right? I too was shocked. It was his audacity for me. Funny enough, he walked in on Dylan and I kissing, then he started to scream out his delusions.”

Samantha scoffed. “Hope he has not reached you after that day?”

“Oh, he has. He texted me two days ago and I blocked his number. I don’t know how the bastard still managed to get me even after I have blocked him countless times. He changes numbers too,” Blair explained, pulling up the corner of her lips in distaste.

“The man needs to be whooped to his senses, and if I run into him by mistake again, he will not leave without a broken finger which he uses to type and missing teeth which he uses to spout garbage.

Blair chuckled as she saw the fierce expression on Samantha’s face. They continued to talk about other things, and Blair pushed her worries to the back of her mind. When she went on the date with Dylan, she would ask him about all those questions that had began to create doubts.

“So… we never really got to talk about your trip to France. Work aside, how was your personal life? Your colleagues, acquaintances, etcetera. Tell me about them.”

“Ugh! There was nothing serious there. Life there was really boring, Blair. I would work from seven in the morning until maybe nine or ten in the evening. It was hectic. The first time I had an eight-hour sleep was the day I got back here. Over there I can’t sleep for five hours. Look, I don’t even want to think about it,” Samantha finished with a wave of her hand as she leaned back on the head rest of the couch.

Blair gazed at her, feeling bad that her friend had to go through all that just to make a living for herself.

Sometimes she felt guilty for having such a good life. She decided to lighten the atmosphere again so she asked another question.

“How about your love life? Anyone on your mind?”

Samantha shook her head again. “Another sore point in my life. The last time someone was interested, I found out he was married. I too was interested in someone who doesn’t even look my way. It’s frustrating, and since then I’ve decided to washed my hands off anything that has to do with relationships. I’ll just focus on other aspects of my life.”

Once again, Blair felt bad about bringing that up. “Oh Sam…” She pulled Samantha in for a hug, patting her back as she exhaled.

Her friend could act so tough on the outside but she was a big softie inside. Blair prayed that Samantha would find her happiness soon enough.

When it was time for Samantha to leave, Blair saw her out of the house, and only when Samantha had long gone did she remember the gift Samantha had said she brought. She would call Samantha later to tell her that she had forgotten to take the gift.

Blair walked back into the house and her stomach growled. She entered the kitchen and made french toast for herself, then downed it with a cup of hot chocolate. Shit. She had also forgotten to ask Samantha to hell her pick out something to wear for the date.

With a sigh, Blair headed upstairs to their room and drew her wardrobe open. The number of clothes there was enough to have her battling with an incoming headache. She made a mental note to tell Dylan about creating space for a walk in closet. The thought of having to end the marriage after one year hit her and she shook away the idea. She would only suggest that if Dylan felt like they should terminate the contract.

While shuffling through the clothes, she pulled out a purple dress. She laid it on the bed and saw that it was not even a gown but a jumpsuit. One hand was a three-quarter cut, then it went down across the chest to below the armpit. A one-shoulder dress. It had a belt at the middle between the top and the flared trousers. It seemed perfect.

Blair went through her jewelry collection and picked diamond studded chandelier earrings and a silver wristwatch. The only thing that was left was her shoes. Since she was already all on silver, she opted for silver shoes too.

Finally! To think that she had been killing herself about what to wear and it took her just a few minutes to dig something out. Well, thank God.

When she was done arranging and roaming about, Blair called Dylan. He sounded out of breath as they spoke, and she wondered what he was doing. She recalled what Samantha said earlier about him having someone else and using her. Blair shook off the thoughts and concentrated on speaking to Dylan. Not like Dylan would ever expose wherever they were going, but she still chose to ask him. He said he would tell the driver, and Blair teased him a bit before ending the call.

She checked the time and it was already past six. Blair went to have a shower again, then came out to make up. Next, she styled her hair. She parted it by the side and brushed her hair to the both sides. The blonde dye she had washed out of her hair was still on some parts. It didn’t look bad though.

Blair finished dressing, and by the time she went outside, Dylan’s driver was waiting for her. She entered the car and they exchanged greetings, but when he started the engine and was about to go, Blair realized that she left her phone on the bed side table.

“Uh… I’m sorry Gav, but can you please wait? I left my phone inside.”

The driver nodded and stopped the car, then Blair ran to take it and came back.

The place was quite far, and all Blair could do was to keep looking out of the window as they drove past different buildings and streets. Tired of gazing out the window, Blair took her phone and began to school through her Instagram feed. She chuckled whenever she saw a funny video. While she was doing that, she received a message on her phone.

Blair swiped away the message and went back to looking at pictures and watching videos on her Instagram. She got bored of that too and decided to check the message that had been sent to her.

It turned out that the message was pictures. Blair wondered why a strange number would just send her pictures without even saying ‘hi’ or what the pictures were about. It seemed like the network connection in that area where they were was not strong as the pictures were taking too much time to download.

After a while, they started to download one by one. The first picture she clicked on was a bit blur, and it took her a few seconds to make out what was going on in the picture. When she was able to understand it, a loud gasp flew past her lips.

Shaking her head, Blair scrolled to check the other pictures too, and they all had the same hidden message; evidence of Dylan’s cheating. Dylan was in an intimate position with a woman. He was shirtless and wrapped his hands around her waist from behind. She was holding a duvet to her chest.

Blair could not believe her eyes. Slowly, she opened another picture again and this time, Dylan’s lips were on the woman’s neck. The rest pictures showed intimate positions like that, and Blair was struggling to tie up her tear glands.

Could it be that Samantha was right? How could he do this to her? Blair let out a chuckle in her disbelief. Surely, this could not be true, right? Maybe someone was just playing fowl play. But what kind of fowl play would show Dylan in such positions with another woman?

While Blair was battling with her thoughts, another message entered. Dylan was in a swimming pool with the same lady. To make matters worse, they were kissing.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

Blair put her phone on the chair, blinking back the tears that had welled up in her eyes. She felt her heart being ripped apart to pieces as it all dawned on her. Dylan had truly been using her, probably for the inheritance, for himself, everything was a lie. The Dylan she had come to know was a fake. He was only pretending.

If only she had listened to Samantha when she warned her not to fall for Dylan, it would have not been so painful. Until when was he going to keep up with the act?

It was all a lie.