The Billionaire's Forced Alliance

Chapter Thirty Eight

Sarah stood at the entrance of the Rockefeller Center in New York. Her mouth gaped open at the majestic sight in front of her. It was a large complex of buildings, and every building was packed with shopping stores. She took the view of this place and inhaled a deep, shuddering breath that indicated that she was currently shaking like a leaf.

"Why are we here?"

Her question was seemingly ignored by Ben as he held her hand and dragged her inside. She moved with him, as if, in a trance. "Okay. First stop, Tiffany's."

Her head reeled with confusion as he swung her in front of the biggest Tiffany's she had ever seen. Her father had taken her here once, when she was a child, and after that, he had grown to hate her so much he didn't even bother to give her anything real. The fake diamond ring he had given to get for the marriage was shining voluptuously on her finger, the gaudy flash disturbing her eyes.

"Why. Are. We. Here.?" She stressed each word, prolonging her diction so that he could understand her very clearly.

He decided to ignore and she gave up. "Ben, please, what are you upto?"

"You'll see," He prompted, taking her by the hand and entering the fully air-conditioned jewelry store. "Hi there, I need to see some engagement rings. For my wife."

Her heart stopped. She stumbled back, her heart beating again, telling her that she was still alive. "Ben! What are you doing?" She whispered, her voice only meant to be concealed from the teasing glances of the salesman.

The salesman, a man in his early thirties, with his jet black hair, smiled at Sarah. "Let me see your ring size, ma'am."

She couldn't move. She felt Ben gently tag her towards the counter as she reluctantly kept her hand on the cushioned box. The man took her ring size with a metal ring and ushered her to follow him. Ben held her hand again and dragged her further inside a seperate room. "Come on, move your legs, my love."

My love?

She couldn't understand what shocked her more; that he was going to buy her a new engagement ring from Tiffany's or he was calling her his love. Did he love her? Her chain of thoughts scattered around her brain like a cobweb of short-circuited wires, and she felt her breath caught at the back of her throat. His hand entwined hers in a gripping way as he looked at her.

In front of her, there was a big blue cushion and on it were several engagement rings. Each ring had a serene glow, indicating how real and genuine the diamonds were. She had seen diamonds many a times before, but on her father's hand, not on hers. Sanjeev squandered a lot of money on himself, and on his drug dealer friends, not on his wife and daughter. Still, he gave respect to his wife once in a while, but to her daughter? Not a chance in hell.

Sarah shook her head as he looked at the rings laying in front of her. "I--can't--"

"Choose," Ben said, his voice a little commanding. She looked at him to see a small smile tugging on his lips.

She rested her glance at each ring; each one crafted to perfection, and the platinum bases shone immaculately with diamonds at top. And in some rings, the entire circle was fitted quaintly with uncut diamonds. "I don't know what to choose, I-"

The salesman smiled. "Allow me, ma'am. These rings are all in platinum, we also have gold. Should I bring those out?"

More choices? Her brain boggled. Before she could say anything, her husband roped in. "Yeah, yeah. Bring out gold, and also silver."

Anthony, as his name tag read, went back to the shelves and took out two more cushioned boxes with gold and silver options. She sighed as the gold hit her senses. She liked gold, if not the actual metal, she liked anything golden. In her culture, gold was thought of being auspicious, legends said that the metal brought good luck and prosperity. Her eyes rested on the gold rings, the shine matching the one in her eyes.