A scandal with Mr CEO

Chapter 23

Kiara

"It's either this or that, or we go through it all over again"

I plopped down on the soft cushion of the couch. It was a sunny Monday afternoon with people moving in and out of my room, holding white and sparkly dresses in their hands.

Yep, you guessed it right. Wedding preparations are over the top and I was graced with the advantage of picking things like the dress, theme, and stuff like that. Almost like I was in control but I couldn't be too excited cause nothing ever goes well entirely in this house, I had a feeling Antonio had a plan going on behind all of this.

"I think the flare on this is a little too much," said Scarlett, discarding the dress almost immediately. She had to fly over to spend a few days here. Scarlett had been on her best behavior since the conversation we had, maybe a few tweaks of hesitation here and there but she's getting all used to it. Baby steps.

"You think this is good?" I asked, assessing how plain and boring the dress was. Even if it's going to be a fake wedding, it could do a lot better. "No sparkles?"

"Isn't that the point?"

Scarlett was sweet, Scarlett was thoughtful, Scarlett was everything nice and caring but Scarlett also had a boring type of taste and everything she picked was either too plain or too formal. Sometimes I just think she would make the perfect bride for Antonio, they had so many traits that would just fit into each other like a puzzle.

"Not really, I'm a jewels and glitter type of girl"

"We can have more dresses brought over before the end of the week if you'd prefer that," said the middle-aged lady by the door. I'd been seeing her a little too often these days. Always in a fitted suit and bright red lipstick, she fit the perfect description of Antonio's assistant and I may have seen her on the day of the interview.

"That'd be great"

"Now, for the colors_"

"Next"

"Theme?"

"Next"

"Hairdo?"

"Next"

"Bridesmaids?"

"Oh, I get to pick that too?"

"Sort of" she responded, fingers scrolling through the device wedged between her fingers "Mr Russel had a few suggestions concerning the bridesmaids but you can make a few changes if you'd like"

"Let me hear it"

"Evelyn Prescott"

"Who's that?"

"She's the daughter of the mayor"

Smart of Antonio to pick out the fanciest of them all. He didn't want a stain on his reputation, so much, he even picked out the bridesmaids. Do I have a problem with that? No.

Do I have fancy friends? No.

So will I go with it? Absolutely.

"Next on the list is Christina King, daughter of Dylan and Diana King. I heard she's quite the character but she's a good fit"

"I may have heard of her, she sounds fun"

"Princess Samara Shaw, daughter of Queen Olivia"

"Isn't she a little too perfect?" My mind wandered to the young woman. I'd only ever seen her in pictures, all powdered up like a birthday present.

"Well, she may or may not be available for the wedding but Queen Olivia has known the Russel family for quite some time, I'm sure she would be able to permit her daughter for just a day"

"Isn't that against their rules or something?"

"It's not likely she's going to make it but if she does, then the Queen is well aware of it," She said, adjusting her fragile glasses on the bridge of her nose "Yvonne Bloomsbury, actress, and fashion model, and finally, Gabriella Simpson, she's the daughter of Edmund Simpson and heiress of the Simpson empire"

"A bunch of fancy princesses, how cute"

"I don't get it" Scarlett spoke up and then I remembered she was in the room and many times I forget she doesn't know about the whole fake wedding thing. I was the only one in the room who knew exactly what the wedding was about. Scarlett wasn't aware of the way things went in the house and she didn't know how much control Antonio had over this.

"You want me to call out the names again?"

"Not that Regina" Her name's Regina? She looks like a Gigi. "She's the bride, why can't she pick her bridesmaids herself?"

Because the wedding is not as real as you think it is and Antonio doesn't want his reputation injured everything has to look rich and fancy, even the bridesmaids. Besides, it's not like I had a circle of friends, he saved me time and stress.

"I don't have many friends Scarbear"

"You're qui_"

Scarlett was cut off by a knock on the door, followed by the head of Luke peeking in. "A word, Miss Sky"

Luke was doing the thing where he sounds all official and that could mean one of two things, there's actual serious business to be taken care of or he just wants to impress Regina and Scarlett.

Regina left the room and then Scarlett hesitated a bit then followed. The kid was smart, she could sense something was wrong about the marriage, the house, about everything. One evidence to prove her point and this whole thing is going down the drain. I guess we made the right decision by not letting her move in with us.

"Something came up. The wedding preparation has to stop, your sister has to go back home and we have to leave first thing tomorrow morning"

"Something came up and let me guess it's related to his dark side and now everyone has to follow his rules like robots"

"Sorry to pop your bubble but we have a party this time. I forgot to let you know earlier so my bad"

"Seriously? Now I have to stop my lovely wedding preparations?" One look at each other and we both burst out laughing. "But seriously, you could've told me earlier."

"Look at the bright side, at least you have the chance of making friends"

"Oh please, most of them are snobby little princesses"

"Maybe it's because they think you're snobby too"

"How? I look very approachable. Besides, it's not like they've ever met me before"

"You frown a lot when no one's talking to you"

"What am I supposed to do? Smile at nothing?"

"A little smile will do, and less smoky eyeshadow" He paused "Oh, and maybe a yellow or pink dress, something a little girly"

"I wore a yellow dress to an interview with your boss and I didn't just get rejected, I was insulted."

"Yeah, I was there" He giggled "But this isn't about him, is it?"

"Walk away"

Luke left the room with a trail of chuckles and I was left with a flight to prepare for. I guess I just had to get used to it and have a pre-packed bag and a dress laid out for unplanned travels since no one felt it necessary to inform me. At the end of five years, I may just be used to this and maybe I'll have a dozen party dresses by then and a hint of snobbiness.

"This doesn't feel right," Scarlett said the moment she walked into the room. She turned to Regina who was still outside the room "A moment" She said and slammed the door shut.

"Scarlett, is everything, okay?"

"I guess I should ask you that, are you okay?" She stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed and eyebrows arched like the smart little teenager she was. I didn't know what to say or the excuse to give but she has had more than enough cues to know something isn't okay about this wedding. I guess this unplanned flight came right on time, I couldn't have Scarlett around any longer

"What do you mean?" You can call this my I-know-what's-going-on-but-I'll-act-like-I-don't phase.

"The wedding? Mr Russel? The house? Something's odd, I can just feel it"

"Maybe you're not used to life outside the home"

"Mr Russel is supposed to be your husband but he barely has time for you, I've been here three days but I've not seen him once, the house is way too big for just a couple and you have separate rooms and to top that all of, your bridesmaids are a set of strangers he picked for you?"

I was stuck between saying the truth and thinking of an excuse. The first option is way too difficult and the second, my mind couldn't think of anything she would believe. It also didn't look like she was ready to drop it anytime soon so there I was faking a surprised look with no idea of the next step. If I told her I did all of this for the money, that'd be the worst example of a sister for her and if I told her I did it for her, she might just want to back out and all of this would go to waste.

"I can assure you Scarbear, I'm more than fine"

"Then prove it"

"How am I supposed to do that? Make Antonio prove he loves me?"

"Exactly, call him and make him say he loves you"

My laugh was hitched in my throat. That's how it feels to shoot yourself in the leg

"You've got to be joking with me"

"I'm not, it can't be that difficult. If he kept a ring on your finger, it shouldn't be hard for him to say three words"

"Antonio is a very busy man, you know that"

"If he can't have the time to pick up a call, I don't think he's the right person to walk into a marriage with"

"That's my decision to make"

"I won't let you make the wrong decision"

"And I won't let you stand there and tell me what to do"

"This is exactly what I'm talking about, something as easy as a call is suddenly a problem. I may not have been in your life all these years but now I am and this doesn't look like you're happy and if you think you_"

"Fine fine, whatever, it's just a dumb call"

I whipped out the device, eyes darting between Scarlett and the screen. Maybe I didn't make the best decision, Antonio is the most sarcastic being on the planet and he may not answer the phone if he sees my name on the screen.

To my greatest surprise, the first ring didn't end before he picked up the call. It was at that moment I felt my heart at my throat. A million things could go wrong and it's crazy because who would've thought I would agree to do something this petty to prove something?

"Hi_I mean, hello husband"

"Is there a problem?"

"No, just calling to say hi"

"Okay" he paused "Hi"

"Okay, talk to you later. I love you, bye" The last words came out so fast, I wondered if he heard them. In that brief moment of uncertainty, Scarlett had her ears out to hear his response and my hope was rapidly fading away.

He's not saying it and I'll be left with a sister to convince.

"Love you too"

(A/N: What did you think Antonio was going to say?
P.S; there's a book for Scarlett too. It's titled Hello Carlo, you can check my page for it.
Meanwhile, I'd like to hear from you guys, drop a comment in the comment section. How has the year been?)