JUST ANOTHER ARRANGEMENT

6. ISA COLLIN

Carried like a giant chunk of log on a carpenter's shoulder, of course I was dropped like one too. Bile rises to my throat as I struggle to regain my footing. Thankfully my appetite for dinner was ruined but the little mouthful of spaghetti still threatened to bungee jump its way out of my mouth.

I blinked the nausea away from my brain and glared into the man's eyes. One that is judging me through an equally hard stare. "Get in." He said.

"It surprised me that you didn't think about shoving me into your car like you did back there. Afraid someone might actually see you out here?"

Parked behind my trustworthy, old metallic Prius, is Julia's Toyota. But what's parked behind Julia's Toyota is a shiny black Aston Martin. Which we're now standing next to, on the driver's side. Three cars, cramped on my family house's driveway. Although one was parked on its side on the curb. Honestly, it's not my first time seeing an expensive car up close. It's just the fact that the expensive car is parked on my driveway that unsettles me.

A soft click from the car shakes me out of my trance. "So you want me to shove you? Why don't you say so."

Just like that I am cornered, pushed and shoved into the driver's seat without being able to defend myself or given a chance to utter a single word back because it all happened in a blink. Once my bottom hit ever so gracefully on the leather seat, Lucas's arm swiftly hooked under my knees to tuck my legs under the steering wheel.

"Hey!" I protested but it all went in vain.

The whirring sound from the seatbelt whooshed past my ears was soon followed by the sound of it clicking in place. As soon as he shut the door, my hands were quick to reach for the handle but it did not budge. Damn fucker locked the door on me. Helpless, my eyes trailed him while he rounded the car to get to the passenger's side. That's when I noticed a woman jogging down the opposite side of the road so I craned my neck and started screaming as soon as he opened the door to the passenger side. "HELP! HELP I'M BEING KIDNAPPED!"

"For fuck sake. Can you stop? She has ear pods on. She can't hear you." The car shakes a little with the force of the door being slammed too hard.

I let out a breath of frustration and slumped further into the leather seat. There is a moment of silence between us. I'm honestly tired and my mind is racing with every conceivable thought possible for a human brain to come up with. All the psycho-thriller movies I'd watched floated to the top of my mind. Come to think of it, Lucas has some similarities with all the antagonist characters. His face, his height, his build, they all kinda match. He is rich too. God knows how easily he can pay his way out of jail.

"Are you calm now?" He asked.

"Where's your car key?" I asked with a faked, regained composure.

The key was already in Lucas's hand when he tossed it to me. So when it landed in my grasp, my final chance of escaping was crushed yet again. Key fob in my hand. "Were you expecting a literal key?" He asked.

To that, I could only reply with a side glare that hurt the back of my eyes from all the glaring and staring I did tonight. "What do you want from me?"

"The same thing I want from the very beginning." My body turned sideways on the seat to face him. That's when I properly registered his presence as a whole. I haven't seen him sitting on the passenger side before but his body does look awkward on it. Like an odd occurrence that wasn't supposed to happen in the cycle of life.

"And I rejected it from the very beginning. I've told you to find another girl but you still love to make both our lives hard."

"Trust me, I would find another girl if I can."

"What's stopping you?"

"My father."

"Ughh!" I grunted and slammed my head on the headrest. Feeling a little more than frustrated now. "Do you have daddy issues?"

"What?–"

"You're willing to marry the girl that your daddy chooses, you went to the girl's workplace and house to force her to marry you because you don't want to find someone else since your daddy already picked one for you. Obviously, you have some daddy issues."

"No." He said, uninterested. "I do this for both you and me. I did this for us."

Confusion filled my brain. "What?"

"Listen, our fathers have been good friends for a long time. And when your father fell sick, naturally, he asked my father to look after his family when he was gone. As a good friend, my father agrees."

"I still haven't found any points involving us. Especially me."

A sigh left Lucas's mouth. "That's because I'm not done." He continues in monotone. "When my father found out that his friend's daughter was unmarried and obsessed with work just like his son. He used that excuse to tie us together and slowed down our pursuit on work. Hence they wanted me to marry you. To be someone that can guard you and take care of you."

I tilt my head to the side to say the next word with sarcasm coating every word. "You will save me from the danger of this world? My hero." My fingers clasped together and rested near my chest for better emphasis on my obvious acting.

"If I'm being honest. I'd say this is a ridiculous excuse to slow down my working pace. Now that I met you, I don't understand the excessive worries."

My act instantly dropped along with my hands. "Told you."

"But I know my father. And I know that even though you rejected this marriage, he will find another way to make it work. It's just a matter of time."

I crossed my arms and looked at him. My eyes moved up and down along his torso, purposely judging him in the open. "I wonder where he passed that personality to."

If he felt offended by that, then he's very good at hiding them because not a single muscle on his face moved. Not even a twitch. But I know he must be planning something in that head. Everybody does whenever their parents are brought up. A couple of seconds later, he continues.

"To stop this altogether, we just need to get married."

My head jerked back hard. "Seriously? That was your best suggestion?"

"The only way to stop him is to give him what he wants, but not fully give him the satisfaction of winning."

My brows furrowed. "Elaborate."

"We'll get married but instead of living happily ever after. We'll be miserable. We fight for the smallest thing. Be uninterested in each other. Eventually, they'll realize that we're not a good match and that they were wrong. Finally, when we get a divorce, they won't stop us."

If you thought this was a brilliant idea, it's not. "And you'll get out as the charismatic divorced man who did the right thing to pursue his ambitions while I'll be left as the selfish woman who can't even make dinner for her busy, wealthy husband. Yeah right."

"I'll make sure the divorce won't be interpreted as such and you'll get a high alimony."

I can already smell the pungent smoke from a burning house when this plan didn't go as smoothly. Which makes this an even tougher challenge than the one I got from my father. I survived one hill but got myself into a bigger, steeper mountain. Typical bad luck for me.

I read somewhere that humans can survive better after they learn a perfect way to face their problems. But for me, it feels like the more I endure, the bigger the rock thrown my way. So when does it end? When will I finally get to live out the peace I craved?

"I'm sure you could, but it still benefits you more than me. You know your father, but you don't know how mine's work. And just like you, marriage is not even on my list. So my answer remains a no." Before more words can leave his mouth, I raise my palm to stop him. "My answer is final. Please, just let this issue pass." My body turned to open the door but it was still very much locked. So I'm forced to turn sideways to face the culprit. "Unlock the door." I say.

"No." He said.

I sucked in the smell of polished leather and let out a long sigh because tonight will be longer than any of my shifts altogether.