The Summer Bride (TSBS-1) COMPLETED

Chapter Twenty-Four

The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.
-Ernest Hemingway

Claire Bishop

Skyscrapers.

The towering, shiny skyscrapers of the manhattan island were surrounding me like gargamel did to the tiny blue smurfs. The only difference was these skyhigh glassy gargamels were hundred times beautiful and thousandth times taller than the real one.

And I, the little smurf was circling my head to see them from inside the space, the white audi provided as if I had never seen these structures in my life.

Ofcourse, I had seen them. Living in manhattan city, hardly making my ends for the past five years hadn't deprived me from seeing its beauty. But never in my life had I thought my feet would get to stand over the prestigious floors of one of these.

Barely twenty, I was just a young girl rushing to the big city with hopes and dreams to accompany me. After the first week of living around the dreamland, my eyes opened and reality slapped me. It wasn't that easy to survive here. It wasn't that easy to enroll in colleges without the right amount of money. Even if I had moderate scores, it wasn't enough to get a scholarship. It wasn't even enough to get me a decent job.

That was when the realisation dawned on me that there were many youngsters like me, packing away their whole life in few boxes and starting a journey that didn't guarantee the exact destination.

After five years of constant studying, doing random jobs, struggling with social life, I was here, sitting on the leather seats of a Audi beside a billionaire with his ring on my finger, declaring the whole world that I was his fiancé, soon to-be bride.

How did I reach here that easily? Oh yeah, a little red-haired fairy godmother did it for me.

Remembering the luxurious life I had been living for the past month and visioning the ten times more luxurious one in the future didn't sway my heart to the wrong direction. All these belonged to Tyler and I would never take this wealthy life for granted. I would forever keep on making Tyler and Lydia happy, and doing good stuffs for others to not let the guilt take over my body.

Many helpless people were in the twenty year old Claire Bishop's place and here I was, easily getting access to the elite life. It wasn't fair.

Oh hell, the guilt is back.

No. If I kept doing this then I wouldn't be able to enjoy the chance God had given me. I would do good for everyone. I would help those in need. I would do anything to not let it be unfair.

"Claire?"

My eyes snapped open and I didn't realise I had them closed.

"You okay?" Tyler asked me, warily as if I was a snake posing to bite him.

I rolled my eyes and clasped my palms, rubbing away my daunting thoughts. "I'm fine. Just nervous." I lied, sneaking a glance out the window, noticing the wide underground parking lot. When did we reach here?

A warm, strong hand caressed my cheek and pushed away a brown streak. "Don't be. If anyone says anything you tell me, okay? I'll fire them right away!"

Abruptly, I slapped away his hand with a gasp even though my skin was aching for his touch.

"Don't you dare! When did you become so unfair?!"