The Secret Life of Mrs. de Silva

Chapter 1 - Blackmail

"Love is a wonderful thing, my dear, but it leaves you wide open for blackmail." - Jasper Fforde, Lost in a Good Book

Danielle's POV

My parents are the last two people I expected to do this to me. But life's full of surprises really and it's mocking me because I just received a message from my wayward parents blackmailing me into marriage.

My God! That's marriage we're talking about here and they're treating it as a business deal that needs to be signed and delivered as soon as possible.

And they really are my parents because they know exactly what makes me tic. They know where to hit and when to hit and they hit hard. And presto, its bulls eye. I can't form counter attack because I was caught off guard and I don't have any other choice.

Or maybe I'm kidding myself. Of course I have choices. Except I don't want to use them because it means losing a very important part of my life together with so many skeletons inside it – our gothic mansion. The haunted house as what most people call it. It's a part of my life. I grew up there and it's where I'm going to die and be buried together with the secrets I intend to take in my grave.

But the mansion has a new owner and he's the man my parents wanted me to marry – Jude de Silva. A man I have never seen nor heard of existence until yesterday. And now, I'm on my way to New York, not to talk sense out of my parents but to marry a total stranger to get the mansion back.

Yeah, that's right. I'll marry him because my intelligent parents intentionally sell our mansion to him so that I will be forced to do so.

Good thing, it's in New York where divorce is legal. We can separate without waiting a century and move on with our lives as if that stupid marriage never happened.

"Mom, she looks like a witch." The little girl beside me commented while trying to hide herself beside her mom.

Her mother glared at the child and looked at me apologetically.

I smiled at her and then at the child wickedly showing my big front teeth in the process. The child started crying with fear. I threw my head back and gave out a witchy laugh that made the child terrified. She cried even more and her mother together with other passengers and stewardess threw me a disgusted look, which I earned very often.

Yes, I'm not only a witch darling, I'm also a bitch.

@@@@@@@@@@@

I studied myself once more in front of the huge mirror making sure my wedding checklist is perfectly accomplished.

Starting from head to toe, let's check them again.

Black veiled hat. Check.

Prosthetic scar. Check.

Fake acne. Check.

Nose warts. Check

Rabbit front teeth. Check.

Long black dress. Check.

Red boots. Check.

I smiled at the mirror wickedly. It's perfect.

The show is about to begin. Let see if the groom will be able to stomach marrying a woman with this horrible face. Most probably, he'll run to court to file a divorce the moment my face behind this black veil is revealed.

I took the elevator down perfectly aware of the disgusted glances the other guests are throwing in my direction.

Inside my head I'm singing and smiling at my private joke.

I'm the best damn thing that your eyes have ever seen!

Maybe that will be a good entrance song for a bride like me wearing a black dress on her wedding day.