Chapter 1
Inevitable Meetings
"No, I will not!"
"You will do as you are told!"
"I refuse. You can't make me!"
"I can and I will!"
I gave a frustrated yell and stormed to my room, tears threatening to spill. I slammed my door and threw myself onto my bed, letting the tears fall freely now. I guess I should explain, but first, let me introduce myself. My name is Johan Santizo, I'm 17 years old, I have russet skin, obsidian thigh-length hair, and, my most distinctive feature, firey gold eyes. My so called father just sold me off to be the bride of an aristocrat's son. Apparently, some aristocrat paid a very good price for my hand. The greedy bastard cares more about money than his own daughter. This isn't as much of a shocker as it would be to most people. He never cared about me anyway. He wasn't even my real father. Mother married him a couple of years after I was born. Mother. I don't remember her. She died when I was just a little kid. I've only seen her in pictures. My father dislikes me because I look just like her. Hours after I ran out of tears, my thoughts drifted and I succumbed to sleep, forgetting, if only a few hours, about my situation.
The next morning, I awoke to find all of my clothes and belongings packed in suitcases. My heart pounded as I ran downstairs to see my father talking with a dark-skinned, middle aged man and a handsome young man my age. The moment our eyes met I felt a strange attraction to the younger man. The three men looked at me and the strangers smiled warmly at me while my father simply gave me a blank look.
"Johan, it is good to see you. I am Trejo* Montoya, and this is my son, Keenan."
All color drained from my face as realization came to me who these two men were. I faced the man who raised me and gave him a desperate, pleading look, but he just responded with a cold, expressionless face. My heart shattered into a milion pieces. There was no way out of this. I was going to be married off at 17. I kept my head lowered. I didn't want the strangers to see me so easily broken; I still had my pride to think about.
"Yes, my father told me about you. It is a pleasure to meet you."
My voice came out perfectly smooth. Not once did it crack, but it sounded dead. My soon to be father-in-law frowned and my future husband looked as if seeing me so lifeless caused him the greatest pain imaginable. That man- I no longer thought of him as my father- cleared his throat.
"Johan, why don't you go upstairs and gather your things. You'll be leaving shortly."
I nodded and turned my back to the three and began walking back to my room. My room looked unfamiliar to me, as if it was the first time I set foot in there. It was not my room anymore. I stepped into my bathroom and undressed. The water felt pleasantly hot against my cool skin. I'm not sure how long I was in the shower, but I didn't care. If they wanted me to go with them, they would have to wait until I was good and ready. I exited my bathroom and picked up a random suitcase from my room, since I had no idea where any of my stuff was packed. I settled for a simple white sun dress that went just above my knees and a pair of silver ballerina flats. I decided to leave my hair down which had become very wavy after showering. I grabbed two very large suitcases and kicked the other one out the door. I didn't feel like going back for it. I reached the stairs where I saw both men waiting. Keenan saw me and his face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. He noticed my heavy bags and immediately raced up the stairs and grabbed the two biggest ones.
"Here, let me get that for you."
His voice was sweet and kind. It made me melt just to hear it, but I kept my face cool and composed.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing. They aren't even that heavy."
Is he serious? Those bags weigh like two tons each! He led me outside where I saw the most beautiful car I'd ever seen. My mouth dropped open. It was a black '67 Chevy Impala, my dream car. I'd always wanted one. Keenan chuckled beside me.
"You like it?"
"Like it? I love it!"
"Then it's yours."
"W-what? Are you serious?"
"Yes, I want you to have everything your heart desires. Your my princess now."
I blushed, but it died down when I registered the meaning of his words. My bags were placed in the trunk of the car and I sat in the back seat next to Keenan and waited as we began the long drive to my new life.
Keenan's POV
Johan Santizo. The most beautiful and perfect girl in the whole world. My soulmate and soon my wife. I can't believe I finally met her. I wasn't too pleased with the idea of marrying a complete stranger, but when I first laid eyes on her, it was like everyone and everything around us just disappeared. I knew right then, I wanted to be with her for the rest of my life. I could tell she felt it, too, but not nearly as strongly. I gave her a love-struck grin, and vaguely recognized my father introduce us. It was strange watching her emotions play in her eyes like that. Curiousity, confusion, realization, shock, horror, and lastly sadness. It crushed me to see her like that. It took everything I had not to take her in my arms and tell her everything was going to be okay. And when she spoke, her voice was like windchimes, but it sounded so wrong. It was empty, dead, like her eyes. Because of me. She was unhappy because of me.As she went upstairs, I started to panic. What if she hated me? What if she refused to marry me? My father put his hand on my shoulder, reassuring my thoughts. I silently thanked him. He continued to discuss some matters with Johan's father. I honestly hated the man. He sold us his only daughter, though I was glad he did, it still pisses me off. Johan reemerged from upstairs wearing a white dress and silver shoes. Her was down and slightly wet. She must have taken a shower. I saw her carrying three suitcases and immediately went to help her.
"Thanks."
Her voice was different. It no longer sounded hollow, but it still wasn't exactly full of life. This small change gave me hope.
"It's nothing. They aren't even that heavy."
We went out to our car. It was rather old and it wasn't my favorite car, but we didn't want to attract too much attention, being royalty and all. As soon as Johan stepped outside, her eyes sparkled. They were amazing to look at, and I would have spent all day doing just that, but I was curious to know what brought on this sudden change. My gaze wandered to where hers was and I laughed.
"You like it?"
"Like it? I love it!"
"Then it's yours."
"W-what? Are you serious?"
"Yes, I want you to have everything your heart desires. Your my princess now."
I meant every word I said. I'll do anything to see her happy. She blushed and my heart stopped before restarting, working at double speed. She looked so cute when she did that. I sat in the back with Johan and my father drove her new/old Impala to our estate.
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I hoped this was okay. I know I said I would update Spanish Romance/Vampire Academy, but I got a bit of writer's block. Somehow, instead of writing a new chapter, I ended up writing an entirely different story altogether. I'll get back to it when I can. Sorry to all you fans who are waiting.
*Trejo is pronoced Tray-ho
