Made With Love ✔

Chapter 19: Finding Out the Hard Way Part 2

-----Vanessa's POV: (before she found out)

Lance has been acting so weird since he's come back from where he went this morning. He doesn't even want to talk about whatever it is. I wonder if something happened, I think to myself as I walk to my room.

I sit down, ready to start my paper when I realize that I left my phone and textbook on the kitchen counter. When I enter the kitchen, I hear Hamilton's muffled voice exclaim,

"You agreed to marry Arabella Hammel to save your father's empire!?"

Please tell me that's a joke. But no, I hear Lance whisper,

"Quiet down, do you want Vanessa to know?"

What!? I need to get out of here. I grab my keys and slam the door on my way out.

After driving to Brooklyn and Chase's apartment and seeing those two curled up lovingly on the couch, my anger turned to sadness.

"What's wrong? What did he do?" Brooklyn hurriedly asked as she jumped up and sat me down on the couch.

"Do I need to beat him up?" Chase asked.

I nodded my head no and just sobbed on Brooklyn's shoulder, trying to explain what happened,

"He...promised.....blonde.....model.....Arabella...his father.... marry....her."

"Chase get a glass of water. V, breathe in breath out. We don't want you to hyperventilate do we?" She urged.

Just then the doorbell rang and knowing who it was, I burst into tears again.

"V, breathe and drink some water, we'll take care of him."

He walked into the living room, his eyes locking with mine, worry in his.

"Please just let me explain." He pleaded, sadness clearly splashed across his features.

"Begin," Brooklyn said coldly.

He took a deep breath and started,

"Last night, after you went to your room, my father's secretary called and told me that I was to meet my father and an investor tomorrow morning at 9 am. So I went to this office this morning and met with the key investor we have, Mr. and Mrs. Hammel. My father's company's bottom line is sinking and the Hammels have the money to pull it out of the asset loss. They made a deal with my father in which they support the company monetarily until its stable and in return, I am to marry their daughter, Arabella. I said no, but the contract was already signed a few days ago. I'm really sorry you had to find out like this. I was planning on telling you tomorrow."

I looked up at him, my eyes still glistening with unshed tears and said to him, my voice wobbling,

"We are over Lance. I can't... be with someone who...is contracted to .... another."

His eyes widened when I finished my sentence.

"Please, Vanessa. I'm sure I can find a loophole in the contract or something. There is no date set for the wedding. I'll figure out something. We can make this work." He begged.

"Lance, clearly you still think that Vanessa will agree to be your hidden romance, but I'm not letting her be someone's bean bag just because they are pleaded on the floor in front of me. You figure out how to solve this and then you can try to get Vanessa back. Until then, you two are over." Brooklyn told me.

"I agree with the lady. When you figure out how to get out of this, and if you still want Vanessa, you can come back. But Vanessa is not going to be the waiting damsel in distress, waiting for you to come back. She has a life and she's going to live it." Chase agreed, herding him to the door and shutting the door firmly after he was on the doorstep.

"Well, I'm going to have to go back there. All of my stuff is there and my name is on the lease." I reminded myself aloud.

"He's just a man Vanessa. You'll hardly notice that he's there." Brooklyn predicted.

"If he bothers you, let me know and I'll be there in a minute tops." Chase told me, wrapping me in a hug.

"Bye, you guys."

I got in my car and drove back to the apartment, seeing that Lance's car was parked. When I opened the door to the apartment, Lance was standing there, still in a suit, arguing with a man who looked oddly similar to Lance.

"Mind introducing us, Lance?" A female voice said from the chair.

"Oh. Mom, Dad, this is Vanessa Hale, my roommate and the reason why I don't want to marry Arabella." He introduced, taking my hand.

"Hale, that rings a name but I can't quite put my finger on it. In any matter, Lance, you will go through with that contract for the good of the company. You can always divorce her once the company is stable."

"Dad, I don't want to marry her at all. I know if I do, I'll lose Vaness." Lance pleaded, still holding my hand.

" Son, I wish there was another way. I really do. I told them that if they gave me a little time, but they control 50.6% of the main shares. Without them fully invested, we would sink faster than you could say "I do". Unless you can figure out another way, I'm sorry. And to make matters worse, her father wants at least 3 press-covered dates, a formal engagement announcement and recording sent to the press, and a wedding with exclusive rights to Yes! Media Group for video and photos. He's pushing for the first date to be in a few days." Mr. Fields explained, reading off of the contract.

"We'll figure something out, won't we?" Lance said, the last part more of a question than a statement. I nodded, knowing that I still wanted a chance with him, somewhere in my heart.

"Bye. I'll call you if anything changes." His father said before leaving.

As soon as the door shut, Lance began,

"Vanessa, I'm truly sorry this contract was signed. I still want a chance with you, but I know that Brooklyn and Chase will not mind tying me up and torturing me if I do a second thing wrong. Please tell me you have an idea because I have thought through every plan I could think of."

"Lance, I just wish you had told me about this as soon as you knew. A relationship based on withholding the truth won't last very long or be fulfilling. I don't want to be known as the "other woman". I've known Arabella Hammel since grade school, and trust me, she wants nothing but money."

"I'll figure something out, just please don't stay mad at me. I know I make stupid mistakes and I'm gonna try my best to find a loophole." He pleads, his hands holding onto both of mine.

"Fine, but you kiss her or anything more, we are done," I say as sternly as I can.

He nods, breaking into a smile.

________________________________________________________________________________

Hey guys!

Thank you for being patient for this update. I had a few changes I needed to make to the plot in order for this to make sense.

The next update will be on May 6th for a multitude of reasons:

1. I am working on a Multicultural Festival in my town and that is taking quite a lot of time until May 1st.

2. Finals and the standardized testing season is upon me and I need good grades on those.

I will not be on Wattpad for a long time, so I was hoping that when I do get back on, this story could have 1,050 reads and 70 votes? 

I would be extremely grateful if that could happen! So...

Don't forget to share, comment, and VOTE!

That's all for now! :)