30 Days Marrying You

chapter 22

(A/N: i'm sooooo sorry but i had issues at home , hope u like this update )

There was a long rectangular table surrounded by about eight high-backed wooden chairs.

Xavier had chosen this room which was totally soundproof and far from where the party was going on.
In a normal circumstance, Jessica would say Xavier was mocking her with the choice of room,
but there was no time for that.
It was totally her own careless for not being alert and made Daniel overheard her conversation with Emily . Apparently, they would be in
a round table meeting,
discussing – more like explaining – the situation.

"So," Jessica started once they'd taken their seats.
Only Xavier was standing, leaning against the wall near the window.
"What I'm saying is, everything happened for a reason, right?
So, this marriage happened for a good reason too.
But, the difference is, it doesn't happen without our consent.
I mean, we are not willingly get married to each other."
Jessica knew she was making less and less sense.
She was always bad at explaining things and her tongue-tied wasn't helping either.
Her eyes went to Xavier . His face was stiff and he was clearly not looking at her.
"What I mean is, I, we –"

"I can explain." Xavier interrupted.
Jessica realized she was letting out a sigh of relief.
And he started telling Daniel and Emily everything that happened, starting from his plea for Jessica to pretend to be his girlfriend to how the grandma fall sick and asked them to get married.

"This whole pretence, as you heard, would only last for thirty days. So, it would be nice if we can keep this a secret among us only." Xavier finished explaining, adding in the request.

No one spoke after Xavier finished explaining.
Even Jessica felt like she forgot how to speak. She was looking at Xavier the whole time, who didn't glance even once towards her direction as he was explaining. His voice was as cold as ice that sent shivers down her bones.

Emily crossed her arms over her chest. She was the first to comment after the long silence. Jessica tore her gaze from Xavier .
"Keeping it a secret is not a problem. The problem is, what are you going to do after thirty days? Are you going to announce you're getting a divorce after that? What are you going to tell everyone? That, 'oh, sorry we are not compatible to each other after all.' Or 'I thought she is my soul mate but it turns out she's not.' If not, are you going to tell the truth? That you are forced to get married? Do you have any idea on how to explain everything later?"

The question startled Jessica . In truth, she hadn't thought that far. Jessica glanced at Xavier , waiting for him to say something, anything, in return. But, this time he gave no sign to answer. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was staring out the window, his jaw pulled tight. She wasn't sure whether he was the same as her, didn't know what to say, or he was not interested in explaining. He seemed more interested in gazing outside the window, counting the number of the stars, perhaps.

"Well, I don't know yet," Jessica said after a while.

"You've got to be kidding me! Are you telling me you have no plan at all?" Emily sounded incredulous.

Jessica lowered her head, avoiding meeting anyone's eyes. Then, she heard Daniel spoke for the first time since they entered the room.

"Wait a minute, Mily –,"

"It's Emily !" Emily snapped, turning her head to Daniel . Jessica bit her lips to prevent herself from laughing.

"Oh, sorry, Emily ." Daniel sounded as if he'd been slapped across the face. He continued talking. "I think we shouldn't give them much pressure. The point is, we should keep this as a secret. The rest, we could think about it together."

Emily leaned back in the chair. "What's your name again? And who are you?"

"I'm Daniel . I'm Xavier's cousin." A blush flooded his cheeks. "So, what I'm saying is, we should help them and maybe think of the solution together."

"You look like you can't wait to see them separated," Emily muttered out loud.

Daniel 's face changed. He'd gone paler at that comment. Emily 's eyes widened. She just said those words with no real meaning but she didn't expect that reaction. Jessica 's head was still hung low and she was not looking at Daniel . So, she didn't see his reaction.
Somehow, Emily could understand the situation now. Her gaze swept over Daniel and Jessica and her eyes locked with Xavier . He remained unfazed though she could see his fists tightening at his sides.

"Is he really your cousin?" She directed the question at Xavier , referring to Daniel .

"It's a bit of a mystery to me too." Was all Xavier answered.

Emily shook her head. 'Okay, this will be complicated.' She thought.

Jessica raised her head when she felt the conversation sounded alien to her.
"What are you talking about?" She looked from Daniel 's nervous face to Emily 's cool one. Xavier was still not looking at her but she could see his expressionless face.

"Long story. With no subtitle. You wouldn't understand," Emily answered with amusement. Jessica raised her eyebrows.

"S... So," Daniel stuttered, still very pale. "We should keep it a secret." He stressed the word secret as he looked at Emily .

"Agreed. I will keep it a secret." Emily gave a sly smile. Her eyes glittered.

Jessica , who was oblivious to the tension between Emily and Daniel , smiled, relieved.

Just then, Xavier cleared his throat. "Okay. So, the discussion is over. But the party is not over. It might have slipped your minds but, Jessica and I are the main characters of the party."

Jessica startled a bit when she felt a hand was on her shoulder. She didn't realize Xavier was already standing behind her. She looked down at his hand on her shoulder. And for the first time, she thought his hand was big, the hand of a man. A flash of images came flooding. The image in her dream where she hold his hand, with her mother smiling beside them. And there was that time when their hands were clasped together during the wedding ceremony.

"Okay." Jessica roused out of her reverie with Emily 's voice. "Both of you can go. I want to have a little chat with Mr Cute Little Prince here."

Daniel realized Emily was looking at him. "Me?" He pointed towards himself.

"Yes, you." Emily squinted at him.