Her Fiancé's Son

chapter three: honey, we got a big storm coming

chapter three: honey, we got a big storm coming

You know, throughout my adolescence and even to this day, I always thought I'd make a pretty good girlfriend, and eventually wife, to some guy. There were, of course, the days when I thought I was the most hideous creature to walk the Earth and that I had nothing good about myself so I'd be forever alone.

But the days I didn't hate myself? The days I actually thought I was pretty decent. Those days, I'd think about it and think, some guy would be the luckiest boy on the planet. Of course, until I was fourteen, I was pretty certain that that lucky boy would be Jamie. Then I'd be the lucky girl.

I mean even if it wasn't Jamie – I did have a lot going for me.

Okay, I wasn't a straight A student because I didn't have the motivation to revise or study for tests. Who has that motivation when your Daddy dies at 14, mere weeks after what you thought to be your love of your life, leaves forever? But I was a smart girl – when I applied myself – and I had a lot of common sense. It was how I landed my training contract with my dream firm.

I was funny – at least my friends and I found me funny. Yes, there'd be times that my jokes would garner odd looks from people but that was okay. Not everyone got my humour, but that was life. Not everyone laughs at the same things and that's okay.

There are no two ways about it – I was an adorable child. Like honestly, my mum and my daddy had amazing genetics for creating adorable kids. So I could absolutely bring that to the table. Maybe I wasn't supermodel beautiful now – I wasn't dark enough to be a 'Black Goddess' like Lupita Nyong'o, nor fair enough to be in Hashtag Team Light-skin. But I'd made my peace with that. Maybe I wasn't the "perfect" colour but at least every time, I purchased my Fenty Beauty foundation, I could think blaze it to myself and snicker.

My friends called me gorgeous, fit, beautiful and so on and I'd had guys echo similar things but my friends? Surely they had to say that? And those guys? Surely, they said it because they were all just after a warm orifice to sink their members into.

I was enough. I had tried to drill that into myself every time I got down on myself. I needed to keep drilling that into myself. I was enough.

Hey, I managed to get into a top ranked University to study the course of my dreams – Law – and I had big goals. I could argue to high heavens and that's what I found myself doing that Thursday, sat across the table from Frank, Benjamin's average white guy associate. He refused to let me see Benjamin; rather he insisted that all my business with Benjamin was now to be conducted solely between him and me or "any other representative of my choice".

"Will you be taking the Rothschild name, do you prefer to keep your own or will you double barrel? Mr Rothschild the Second has no preferences here."

"Can I see Benjamin?" I asked for the nth time. I was trying the annoying route, intentionally using his boss' first name to irritate him.

"Like I told you, Miss Washington, Mr Rothschild the Second does not wish to deal with this himself. He has matters to attend to."

"But I have something particular to ask him, I can't get married this weekend. Can we postpone it? I was hoping to postpone it until the completion of my training contract." That was six months, or one training seat, away and hopefully, Benjamin would realise in that time how utterly ridiculous this idea was.

"Like I said before, the wedding is this weekend. Sunday evening. Will you be taking the Rothschild n-"

"Frank, please, you have to understand how difficult this is for me. I'm effectively marrying a complete stranger! I need time to sort myself out and get to know him better! I can't marry him right now!" I felt tears spring in to my eyes, making me mentally slap myself. Why do I always have to cry when I'm annoyed?