The Arranged Bride

Chapter - 11

Nick's POV

As soon as Sophia left my cabin I slammed my hand on the table. I couldn't believe she tricked me.

The rest of the day , I tried drowning myself in work but the only thing I could think of , was Sophia.

It was around 6 when I remembered about the dinner. I didn't want to be late and hear a long lecture from Mom. So I decided on heading home.

On reaching , I made my way to my room. Keeping my blazer on the bed , I was loosening the tie around my neck when suddenly Sophia came out of the walk-in closet .

She was donning a white one shoulder dress and black heels. With a minimal bit of makeup on her face , her look was pretty simple yet she looked absolutely gorgeous.

She cleared her throat and I realized that I had been gawking at her. I looked up to see her smirking at me. Averting my eyes I quickly walked over to the bathroom and closed the door behind me.

Taking a shower , I came out in just my sweatpants. I did it intentionally and it seemed to have worked.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed scrolling through her phone. When she looked at me her eyes seemed to be stuck. She absent-mindedly kept scrolling while checking me out.

I cleared my throat and I saw her cheeks turning pink. Now it was my turn to smirk.

She clumsily stood up and scurried out of the room causing me to chuckle.

Sophia's POV

God ! It was so embarrassing. I knew he did it intentionally.

Stupid jerk.

You mean stupid handsome jerk ?

Yeah that !

Today Ethan was going to come back and I was so excited and relieved to have some company finally. I was really looking forward to bond with him.

As soon as I heard his footsteps , I started walking towards the car. I was sure that he would be looking devilishly handsome and I definitely didn't want to experience another embarrassing moment.

Benjamin , which I came to know was the name of the driver, opened the door for me and I slipped in. As soon as Nick settled in , Benjamin started driving. From the corner of my eyes I looked at Nick and I was correct. He was gorgeous in his light blue shirt.

I wonder if he had any other colour in his wardrobe other than blue , black and grey. Well , I wasn't complaining either. I am not fond of dressing my man in pink and orange colours.

My man !?

I rolled my eyes at myself.

We were soon in front of his parents house . We made our way to the door and a maid opened the door for us.

On entering the living room I saw my whole family . Mom and Mama were speaking to each other like some long lost friends while Dad looked a bit reserved in front of Papa , maybe because he was his employee. Char and Erica looked very comfortable with each other while Ryan was stealing glances at Erica !?

Hmm , that's something interesting.

The first to notice us was Ethan. He sprinted off of Papa's lap and came running to us.

" Sophia !" , He hugged my legs.

I picked him up and kissed his cheek to which he giggled.

" Oh , baby ! I missed you so much ." I said.

" I missed you too and Grandpa said I am going home with you today. " , He said excitedly.

" Yes , I know and from now on we are going to have a lot of fun at home , okay ?"

He nodded showing all of his teeth. From NôvelDrama.Org.

I put him down to hug Mom and Dad.

"I missed you guys so much ." I said.

" We missed you too princess." , Dad said.

"What about me ? " Char put her hands on her hip glaring at me playfully.

I hugged her but didn't say anything.

"Soph " , I pulled away to look at Ryan.

I took him in a tight hug .

"How have you been?" , He almost whispered.

I just nodded and kept quiet. He sighed and I knew that he had realized something was wrong.

" Soph , we are talking about this later." He said in a no-room-for-argument voice and I just sighed.

"Ryan ." , I heard Nick speak for the first time since we had arrived.

I pulled away only to be pulled back against a hard chest. Nick's familiar scent engulfed me. He placed his hand on my waist which sent a strange shiver down my body.

He was giving a hard stare at Ryan. Was he jealous ? He can't be. Then why was he behaving like a possessive man when he actually doesn't give a fuck? God he is so confusing.

" Come on, dinner is ready." , Mama said breaking the awkward moment.

We walked to the table . Nick pulled out a chair for me and settled down beside me. I took a lot to hide the surprise on my face.

" Did you hit your head somewhere?" , I whispered to him.

He gave me a strange look, expecting me to explain further.

" What's up with you and your new-found gentlemanliness ? " I raised an eyebrow.

" Cause honey , we are in front of our parents and I don't want to hear from mom on how I should be treating my wife ." He said in a mocking tone.

" Right." I was a bit saddened at his words. What else did I expect ,he had suddenly become a gentleman?

Dinner was spent with our parents giving out on our embarrassing childhood memories. By the end of the dinner , I was concentrating only on my plate.

We talked a bit more before it was time to leave.

"Say goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma, Ethan." I said taking his hand in mine.

"Good bye ." , He waved at his two set of grandparents and they waved back.

I hugged everyone and before I could reach Ryan, Nick pulled me back by my waist.

Char wiggled her eyebrows suggestively and I glared at Nick.

"We have to leave now." Nick said.

...

We were back at home . I looked at Ethan who was yawning.

" Come , let's tuck you in." I said him.

"No need , I will do it ." , Nick intervened.

" Dad , I want Sophia to take me to bed." Ethan pouted to which Mr. Jerk just sighed.

" Let's go ." Ethan guided me to his room. The room had blue and white walls. The room looked nothing like that of a kid. It was more of matured and elegantly designed.

I put him to bed and pulled the cover to his body. Kissing him goodbye , I switched off the lights and walked out of the room.

I went to my new room , which I had arranged for while he was at his office. I had shifted some of my work clothes and night wears to the wardrobe in the room , keeping the rest in Nick's bedroom to avoid any kind of problem in case our parents decide to surprise us.

I changed into my comfy pajamas and slipped under the cover. I was exhausted and had just closed my eyes when the door to the room opened and lights were switched on.

" What are you doing here ?" , Nick stood with his arms crossed against his check .

" Sleeping?" I spoke in a mocking tone.

" Why here ? " , He asked with a clenched jaw.

" Because I wasn't comfortable there ." I said .

" Of course you weren't. You aren't comfortable with sleeping in the same room with me but you're comfortable with hugging Ryan like your life depended on it." He scoffed.

"Excuse me ? You expect me to be comfortable with the person who expects me to sleep on the floor and I had to fight my way to the couch ? Well , I can't. And of course I am comfortable with hugging Ryan because he is my best friend." I said.

" And I am your husband." He said taking long steps towards me.

" More of a rude stranger. Now kindly get out of here and let me sleep." , I said looking straight into his eyes.

"It's my house and you can't tell me where to go ." He said coming closer.

" You know what ? I don't care. Sit here and fuck your arrogant ass . I need to sleep ."

I turned towards the bed but he gripped my arm and pulled me back. The next thing I knew was that his lips were on mine.

He roughly moved his lips against mine , demanding something and maybe punishing me.I couldn't process what was happening. Although I wasn't kissing him back, I was having a strange sensation.

The feeling of his lips on mine was making me weak . He bit on my lip to enter my mouth when I snapped out of my trance. I pushed him away and wiped my lips with the back of my hand.

" What the hell do you think you're doing , you arrogant man ? You think you can kiss me like that? I was ready to give our marriage a chance , but from the very first day, you have been acting like an absolute jerk to me . Now all of a sudden you feel the need to be my husband ,acting all possessive and jealous and kiss me when you actually don't care ." I yelled, frustrated.

" Yes , you're right I don't give a damn and I'm definitely not jealous over a lowlife like you, but I can't have my slut of a wife, flirting with another man in front of my parents. "

I was shocked. Did he really say that ? He called me a slut. How could he assess my character just like that? I really didn't have a comeback because I had never been spoken to like that. I have always had a carefree and happy life and never been insulted like this. But I couldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

"Leave ." I gritted my teeth , shocked at how strong my voice still sounded.

Without further words he left slamming the door .

I fell on the bed and stuffed my head in the pillow, I let my tears flow.