Amber's eyes met Pierce's gaze and smug expression a she took a deep breath, feeling the tightness in her chest.
"Is this what you meant by " I know people", Sophia?'" She asked, her tone measured. "And you," she turned to Pierce, "this is why you've been ignoring me for four weeks?!" She tried to keep the anger from leaking into her voice, but it shook with the effort. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks.
"Oh don't give me that sorry act, Amber! You cheated on me first!" Pierce pulled out his phone and held it up to Amber's face, a triumphant grin on his lips. "Look familiar?" he said, his voice dripping with contempt.
She felt her stomach sink as she saw the photo on the screen - it was her a private photo of the her and the stranger, but his face had been covered by a large black scribble. She recognized the background of the photo as a hotel room.
"You set me up!" She accused, anger bubbling in her chest. "And you Sophia, aren't you supposed to be engaged to his uncle?!—"
"What's going on in here?" a low, condescending voice began. It was her stepmother, Victoria Hamilton.
She stood before them, wearing a sleek, red gown that clung to her slim figure. Her dark hair was swept up into a perfect chignon, and her lips were painted a bright, bold red. Her gaze was cold and calculating, and it seemed to cut right through Amber.
"Good afternoon, ma'am," Amber straightened up and greeted in a cold tone.
"You've just arrived and you're already causing trouble?" She asked, her voice dripping with contempt.
"Perhaps, if your daughter wasn't cheating with my boyfriend, we wouldn't be in this situation," Amber shot back, unable to contain her anger.
"How dare you!" Victoria sent a resounding slap across her face then pulled her into the next room.
"What do you think you're doing!" She gritted her teeth,
"Isn't she supposed to be engaged to his uncle today—"
"Shut up, look around! Do you see any uncle around here?!" She snapped,
"He didn't even have the decency to show up this whole time! He may be William Astor's son...I even heard he's an illegitimate." She murmured the last part,
"But Pierce is William's grandson and God knows how old this uncle is, heaven forbids I allow that for my precious daughter.
Sophia and Pierce's marriage will be beneficial to both families, it should have been you, but you foolishly decided to cheat on him."
Straightening herself up, she continued,
"So, if I were you, I'd suck it up and be happy for your sister. And if you so wish to be a part of the family, you can marry that old uncle yourself." With that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the room.
Amber felt a swirl of emotions course through her. She was angry, sad, and heartbroken all at the same time.
She couldn't believe that her boyfriend had set her up and cheated on her with Sophia and she was furious that Victoria was seemingly a part of it.
She suddenly felt nauseous and dizzy at the same time.
"I need to get out of here." She mumbled, she couldn't let herself break down in front of everyone.
With trembling legs, Amber ran down the curving staircase, nearly tripping as she rushed toward the open front door. Her heart pounded as she sprinted toward the waiting cab.
"Please," she rasped, her throat tight with panic. "Just get me out of here."
"Excuse me?" A voice said, she turned, just realizing someone was still inside. Her heart sank as she recognized him, it was the stranger from weeks ago.
Amber's face burned with embarrassment,
"You?! A-Are you following me?!" She stuttered,
"On the contrary," he said coldly, "I was supposed to be engaged today to your step sister, but it seems my nephew has decided he wants my bride so badly."
The man's words hit Amber like a punch to the gut as her eyes widened, "You're the uncle?" She asked in disbelief,
"And you're the bride's sister he set me up with, to make me look bad." He scoffed.
Glancing at his wrist watch, he told the cab driver,
"There's still time, to the court house, please."
"The courthouse?" She questioned,
"Yes, we're getting married." He replied without batting an eyelid.
"Married?" She scoffed, "I'm not getting married to you —"
"It doesn't matter, I need a bride and deep down, you need to get back at him."
She hesitated,
"But still, marriage seems too extreme."
He pulled out his phone from his pocket and showed her their private photos.
"Do you know he has these photos—"
"Why do you have that?" Her face flushed,
"Doesn't matter." He looked away and put the phone away.
Just then, Amber's phone began to ring as several notifications began to pop up,
"Hello?" She answered, it was her assistant, Daisy.
"Miss Hamilton? Where are you?!" She asked urgently,
"Slow down, what's going on, Daisy—"
"Photos, everywhere, don't worry your management team is working on it—"
"What are you talking about?" Her brows scrunched,
"Your private photos on the internet, some anonymous website circulated it but we're working on taking it down." Daisy told her,
"That bastard." She murmured, unable to even read the notifications.
"Amber Hamilton." The man called her name for the first time, "You're a hot topic now."He said his tone, non-chalant.
"You're in that photo too." She replied in annoyance.
"Yes, but my face isn't and nobody knows who I am." He replied flatly.
"Arrogant bastard." She thought, then told him,
"Let's do it."
---
As Amber stood at the front of the room, her mind raced. She had agreed to this marriage because it felt like she had no other choice. The judge's voice went on as he read the vows but she barely paid attention.
She turned to the tall and well-built man next to her, staring at his seriously handsome face. He had a map of dark hair sitting on his head, a face perfectly sculpted for his head. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he was a model, at the same time,a lot of thoughts ran through her mind.
"I wonder what kind of person he is, an illegitimate child of William Astor? Pierce's uncle. That explains why he's so young. Why did he drive in a cab, maybe he could be poor and broke. What are you getting yourself into, Amber Hamilton—You had a one night stand with this jerk and even gave him your V-card."
She quickly looked away as her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
The ceremony was over in a matter of minutes, and before she knew it, she was married.
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Xavier Astor." The judge smiled at them.
"Xavier As..." Her voice trailed off.
Suddenly, her knees felt weak as the realization of what she had just done hit her. She fell to the ground, as everything else went black, The last thing she heard was her name, followed by silence.