Slave to the Emperor

As soon as I look in the mirror, I see myself. I really didn't know who I was seeing, but if there's one thing I know for sure, it's that this person may not be the real me. My eyes looked tired and swollen from crying all night, and my whole body felt numb. Because I hadn't slept well and was tired, there was a dark circle under my eyes that I knew would take a lot of contouring and highlighting to hide. But I was ready to put as much makeup on as I could to hide how upset I was and fake a smile for as long as I could.

I wasn't new to putting on a fake smile and acting like everything was fine. As a nurse, I have to smile most of the time to keep my patients calm and confident. I also have to act like everything is fine even though I'm so stressed out that my body is coming apart. This is what I do: I use makeup and highlights to hide my under-eye circles before I put on blush. Besides the fact that I could see my cheeks getting brighter, there was nothing else on my face that showed I was happy. I finally put on red lipstick after thinking for a while about whether to choose a pink or red shade. I decided that pink would be too boring and red would be much more interesting. I didn't want to wear my hair in a bun, so I straightened it out and let it fall. My hair is usually very dark black, but I dyed it brown a few months ago. I ran my hand along the edge of the Amara green necklace that looked so nice around my neck. She got the collar as a gift from her mother, which she got from her father a few years ago. She came into my room last night to say she was sorry and give me this as a note of her apology. She claimed this was something she had saved for when I was to get married but because of the situation, it wasn't a wedding gift but rather, an apology gift. Letting out a tired sigh, I stood up and examined how my strapless black tube dress hugged my body and highlighted my curves. After telling myself that I looked just right, I slowly walked out of my room. Every step I took as soon as I walked out of my room only increased my nervousness and made my hands much sweatier. The fact that I had no idea who this man really was or how he was and yet, I had no other choice but to head to his place and meet with him, made the situation even more nerve-wracking for me. I didn't want to just go to him blindly so I ended up doing a full study on him as soon as I woke up this morning. Apparently, Stephen Ericson is no joke at all. He's a business mogul who was known for his cruel and cold nature. He owned several casinos in Las Vegas, he also owned several hotels and spas and is also a big name in the business world as someone who has shares in shares in several companies across the country. Compared to Stephen's wealth, my family's wealth was nowhere near his at all. "Are you ready my dear?" my dad asked as soon as I climbed down the stairs with my hands dragging on the cold rails of the stairwell. He was already all dressed up in a suit and I could tell he had been waiting for a while. What I couldn't tell was if he was actually excited about this or if he was also just trying to go with the flow because he looked way too good and way too calm and I found it very strange and weird. "I don't think I have any other choice dad. As you can see, I'm already prepared to go ahead with this ridiculous situation," I answered and he simply sighed without having to respond and I thank God on his behalf cause if he had made the mistake of saying anything at all, I would have had an all argument with me and changed my mind. I kept looking outside the car window, letting the cold air touch my face so that it could help me relax my mind. I had a lot going through my head and as much as I tried not to start overthinking and playing how the meeting would go in my head, I couldn't help it. At this point, the meeting could either go well if I'm able to just keep my thought in check or it could go horribly wrong, if he irritates me to the point where I can't take it. I really did not want to say anything to my dad at all cause I had a feeling that if I spoke to him, he was only going to say something to worsen my mood and luckily, he knew that I had no interest in talking to him and kept to himself without bothering me at all. After a few hours, we arrived at our destination and as soon as we did, my jaw dropped to the ground. The first thing that caught my eye was the huge black gate that looked like I had just arrived in some mafia boss's house. My mouth hung open when I noticed just how amazing the entire property was and how beautiful the view was. Compared to my home, this land was freaking huge and trust me, my home wasn't exactly normal. I spotted what looked like a basketball court and just when I thought my jaw couldn't drop any lower, it did. I stepped out of the car after our driver drove in and took a better look at my surroundings. I noticed that he had a pool house which wasn't very shocking, he also had a fountain and a yard that looked absolutely beautiful. From a distance, I also noticed what looked like a horse stable and a sudden feeling of shame overtook me. I thought I knew what wealth was but as it turns out, I didn't even know half of it. "How does it look? Beautiful, right?" my dad asked from behind me and I quickly rolled my eyes at him. "Is this why you're making me marry him? So you can have such a rich and powerful man as your son-in-law? Is all of this just another business strategy?" I questioned and even though it was only an odd quip, I wouldn't exactly put it past him. "Don't be like that Amara. If it wasn't for our family's sake, I wouldn't be making you do this," he replied and I didn't even feel the need to give him a reaction. I didn't want to go back to the mood I was in yesterday and responding to him would only upset me again. We walked towards the door until a young lady suddenly appeared from nowhere with a worried and tired look on her face. "I apologise for not welcoming you earlier madam. My name is Avi and I'll be leading you to the master," she introduced quietly. "Please come with me," she directed and I simply followed her lead with my dad following right behind me like he was some kind of bodyguard. When we entered the house– I mean, his palace– I was surprised to see several people, who I assumed were staff, based on how uniformed they all looked, lined up with their heads bent. I was quite taken aback and uncomfortable but I said nothing and just kept following behind Avi who was now going up the stairs and bringing me to where I assumed Stephen was. The fact that he didn't even think to show his face and welcome me like a good gentleman was already a sign of how tiring this marriage or rather, this sham of a marriage, was going to be. We finally got to the living room and I wasn't even surprised by how it looked cause everything about this place so far has been nothing short of beautiful and elegant. "Mr Ericson will join you both soon. Please take a seat and while you wait, would you like anything to drink?" Avi asked and I didn't hesitate to request for a glass of water. I really needed something to quench my thirst and stop my throat from running dry because of how scared I was. She immediately excused herself for a few minutes before returning with a glass of water and I gulped it down instantly. "Thank you," I said to her and she bowed slightly before excusing herself from the living room. About ten minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Mr Ericson. I haven't even met him yet and I already formed a great dislike for him. I detested guys who lacked courtesy and he clearly had zero courtesy. "I apologise for keeping you both waiting," a voice spoke from behind me and I quickly guessed that the man of the hour had finally arrived. I stopped myself from looking back to look at him and waited until he was in front of me. Almost as if he had read my mind, he emerged right in front of me, all dressed up in casual pants and an open t-shirt that was lazily tucked into his pants. He had a stone cold look on his face and when I tell you that this man looked like he had fallen straight out of heaven, I mean it with every cell of my being.