Arranged marriage : Married to an unknown man

Xavier Knight

As she saw me walking towards her, she stepped a little forward, leaving her colleagues behind. As I was walking towards her, my heart, mind, and soul were screaming to compliment her.

The moment I approached her, I swallowed hard, she looked even more breathtaking from closer. I racked my eyes on her beautiful face, making sure that the beauty standing in front of me was real. I flickered my eyes from her face down to her neck, I saw her gulp.

I looked back at her face to find her face already turned pink. Cute… Then I realized… Shit!! What was I even doing? I was gawking at her. We are in public. Damn!! What’s wrong with me?

“You haven’t complimented her yet. Do it now.” My subconscious mind said. I cleared my throat.

“Why weren’t you picking up the phone? I was calling you.” Fucking hell. I was supposed to compliment her.

She immediately looked at her empty hands.

“Where’s my phone? It was with me when we sat in the car.” She mumbled to herself but I heard it. Then she made a face that she remembered something.

“I think I left it in the car and it was on silent mode. I’m sorry. I’ll just go and get it.” She said.

“No need. I’ll call Finn to bring your phone. And next time don’t put your phone on silent, get it?”

She nodded her head, looking guilty. Before I could say anything, a voice from behind me stopped me.

“Woah princess, you look gorgeous.” Daniel came and stood beside me. He was tailing behind me?

“Wow, Ariana. You look really beautiful.” Sean said, standing beside me. He too was trailing behind me? Can’t they leave me alone?

“Thank you. You both look handsome too.” She complimented both of them with a huge smile.

“Thank you, Princess. I am honored to receive a compliment from my lovely sister.” Daniel said, making me roll my eyes. Ariana’s smile now turned into a grin.

“Thank you, Ariana,” Sean replied smiling.

“One more thing..” Daniel said, eyeing her up and down, and then he looked at me, smirking.

“Did you two secretly planed the color code because you two are matching! Come on guys, you could have told me, I would have also worn the same color.”

I looked down to look at my suit, then it hit me. We both were wearing navy blue. Her eyes turned wide when she looked at my suit. Her cheeks turned red.

“N.. No.. it’s a coincidence.” She replied.

“It’s pure coincidence, Daniel,” I said, glaring at him to which he smirked again.

“Yeah, sure coincidence..” He said, making Sean laugh. I raised an eyebrow towards Sean asking what was there to laugh. He just shrugged his shoulders.

“Anyway, Princess, let me alert you about something,” Saying that, Daniel stood beside her, facing me. I frowned. Alert about what? She looked at him in confusion. Daniel looked at her and said,

“Princess, be aware tonight…” Daniel then pinned his eyes with mine, he smirked and said “…You look so beautiful that the men present here will try to hit on you. You might end up having uncountable proposals tonight.”

I clenched my jaw and threw him a venomous glare. He was getting on my nerves now. How dare he even think about that? But no matter what, he was right. The way she was looking, men around here would definitely try to make a move. No way in hell I’ll let that happen. I’ll not leave her alone in the open field of predators.

“Don’t you have guests to attend?” I snapped at Daniel.

“Not just me, you too have guests to attend.” He smirked. Goodness, he and his smirk. I’ll kill him with my bare hands.

“Sean, take him away from here,” I said looking at Sean who was standing silently and enjoying the show.

“Well, he isn’t wrong but sensing the situation here…” He looked between me and Ariana “…I think we should leave you two alone. Come on Daniel, let’s go. Someone has to attend the guests.” Saying that he dragged Daniel with him. I ignored the sarcasm laced in his tone.

Finally, they are gone.

I looked at Ariana who had an adorable frown on her face while looking at her brothers’ disappearing figures. I cleared my throat to grab her attention. She looked at me, now that I got her attention I said,

“You’ll stay by my side the whole time.”

“Why?” She asked.

Because men tonight will see you as an open invitation and in order for me to keep my sanity to not kill anyone with my bare hands I have to keep you by my side. But how should I tell her by not telling her?

“Because many business associates are here tonight and there will be business-related talks so I need my P. A beside me to take a mental note on every conversation.” Stupid Xavier, this is what came up with?

“But it’s a party.” She said softly.

“For everyone else. For me, it’s business.”

“But Daniel and Sean didn’t ask their P. As to be with them.” She said. Why can’t she understand at once?

“They have a different opinion about parties and I have mine. So come with me.” I said with finality in my tone. Her shoulders slumped a little. She looked around and then looked at me.

“Okay. Umm.. let me inform my colleagues about that.” She replied disappointingly. Finally, now I don’t have to worry about her.

I looked back to where her colleagues were standing. I frowned when I saw someone. Kevin Reed. When she told me in which department he worked, I called for his file and read about him. I had to ask for his file because it’s hard to remember every employee who works for you. No doubt, he’s a hard-working employee but his close proximity to Ariana was making me restless about something that I couldn’t even explain to myself. Like the way thinking about men gawking at her was making me insane.

“Thank you for gracing this party with your presence.” I heard Daniel’s voice. Damn!! I have to welcome the guests.

“Meet me near the stage.” Saying that to her I ran to the stage. I grabbed the mic and stood beside Daniel and Sean.

“We are glad to say that our company XDS AUTOTECH is announced as the highest-grossing company of the year second time in a row,” I said. The hall erupted into a round of applause.

“This achievement is not only ours but also of every single person who worked hard for the company. We thank every employee of our company for making this possible.” Sean said.

“Thank you again for sparing your precious time to celebrate this achievement with us,” Daniel said.

“Enjoy the party.” Three of us said in unison and stepped down the stage. I approached Ariana, who was standing near the stage.

“Xavier,” Someone called me from behind. I turned around and smiled to see Mr. Seth Ruiz and his wife Mrs. Natasha Ruiz. They are a cute old couple, Mr. Ruiz was my dad’s friend and business associate. I grew up seeing the couple in my home. They used to come home very often.

“Sir, pleasure to meet you,” I said as I shook his hand. I call him sir because I learned many things about a business from him.

“Mrs. Ruiz, a pleasure to meet you too,” I said, kissing the back of her hand. She smiled at me.

“Oh come on, Xavier son, you still call me Sir? You have earned a huge name now. Call me by my name now.” Mr. Ruiz said.

“Sir, I may have reached the heights but I haven’t forgotten that you were my mentor along with my father,” I said.

“You and your words. Talking about your father, where are your parents? I couldn’t find them.” Mr. Ruiz asked.

“They aren’t here. Actually, they have been vacationing in Italy and due to some bad weather conditions, the jet couldn’t take off. So they aren’t here.” I was really upset when my mother informed me about this. I wanted them here, they were always there with me to celebrate my every single achievement. But tonight they are not.

“Oh, okay. And who this beautiful young lady is?” He said, looking at Ariana.

“She is Ar..*Ahem* Ariana. My P. A” I said while placing my hand on her lower back.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Oh my, the one about whom the whole business world is talking?” His expressions turned into a surprising one.

“Dear, Glad to meet you. I wanted to meet you the day I heard about you. You must be really good in your work that Xavier, who never had a female P. A appointed you as his P. A.” Mr. Ruiz said.

“Indeed she is,” I said proudly. Beautiful and hardworking.

“Thank you, Sir. And Pleasure to meet you too.” She replied joining her hands in front of her and bowing her head slightly.

“Pleasure to meet you too, ma’am,” She bowed in front of Mrs. Ruiz.

“Oh dear, a pleasure to meet you too, you have a very sweet voice. And you are so beautiful.” Mrs. Ruiz looked at her in adoration which made Ariana blush. She blushes very quickly. But I like her blush.

Mrs. Ruiz came and patted my back, which took me off guard.

“Xavier, your P. A. seems to be a good lady. Make a move before anyone could. It’s high time for you to settle down.” She whispered in my ear and stepped back. I smiled at her.

Only if she knew.

“Well, Xavier, you should take my wife’s advice. And I know what she said.” Mr. Ruiz patted my back.

“I will take it into consideration,” I smiled at both of them. I looked at Ariana who had a confused expression on her face.

I then excused myself from them and took Ariana with me to greet other guests. I conversed with the business associates without letting her go away from me.

And thank heaven to the Asian culture, Whoever tried to shake hands with her, she greeted them with bowing her head otherwise I would have lost my sanity.

I won’t let anyone touch her. I knew she wasn’t comfortable in greeting people but I made sure to make her comfortable. I didn’t let anyone stand near her. If anyone tried to stand beside her I would make her stand at my other side to make her feel comfortable but I didn’t let her leave my side.

I hope my actions give a message to everyone that she is off-limits for them.

Ariana

My cheeks were hurting because of smiling at everyone. Tonight, I greeted the number of people that I never did in my whole life. I always used to run away from people. I always thought that they would try to touch me in one way or the other. I felt uncomfortable but tonight I didn’t… because Xavier was by my side. His presence beside me was enough to make me comfortable. Though he kept me by his side while talking to the business associates, still, he made sure that I was at a notable distance from them.

He said that he wanted me beside him to make a mental note on business conversations but no single business conversation took place with anyone. Then why he didn’t let me go? I wasn’t even speaking, I was just listening to them and I was tired of standing for so long. For heaven’s sake, I was wearing heels that were giving me foot ache and I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten anything since noon, my stomach needed food.

We were standing in a group of men and I was thinking of the way how to go away from here when a woman looking like a model came and greeted Xavier by kissing on his cheek. Smiling, he complimented her. I frowned, he didn’t compliment me. He didn’t even smile at me for once. Was I not looking good? Everyone else complimented me but he didn’t. Did they lie to make me feel better? I know Xavier won’t lie about his opinion about me and he didn’t say anything to me which means… I wasn’t looking good.

I looked at him, he was engaged in conversation with her and other men. I wanted to go away from here. I couldn’t stand with him to see him talking with her and smiling at her.

I took a breath to gather courage and poked him in his upper arm. He looked at me. Oh no! His look, just one look from him is enough to elevate my heartbeat. The courage I gathered flew away in the air. But I have to speak.

“Can I go and stand with my colleagues?” I whispered so that no one but he could hear me. He didn’t say anything for a few seconds but when he did, he dropped my heart.

“No,” Whispering that to me, he diverted his attention back to the people he was talking to. But I desperately needed to go away. So, I poked him again. He looked at me, raising his eyebrows.

“I want to go, I am hungry,” I whispered. He sighed and excused himself from others.

“Okay, but stay with Miss Hart or Mrs. Miller. I don’t want to see you standing or sitting alone. Get that?” He said and I nodded my head.

I excused myself went to be with my friends.

“Oh, finally you realized that you have friends.” Lauren mocked me.

“I’m so sorry. I wanted to come but Mr. Knight didn’t let me go,” I reasoned out.

“Why can’t he leave you alone? It’s a party, not the office that you have to be with him as his P. A,” Kevin said annoyingly.

“It’s okay, Kevin. He’s our boss. We can’t say no to him,” Mrs. Miller said. I smiled at her for taking my side.

“Umm.. can we go and eat? I’m really hungry.”

“Yes, me too. Let’s go.” Lauren said and we all went to the dining area.

After eating, we all got back to standing in one corner of the hall. Scott and Kevin excused themselves to meet other colleagues. Mrs. Miller also went to talk to someone else, leaving me with Lauren.

“So, now we are alone.” Lauren turned towards me. Uh oh! I sense trouble.

“Tell me one thing which I am so intrigued to know since we arrived at the party. Did you know Mr. Knight was wearing blue?” She asked, crossing her arm in front of her chest.

That’s the other thing that bothered me. Xavier and me unintentionally matched.

“No Lauren, that was pure coincidence,” I said.

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, really and why would you think that I’d intentionally do that? And that too with my boss?” I asked.

“You never know. People do strange things to get attention from their crush.” She smirked, making my cheeks turn red.

“Lauren I didn’t do that and for the last time I don’t have a crush on him nor he has on me.”

“If you say so. You know, I was thinking to ask Mr. Knight to guard you. But freaking hell! He did it without even being told to do so.” She said happily.

“Lauren why would he guard me and from whom? He wanted me beside him just for business purposes.”

“Really? Then why his hand was on your back the whole time. I saw that.” She said. Well, I didn’t have an answer to that.

“I don’t.. know,” I said, averting my eyes from her.

“Come on, Ariana, why don’t you accept that he has a crush on you and you too have it.”

“No.” He didn’t even say anything about my outfit and didn’t glance at me even for once. He was busy talking to his business associates and…women. He surely doesn’t feel anything about me.

“Then how will you explain the way he was looking at you when he arrived? The way he possessively kept his hand on your back and the way you were stealing glances at him the whole time? I saw that Ariana. I saw that all. And believe me, it’s not bad at all. Live a little Ariana and try to express yourself” Lauren said softly.

“Lauren can we not talk about this? Can we sit? These heels are giving me trouble.” I said softly so that she doesn’t feel bad about changing the topic.

“Okay, you sit there, I’ll just come in a few minutes. Have to use the restroom.” She said, pointing at the vacant table near us.

“Please come fast. I don’t want to be alone,” I said worriedly.

“Sure.” Saying that she went away. I sat on the chair and waited for her.

I saw Daniel approaching me which made me smile.

“Hey, why are sitting alone?” He said as he sat on the chair beside me.

“Lauren went to the restroom so I am just waiting for her,” I said.

“Okay, So, How does it feel spending time with Xavier?” Daniel grinned.

“Daniel, why are you teasing me? I wasn’t spending time with him. I was with him because he wanted me to take a mental note on business conversations.”

“Only if you knew, Princess. Only if you knew.” He mumbled.

“Huh? What do you mean by that.” I asked confusedly.

“Nothing princess.” He shook his head, grin not leaving his lips. He put his right hand on the table, my eyes landed on his wrist making my eyes go wide.

“You wore that?” I whispered, pointing towards the bracelet I gave him.

“Why wouldn’t I? It’s a gift from one of my favorite people in the world. And I love it.” He smiled at me. I could feel my emotions taking over me. I thought he’d not like it as it’s not that expensive. But surprisingly, he wore it.

“Thank you, Daniel, it means a lot to me.” I smiled at him.

“No Princess, this bracelet means a lot to me. And now, I’ll always wear it.” He emphasized ‘a lot to me’. Goodness, why is he so sweet? I wanted to cry out of happiness. How did I get lucky to have him as my brother?

“Hey, Daniel,” someone called him from behind.

“Princess, I have to go. But don’t sit alone, okay?” Saying that he left me sitting alone.

I looked around to find Lauren but I couldn’t find her. Why was she taking so much time to come? I glanced at my wristwatch to see it was already midnight. I got up from my chair to look for Lauren. I was about to walk when a man approached me.

“What a beautiful lady like you doing alone here?” He asked with a smile, making me worried. No one is here with me. How will I manage this?

“Umm.. just waiting for my friend,” I replied. I was frightened.

“Oh, okay. I saw you with Xavier Knight before. I wanted to talk to you but couldn’t reach you but now that I found you alone… we can talk.” His eyes lingered on my bare shoulders.

His words made me more scared. The way he was looking at me made me feel uncomfortable. He looked creepy.

“I…I don’t think.. we ca.. can talk. I have to go.” I said and tried to walk away. But he blocked my way.

“Oh, come on, I won’t take much of your time. Here, take this.” He said, picking up a wine glass from the tray of the passing waiter and offered it to me.

“Umm.. no…I..” Before I could say anything a strong voice cut me off.

“She doesn’t drink,” Xavier said, approaching us. He came and stood beside me.

“Xavier Knight. How are you, man? And how do you know she doesn’t drink?” The man in front of me asked. I could sense the hardness in his voice.

“I know it because she is my P. A,” Xavier said in the same hard voice, snaking his arm around my waist.

“Oh.. you know more than a boss should know about his employee and to me, it seems she is more than P. A to you.” That creepy man said, eyeing Xavier’s hand around me.

“It’s none of your business, Chris.” Xavier snapped at him.

“Oh, but I’ll take it as my business because I want to talk to her,” Chris smirked which made me worried. I could sense the tension between these two.

“Don’t you even dare. Stay away from her.” Xavier tightened his grip on my waist and walked away from Chris, taking me with him.

“Didn’t I tell you not to stay alone?” He questioned as soon as we reached behind the huge pillar in the hall where no one could see us.

“What were you doing there alone?” He asked.

“M.. my feet were hurting so I sat there and was waiting for Lauren to come from the restroom,” I said, looking down.

“You should wear what makes you comfortable.” He said calmly. I didn’t say anything. I heard him sigh audibly.

“Come, we are leaving.” He said making me look at him.

“Where?” I asked.

“Penthouse.”

“What about the party?” I asked.

“Sean and Daniel will take care of it.”

“But I came with Lauren.”

“I’ll have Finn drop Miss Hart at her place safely. Now come on, we are leaving.”He said and turned to walk but I stopped him.

“Wait! Paparazzi is still outside.” I reminded him. He mumbled something under his breath which I couldn’t hear.

“There must be another way out.” He said, looking around.

“I know the second door which is deserted from anyone.”

“Okay, come then.” Saying that he called Finn and then he called Sean to inform him about leaving.

Writer’s POV

Watching Xavier dragging Ariana out of the party hall, with a knowing smile, Daniel approached Sean, who was also watching Xavier’s act of dragging Ariana out of the party.

“Hey, Sean babe! Did you see the same as I saw?” Daniel drawled, snaking his arm over Sean’s shoulder.

“Don’t call me that you dumbass and what are you talking about?” Sean scowled, swatting Daniel’s arm away.

“Why? You never said anything to your last girlfriend when she used to call you babe,” Daniel said with a grin on his face.

“Fuck off Daniel, she wasn’t my girlfriend.” Sean scowled.

“Watch your tongue, man, or I’ll complain it to Princess,” Daniel smirked.

“You’ll do no such thing. On a serious note, do you think Xavier has started liking Ariana?” Sean asked Daniel.

“And you call me dumbass! Of course, he has started liking her. Didn’t you see how he was acting like a possessive husband? He didn’t leave her side for a second and had his arm snaked around her possessively like if he’ll leave her for a second someone will snatch her away from him.” Daniel said.

“Mmm…hmm.. I saw that. And do you think Ariana likes him?” Sean asked.

“It’s visible on her face, duh,” Daniel said.

“And I feel like I have got a new project to do,” Daniel said, looking in the direction from where Xavier and Ariana left.

Sean raised a questioning eyebrow at Daniel and asked,

“What project?”

“Time to play cupid.” Daniel faced Sean.

“And you Sean babe… are gonna help me in it, you’ll be my assistant off course.”

Sean rolled his eyes “Will you stop calling me that?”

“Not until you agree to assist me,” Dean grinned.

Sean sighed out loud “If that helps to bring two of them close then …I will”

“But what are we gonna do?” Sean asked.

“Just wait and watch,” Daniel said.

Sean wondered if he did the right thing to agree with Daniel. But he was sure of one thing that he’d do anything to bring those two close. After all, Xavier was like a brother to him and he never had a relationship in the past and always drowned himself in work but since Ariana arrived in his life he changed which was a positive change of course.

And Ariana, who in a short period had made a way in Sean’s heart as his sister. Sean looked at the bracelet tied on his wrist and promised himself that he’d make his sister happy by bringing her close to the love of her life.

Daniel also promised himself that he would do anything to bring the two of them close together. They both meant a lot to him. One is like a brother to him and the other one resembled his sister in every way. He would make sure that they confess their feelings at least to themselves which they were refusing to feel right now.