The Ghost CEO

I found myself caught in a whirlwind of emotions, a mix of unease, curiosity, confusion and excitement. 

Yes, I was excited. What was I excited about? I have no idea. 

The intensity of his gaze bore into me, creating a palpable tension that left me on edge. 

Was he still upset about our encounter earlier? I did apologize though, so why is he being dramatic? 

I couldn't break from his intense gaze no matter how hard I wanted to. I felt drawn to those cold, brown eyes, I wanted to unveil all the secrets hidden in them.

"Evelina! I've been searching everywhere for you." A figure suddenly appeared in front of me, finally breaking the spell I was under.

Looking up, I recognized the familiar face. 

"Irina!" I exclaimed, leaping from my seat to embrace my cousin. 

"Look at you, Evelina, you look well," she beamed as she hugged me back. 

Irina was my distant cousin. Have I mentioned that my family was really big? 

We grew up together, even though she was five years older than me. Irina, Sana and I were so close, you would think we were all biological sisters. 

However, she and her family moved away to the countryside four years ago, due to her father's business going bankrupt. 

I haven't seen her since then, it felt like it was a lifetime ago.

"I've missed you so Riri." Riri was a nickname we used to call her.

"Me too, Eve," her voice carries a hint of wistfulness. 

"I didn't know you were going to come," as I pulled away from her embrace, I couldn't help but express my surprise. 

"Of course I would, Sana is getting married, I had to come see her one last time before she gets married," she responded with a look of sadness in her eyes.

"Yeah, I think you should go see her, she's been acting strange lately," I answered.

"We can't blame her, she's getting married to a stranger. And, by the way, I think this family's tradition is bulls*****"

"Irina! Don't say that here!" I gasped as I covered her mouth with my hand.

"Nonsense," she retorted, pushing my hand away. "Someone needs to say it, Evelina. This is the 21st century for goodness sake, we are not in the 70s anymore. This needs to stop." 

"I know, Riri,'' I sighed as I settled in my seat. "It's really not fair how the women in this family just get married off all in the name of strengthening the family's influence." 

I've always felt this way, but there's nothing I can do. It has been this way in this family even before our grandmothers was born.

"By the way, who were you looking at when I came up to you? You seemed so distracted you didn't even notice me," Irina asked as she sat next to me.

"Oh...uhm, it was nobody. I was just zoned out, that's why I didn't notice you." I replied, unsure if I should tell her the truth. 

"Well okay, if you say so," she shrugged, turning back to the crowd. 

Having mentioned that, I glanced over to see if he was still staring at me, but he was deep in a conversation with one of the guests.

I was about to ask Irina about her life in the countryside when I overheard a woman whispering to another behind me. 

"Did you hear that the man the bride is getting married to was the CEO of Innovative Artistry Creations INC?" 

WHAT??!!!! 

Irina and I looked at each other in shock. I'm sure my face is a mirror of her's right now. Because the CEO of Innovative Artistry Creations INC.? No way.

The Artistry Creations INC. was the biggest art studio in Russia. They supplied artworks to numerous museums worldwide. Quite a number of famous artists work under them. The studio held a prestigious reputation in the art world. 

There were rumors that the CEO was an old man, with brown teeths, who couldn't walk without the help of a walking stick. Some say he had the face of an angel and the body of a demon. 

Nobody knew what he really looked like. He tries his best to keep away from social media. He does everything from the shadows, he's like a really famous ghost. 

If it's really true that Sana is getting married to him, then I'm genuinely concerned for her. And how did papa convince him to marry into this family?

Don't get me wrong, papa also owns one of the biggest companies, but Artistry Creations INC. is on another level. 

"Do you think it's true?" Irina's question pulled me out of my thoughts.

"I don't know Riri," I admitted. 

"I'm really worried for Sana if it turns out to be true," Irina said, with a concerned expression. "Let's just hope it's not." I replied. 

Absent-mindedly, I looked back to the strange, beautiful man, only to find him staring back at me.

Feeling uneasy, I quickly looked away. He was starting to give me the creeps. 

Just then, papa's voice rang out from the head of the table, capturing everyone's attention. 

"May I have your attention please."

Babushka was sitting proudly to his right and Sana to his left, since she was the special guest for today.

I didn't even notice when she got here.

 "She looks so tired," Irina whispers with a hint of sadness in her voice. 

She does look tired and drained. I really feel bad for her.

"Thank you all for gathering here today," papa began once he had everyone's attention.

"Today is an important day for the Ivanovitch family. My beautiful daughter here is engaged, and will be meeting her fiance for the first time today." He announced proudly, gesturing towards Sana, who was just sitting there staring blankly at the floor. 

How can papa not see that he's losing his daughter?

"Now, you may be wondering who the man is," papa continued "it's no other than the CEO of Innovative Artistry Creations INC." 

So it was true. 

"Oh God." I heard Irina cry from beside me. "Hey, hey, it's okay." I cooed to her, even as I felt my own heart breaking for Sana. I still love her, even though she might think I don't. 

There was a lot of murmuring in the room. I can imagine how shocked these people might be to hear that the CEO of Innovative Artistry Creations INC., aka the ghost, was getting married. 

"Attention please," papa's voice cut through the noise, bringing the focus back to the center. "Now, let's introduce the man of the hour. Give it up for Dmitri Petrovich." Papa announced, applauding. 

So the CEO's name was Dmitri. 

As Dmitri made his way to the front, my heart sank to the deepest part of my stomach.

That strange, beautiful man from earlier was Dmitri Petrovich??!!!!!! 

"He's beautiful." I heard someone say, but it felt like the voice was coming from another world.

"Evelina, are you okay? Oh my God, you look so pale," Irina said, worried, as she shook me back into my senses.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine, I'm great, I'm doing wonderful," oh my God, what is wrong with me?!!

"Are you sure? You look really pale." Irina kept pushing on. "I'm fine Riri, I just wasn't expecting someone like that to be the CEO." I tried to cover up.

"I know, right? He's so handsome, he doesn't even look real," Irina responded, gazing up at him. "Yeah, I'm sure he's as real as this situation right now, Riri."

Once again, the room was filled with murmurs, papa had to shout a few times to get everyone's attention. I'm sure the whole world is shocked right now. Nobody was expecting the CEO to be so young and illegally handsome.

Yes, illegally, because a person shouldn't be allowed to look that good.

Once papa had everyone's attention, he proudly announced, "It is with great honor that i introduce this handsome CEO as my future son-in-law." Papa's smile was becoming very unsettling. 

Meanwhile the handsome CEO looks like he would rather be in bed than standing here.

Just as Papa was about to proceed with his speech, Sana stood up and declared softly, "Papa, I'm afraid I have a confession to make."

Oh, good, she's still breathing. I thought she might have passed away while sitting there looking like a dressed up corpse. 

"Sana, what is this about? Can't it wait until after we're done?" Papa responded, his face a mixture of anxiety and anger.

"No, papa, it's important." Sana replied with that calm voice. 

"Let's have this discussion later, Sana." Papa tried to dismiss her. 

"Mr. Ivanovitch, please let her speak," the strange, beautiful man interjected, his voice calm yet commanding. Oh, I should probably stop calling him that, I know his name now.

"Alright Sana, what

do you want to talk about?" Papa responded, feeling defeated. 

"I'm pregnant," she announced. 

What in the undergod did she just say?