1 Prologue

Emerald's feet tapped impatiently on the marble tile flooring as she patiently waited for her father in the second living room of their humongous mansion. If there was one thing she was feeling right now, it was most definitely nervousness and confusion. She honestly couldn't remember the last time her father had personally called for her and the way he sounded earlier did not sit very well with her.

She was at the hospital earlier with a patient when her father's call came in and as soon as she picked up, he had told her that her presence was needed at home and that it was important. She tried calling her mother earlier to ask what could possibly be the problem but the only response she got from her was that she should show and figure it out for herself. A response that wasn't very surprising to her since her mother has always been like that.

After what felt like hours, she finally spotted her father, Micheal Dawson, climbing up the stairs and walking towards where she was seated.

"Hello father," she greeted as she watched him take a seat directly opposite where she was seated. She let out a deep breath as soon as she spotted the serious look he had on his face. She wouldn't say she was scared of him or anything but her parents weren't exactly the kind of parents that checked up on their children often, much less invite them for any kind of discussions if it wasn't very serious.

"I'm very sure you're wondering why I called you all the way here," he went straight to the point without bothering to greet her back and Emerald wasn't surprised at all. "As you know, I wouldn't call you all the way here if it wasn't for an important reason and I apologise if i interrupted your work,"

Emerald wasn't one to drag on inevitable conversations so she wanted nothing more than for her father to just get straight to the point and tell her why she was here. "No offence dad but can you just get straight to the reason I'm here? I have tons of things to do and I'm not sure I have any time to waste," she told him hurriedly, not meaning to sound rude in any way.

"You're getting married, Emerald," her father responded almost immediately and Emerald didn't realise when her jaw dropped to the floor. She wasn't too sure if she had heard correctly or if her ears were just playing a sick joke on her but whatever it was, she hoped that it was the latter option cause the former made absolutely no sense at all.

"What...did...you...just say dad?" she stuttered a response, staring back at her father with her brows furrowed in confusion. "Did you just mention the word marriage or am I just tripping?" she asked, refusing to believe that father would suddenly bring up marriage out of nowhere.

"You heard me correctly Emerald. You are getting married and it's happening in just a few days," he responded in his usual calm but serious tone. "I know it's confusing but I have no other choice but to make you do this my dear. His name is Brian Huxley and I'm very sure that you're familiar with his name. He's the man you're set to marry in the next seven days, so I'll have to ask you to prepare yourself cause you'll be meeting him very soon," he added and honestly, Emerald had already stopped paying attention to whatever he was saying since she heard him confirm that she was getting married.

The very last thing she was thinking of getting into at this moment was marriage and out of nowhere, her father was telling her that she was getting married?

"I still don't get a word you're saying right now dad. What do you mean I'm getting married? Why should I be getting married? I don't recall ever mentioning to you that I had any intentions of getting married anytime soon so, what exactly is going on dad?" Emerald questioned, trying to understand the nonsense she was hearing from her father.

"It's completely my fault my dear and I don't think I can ever apologise to you enough for putting you in this position...," he was saying and Emerald cut him off.

"What position are you talking about? Be straightforward with me dad and explain to me what marriage has to do with whatever is going on?" she snapped furiously, raising her voice a little more than she intended. Emerald was naturally a very calm and easygoing person and she wasn't one to yell or flare up at any point in time but right now, she was losing it. Her mind was completely blank and she was utterly confused.

"If you don't marry Brian Huxley in a week, we're going to lose everything Em. Our house, our businesses and even our lives. Getting you to marry him is the only way we can save ourselves from ruin and even though I'm ashamed to have to ask you for such a huge favour, I have no other choice but to do this," he responded and Emerald froze.

She could not believe her eyes. Her own father was asking her to get married to a complete stranger in order to save himself from losing everything. He didn't even seem like he had for a second thought about asking her what she thought first before concluding that she had no other choice but to marry this man and the thought alone broke her completely.

"How come dad? Just how come? How is it that we're about to lose everything from one day to the next? What business did you get yourself into now that's making you go this far?" Emerald questioned and Micheal sighed.

"They're things you won't understand my dear and I don't think I can start explaining things to you right now. Running a business can be very complicated and sometimes, we have to make sacrifices in order to keep the business running," he replied to Emerald, and she scoffed.

Here he was talking about making sacrifices as if he was the one being asked to marry a complete stranger and still not being given a reason why. "Do I even have a say in this? Can I refuse?" she asked.

"I'm sorry Emerald. We have no other choice," he responds to her and Emerald didn't need an interpreter to interpret what he meant. Her only options were to either accept the marriage or accept the marriage and there was nothing else she could do about it.

"Does it have to be in a week? Can't I get a chance to know him first?" Emerald asked and even though she was aware that her question sounded somewhat childish, she didn't care. She had always thought that she'd have the fortune of marrying the man she loved but now that this was happening, she still wanted to get to know who this Brian man was.

"The wedding can't be postponed, but you will get a chance to meet him and get to know him. We'll be paying him a visit tomorrow and you two will be introduced," her father explained and Emerald didn't realise when she sucked in a deep breath. Everything felt so sudden and so rushed that it almost felt like her life was being planned by someone else and that all she had to do was follow the plan.

"This is just crazy," she muttered underneath her breath, closing her eyes shut and understanding why this was even happening to her in the first place.