Arranged Marriage



Gabrielle

She didn't understand why he hated her. She did everything she could to make him happy, to earn his acceptance and yet he still hated her. He had to. It was the only reason behind what he'd just told her. What the fuck did she do so bad that he could just throw her away like garbage? Did she mean nothing to him?

"Are you fucking kidding? What the - you didn't think to ask me how I felt about this?"

Her father glared at her.

"Watch your mouth, Gabrielle. Now, I'm telling you and talking to you about it now." He hissed. "You can either accept what I've just told you or not because either or not you're marrying him."

"You can't make me do a damn thing. I'm a grown woman who will marry who she wants." She snapped and jumped to her feet.

He scoffed.

"Do you really think someone is going to willingly marry you? Have you see yourself?"

Gabi flinched at his comment, but swallowed his insult. "Screw you, Joseph."

She turned to leave, but his booming voice stopped her. "That is enough, Gabrielle Hicks. I am your father and you will not walk away from me while I am talking to you."

Gabi slowly turned around and met her fathers gaze. "I am not a child that you can just boss around anymore."

"I need you to do this, Gabrielle. Not for me, but for this company. A merger is just what we need to keep our business running, the business your mother helped build. Do you really want to be one of the reasons we lose this company?" he stated.

Gabi sighed.

He knew just what to say to guilt her into doing what he wants. Who uses their dead wife to get their only child to do what they want them to do? Oh, yeah, her heartless father.

“Why do you – you know what forget it. When do I meet him?” she asked.

“Today actually. He, along with his father, in on his way. The two of you are to get to know each other before the wedding.”

“Which is when exactly?”

“Next week.”

“What the hell! Next week? You expect me to get to know and marry a stranger in a week?”

He sighed.

“Can we please not do this again? Look, it’s for your mothers company. Stop fighting me on this.”

"You're marrying me off to a complete stranger...in a week! How did you expect me to react?" She hissed.

“You’re using mom to guilt me into marrying a complete stranger. How did you expect me to react? Did you expect me to be happy about it and thank you?” she snapped. “What is wrong with you? I don’t understand what happened to you. When mom was alive you weren’t like this. You’re always angry and you’re cold, not just to others but me too. Why? Why isn't anything I do good enough for you?”

"Can we not do this right now? Andrew and Bradley are both in their way. I don't want them hearing you being a cliché black woman." He spat.

"You should be lucky they agreed to do with. Not many mean would agree to marry a woman your particular complexion."

She stared at him with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. Did he, her father, really just say that to her? Did he hate her that much?

She went to speak, to snap at him, but someone knocking at his office door stopped her. Her father looked at her and nodded his head toward the door for her to get it, but she politely walked over to his floor to ceiling window and crossed her arms as she looked out at the city.

"Get your own damn door, old man."

"Damn it." He hissed before she heard him get up and walk over and open the door.

She didn't bother turning around. She didn't care to meet the father and son duo. Hell, she didn't even want to be part of their family. She just wanted to live her life and try and earn her fathers acceptance. Dispite everything, she loved her father and just wanted him to love her back just as much as she loved him, but every day it was proving harder and harder to do.

"Mr. Miller, thank you for coming." Her father said.

"You presented an offer I couldn't refuse." Said Mr. Miller.

Gabi rolled her eyes.

"Please, have a seat and we can talk more about this." Her father said.

"Brad, why don't you and Ms. Hicks go somewhere and talk while me and her father talk business."

"No. We are going to stay right here. This is about us getting married not the two of you, so you can either talk with us here or I will put an end to this right here, right now." A very deep, sexy masculine voice sounded in the room.

Still, Gabi did not turn around.

"You should get to know your soon to be wife." Mr. Miller said.

"Gabi, go with Brad down to the - "

"I am not a child and you will do well not to treat me as such. You heard what Bradley said - do this while we are in the room or I walk the hell out of here." She stated as she finally turned around.

Her eyes darted from her father to a very tall, sexy and toned man with dark hair and blue eyes who walked towards her.

"Wow."

"What?"

"Your father didn't tell me how beautiful you were."

Gabi smiled for the first time since she entered her fathers office. "Thank you."

He held his hand out to her and she took it. "Bradley Miller."

"Gabrielle Hicks."