“Ladies and gentlemen, today is a very big day as you know it’s Tinsley’s birthday and  today is also their…my daughter and Josh Harrington’s engagement.”

Everyone clapped. I looked over at daddy and mom in shock as I was not informed about this at all.

My engagement??..and I did not know about it.  Mom gave me those eyes which clearly said to go with the flow. It always had been like that.

“Common up, Josh and Tinsley…”

Daddy called us both up. People near me looked at me when I hesitated a bit. But then Josh came up to me and held my hand even when I did not offer him.

He pulled me towards the stage. I was walking only because I was being pulled there. Everyone cheered the moment we stood along with our parents.

Mom bought the ring as Josh’s mother, Ramona bought their ring. It was a pretty Lopez rock embedded in a huge diamond rock ring.

Even when I did not give my hand to him, he pulled it and pushed the ring on my ring finger.

Amidst the applause, cheers, my mind was frozen. I knew that I should not be really freaking out for this was what I had been trained for all my life.

But it just felt a little off knowing my single days were over.

Soon enough, I was making Josh wear his ring. It was a simple platinum band with mini diamond dots carved around it.

“Mr. Harrington and Mrs. Soon to be Harrington, ladies, and gentlemen…”

Josh’s father, Luka Harrington declared to the people as both me and Josh raised our right hands to showcase the ring.

It was supposed to be one of my happiest days but it just did not feel like that. It felt so gloomy and dull.

The party was in full bloom after I cut my chocolate, themed three feet cake with Josh.

Mom and Ramona dragged me around as they made me meet countless women from this and that club they were presidents of.

They all eyed my ring with so much fancy. Ramona kept bragging how her son picked it up especially for me which only I knew was false because Josh had no interest in all that whatsoever.

I have known him for more than five years now. We met only on occasions when we were kids but after I turned thirteen, he was seventeen, we met quite a lot after that.

Daddy and Luka would arrange dates for us in private islands or any place so private. It was done for us to get along which I think was more like for me to get to know Josh instead of him for he never gave any interest.

He was marrying me just for the sake of marrying. We had no love. More than five years of going out on countless dates, we only kissed quite a few times. It was always like that.

Mom would tell that not everyone got married for love. Not everyone got to live this extravagant lifestyle I was living in either. She made sense.

I excused myself for a washroom break to take a breather. It was just so suffocating inside and walked out to the backyard.

“There you are. I have been looking out for you everywhere.”

I turned around to see Josh, a few steps away, two flutes of golden champagne on both hands. He handed me one.

“I…needed some air. ”

I said as I took a light sip of the tangy liquid from the glass flute. Josh did not say anything for a while and there was silence.

He was gone out of the country for a business trip to Saudi Arabia and it was only yesterday that he arrived in Seattle.

“I hope you liked my surprise.”

I looked up at him. What did he mean by surprise?? And then suddenly it made sense to me.

It..it was his idea..it was Josh’s idea to get us engaged this soon at my birthday party, like a year before our planned wedding. But why??

“But why?”

I asked not being able to keep it in myself. He never showed any interest in our wedding or relationship and suddenly he could not wait to put a ring on me?

“Why not?”

He counter-backed. His eyes which were smooth and calm before now were narrowed and glaring at me.

“It’s…its nothing. I just want to know why so sudden…??”

I stuttered. I did not want him to be angry at me. Not at least tonight when it was my birthday and we just got engaged a few minutes ago.

“Why do you think it is so soon?? People get engage even before that.. ”

Josh let out, gulping the liquid off his flute in one big gulp, and threw the flute away. I was a bit taken aback by that.

“It’s fine…forget that I even asked…”

I quickly decided to put a full stop to this conversation since obviously, it was not going really in a good direction. I did not want to ruin one perfect evening my daddy planned for us.

But guess it was too late as Josh strode near me and pulled me closer to his suit-clad body. My figure got static on his hold.

“Oh, I know why?? Did you start taking quite a fancy of that singer you went in for your Christmas concert??”

He spat it out on my face and I could not believe his audacity at that moment. How could he just??…

Did he accuse me of that I was having an affair behind his back??? What the hell??

“You are a living slut, Tinsley. Your parents, your friends might not know it but I do so I will do everything to keep you in a leach. You get that??”

He threw insults after insults right on my face. He just could not let go of that one day when I was fifteen and kissed the boy of my driver.

“Do you get that??”

He roared making me jerk back in fear with bloody eyes looking at me, waiting for an answer.

“Yes…yes.”

I gave him what he liked to hear.

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