Waking Up with a Ring on My Finger and a Bad Boy at My Side [01]

"Aren't you suppose to meet your aunt today?" someone whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine. "But it's so cozy here," I muttered. "Can't we just call in sick and stay in this bed for the entire day?" I said drowsily.

"I would love to," he said monotonously and checked his watch. "But I'm already late for work."

"You're the boss," I said irritatedly. He laughed. "Doesn't mean I can come in late whenever I want," he replied, getting up. I sighed and threw the covers off of me. "I'll probably come home a bit late today," he said whilst walking to the bathroom.

I didn't answer. I was too dizzy.

"But you have to make it to lunch with us," I protested. Brandon was always like this. He didn't change that much in the past few years, but thank god he was a bit detached from his phone now. But he was still a very busy man.

"I will. I promise," he answered.

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If anything, I was nervous. I've tried at least 60 outfits on me, and oddly enough none of them seems to suit me. What to wear when you're meeting an aunt you never knew existed? A clown suit? Fashion magazines should really make an article for that.

So in the end, I opted for a trendy white blouse with a black vest and a pair of dark blue pants. I was going to my office anyway. "Samantha?"

I turned around and saw her. Margaret Bennett looked as if she was in her late 40's. She had short blond hair with dark brown eyes. Despite her petite frame, she held her head high and her posture was perfectly straight.

She worked as a bank manager. Those people freaked me out, actually.

But when I greeted her back, her stern face broke into a smile. "You look just like your mother. Let's order something. I'm starving!"

I just got a cup of latte, not knowing what to say. Wow, just...wow! I had a relative! An aunt!

"--Good thing that you're famous huh?" Margaret said, poking her salad with the fork. "Or else I wouldn't be able to find you. You've been keeping a low profile before this."

That was because I lived in a trailer with an abusive guardian before Brandon came and 'saved' me. Whatever fairytale this was, it was a weird one. For one thing, he made me his 'slave' right after he 'saved' me.

I blushed. "I'm not that famous. It's just a coincidence that your friends knew me," I replied, sipping my latte.

"This is great," I said finally after a while. "I always wanted to meet one of my relatives. I thought they were non-existent," I said, grinning sheepishly. Margaret laughed lightly.

She was not the woman who liked to have a small chit chat, I realized. She went straight to the point, and somehow...I think I was appreciative because of that. I was running late and I need to arrange a small wedding after this.

Since it was a shotgun wedding and the parents were so humiliated that they forced me to use a codename...so that I wouldn't be recognized or something. Despite the girl's rant about how getting pregnant before marriage was common nowadays, the parents didn't want to hear any of it.

And then the girl started talking about sex before marriage. Trust me, listening to her outrageous stories of her in bed with her future hubby was really...discomforting. Although, despite all of that, I must say arranging weddings was fun.

Samantha Compton. Wedding Planner.

Mm, I liked that so much more than just 'event planner'.

"Anyway, I've sent a parcel to your apartment today," she said. "You'll be surprised."

I hated surprises. I used to love it, but ever since Brandon said that he had a surprise and show me the content of the box with holes he brought home one day. It was a huge lizard that looked as if it wanted to kill me.

Fortunately he didn't have time for pets so he gave it to his 28-year-old sister, Andrea, instead. But I was pretty sure that she gave it to her husband, Tim. And I had a slight idea that Tim either released the lizard into the wild, accidentally killed it or sold it.

"Now tell me Samantha," she said, smiling a bit. "Where's your charming fiance?"

Probably in a meeting room, I thought defeatedly. I forced a smile. "He's at work. Very busy man, you know how it is," I said. She nodded thoughtfully. "I hope that I'll get the chance to meet him face to face one day," she said sincerely.

Which reminded me...

I reached into my bag and pulled out a white envelope. "I want you to come to our wedding," I said, beaming. She looked surprised and stunned at first, but her eyes twinkled in delight. "Thank you."

Yep, the invitation cards arrived this morning. So there, Brandon! At least I've done something.

After a few awkward silences followed by random conversations later, we parted ways. Her lunch break was over...and my job was to calm the parents down. But as I walked into the church, pointing the spot where the florists should put the flower at...I couldn't help but felt a bit excited about the parcel that Margaret sent.

I wondered what it was in there?

"Sammy, there you are!" Angela, the bride-to-be said. "My dress doesn't fit!"

I was expecting that, now that her bump was larger and much more noticeable. "I think I might have something," I said, guiding her towards the tent that was set outside for make-up and what not. "Are you saying that you were expecting that I would be fat?" she scoffed. "Am I fat?!"

"Er, of course not."

Which was half-true. She was...chubby. But in her defence, she was 8 and a half months pregnant.

She smiled, satisfied. I whistled for the hairstylist to come over. She smirked knowingly and brought the dress to us. It was simple and short (just the way Angela wanted it), and it fits her perfectly. It even managed to make her tummy looked less big.

"You're a star!" she replied, twirling around like a ballerina.

But then she stopped turning around. She looked around, looking as if she was a deer in the headlights. More confused than happy, actually. "Angela, what's wrong?" I asked as she hugged her stomach.

"I don't know...it's like the muscles inside my stomach is--"

She suddenly screamed a ear-splitting shriek. Her face grew red and she doubled over. I noticed the dress got instantly...soaked?

...Oh dear god!