I was over excited today. I was returning to my home town on Christmas Eve after two years just to give a surprise to my fiance, Jayden. I thought it was the time when we should take our relationship forward and settle down. Even my younger sister was getting married soon. So, I resigned from the company I was working for and decided to come back. One of my dreams was building my own family with Jayden. He had called me a day before and told me that he wanted to talk about something important with me when I go back to the city. I wondered if he was planning to propose to me for marriage. I couldn't help blushing thinking about it.

Thinking about all this, I was overwhelmed and planned to return home two days earlier just to surprise him. After landing, I took a cab to his apartment instead of visiting my own home. While carrying gift bags in my right hand and flowers in the other, I entered his apartment. The hall was filled with darkness. I switched on the lights and moved towards his room. The strange voice coming from his room startled me. I heard the voice of a woman, moaning and grunting in pleasure.

‘Is there a woman in Jayden's room?’

An absurd thought crossed my mind but I dismissed it instantly. How could my Jayden betray me? He was not like those kinds of men. I forced a smile on my lips and moved forward, thinking he must be watching some weird movies.

After reaching his room, I pushed open the door and yelled, “Surprise…”

However, my mouth hung open in shock as I saw him clinging with a woman in his bed, both naked.

“Claire, You-” he could not say anything more. My gaze fell on the woman laying under him. She was my younger sister, Belle. I felt ridiculously ashamed of seeing them that way. I didn't utter a word and walked out.

I waited for them in the hall. When they appeared, I asked Jayden, “Would you mind explaining to me?”

I was still hoping he would say I misunderstood him or it was not like I was taking them as. However, he said in a distant voice, “It is what it is, Claire. Your sister is more attractive than you. He knows how to please a man unlike you.”

“Did you hear him, sister? He doesn't want you. He likes me. It's time that you should back off now.” My sister, Belle, said while standing between me and Jayden.

I stared at them with a pair of red eyes. I suppressed my tears, not wanting to waste them on a person who didn't know how to be faithful to your lover. I just shot a cold glance over them and said in a stern voice, “Both of you will regret this one day and I’ll make sure that day comes soon.”

After spitting out these words, I came out of his apartment. My whole body was burning with anger. I was angry more than I was hurt. I wanted Karma to hit them hard. I was angry, not because I got ditched by my fiance but because I loved this person blindly. He didn't deserve the love I gave him. Now, I regret everything I did for him. He didn't deserve them at all.

I had just come out of his apartment and my phone rang. It was from home. I picked up the call. My mother’s voice sounded from the other end, “Claire, can you please come back home? It's very urgent.”

As soon as I reached home, my Mom began crying.

“What happened, Mom?” I asked in a concerned voice.

“Claire, Belle called me and asked me to call off her marriage. She said she had found someone better.” She replied while crying.

“Yeah, I know.” I replied flatly, “My fiance…”

“Claire…”

“I have moved past it, Mom. I don't care.” I replied in an indifferent voice to cut her off. I didn't want to see her worried about me. She sighed before saying, “We are so stressed, Claire. She just called off the marriage and didn't consider her father's image in the business world. Mr. Daniel Parker is a well known business tycoon. If he hears about it, he will make things difficult for your father.”

She paused for a while. I remained silent. I was not ready for any kind of conversation as I was still trying to recover from the shock that I received a few hours ago. My Mom hesitated for a moment before she continued, “Your father and I have decided to let you take Belle’s place and marry his son, James Parker. I know you will not disappoint us like Belle, right Claire?”

James Parker was the illegitimate son of Daniel Park. Rumors had it that his face was disfigured in a fight and he looked really ugly. There were also some rumors about his inability in bed. I was stunned when I came to know my little sister was marrying such a person just to save Dad’s business. I once sympathized with her and asked her to cancel the marriage. However, I didn't know she was cooking something else in her evil mind. She must have planned this, seducing my fiance and letting me take her place to marry a disfigured man.

“Mom, you know I was not in favor of wedding Belle to an illegitimate son of Mr. Daniel. Then, how did you even think that I would marry him?” I asked while raising my eyebrows. My Mom wiped tears from the corner of her eyes before saying, “Claire, you know your father's business was running at a loss for the past few years. He is in a huge debt. He took money from the Mafia world as well. Now they are threatening your father. We were expecting financial support from Mr. Daniel. But, if the marriage calls off, we would get nothing and your father…”

She began crying before she could complete her sentence. I wiped her tears and supported her. I was already at a loss because of Jayden infidelity and now seeing my mother crying like this, made me emotionally weak. I couldn't think anything straight. I knew I was being used in my sister's plan and hated it. However, considering my family's helplessness and my obligations towards my parents, I sighed before saying, “ Okay, I’ll marry James Parker. Don't cry, Mom. I can't see you like this.”

“Claire…” my Mom stammered, “ I knew you wouldn't disappoint us. You are my darling. I’m sorry that you have to go through this. First your fiance’s betrayal and now this. I wish you didn't have to…”

“Mom, let's just not talk about it.” I cut her off. She nodded her head and then suddenly looked up at me as if she just remembered something. She then said, “ Claire, we received a call from James early in the morning. He wants to meet the bride before the wedding. We fixed the date tomorrow. We didn't know about Belle's affair then. Now, you have to go meet him.”

“Alright!” I said before walking up to my room. I laid on my bed and began scrolling my phone. My hands abruptly searched for ‘James Parker’ and all sorts of adverse information about him appeared on the internet with the title ‘Black ship of the Parkers’ family’.

I got ready to meet this James Parker. I came downstairs only to see Belle talking with someone on the phone. She was wearing her sports shoes and hence the call was on speaker. A female voice sounded on the phone. She was probably talking with her friend. Her friend asked in a surprising voice, “You broke your marriage arrangement with James Parker?”

“Or else? Do you want me to marry an ugly disfigured man who is sexually defective? No way! Such a man only suits my boring sister, not me.” Belle replied while flickering her hair.

“ I know right! But why did you agree to this marriage before?” Her friend’s voice was filled with confusion. I too wanted to know the answer. I saw Belle smiling decisively while saying, “It's because he is a millionaire’s son. I thought I could enjoy his money while fooling around with other men. But, I didn't know that he is an eyesore in his father's eyes. Mr. Daniel has even announced publicly that he will not give a penny to him from his wealth. He is a black ship of the family. What's the use of marrying him then?”

Belle paused for a while. The smile on her lips spreaded even larger as she continued,“On the other hand, Mr. Daniel doesn't have any heir to his property. Jayden is a close relative to him. After his death, his property must pass to Jayden. After marrying Jayden, I’ll be super rich.”

Turns out Belle was marrying Jayden only because of the money he might inherit from Mr. Daniel. She broke my two years long relationship and seduced my fiance just to satisfy her greed for money. I was mad at her and wanted to go confront her. But again, for whom? For Jayden? He was not innocent either. He couldn't hold it up in his pants and got seduced by beauty. He broke my trust. He was equally guilty. Both of them suited each other. I smiled ironically thinking this and walked out.

Our meeting was fixed in a five star hotel. I got a few minutes late. I found James waiting for me on the reserved table. A man was standing near him, probably his assistant or bodyguard I assumed.Two empty mugs of coffee showed me he was not used to waiting for someone. I apologised in a formal voice and sat down before him. I stared at his face for a while. He had black spots all over his face. However, if we removed these spots, he was actually breathtaking handsome. It seems like people just love exaggerating things. Removing those black spots on his face, he was a tall man with a broad jawline and fair complexion.

He initiated the conversation with, “You are late, Miss Hudson. Do you have nothing to say?”

I coughed before saying, “You aren't as ugly as people say.”

“You-” The man standing near him looked offended by my comment and wanted to say something. But, James waved his hands, hinting him to stop. He then said in a deep manly voice, “You aren't the girl I was going to marry.”

“ You are right. She doesn't want to marry an ugly disfigured man who is incapable in bed.” I repeated Belle's words without hesitation as I continued, “So, she snatched my man from me and here I’m sitting in front of you.”

He stared at me for a while. He then lit a cigarette, put it inside his lips and bent his head near me before saying in a deep voice, “I know you are not interested in me.”

There was something in his voice that sent shivers down my spine whereas he added, “But I promise to make this arrangement beneficial for both of us.”