Marley's Twisted Arranged Marriage

“Marley? Could you come downstairs, I have a surprise for you,” Caroline’s sweet voice carried through the speaker that was hooked up throughout the house. The mansion was too large for anyone to yell and be heard, so we all had an intercom system hooked up in the bedrooms.

A surprise? What could she possibly give me that I didn’t already have in this gigantic house? I really didn’t even want anything more, not after she’d paid for my bridal gown and taken me shopping for all those clothes. I was going to become spoiled if she couldn’t stop.

I pressed firmly down on the ‘talk’ button and replied with a “Yes,” before closing the lid on my laptop and hopping out of bed.

It had been about two weeks since I’d met Bethany. We talked every other night on the phone for hours and went to the mall twice. I never really bought anything – neither did she – we just went to hang out and talk. Bethany reminded me of Paisley – the way she was funny in an obnoxious way, she was blunt and straight to the point, she, despite her ‘social class’ and beauty could be very socially awkward around boys. I discovered that little bit of information during one of our mall trips when a boy started flirting with her and she was so nervous that she tripped and spilled her drink all over his lap. And as if that weren’t embarrassing enough, when he cracked a lame joke she laughed so hard she snorted.

That was when we decided to leave.

“I heard my Mom summoning you downstairs for a surprise,” Conrad exited his room just as I walked by and caught up with me, grabbing my hand and interlocking our fingers together. I smiled and tried to bite my lip to keep from commenting on how cute it was that he was so affectionate. He told me he hated being called cute. “What do you think the surprise is?”
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but there was some kind of a knowing tone underlying in his question. He probably knew what was down there waiting for me and just wanted the pleasure of teasing me.

“I hope it’s a big list of chores because I feel bad that you guys never let me do anything around here, but yet you buy me all this stuff! Stop spoiling me!” I had stopped walking by then and shook Conrad back and forth by his shoulders playfully. He chuckled and easily shook me off, snaking his arm around my waist as he lead me down the hall once more.

Whatever was downstairs waiting for me, he sure was eager for me to find it.

“We can’t help it. You’re just so lovable that we can’t stop buying you stuff.” He kissed my temple and I pressed myself closer into his side.

As we came to the top of the staircase, I glanced at the bottom to find Caroline standing there grinning up at me, but a second look revealed a little girl standing next to her with a small suitcase situated by her feet.

I froze in my spot at the top of the stairs. Conrad stood next to me and I saw the wide grin on his face in my peripherals.

That little girl was Grace.

I didn’t waste another second before bounding down the steps, three at a time, and scooping my little sister up in a bone-crushing hug. She wrapped her small arms around me and I spun her around.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I whispered into her hair. She silently sobbed into my shirt and at the moment, I didn’t care that she was staining my shirt. I didn’t care about anything. I just cared that Grace was safe, in my arms, with me.

“Do you like your surprise?” Caroline asked excitedly as I put Grace back on her feet. I embraced Caroline in my arms next.

“I love it. Thank you so much, for everything. You’ve been amazing to me.” She beamed at me and we dropped our arms from around each other.

“You’re very welcome. I called your parents last week and we decided to have Grace fly out here for a visit. She’ll be here just for four days since she does have school and all. She can either stay in your room with you or stay in any room she’d like. Sound good?” Grace and I both nodded and I picked up the suitcase that was at her feet, my other hand finding Grace’s.

“We have so much to catch up on! How your new school is going, how it is back home, your new friends,” I rambled as we trekked up the stairs. Conrad took Grace’s suitcase from my hand and carried it for me, taking my now free hand in his.

“Go away.” Grace said while peering around me, straight at Conrad. Whoa, what’s with the sudden mood change? Conrad looked just as confused as I was.

“Grace, what’s wrong?” I asked. She continued to glare at Conrad.

“I hate you,” She said and stopped walking, dropping my hand and crossing her arms over her chest. She glared up at Conrad as he, too, let go of my hand and got on his knees in front of her so they were eye level.

“What did I do to upset you?” He asked in a soft and caring tone.

What the hell! Why didn’t he ever talk to me like that? I couldn’t actually be upset, though, because what happened before my eyes was just too cute.

“You stole my big sister from me!” She huffed and I saw her eyes well up with tears before they spilled over and ran down her cheeks.

Conrad brought a hand up and gently wiped away the tears from her eyes with his thumb.
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Grace. I’m sure she still loves you just as much, if not more, than she did before she came here. I would never try to replace you. I couldn’t replace you even if I tried because I know that Marley loves you more than the world itself. I’m very sorry that you haven’t been getting the attention you need from her.”

Grace nodded and looked up at him through her lashes. “You pinky promise you weren’t trying to steal her from me?” She held up her small pinky inbetween them, not once breaking eye contact with him.

“I promise,” He whispered as he smiled and grabbed her pinky with his. A silly grin slipped onto Grace’s face before she dropped his pinky and threw her arms around Conrad’s neck.

He was surprised for a moment until he relaxed and hugged her back.

That whole ordeal was seriously adorable.

“Now, Grace, would you like to stay in your own room or stay with your sister?” Conrad questioned as he picked up her suitcase once more and we started back down the hallway. He was purposely avoiding eye contact with me because he knew I would say he was cute and that he had a soft side.

“Are you kidding me? I want my own room. I love Marley and everything, she’s just way too messy to share a room with.” I gave her a flat look and she smiled innocently in return.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Conrad shot me a sly look with a smirk planted on his lips and I smacked his shoulder.

“Alright, well we’ll put you in the room next to Marley. My room is right on the other side of hers and Damien’s is right across the hallway – just in case you need anything.” I noted that the hostility in his voice when he said his brother’s name.

“Who’s Damien?” Grace asked as we reached her bedroom for the next few days. I realized we hadn’t told her about Conrad’s brother before we left.

“He’s my older brother. Do you need anything? Are you hungry or thirsty?” Conrad was so concerned for Grace’s wellbeing and I just found it so sweet that he cared so much about her. It was probably because she was my little sister and he wanted me to be happy.

“Actually, I think I’m okay. I guess I’ll just settle in now, unpack and things like that.” She took her suitcase and disappeared into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. I was kind of surprised she didn’t want to talk more with me. I mean, after not seeing your sister and only friend for two months definitely made me want to spend every moment with her. But I decided I would let it go and let her talk to me in her own time.

“So, I guess this means no sex for the next four days?” Conrad surprised me by asking. We turned and made our way down the hallway and to the kitchen.

“What? Why?” I asked. A giant smirk landed on his lips and he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Well, we wouldn’t want your little seven year old sister to walk in on us getting in on, now would we?” He teased, but I knew he was serious. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to do physical stuff with Conrad while my sister was in the next room over.

“I guess you’re right. We wouldn’t want her to walk in on us,” I replied.

“You wouldn’t want who to walk in on what?”

I froze in my place and felt Conrad become completely rigid next to me. That voice was what sent shivers down my spine and made me want to huddle in a corner by myself. It made my insides churn.

It was Damien.

I swiveled around to face him and also noticed Grace peeking out of her doorway, watching what happened before her.

“Oh, nothing. Damien, this is my little sister, Grace. Grace, this is Damien. He’s Conrad’s brother,” I introduced, completely aware of Damien’s eyes on me.

Damien spun around and shot a welcoming smile at Grace, who returned one just as quickly. He made his way to Grace and squatted down so he was closer to her height.

“Do you wanna play, Grace? There are lots of fun movies and games in our game room.”

Right at that moment, Damien sounded completely normal. He didn’t sound like he was obsessed with getting me to like him. He sounded like a normal guy offering a play date with a young girl. Maybe he had changed. Maybe he’d realized he had no chance with me whatsoever and decided to move on.

And maybe I’m the Queen of England.

Grace nodded enthusiastically and Damien stood to his full height and grabbed her hand as they walked past us, down the hallway, and to the game room with Grace chattering away excitedly.

I didn’t fail to notice the look he gave me before they disappeared through the door.

“Do you think he’ll do anything to her?” I asked Conrad after a moment.

“No. He wouldn’t stoop as low as to hurt your little sister or anything, I know it.”

We stood silently for a few more moments, just staring at the door they had just disappeared through. I don’t know what we were expecting to happen, but nothing did.

“You still hungry?” Conrad turned to me. As if on cue, my stomach released a loud and embarrassing gurgle and I slapped a hand to my midsection as if it would help anything.

He pursed his lips in mock concentration and said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

I rolled my eyes and he chuckled as he grabbed my hand once more and we strolled down the hallways, our hands swinging back and forth, in a comfortable silence. I used the time to think about things.

I was so excited to be with Grace again, even if it was or just for four days. I missed her so much and I felt bad that I kind of neglected her once I came here. I just hoped it wasn’t too much hell back at home. Maybe she made friends at school and was preoccupied with them. I hoped that was the case. I knew if she was truly bored and lonely at home she would’ve called me more often. Each time we’d spoke to each other on the phone, I was the one who called her. It seemed like our parents were making more of an effort to actually show their love. I was kind of upset that I wasn’t with Grace right now, though.

What was Damien doing with Grace right now? Surely it was nothing horrible. He may be a little crazy, but I knew he had the common sense to not mess with my little sister. If he did, I would definitely murder him.

Well, they did go to the game room. Maybe they were just playing the X-Box, or watching a Disney movie, or maybe even playing a board game of some sort? I had to trust him with my little sister for the time being. She wanted to have fun while she was here and I didn’t want to burden her with mine and Damien’s issues.

Before I knew it we were entering into the massive, squeaky-clean kitchen. It was so flawlessly clean that I had a suspicion nobody ever actually cooked in here. But I knew that wasn’t true since we were served three gourmet meals every single day that made me feel like I was dining in a five star restaurant. They were the kind of meals that can’t just be ordered in from the nearest Chinese restaurant or stuck in the microwave for three minutes and set out to cool before eating. It was food that made your tummy warm and when you finished, you leaned back in your chair comfortably and smiled the smile of a winner while rubbing your over stuffed stomach.

In all, the food here was great.

Conrad walked over to the refrigerator, his back facing me, and pulled open the door as he eyed the contents inside.

“So, what should we eat?” I asked Conrad as I hoisted myself onto the counter.

He turned around with a sexy smirk stretched across his lips and stalked closer to me. “I have a feeling you already know what I want to eat,” He said as he winked and placed his hands on either side of me on the counter and stood between my legs. I rolled my eyes, but nonetheless placed my palm to his cool cheek and wrapped my legs loosely around his hips.

“Can you go five minutes without thinking about sex?” I asked teasingly as my thumb stroked his soft cheek. He pretended to think for a few moments before replying with a simple “No,” and swooping down to attach our lips.

It wasn’t long before I heard the clacking of heels on tile getting closer to the kitchen area. I tried to pull away from him, but he quickly moved one hand to the back of my head and forced me to stay in place. I tried shoving on his shoulders but his other arm snaked around my waist and mashed me against himself so there wasn’t any space at all inbetween our bodies. I knew Conrad heard his mother coming here. She was the only one in the house right now that wore heels all the time.

“Oh! I see I’m interrupting something. I’ll just grab what I need and go,” Caroline’s musical voice filled my ears and I tried to talk, but since my lips were sort of preoccupied, nothing was able to be deciphered.

Conrad started laughing at me because he knew I felt awkward. But who wouldn’t have felt weird in a situation like that? He was forcing me to make out with him in the kitchen while his mom watched!

Caroline grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and started to exit the kitchen when she stopped in the doorway and pivoted around to face us.

“By the way,” She started as I finally pulled Conrad’s lips away from mine by grabbing onto his hair and yanking him back. “If you want to do other things in here, please clean up after yourselves.”

I gaped at her and judging by Conrad’s expression, he was pretty shocked she’d just suggested that in the first place too.

After another moment, she giggled childishly. “I’m kidding! I wouldn’t let you guys get that far on the kitchen counter. We put food on there!” She shot me a playful grin and went back to her office.

“I really wasn’t expecting that to come from my own mother,” Conrad said in an amused tone. I was still gaping at the doorway. Why was Caroline so lenient on mine and Conrad’s physical relationship? Shouldn’t she be more disapproving since Conrad is her son?

“Why do you think Caroline is so relaxed about you and me?” I asked as I turned my head to face Conrad once more.

He shrugged and replied with, “Probably because we’re getting married anyways. She wouldn’t want us to just be friends up until we get married. Then we would be used to being only friends and wouldn’t be prepared for being in a relationship together.”

I guess that made sense. Although, it would be pretty funny if Conrad and I were friends until we got married. Can you imagine the honeymoon? I laughed out loud as I envisioned what we would do. Probably play cards or something.

“What are you laughing at?” He asked as a small smile played on his lips.

“I’m imagining what would happen on our honeymoon if we weren’t together. We’d probably sit there and play board games,” I explained when my laughing sobered up.

“Funny,” He said as he leaned closer and flicked my nose. “But I know we’d get down and dirty as soon as we stepped through the doorway.” Conrad turned around and started rifling through the pantry for a snack.

“Why do you say that?”

“You wouldn’t be able to resist me for that long. I mean, look at me!” He turned around and struck a pose.

“Just shut up and make me some food.”

He rolled his eyes and finally decided on some chocolate chip cookies. Grabbing the bag, he flicked off the light in the pantry and jumped onto the counter next to me, the cookies inbetween us.

A few moments in to eating the store bought cookies, Conrad set his half-eaten cookie down and looked at me.

“These are nowhere near as good as my mom’s cookies,” He stated matter-of-factly.
My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and I, too, set down my cookie.

“Caroline bakes?” I asked in surprise. Conrad nodded his head.

“She makes the best cookies on this side of the world. I’ll go see if she’ll make them for us in a little bit.”

Conrad got back to his feet and walked out of the kitchen, going the same way Caroline had.

I finished the rest of the cookie—no use in wasting it, right?—and sat on the counter, swinging my legs back and forth absentmindedly. That was, until Grace came skipping into the kitchen.

“Hey, sis!” She squealed as she eyed the cookies on the counter next to me. I pushed them closer to her and she snatched one out of the bag and started munching on it.

“What have you and Damien been up to?” I tried to ask as nonchalantly as I could. She shrugged as she stared at the bitten-out-of cookie she held in her little hands.

“Nothing really, we started watching a movie and we talked about all kinds of fun stuff,” She said as she scrutinized the treat. What was so interesting about that cookie, I’ll never know.

“Oh, really? What did you guys talk about?” I asked, now a little more curious.

“Umm, our favorite movies, what we like to do, my friends, and uhh,” She pursed her lips and stared at the ceiling on concentration, trying to remember the other things they talked about.

“Oh! We talked about you!”

My heart sped up. They talked about me? Did Damien ask questions to know more about me? What exactly did they say about me?

“What did you guys say about me?” I asked. I didn’t even try to hide the panic in my voice, but it didn’t matter since Grace didn’t seem to sense it.

“Damien told me you guys are really good friends and he asked me questions about you. He wanted to know stuff like your favorite color and favorite candy. He’s really nice. He also told me a secret about you,” Grace said as she ate the rest of the cookie and grabbed for another one.

My heart came to a halt in my chest. He wouldn’t tell her about all the harassment and kissing, right? My sister was only seven and she wasn’t the best at keeping secrets, hence why she was telling me this information right now.

“What’s the secret?”

She looked behind her and to each side to make sure nobody was there and listening, then she leaned closer. “He told me you make his friend really happy.”

My brow furrowed in confusion. I made Andy happy? Well, I sure hope I made him happy since he’s considered one of my best friends, if not that then my brother.

“I make Andy happy?” I asked for clarification.

“No, he didn’t say Andy. He didn’t give a name at all. He just said that you make his friend very happy and that whenever he’s alone his room he thinks about you and his little friend gets very excited. He also told me his hand does a lot of the work, or something like that.”

My eyes widened and I drew in a gasped when I realized Damien had the decency to tell my seven-year-old sister he gets hard when he thinks of me! And he even went on to tell her he masturbates when he thinks of me! Who in their right mind would tell something like that to someone so young?! Oh, right, Damien wasn’t in his right mind. I had so much burning hatred in my system right now, I could kill the bastard! How dare he tell something like that to my little sister!

“Grace, forget everything he told you about his friend, okay? He’s just messing with you.”

She shrugged it off and skipped away. I sat there, fuming, as I came up with different ways to kill Damien and not get caught.

Not even a moment later did the devil himself waltz into the kitchen like he owned the place.

Well, he did. But that’s not the point.

I jumped down off the counter and the angry feeling intensified ten-fold when he caught my eye and smiled.

He had the fucking decency to smile at me after what he said?!

“Marley, how are you?” He asked. I wanted to reach my hand down his throat and rip out his vocal cords. That’ll teach him not to tell inappropriate stuff to my little sister.

“How am I?” I repeated him through clenched teeth as I looked around for something to throw at him. I settled on the bag of mediocre cookies sitting out. He avoided the bag at the last second and looked at me with wide and surprised eyes.

“I’m fucking livid! If this were a cartoon, I’d have steam blowing out my ears right now! Why the fuck would you go and tell something like that to my little sister? What the hell is wrong with your head?” I screamed in his face. I opened the cupboard next to me and grabbed a plate out and cocking my arm back to throw it at him.

“What are you talking about?” He asked as he placed his hands up in surrender.

“You know what I’m talking about! You told my little sister your dirty little secret! You told her you—“ I stopped talking abruptly and peered around us to make sure nobody was there. I stepped a little closer to Damien so I didn’t have to yell anymore. I didn’t want anyone else to know about this.

“You told her you get hard when you think about me and masturbate to relieve yourself! Why would you even think about telling her something like that?” I hissed at him.

“I just felt like she should know. I only said ‘friend’ anyway, she doesn’t even actually understand what I was telling her,” He defended. Even if he did only use the term ‘friend’, why did he think it was acceptable to tell her that?

“I’m sorry,” He went on, “I shouldn’t have told her that. She’s young and even if she doesn’t understand what I was saying, it was wrong. I hope you can forgive me,” He gave a hopeful smile and opened his arms for a hug.

I had a choice to make right then, reject his hug and make him even more upset or make his day and give him a little hug?

I decided to be nice.

I walked forward and loosely wrapped my arms around his torso as he squeezed me tightly against him. He moved his head so his cheek was resting against the top of my head.

Did he just sniff my hair?

This was awkward.

“Okay, you’re forgiven.” I tried to pull away from him and after a moment of struggling, I managed to get free.

We stood there in silence for what seemed like forever, me thinking about my hungry stomach and Damien thinking about who knows what. All I knew was that his beady little eyes were burning a hole in my head.

“Mommy said she’ll make us cookies!” Conrad squealed and skipped into the kitchen excitedly. He clearly didn’t notice the tension in the air.

Wait a second, did he just squeal?

Anyways, he brushed right on by his big brother and jumped onto the counter, eyeing the plate I still had grasped in my hand.

“I was so hungry that I was about to eat this dinner plate,” I said jokingly as I placed it back into the cupboard. He raised his eyebrow accusingly but dropped the subject.

Phew, that was a close one…