My Husband’s Deception

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

-Annabella-

M y sister had such a cheerful look on her face as she sat beside the man who I had been secretively in love with for so long. We had known each other all our lives, in fact, but for some reason, I had never caught his attention.

Yet my sister kept glancing over at me as I sat on the other side of the coffee table. She had acted strangely ever since they announced the engagement. She smiled at me when I caught her looking, and I smiled back. But it gave me a strange feeling. One she had never brought out in me before. Why was she looking at me like that?

My eyes wandered down to their intertwined hands, seeing the big ring glistening on her finger, while our parents and her new fiancé were all talking happily. It felt very much like watching a movie. They couldn’t see me, but I could see them. Eventually, I got tired of having to listen to all the happy planning of the upcoming wedding and instead left my seat.

I walked out into the kitchen and grabbed a soda, but when I turned, I found my sister there. How had she snuck up on me so fast? I almost spit out the little sip I had taken. My sister continued to smile.

“Jennifer, can I… help you?” I asked, feeling rather perplexed.

“Actually, I'm helping you,” she told me.

“Me?” I echoed.

“You.”

“With?” I asked.

“Your love life,” she clarified.

“My… love life?”

“The one we both know doesn’t exist,” she taunted.

“I…”

I didn’t want to talk about it, but she was right. I had been pining for the same guy for so long, and I had only been kissed once. That was the most exciting moment in my love life, and even that kiss had been from Zac when we were just twelve and thirteen. I wasn’t even sure it counted. Now, here I was, twenty-four years old.

“But don’t worry, we are going to fix that,” she informed me.

“Fix it?” I asked, hearing the strange tone in my sister’s voice. She was acting incredibly weird.

“We are,” she said.

“I'm not following.”

“You want to get married, right?” she coaxed.

“To the right guy, sure,” I replied.

“You want to know what it’s like to be in love, yes?” she asked.

“I… yes,” I replied.

“Then let’s do that.”

“Me? In love?” I inquired.

“You married!” she exclaimed.

“Me married?” I asked, feeling weirder and weirder about this conversation. I began laughing, and my sister looked surprised, but how could I not laugh? “Sure, Jen, tell me when you find my future husband.”

I was about to walk away while chuckling and shaking my head, but then my sister stepped in my way, and I froze. The smile on her lips gave me a strange feeling.

“I already have,” she informed me.

“Excuse me?”I was sure I had heard wrong, but the grin on her lips told me a different story.

“I have found your husband!” she said excitedly.

“I don’t… get it,” I whispered.

“I talked to Dad. It’s all set up.”

“What is?” I inquired.

“Your marriage,” she revealed.

“My marriage? As in…”

“Yours!” she exclaimed.

“I hope this is a prank…” I said.

“Nope!”

I looked at my sister for a long time, unsure what to say because… what could I say?

“Why? How? I-I don’t understand,” I stammered.

“We found someone for you,” she said. “He has already agreed.”

“Who has?”

“Kace Connor,” she revealed.

My blood froze. Everyone had heard about him. He was a multi-millionaire who inherited his wealth young after his parents died in a plane crash. From a very early age, he went on to build his own empire.

He was one of the richest men on the planet, but he was also known to be very cold. So why was she telling me I was marrying him?

“Okay, now I know you’re joking,” I said and smiled.

“How?” she asked.

“Kace is… I mean, we know who he is. He doesn’t date people like me. He dates people like you,” I explained and held out my hand toward my sister, who raised her hand and wiggled her fingers.

“Soon-to-be married,” she countered.

“Yes, but I was only comparing.”

“You wanted to marry, right?” she shot back.

“I do, but to a man I'm in love with!” I pointed out.

“Now you get a lifetime to learn to love.”

“I don’t understand. It’s not like it’s the eighteenth century and I'm being sold by my father!” I snapped.

“Okay, let me be straight with you, Anna.” My sister stepped closer, and a dark energy surrounded her, terrifying me. “No one will ever want you.”

“W-What?” I asked.

“No. One. Will ever want you,” she empathized. “I'm trying to help you so you don’t end up like a lonely, sad cat lady. Take my advice and sign the papers.”

“Papers?” I whispered.

“Marriage papers. We have already had them drawn up.”

I took a step back. Not understanding anything.

“Why would he ever agree?” I asked.

“You should just be happy someone agreed, because we both know waiting for a guy who will never love you doesn’t end pretty,” she retorted.

“What?”

“I said—”

“I heard,” I interrupted, then stepped closer. “You know?”

My sister smiled, and I felt myself shiver with fear. She had never looked like that before.

“Everyone does, and Zac is so tired of the fact that you can’t stop staring at him,” she revealed.

I gasped. Zac knew too? I had never told him the truth. I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.

“He just wants you gone now,” she stated.

“W-What?” I whispered.

“He doesn’t want you around. So do us all a favor, sign the papers, and hey, maybe something good comes out of it.”

My sister reached out and patted my cheek before she walked away, leaving me there feeling colder than I had ever felt before.