iii. primum trinus

[ first trip ]

"Jenessa Camille Caldwell, you have a lot of explaining to do!"

Jenessa sighed and shrugged before offering a tiny smile to the approaching redhead. "What's there to explain? Obviously you read the papers. Mother and Father really didn't waste any time putting the banns out, didn't they?"

Isabelle cleared her throat and scanned the screen of her phone. "'Ashford heir to wed eldest Caldwell daughter.' It's on page three, Jen! Listen! 'Heralded as the wedding of the century, Victor Ashford, eldest son of the prestigious Ashford family is to wed Jenessa Caldwell of the distinguished Caldwell family-'"

"Stop, stop, stop. I've already read it," Jenessa interrupted.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me, your best friend!" Isabelle mock glared. "I had to find out from the papers like everyone else!"

Jenessa snorted as her smile widened.

Isabelle Harrison was an angel that was sent to her since they were five. They had been each other's confidantes; Isabelle had known about her tough childhood and hopes and wishes while Jenessa had known about Isabelle's dream of becoming a lawyer, much to her parents' disapproval.

"It was a secret. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. Not even you."

The glare on her friend's face faded and was soon replaced by furrowed brows. "The only thing I can ask is: How?"

Tonelessly, she explained it. From Victor needing a wife by his thirtieth birthday, him choosing her, their first interaction three days ago, their mild argument and the cryptic comment he'd given just before he left four days ago.

To Isabelle's credit, she didn't interrupt once but instead, remained silent.

"So, what are you going to do?" Her best friend asked once she was done explaining everything. 

Jenessa looked up and shrugged. "I don't know. But there isn't anything I can do. Obviously, I have to stay on my parents' good side, if not they'll take it out on Lyra. "

Isabelle pursed her lips, tossing her fiery locks behind her shoulders. "Well, you can run away from home with Lyra but that wouldn't be good in the long term view," she offered, hands fiddling with the strap of her shoes.

"No," Jenessa shook her head. "I'll just have to deal with it," she continued listlessly. "You know how much I never wanted this."

Her best friend chewed on her lower lip and stared at her with sympathy. "I know, but I'll be here for you. And if Victor Ashford hurts you in any goddamn way, he'll wish he never set his eyes on you."

A grin made its way onto her face. "I appreciate it," she said smiling.

Isabelle blew out a breath. "So what was he like? Is he as imposing and rude as the papers say?"

"He isn't anything like that," Jenessa admitted softly. "He was more on guard and abrasive but that's to be expected—he's forced into this like I was."

She continued, "It's just—you know I've always wanted to marry someone who wants me for me and certainly not because of an arranged marriage. And, well he was difficult with his stares and snarky remarks! I...I don't if I can do this."

Silence reigned in her bedroom and she closed her eyes, fighting back tears of frustration and helplessness.

The feel of her hands being grabbed made her look up as Isabelle bit her lip. "Jen, from what I see, you have no choice but to marry him and there isn't any way out of that, is there?"

"No," she sighed. "There isn't."

"So instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself. Take it into your hands. Make the best out of it. Be friends, great friends. Some marriages are based on mutual respect and friendship. Maybe you can have that. You yourself said that he's all right, albeit a little prickly, but fine."

She stared at the redhead, turning her words over in her mind.

"Don't you see? You know he's powerful—more so than your parents—and with him on your side, your parents can't touch you again. They won't be able to use you or Lyra ever! Think about that," Isabelle stated earnestly, leaning forward. "They wouldn't even dare to approach you if you so wished it."

Jenessa drew back. "You're right," she breathed out shakily. "You're absolutely right."

"See, that's why you should always listen to me, your best friend! All you have to do is to make an effort to get to know him," Isabelle smirked before her face dimmed. "So... what about Henry?"

"What about him?"

"He's sort of...courting you, isn't he?"

Jenessa grimaced. "You know he's nothing but a friend. I've made it perfectly clear that I don't see him like that. But it's him that doesn't seem to be getting the message."

"Does Victor know about him?"

"Yes, I assume so. I would be surprised if he didn't. He seems like the type that never enters a situation unaware of a single detail. He's...perceptive like that."

Isabelle arched a brow. "Is that admiration I hear?"

She huffed. "No!"

Her best friend snickered and narrowed her eyes. "Now, tell me everything from yesterday! And don't leave anything out!"

* * * * *

Victor studied his father closely.

Some puzzle pieces didn't seem to fit. Although four days have passed, he's not any closer to fitting them together.

"What is it? If you stare at me any harder, I would have a hole in the centre of my forehead now."

"What are you up to?"

Philippe Ashford squinted. "What?"

"You've stated that this betrothal with the Caldwell's was a partnership," he began, narrowing his eyes.

"Lovely article in the papers, wasn't it? Bring her round for lunch tomorrow."

Victor ignored that and trudged ahead. "Then why was it when we were at the Caldwell's four days ago discussing the terms and all, there isn't a single thing that benefits them?"

Philippe smirked. "Oh? I'm surprised you were actually listening. From my point of view, you'd been staring at your fiancée the whole afternoon!"

Victor scoffed. "I wasn't staring," he gritted out. "Stop attempting to change the subject. What exactly are you planning?"

"I'm not up to anything." Philippe shrugged. "You needed a wife and after that tart—"

"Don't mention her."

"—you didn't look like you were about to settle down anytime soon, I thought it was best for me to take the reins," he finished dismissively.

His eldest son glowered and Philippe huffed. Between Victor and Callum, it was clearly the former who had taken after Cecilie. Cecilie who had been firm and serious yet wonderfully lovely until her untimely death more than two decades ago.

A familiar ache surfaced and Philippe straightened.

"And regarding your question. We're in the import business. Not export. You needed a wife. But in nowhere did we ever state we were alright in giving something in return. Hence import, not export. Understand?"

Victor snorted.

* * * * *

Jenessa fiddled with the teaspoon on the table. If her mother saw her, she would have received a heavy lecture on table manners.

But in a sense, it was an act of rebellion against her parents. Never mind that they weren't here.

After Isabelle had left, she had fled her home, eager to be away from her parents' gloating on the morning's newspaper article on her betrothal with Victor.

She sighed and slouched inelegantly in her chair and set the spoon down.

She hadn't seen Victor since that meeting. And the startling fact was that she'd only met her husband-to-be only once in these past ten days.

The entire idea of her betrothal was still utterly bizarre.

God, speaking of that, how was she ever going to face Henry?

They'd been friends and she knew that he'd started to have feelings for her. Unfortunately, she didn't feel the same and had since taken a step back from their friendship in efforts to deter him. Not that it helped of course. Henry was as persistent as ever, believing that one day he would win her over.

That day was never coming, she mused sardonically.

But God, she was dreading the day Henry confronted her about her marrying Victor. No doubt, he would be beyond reasoning—she was not looking forward to that display at all.

"Is this seat taken?"

Slowly, Jenessa raised her head and there he was—the man of the hour, or at least, the man who was responsible for the recent upheaval in her life.

Pursing her lips, she shook her head. "No."

Once he was seated comfortably—or as much as he could, considering the tiny wooden chairs due to the cafe's hipster aesthetic—she scrutinised him.

"What are you doing here?"

Victor leaned back and appraised her nonchalantly. "I was in the neighbourhood."

She narrowed her eyes.

"And then, I saw you all alone looking entirely miserable and I can't have that. Especially not when the papers have just released the news about our engagement earlier this morning," he finished.

Jenessa resisted rolling her eyes with an effort that ought to make her a saint.

Of course the man couldn't risk his reputation. What would the papers and everyone say if they saw his wife-to-be looking as if her world had collapsed? Which it had.

She pursed her lips and forced a bright smile on her face. "There, I'm all better now. You can go now if you wish."

He stared at her for a moment before giving the universal gesture of heading elsewhere. "Let's get chocolate."

"Why?" She frowned.

"All women like chocolate," he stated arrogantly.

"That's not true."

"Do you like them?"

She grimaced. "Yes. But wipe that look off your face. I may like them, but I'm sure plenty of other women don't."

A faint snort was released and he shrugged. "I don't care about other women."

Jenessa froze.

Was he— No! But there was no mistaking the words he'd spoken. Surely he can't be implying that he cared for her! He couldn't be. Could he?

"I—"

"Let's go. This cafe is an embarrassment." Victor got to his feet and picked up his coat.

She sighed, knowing better than to disagree. Heaven forbid she was seen having an argument with him in public.

As Jenessa got to her feet and turned to her right, she was met with Victor holding out her coat for her.

She blinked and the slight impatient twist on his mouth snapped her back to her senses. Wordlessly, she held out her arms and allowed him to slide the garment onto her body.

"Right." He cleared his throat and slipped his hands into his pockets. "We'll now also get the chocolates to get rid of that look on your face."

"What look on my face?"

"The one that someone uses when their favourite toy is stolen."

Jenessa scoffed and trailed behind him as she too shoved her hands into her pockets. She would probably explode if their hands brushed against each other while they walked.

"I'm assuming this maudlin moping you're doing is because of Knight?"

She grimaced and shot a deadly scowl at her fiancé's back. Yes, he was right, but it wasn't the reason he thought, nor was it the only factor. With the news that she was to wed Victor made public, it was finally sinking in that this reality of hers was unavoidable. She had to spend the rest of her natural life with this man by her side.

But what did he know? The presumptuous git.

"I don't think anybody has ever dared to call me that to my face," he said, turning to shoot her a measuring stare.

Her eyes widened momentarily. She hadn't realised that she'd said that out loud.

Oops.

But it was too late to take them back and frankly, she wasn't about to apologise for speaking her mind.

"Well, I think if anyone else did, you'd probably set them on fire with the intensity of your gaze," Jenessa replied offhandedly as they strolled down the street.

Victor shot her a questioning glance. "Who's to say I won't do the same to you?"

She smiled sweetly. "But you wouldn't want the public to know that you're already unhappy with your wife-to-be, won't you? After all, that's bad publicity."

Waiting for some explosion and expression of anger, she was taken aback when he'd simply shook his head and scoffed.

However, there was no denying the wry amused expression on his face.

For a moment, her heart skipped a beat and she blinked once and then twice in quick succession.

Heat flushed through her cheeks and she quickly snapped her head back to face front. It'd been such a ghost of a smile on his face, but it was a smile, nonetheless.

Victor Ashford had always been a handsome man. But with that smile on his face—no matter how faint it had been—he was devastatingly gorgeous.

Jenessa swallowed hard and followed after her fiancé in silence and into a little shop on the corner of a street.

"Here."

Obediently, she stepped in and was assaulted by the rich and very welcomed scent of chocolate. Much to her delight and relief, Victor had left her alone to choose what she wanted.

Making her way to the counter, she left her selection on the smooth clear glass countertop and rummaged through her purse for her wallet when a smooth voice cut through the air.

"Charge it to my account."

She watched, taken aback as Victor raised an eyebrow when the cashier hesitated to accept the rectangular plastic from his waiting hand. Opening her mouth to reject his offer, he turned towards her and narrowed his eyes.

Immediately she sighed and turned away and the cashier took his card.

"I can pay for it, you know," she mumbled and peered up at him from under her lashes.

"I'm aware of that, yes."

She eyed him for a moment and turned away but not before accepting the wrapped package from the women behind the counter.

With her mood lightened up by the white paper bag containing her goodies, all she needed now was a good book to spend the afternoon with. That very thought reminded her that she ought to pick up her reserved item from the bookstore about two or perhaps three streets away.

Upon leaving the chocolate shop, she looked up at Victor before glancing at her watch. "It was lovely of you to take me here and I'm sorry for the trouble. You don't have to follow me any longer, and I'm sure you have other more important things to do."

"I don't, actually," he said smoothly. "My afternoon is yours if you'll like my company."

She chewed on her bottom lip, debating his offer. On one hand, she could get the peace and solitude she wanted, and on the other, she could take this opportunity to get to know Victor better.

Like what Isabelle had suggested, she had no escape from this and the only thing she could do was to make the best out of this situation. And what better way to do so than get along well with her betrothed?

Choice made, she nodded slowly. "I'm picking up a book about two streets away. If you don't find a bookstore dull, you're welcome to join me."

Victor tilted his head, penetrating eyes never leaving hers as he studied her. "Lead the way."

She gave a short bob with her head. "Here, it's this way."

Jenessa would never have thought that she'd be capable of actually walking in comfortable silence with Victor Ashford. Not after that disasterous first meeting where he'd been more aggravating than she'd expected. Especially not after he'd made that cryptic comment on his reasoning of choosing her.

But here they were—strolling down the streets side by side.

Much to her surprise, Victor had pretty much left her alone when she'd gotten distracted with the books that had just arrived. She was thankful for that. She hated it when people hovered impatiently when she shopped.

An hour later, she left the store with not one book, but five and with Victor holding on to her bags.

"You don't have to," she insisted, attempting to grab the paper bag back.

"I insist," he said firmly, "And if you're heading back home as well, I will see you there."

"Victor, really, it's alright. I don't want to be a bother," she tried and he heaved out a sigh.

"Let me be a proper gentleman for my fiancée, will you?" He sounded almost exasperated.

Taking in the crease at his brows, she gave in. "Alright, thank you."

He offered her a look that was a mix of both irritation and yet bemusement and walked past her, leaving her no choice but to follow after him.

She gawked at the glossy black car parked by the road and raised a brow. "No parking tickets?"

Victor smiled faintly. "No."

To her immense surprise, he made his way to her side and opened the car door. Eyes flying to his, she clutched her purse close and slid into the vehicle wordlessly.

The ride home was quiet and Jenessa found herself sneaking peeks at the man on her right. 

Honestly, what could she say about him? He'd been nothing but pleasant, excluding his usual quips that were part of his repertoire of snarky comments.

Other than that, he'd been...nice and thoughtful.

The car came to a stop and she blinked, realising that they were in the large driveway of her home. She licked her bottom lip and faced him.

"Thank you for accompanying me today. It was oddly fun."

Victor nodded and cleared his throat. "That's good."

An awkward silence settled and she shifted in her seat before forcing a bright smile on her face. "I uh... I'll see you soon."

"Wait."

Hand pausing over the door handle, Jenessa peered over her shoulder.

Victor hesitated before straightening in his chair. "You're cordially invited to lunch with my family tomorrow."

"Lunch?"

"It's a formal introduction for you as you'll be one of us eventually."

Her face fell, her gut curling at the thought of being all alone with her future in-laws and her fiancé for one whole afternoon. She could not forget the imposing figure of her future father-in-law.

"I'll be there. What time does it start?"

She could feel his eyes studying her.

"Noon. Sharp."

"Okay." She tucked a curl behind her ear. "Thank you once more for spending the afternoon with me. You didn't have to...but I appreciated it all the same."

Victor gave a single curt nod. In return she gave him a tiny smile as he helped her out of his car, a warm hand over hers as she stepped out. Her heart skipped a beat.

Without a word, she turned to the direction of the front door. However, she hadn't taken a single step forward when Victor cleared his throat, halting her.

In question, she spun around.

"You don't have to worry about lunch tomorrow," he began stiffly. "Just...Just be yourself and it'll be fine."

Not for the first time that day, Jenessa found herself speechless, mesmerised by his words and the blueness of his eyes.

Was he actually trying to be comforting?

"Well, then," he said, giving her one last look—a look she couldn't decipher yet but would later realise as his attempt at becoming reassuring—before he got back into his car.

Later that night in bed, she stared up at the ceiling, her mind running through the day's events, although she had to confess that her brain was mainly focusing on Victor.

Maybe, just maybe, things weren't going to be as bad as she'd initially feared. Perhaps, things can be good between them. Maybe, they'd be able to have a marriage that was better than contempt and resentment like most of her peers would have if they were to be in arranged marriages. 

Maybe, things would be alright.

* * * * *

A/N: soooo here's another update?? lily james is it, y'all. male cast? forget it. i can't decide so feel free to imagine!! let me know your thoughts? it feeds my soul, lmao

P8/3/19