Marie had been in Paris the past week for Fashion Week and she had gotten back early. Her boyfriend Jackson hadn't been able to come with her to fashion week because he had football training.

Jackson Corey was the quarterback for the A famous team. Jackson and Marie had been dating for two years now and she was happy in their relationship.

She metJackson at a club and he had asked for her number and she had denied him. But Jackson was persistent and messaged her on instagram and somehow convinced her to give him her number and well the rest was history.

Marie jumped into her car and drove to Jackson's building.

She kept her head down and walked into his penthouse building, she didn't want to be harassed by papparazzi or anyone really. She got into the elevator and she was feeling anxious something was nagging her, she hadn't told Jackson she was coming and she was starting to rethink coming to his apartment unannounced.

The elevator doors opened and Marie stepped out and walked down the corridor and stood in front of his door. She stared at the door and something in her did not feel right,she seemed hesitant to open the door or knock.

She took a deep breathe and opened the door, she stepped into the living room of his penthouse and saw his clothes on the floor.

Marie smiled as she thought to herself how messy Jackson was and walked up his stairs to where Jackson's bedroom was, she felt that hesitant sensation again and decided to shake it off and keep walking.

Marie reached the door and paused when she heard moans and panting. She waited for a bit as if to make sure what she had heard was correct, and there it was again.

Her heart was pounding as she thought about what to do next and how to handle herself if she was correct.

After a deep breathe she very slowly opened the door and sure enough there Jackson was on his bed on top of another woman, Marie's breathing became even faster as she waited to see if he would feel someone behind him as he betrayed her.

As she thought it couldn't get worse, it did, she heard him call one of the last names she would have ever guessed.

Jackson called one of her best friends name, Jackson had just moaned Kimberly.

All Marie could think as her eyes became cloudy was no way, she had heard wrong or it was a different Kimberly. She desperately wanted anything else to be the case as she stood in her bboyfriend'sroom hearing him moan one of her best friends name.

Marie took a deep breath and whispered Jackson's name.

Jackson froze and turned and saw Marie standing by his bedroom door looking crestfallen.

Jackson jumped off of the girl and as Marie looked she could see that it was indeed one of her best friends Kimberly Marie couldn't take it anymore and began walking away from both of them.

She walked down the stairs and went towards his front door prepared to leave and never ever come here again, prepared to never see any of them ever again.

Jackson was calling out Marie's name running after her with shorts on but Marie was determined to keep walking.

She was Marie - Angelica Coast and her parents had taught her that no one especially no man was to disrespect her because her parent's always insisted that self respect was everything.

Jackson caught Marie's arm as she was crossing the threshold to his apartment to go outside. She halted and waited for him to speak because she did not want to cause a scene.

Marie had never been one to be dramatic she somehow always managed to keep her cool and she was determined that right now wasn't going to be any different.

Jackson sighed and said, "Marie please, let me explain."

She kept quiet and he continued saying "It was a mistake but it's because you've been so busy lately."

Marie pulled her arm away and continued on her way to the elevator and she could hear Jackson swearing as he walked behind her.

She stepped onto the elevator and kept her face stoic as Jackson stood by the elevator doors begging her with his eyes and then the doors closed and she took a deep breath trying to steady her breathing.

Marie got into her car and started it up and drove towards her penthouse.

She parked her car in the garage and then took the elevator to her penthouse. Marie got into her apartment, took off her shoes by the door, took her cap off and threw it onto the couch and followed suit as she threw herself onto the couch in her living room.

Marie looked at the ceiling and found herself thinking of all people it could have been with it was her best friend. She felt like someone had been plotting how to hurt her and had come up with the idea, it just seemed very unreal to her.

Her heart was in pain, she could feel a squeezing in her chest area and she took deep breaths. She could not decide what was hurting her more, the fact that Jackson had cheated or the fact that Kimberly had been the girl.

Everyone had known that Jackson and Marie were dating so there was no excuse at all. Her phone hadn't stopped vibrating ever since she left Jackson's building.

She waited for it to stop and she picked it up and saw missed calls from Jackson and not even one from Kimberly at this thought a tear slipped out of her eye and her phone started vibrating again.

Marie screamed and threw her phone somewhere towards the wall in frustration, she heard her phone a flower vase then clatter and much to her frustration it started vibrating again.

Marie had the thickest clear cover on her phone and she wasn't surprised her phone survived the throw.

She was quite clumsy with her phone and so she had gotten and very thick cover and a very thick screen guard for her phone to avoid damaging this one and having to buy another one.

Marie laid on her couch staring at her ceiling and her phone vibrated and vibrated till it finally stopped. It got dark and she was still laying in the same position, at some point she had run out of tears and stopped crying.

Marie decided it was time to get up and do something that wasn't moping or at least get up from where she was.

She had gone through multiple stages, she had been numb, then she was sad and cried and then she got angry and now she was in a state of indifference.

Marie walked to her bedroom and took a very long shower.

She always found that after long showers things seemed to seem better but as she stepped out of her long shower she realised not even a shower somwthing that always helped was going to make her feel better about her supposed best friend and what had happened.

Marie put on her pyjamas, plugged her phone in so it could charge and crawled into her huge bed.

She got comfortable and snuggled with her huge teddybear, Mister Fluffy.

...Three Months Later...

For the past two months I had been super busy planning the Charity Ball that was in a week.

It was the first Charity Ball that I had had planned without any help from my mother and I wanted to show her I took the charity serious enough for her to trust me to be in charge of it.

I had everything planned to perfection. The decorations had been ordered, invitations sent out, I had hired a very highly dependable catering company and now we were going to set up the day of the Charity Ball.

This ball was raising proceeds for UNICEF, Coast Coorporations had been a sponsor for UNICEF for as long as she could remember and this ball was specifically for that. For fundraising there was auctioning of jewellery and all proceeds made were for UNICEF.

In the past three months I had tried to keep as busy as possible she didn't really want to think about the whole Jackson and Kimberly thing.

I had deleted posts of Kimberly and I or Jackson and I off of any of my social media accounts. I had planned on just doing this quietly but I was highly followed on social media and when people noticed this they started asking questions amd so I had my publicist write a statement, in the statement it didn't say anything about cheating it just said we had decided to go our seperate ways.

The realization had hit me that Jackson was a public figure and the backlash he would receive was not necessary and I didn't want to be the reason for the backlash. The response from both our fanbases were understanding.

When I had told my parents and my older brother Matthew they had been furious. I played it down to them and somehow convinced them that it was okay and I was okay.

My best friends Yasmine and Maxwell weren't as kind about it and made it clear that when they saw any of them Kimberly or Jackson it meant war.

Today I had lunch with my parents and I think my mother had said their friends. I wasn't too sure why I had to go lunch with them and their friends but my mother hadn't given me any space to argue about it.

I was sitting in my office in my penthouse and I was working out numbers for some of the charity events that were coming up. I had a masters finance degree and a masters marketing degree, it was something I had ways been interested in and something that came in handy with the charity work.

I finished and went to get ready for the lunch. I put on very light makeup and didn't dress very formally because after lunch I was going shopping with Yasmine just for a little retail therapy.

I got to the restaurant and gave the valet my car keys and walked into the restaurant. I walked towards the maître d and said Mr Coast and he nodded and motioned for me to follow him. We were at my father's favorite Italian restaurant.

The maître d took me to a private room and I stepped in and say my mother first and she stood up as she saw me.

I smiled and walked towards her she was grinning like a cheshire cat and said, 'Hi sweetheart, you look wonderful. Gorgeous as ever.'

My mother never failed to lift my self esteem and make me feel good about myself and I was so thankful.

I whispered and said, 'Thank you mother, you look as gorgeous as you do.'

My mother was a sight for sore eyes and she was always radiant. I only hoped to be even a little close to her beauty as I continued to age.

I saw my father waiting with a smile on his face and I smiled at him and walked to him and said, 'Hi papa.'

He grinned and pulled me into a teddybear hug which I relished in. As much as I was twenty seven years old now, I was the baby of the family and liked it. Being the baby had always been fun for me.

I peeked over my father's shoulder and saw my parent's best friends, Mr and Mrs McArthur. I let go of my father to greet them and Mrs McArthur pulled me into a hug which I returned with a chuckle and Mr McArthur did the same.

Mr and Mrs McArthur had always been so kind and nice to Matthew and I growing up and so it was impossible to not warm up to them. I hadn't seen them in a while now so it was always good to see them.

When we were younger I had a crush on their older son, Christian, who was two years older than me, I had always found him so attractive, thinking back I probably really annoyed him. He had also always been nice to me in his own way but then he went to high school in England and had not seen him since.

When the hugging was over I smiled at them and said, 'Mr and Mrs McArthur it's always a pleasure to see you, how've you been?'

Mrs McArthur replied with her smile still on her face and said, 'We've been wonderful dear, but look at you. You're all grown up and glowing.'

I smiled and then she said, 'We always see you all over the news at this fashion event and the next.'

I chuckled as my eyes then fell on a really tall guy behind them with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Those eyes were so familiar but this man was so hot and mysterious with his serious face.

Mrs McArthur saw me looking and said, 'I hope you remember Christian, our son.'

My eyes widened when I heard her but quickly recovered and replied saying, 'Oh yes, I do.'

I then looked at Adonis who was looked at me and I said, 'Hey, it's been a long time.'

He nodded and then said, 'Indeed, it has.'

My mother then ushered us into the booth and Christian ended up sitting on the end with me next to him. Everyone was chatting and catching up except Christian who was quiet and only speaking when a question was directed at him.

The waiter came to the table and smirked as he saw me and I suddenly felt uncomfortable with the attention he was giving me.

He had taken everyone's order and then when he got to me his voice got huskier and more suggestive and I shifted uncomfortably as I ordered.

He smiled and walked away and I sighed.

My mother chuckled and said, "Well sweetheart, someone seemed quite interested in you over there."

I narrowed my eyes at her playfully and then laughed shaking my head.

My father then cleared his throat and with a serious tone, "We brought you two here for something. Something important."

Suddenly the mood at the table had become very serious. I looked up at my dad and I saw his eyes looked very serious.

Mr McArthur then started and said, "We've been talking and we believe that you two should unite our families.. not just through the many years of friendship, but with marriage."

Everything stilled for a moment.

They want Christian and I to get married when we haven't seen each other in years. We hadn't even stayed in contact over the years.

I looked at Christian and he looked just as stiff as I was.

Mrs McArthur then said, "We really think you guys would be perfect for each other. You're both currently single and aren't getting any younger. This is something we've always envisioned from the moment you guys got along when you were kids."

My mother then said, "We would never do or ask something of you that wasn't what's best for you, I promise."

Christian and I remained silent and our parents were just staring at us waiting for a reaction. I was waiting for Christian to react because I had nothing to say and right now I had no reaction.

Mrs McArthur said, "Marie you are gorgeous, smart, caring and a strong woman. You're someone I want for my baby and Christian needs someone like you in his life. I sincerely don't think there could be a more perfect fit."

After a few seconds my mother gushed and said, "And the grandbabies would be s gorgeous and smart."

Mrs McArthur giggled with my mother as if they were already imagining it.

Cristian finally spoke and said, "It's all up to Angelica. "

Christian had never called me Marie when we were younger and whenever I asked him why he just shrugged.

Everyone turned towards me and looked so hopeful and I thought, well first of all I don't want to disappoint them and second of all I didn't mind marrying Christian was my dream when we were kids.

I turned to Christian and said, "Are you sure ? On marrying me..."

He stared at me for a little bit, "Yeah I'm sure. I don't say things I'm not sure of."

Well that was rude I thought and his face didn't even change.

I turned to our parents and I said, "You guys know I got out a relationship three months ago and I can't just come out engaged because it will looked very wrong."

I saw their shoulders drop a little, I laughed on the inside they were like little kids.

I continued and said, "It means we'll have to date for a bit then the other stuff, if thats okay with Christian of course."

They had hope back in their eyes as they turned to Christian and all he had to say was, I'm okay with that.

When our parents heard that they broke out smiling and started talking among themselves. I could hear Christian mother and my mother talking about the wedding and all that whilst my dad and his dad had moved onto other things.

I laughed and turned to Christian and said, "Didn't they just look like children."

He looked at me and nodded but I could see a smile at the edge of his mouth. He went back onto his phone amd I decided to do the same.

The waiter came with food for our parents and gave it to them and then came back with two plates which I assumed were Christian' and I's.

He very harshly put Christian 's plate in front of him and then said, "And for the beautiful lady," with a wink after.

I felt uncomfortable again and looked at my plate with a frown. I really didn't want to make a scene but that was unprofessional of him.

The waiter was about to ask if there was anything else and Christian harshly asked the waiter, "What was that?"

The whole table kept quiet and the waiter seemed not so confident anymore. Christian asked even harsher when the waiter didn't reply, "What the heck was that!?"

I heard Mrs McArthur hiss language at Christian which he ignored and stared at the waiter.

Again the waiter didn't reply, "Can't you tell you're making my girlfriend uncomfortable."

The waiter started stuttering and said, "I had no idea sir. I didn't know she was your girlfriend."

Everytime someone said girlfriend my cheeks were turning more and more pink.

I could tell Christian was seething next to me and said to the waiter, "Even if she wasn't my girlfriend that was highly inappropriate, in fact. where is your manager?"

I knew I had to stop this so I put my hand on Christian thigh and looked at him and said, "It's okay Christian, please don't."

He looked into my eyes and I think he could tell how uncomfortable I was and sighed and said, "Go."

The waiter scurried away and as soon as he was out of the private room Mr McArthur started with, "Atta boy."

This earned Mr McArthur abpunch in the shoulder from Mrs McArthur and he shrugged. We all started laughing at Mr McArthur and then I noticed my hand was still on Christian' thigh.

I quickly removed it and my cheeks set aflame, I picked up my fork and started eating.

After the lunch I had gone to the shopping strip that had Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci and stores of that stature. We had gone through every store and I had told her about lunch and my "marriage" to Christian.

Ever since I had told her she hadn't stopped talked about how cute her godbabies were going to be and how hot Christian was.

She was not wrong because if the babies came out looking like Christian I was doing to have good looking babies.

After the shopping I had gone home amd relaxed because I was exhausted.