Billionaire's Forced Love Page 2

"I think the conversation is over. Good bye," she stood up suddenly which made her head spin a little. She swayed a little, and Jasper acted quickly; grabbed her shoulders to steady her. She leaned her body towards his, and he encircled his arms around her waist.

  Both families entered the room and saw them close. This made them to believe that they have agreed to marry.

  Amelia was the first to react. She ran towards them, and hugged them. This made them stumble. Kara lifted her head and looked around her, settling her eyes on Jasper who was watching her intently.

  "Jasper, omg! I can't believe. How did you convince her? I thought she was going to kick your ass."

  "What?" they both said in union.

  "Wow! my big sis is going to marry. Yeah, shopping time," Amelia started to jump in excitement.

  Jasper and Kara were still holding each other, unaware of the fact that their closeness was giving them the hint that they had agreed to marry.

  Martha and Sophie came near them with tears in their eyes, and a smile on their lips.

  "Thank you, child. I'm very happy that you are going to be my daughter," Sophie said. "I was so worried for both of you. But, thank you for relieving I and Arthur's stress. Now we can be at peace."

  They pulled apart. Everyone was happy. Both Kara and Jasper didn't have it in them to snatch these smiles from their faces as it seemed there was something positive in the air after a gloomy month.

  "I think we should go. It is already very late. Kara needs rest," Arthur said this.

  Everyone left except Kara and Jasper. She looked into his blue eyes. "Why didn't you say something?" she asked in low tone.

  "Why would I? I'm ready to marry you. If you have any problem, you refuse this. I won't save you from this situation. You need to fight your battles." He said this in equally low tone.

  With one last look, Jasper left Kara standing in the dining room.

  Chapter 3

  "What are we doing here?" Kara asked impatiently, glaring daggers in Jasper's way.

  He just rolled his eyes as if she was a damn child who was trying to be difficult to have her way.

  "It's your wedding in less than a month. There is lot of stuff that is needed to be done. And the answer to your question, we are here for a ring shopping," Amelia spoke.

  "I don't want any ring."

  The words were barely out of her mouth, and Jasper grabbed her arm pulling her towards him. She collided with his hard chest, and a gasp escaped her mouth. He brought his one hand up and tucked her hair behind her ear. Leaning towards her, he grabbed the back of her neck, and jerked her face towards him. Their faces were mere inches apart. She felt tingles in her body, and these sensations were foreign to her. Even with William, she never felt the intensity of emotions which she felt with Jasper.

  She was not the fan of PDA, but in that moment everything seemed to be blurred except the fact that Jasper was holding her close.

  "Don't create any scene, Kara. This marriage is inevitable, don't be a brat. Just pick any ring you want because I’m not going to be the loving and doting fiancé who would choose rings for the bride. Do it yourself and don’t create any drama in the public,” he spoke in almost inaudible tone just for Kara. The way they were standing – so close, was giving false hints to the people in the shop. It looked as if both were two love birds who were madly in love with each other.

  Jasper leaned closer and kissed her left cheek, a gasp escaped from her mouth. She closed her eyes and felt as if she was melting in his arms. His lips lingered little too longer. She felt a foreign feeling in the pit of her stomach. She never felt this alive in years. He pulled back slowly and looked in her eyes. There was something in his eyes which made her the frenzy of emotions.

  In this moment they felt as if they were the only people existed; everything else blurred in the background.

  “What is happening to me?” Kara asked in meek voice.

  He smirked, “believe it or not, but you have feelings for me.”

  “No, I don’t”

  “Don’t deny it, cara.”

  “No, stop it, don’t. Please, stop this,” begged Kara.

  “Kara. Hey, what’s wrong?” Jasper’s worried tone ranged in her hears, but she was no longer with him. Her mind was away, away from him and she felt as if someone was asking for her.

  “Kara, please open your eyes.” Suddenly, she recognized the tone. It was Amelia’s.

  Amelia shook her sister, and Kara opened her eyes panting hard. She looked around her for Jasper, but no one was there. She was in her room. It dawned on her that she was dreaming.

  “Kara, now you are freaking me out. What’s wrong? Was it the same nightmare?” Amelia asked in shaky tone. She didn’t like seeing her sister suffering.

  “Huh…” Kara was still in shock; she couldn’t comprehend the situation in front of her.

  “Kara, please tell me what is wrong. You are now scaring the shit out of me.”

  Kara seemed to recognize her surroundings; she was in her room with her sister who was worried sick about her.

  A lone tear escaped her eyes, and she engulfed Amelia in her embrace.

  “Just hold me, and don’t worry, it was just a dream; not a nightmare.”

  “Okay, you know you can tell me. I am always here for you.” She said still hugging her elder sister.

  “I know,” they stayed like the same and then she released her from her hold.

  “I dreamed about Jasper,” Kara spoke with lowered eyes.

  “What about him?”

  “We were in a shop. For ring shopping actually. Then we were suddenly close to each other. I…” she trailed off, not knowing how she was going to explain it to her sister.

  “You felt something, something so pure that you never felt in your life.” Amelia completed for her.

  “Yes. But I don’t want to feel this. Having feelings for someone only hurts. I don’t want to get hurt.” She whimpered.

  “Kara, William is not here. You have to move on. Jasper is a nice man. He will take care of you. Please give this a chance for both of you; you and your baby.”

  Kara’s hands went to her stomach, her baby was growing there.

  “Let’s sleep, Kara.”

  They both lied down. Occasionally, they both shared room, and Amelia knew that her sister would need her, tonight. Amelia hugged Kara.

  “Can I ask you something?’’ Amelia asked a question.

  “Hmm..,” Kara hummed in response.

  “Why were you late today? And you were not answering the phone.”

  Kara sighed, “there was an accident on the way, and a woman was injured. She had a child also, a boy, but he was fine. It was a deserted road, and there was no one else to help. My phone was dead, so calling 911 was out of option. I drove them to hospital. And this is why I was late.

  “Fine, are you satisfied now?”

  “Aham.. very much.”

  “Now, go to sleep. You have school tomorrow.”

  “And you have a job day tomorrow. So, Sleep, okay. No overthinking.”

  “Amelia… stop reminding me. I totally forgot that I was asked to marry Jasper. But your ‘no overthinking’ phrase reminded me again.” Kara whined like a child.

  Amelia giggled, “this is so amazing. You and Jasper. OMG! I can’t wait for the wedding.”

  Kara squeezed Amelia in hug.

  “Shut up, and sleep.”

  “Okay, good night, have sweet Jasper’s dreams.”

  “I will kill you Amelia,” she joked. “Good night, have peaceful sleep.”

  CHAPTER 4

  “Maya, I totally understand what you want for your book. I am working on your book cover. Once I complete it, I’ll mail you the sample copy. And the rest of the illustrations are ready. Here, see this folder, these are the samples in standard definition print quality. If you give thumbs up to these, I’ll have these printed in HD.” Kara handed the folder of the illustration to Ms. Maya Simone, one of the best child literature authors. M
aya Simone hired Kara as an illustrator for her latest book.

  “Well, Kara these are amazing, I love the color scheme you chose for the background. Rainbows are quite popular among children regardless their gender,” Maya said with a chuckle.

  “You’re right Maya, for this book I hadn’t had to do any research. The stories are amazing and I knew right away that what kind of illustrations were needed for this book.” Kara was relieved that Maya liked her work, and her illustrations were going to be published, for the first time.

  When William was alive, he never used her work for any real publication. She was just an intern and he preferred to work with professional artists, and Kara’s work was not of some professional standard, so he never used her illustrations rather he would use her drafts as a guide for his professionals’ team to copy her work.

  She pushed aside these memories as this was no time and place to remember those times.

  Both Kara and Maya turned to see when they heard some noises outside their office. The door to her office opened with full force and there stood the last man she wanted to see that time.

  Jasper had a scowl on his face, and behind him was Kara’s assistant, Caroline with flushed and angry face.

  “I’m sorry Kara, I tried to stop him but he didn’t listen.”

  “It’s okay Caroline; I’ll handle this. Thank you.”

  “We need to talk, now.” Jasper looked in her direction with determination in his eyes.

  “Mr. Black, I am in meeting now. You have to wait outside.” She replied emphasizing the word outside.

  Upon hearing this, Jasper’s expressions darkened. He was not used to taking orders. Before he could say something, Maya spoke, “It’s okay Kara. Our meeting was over anyways. I have another appointment. I’ll see you soon. Hello, Mr. Jasper Black. It’s nice meeting you again.”

  “Hi, Ms. Simone.” Jasper greeted her.

  “You both know each other?”

  “Oh yes, I’m his client. His law firm takes care of my publishing contracts and other legal stuff,” she waved her hand as if it was not a big deal.

  “Oh… I had no idea.” Kara replied surprised.

  “Bye Maya, have a nice weekend.”

  “You too,” Maya left the office.

  “How dare you to embarrass me in front of my clients. Out of all people, you should have known how to be professional when you visit someone in office,” Kara seethed angerly at Jasper.

  He ignored her and went to sit on one of the chairs.

  Suddenly, Kara felt nauseated and little dizzy. She rushed to the bathroom and emptied her stomach in the toilet.

  Jasper was there in an instant, holding her hair and rubbing her back to calm her down.

  A sweat broke on her head, she never felt this violent force in her body before. Seemed like her morning sickness had started. She put hand a hand on her belly, trying to feel the little life growing inside her. Tears formed in her eyes.

  Just then, Jasper took one of the towels and turned her face around him, he wiper her mouth and then her forehead. She became aware that he was cleaning her up instead of being disgusted with her. His actions were unsettling her as conflicted thoughts were running in her mind.

  Kara shook her head and pushed her thoughts away. She couldn’t have another round of her vomit session, especially in front of Jasper.

  He made her stand and she cleaned her mouth with water, and brushed her teeth with the toothbrush which she stored in the drawer for emergency. This whole time, Jasper was there, standing so close to her. His hands on her waist, giving her the strength to stand.

  “You feel okay now?” She nodded in response.

  She stepped aside and went out of the bathroom leaving Jasper behind.

  “Why are you here?” Kara was feeling uncomfortable in her own office because of the man sitting across her.

  “Well, I am here because of my mother who is apparently talking my ear off about this wedding and –” he didn’t complete his sentence.

  “Anyway, I’m here to take you for ring shopping, but now I think it is a bad idea.” He muttered under his breath, but Kara heard him anyway.

  Mention of engagement ring reminded her of her dream. In that moment, she almost believed that her dream was going to be true.

  She was losing her mind!

  Kara straightened in her chair before tilting her chin in defiance, she was ready for the war.

  Jasper noticed the change in her demeanor, he knew that she was ready to put up a fight. But for what? He wasn’t sure.

  “You don’t have to give me a ring since this marriage is nothing more than a compromise. Besides, I don’t want to wear any man’s ring, let alone you.” Her words were full of venom.

  Jasper’s eyes darkened instantly upon hearing her tone. He stood up so suddenly that his actions made her flinch.

  Color from her face drained and she fisted her hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She struggled to control her breath.

  This fearful reaction shocked Jasper, he remained rooted to his place because he was not sure that how she would behave if he stepped closer. She was at the verge of a panic attack. A nagging feeling in his heart wanted to step closer and comfort her, but he was not that kind of man.

  In his profession, he had seen many heart wrenching moments which helped to put up walls around his feelings. And he was not going to change for his soon to be bride.

  Still, Jasper kept looking at her, trying to read something from her face. He wanted to know the reason behind her fear, and he was sure it had nothing to do with him.

  He mentally scowled at himself for feeling sympathy for her because she meant nothing to him.

  Few minutes passed, and Kara started to feel like herself again. She became aware of her surroundings. When she saw him standing near her desk, embarrassment washed over her. She was embarrassed because Jasper saw her vulnerable self, and she blamed herself only.

  “Be ready for the ring shopping in the evening.”

  “Why don’t you understand, Jasper? There is no need for the ring.”

  “Okay, I understand. However, I’m doing this to please my mom only. Nothing else.”

  “Then I think you can chose whatever ring you want, and give that to me. There is no need for me to choose the ring.”

  “Very well. If you don’t want to go shopping, that is fine with me. But you are going to choose the ring. I’ll make sure of that.”

  He stood up and left her office.

  Kara exhaled a long breath. Tears brimmed in her eyes and her fingers went to her left hand ring finger. She traced the flesh where she wore William’s ring just a month ago.

  Blinking back tears, she shook her head and tried to shove away all the thoughts from her mind. She had a lot of work to complete.

  Half-heartedly she picked up her pencil and started working on the illustrations, but her mind was not at ease. The last night’s dream night was replaying in her mind over and over.

  She almost gave in when Jasper asked her to go for the shopping. She wanted to know if her dream would come true. For one brief moment, she wanted to choose her engagement ring. She never got a chance before because William bought the ring himself.

  This is insane. This marriage is nothing. Don’t expect anything Kara. Otherwise, you’ll get hurt, again. Her mind warned her.

  It was just noon, and she felt exhausted. She packed her stuff and went home since her mind was not able to concentrate on anything.

  “Kara, are you alright?” someone shook her.

  She groaned in response.

  “Hey, why are you home at this time? Didn’t you go to the office?”

  Kara opened her eyes and saw Amelia hovering over her. She looked at her surroundings. She was in her bedroom, asleep.

  She got up while rubbing her forehead.

  “You’re home. Thank God. You are fine.”

  “Yeah, I was so worried when you didn’t call me at four.” She came closer her sister and hu
gged her tightly.

  “What time is this?” she asked Amelia.

  “It’s almost 5 in the evening. Now tell me, what is wrong?”

  “Um.. nothing is wrong. I wasn’t feeling well, so I came home early.”

  “Not well? Exactly what?”

  “Uhmm.. dizziness and nausea.”

  “You are showing morning sickness Kara. You need to be more careful now.” Amelia spoke in worried and excited tone.

  “How do you know so much?” she narrowed her eyes at her sister.

  “The Internet, duh.” She waved her hand in amusement.

  “Did you eat anything?” Amelia asked.

  “No, and I’m actually feeling hungry.”

  “Okay, you go and freshen up. I bring something to eat.”

  She went to bathroom. When she looked at her reflection, her eyes stung with tears. She felt lonely, she wanted someone in her life to share her pain, her worries. She wanted someone to lean on. However, she was happy that she had Amelia, but deep down she didn’t want to worry her sister with her problems.

  After Jasper’s visit, she couldn’t help but wonder about the wedding. She desperately hoped for a hope, a hope for a normal life. And suddenly, William’s memories crowded her mind. She felt like a cheap whore who went from man to another, especially when her fiancé is dead.

  Sighing, she washed her face.

  “Kara, are you done? Your phone is ringing. Why did you put it on silence?”

  She existed the bathroom and went to bed to pick her phone.

  The number wasn’t in her contact list, and she lingered there for a second before answering the call.