Chapter 6

• Elleine's view:
• I had just about closed my eyes when I heard the loud doorbell. I groaned and rolled over in my bed, ignoring it in the hopes that whoever it was would leave. Probably one of our neighbors, who brought us some of the food they had left over from dinner last night. But the doorbell kept going off, which made my head hurt.
• I slowly got out of bed, like a zombie, and looked at the digital clock on the bedside table to see what time it was. When I saw that it was still 6:30 in the morning, I sighed.
• When my grandpa called me last night, the thought of meeting Alexander Kenneth Grandson made me angry. I rolled around in my bed. I had trouble going to sleep. I had to get out of the house and do something to let out my anger or I would have gone crazy.
• I called Camella, who lived just a block away and was my best friend and business partner. I was hoping we could hang out at the nearest coffee shop so I could forget about my problems for a while.
• But she was with her cousin in a bar. Her cousin got tickets to an exclusive bar in New York where all the super rich and famous people went. I ended up going with them, and we all had a great time.
• Since a long time ago, I never had fun with my friends. Since Mom got sick, life got harder, and I had to work twice, three times, or even four times as much to pay for our daily costs and her medical bills. I worked at our online shopping business, in a cafe part-time, at a gas station in the evenings, and on the weekends I groomed dogs.
• When the doorbell rang again, I walked faster to the door and opened it.
• A woman in a gray two-piece business suit was standing at my door. She had on makeup, and her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun at the back of her head.
• "Miss Pallister, good morning. I'm Sheila, and I help your grandfather with personal things. "He sent me to ask you to join him for breakfast," she said softly with a very charming smile.
• Suddenly, my anger woke me up, and I said, "No thanks, I don't eat breakfast."
• She went on, "Mr. Pallister would also like to talk to you about something," but I stopped her.
• "Tell him that we will talk about it later. I think we can wait. If it's okay with you, I'm going to go back to bed. I said, "I'm very tired," and then I shut the door.
• I was glad that Bella, or Ella, or whoever she was, took what I said seriously and left me alone. I got six hours of straight sleep and a cold shower.
• While I was eating brunch and playing with the broccoli on my plate, it all started to make sense.
• I got angry again. It seemed like getting mad was becoming a regular thing. I felt like I was walking to nowhere. My heartless and cold-hearted grandfather gave me no choice but to agree to marry Alexander Kenneth Grandson.
• Now, I have to give up my own future in order to keep my promise. Then I started to think about Alexander Kenneth Grandson. I couldn't understand why a very wealthy man would agree to a marriage of convenience. I could only think of making more money and getting more power.
• According to an old saying, greed is a fat devil with a small mouth. No matter how much you feed, there is always more.
• It was clear that the man wasn't happy with what he had. He wanted all of it! Trying to become the most powerful man in the world, no doubt. I couldn't stand the thought of getting married to a man like that. I didn't want to marry and have kids with a man who was selfish, spoiled, and full of himself.
• At five in the afternoon, the doorbell rang. It was Grandpa's personal assistant again. This time, she went with three other people.
• "Sorry to bother you, Miss Pallister, but your Grandpa sent us to give you a makeover for dinner tonight."
• Like a lamb that was sacrificed to the devil.
• "Okay, fine," I said, giving them permission to do what they needed to do. I hadn't made any plans for the meeting that night. I didn't want to think about it. I would go there in the clothes I usually wear. Frayed jeans, a loose shirt, and sneakers that are worn out.
• Grandpa probably thought I would make him look bad, so he sent these professional beauticians to make me look better. I was very upset with how things turned out because they did so well. They made me look so beautiful that I felt like I was worth a billion dollars.
• Every part of my face stood out because of the makeup. My brown eyes looked dramatic, and my lips puckered up. My red hair was bright and fell in soft waves down my back.
• The gown. A very pretty off-the-shoulder white dress that showed off every curve of my body, and white stilettos that showed off my slim legs.
• Grandpa's personal assistant said, "You look so beautiful, Miss Pallister," and her eyes lit up with happiness.
• "Thanks, Bella," he said.
• "It's Sheila," she said with a smile.
• At 6:30, a limo pulled up in front of my apartment. As I walked to my car, two men walked with me. When I saw my grandfather inside, I was sad. Why must I talk to him right away? I planned to have a good time in the limo. I had never been in a car like that before, so I listened to music, put my feet up on the seat, and drank all the wine in the fridge until I was drunk.
• "Hey, Constantine, what are you up to?" I greeted him and grabbed the bottle of champagne he was holding. I took a big gulp of the bubbly liquid and asked, "Should I call you Cons, Tan, or Tim?"
• I wanted to get back at Grandpa by acting like I didn't know what I was doing, but instead he gave me a flute glass.
• "I like my grandpa better," he said with a smile.
• "Ugh!" I gave an eye roll.
• I began to doubt him all of a sudden, and I was right.
• "Starting tomorrow, you'll move into the mansion with me. People, especially my grandson, would wonder why my granddaughter lives in such a shabby apartment.
• "You're still worried about your reputation, huh?" I laughed. What do you want me to do next, act like you never left us? That I live well outside of the country and waste the Pallister money on expensive clothes and bags?"
• He took a big drink of his champagne, nodded, and said, "Exactly." Not only that, but you were born in the UK and went to high school in a boarding school. You went to college in Singapore and got a degree in business."
• "Oh, what the heck! I've never been out of the country! I don't speak like a British."