Forced Marriage: Escaping Her Monster

"Hello, I am Rose McCarthy"

Jerlina was stunned to see the woman who looked like she jumped from a Jane Austen book.

She was not dressed in an old-fashioned way and she didn't talk that way either, but she gave that feel.

She smelled like flowers, had a graceful smile, had an erect posture, and looked feminine in an elegant way. 

Wow! Jerlina thought. 

I'd marry her if I were a man... Or... If I like women... Do I..? Like women..?

Jerlina didn't think that after living in this world for 27 long years, meeting Rose would make her question her sexuality.

Here I thought Scarlett would be the prettiest woman I'd ever meet, but Rose comes closer...

If Scarlett is the sexy kind of beautiful, Rose is the graceful kind of beautiful.

In her presence, she felt like she's in a mystical fairyland. 

Man... Mikhail must be lucky.

"Hello, I am Jerlina Hopkins," she smiled and shook her hand.

Man, her hands are so soft... I couldn't even feel them.

Jerlina felt a little ashamed of her not-so-soft hands. She had worked in a lot of places back then and her hands showed it.

Should I do treatments to soften my hands?

She felt that big hand on the small of her back and it snapped her out of her thoughts.

Wait... If Rose has this effect on me - a woman, how would Joel look at her?

She was a little scared to look at Jeremy.

What if he was ogling her? I can't see that!

But... Can I even blame him if he takes a second glance or a third at her..? Even I can't take my eyes off of her!

She decided not to look at Jeremy's reaction but then her eyes had a mind of their own and they looked at her.

Looking at him comes easy for her.

And seeing his reaction... She was offended.

She was offended for Rose.

That guy... The guy she thought who oozes out testosterone looked at Rose like she was...

Bobby or Charlie.

WHAT? HOW? WHY?

How can he look at this feminine woman like he looks at Bobby? Come to think of it, he looks at Scar the same way too. 

Scar's sexy!

Pearls cast before swine came to her mind.

What a rude guy!

She frowned at him. 

Jeremy realized his wife was looking at him and turned to look at her. He was watching her till then and it seemed like she was ogling Mikhail's girlfriend. But he must be wrong. His little woman doesn't like women that way.

Aww... What's with the frown on her face? What made my darling's mood bad?

Jerlina saw Jeremy turning to look at her and the moment his eyes met with hers, she saw his face softening. The corners of his lips lifted and his pretty blue eyes turned gentle. 

Only then Jerlina realized...

Why was I even mad at him? I should be thankful and delighted that he only finds me attractive.

Why do I turn stupid?

With a smile, she hooked his arm with his. 

"Double date! Yay!" Mikhail was excited.

She was the one who wanted to get on a yacht, but she was scared to even get on the yacht. Jeremy practically carried her inside and as the boat moved she felt a little sick. But it was not too bad to handle.

Jeremy was busy looking after her and he didn't even think about his past trauma.

They had a chef in the galley (kitchen) and they were served a three-course seafood dinner. 

"You're not calling him 'daddy' anymore?" Mikhail asked Jerlina and her face turned red.

"No! That day I was sedated and I..." She scratched her ear and Jeremy ended up laughing.

Jerlina pinched his thigh. At least, she tried hard but failed. With his muscular thighs and the jeans, she had no chance.

But even then that guy screamed like a girl making her feel ashamed.

Seriously, can't he give me face?

Rose was also casual with them and Jeremy and Mikhail acted close as ever. Jerlina didn't feel left out in their conversation as they included her too.

But Jerlina felt stared at by Rose at certain times. She thought she might be overreacting but she knew she wasn't when she saw Rose sneaking a picture of her.

Okay... Is this weird? It is weird, right?

She looked at Jeremy and he seemed to have noticed it too and so did Mikhail.

Rose realized everyone had noticed it and apologized and asked for a selfie. Although Jerlina was a little weirded out, she agreed to the picture. She was glad when Jeremy photobombed the picture so casually.

But still, she liked Rose.

"She's of the Erling family," Jeremy whispered in her ears as they were standing on the deck after dinner.

The night breeze was strong and chilly. Jeremy stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her and she started warming up.

The stars were bright as the sky was clear. Wherever they looked, it was dark and it gave an eerie feeling. 

But in each other's arms, they found comfort.

"Erling?" Jerlina raised her eyebrows. "Is it the Erling I am thinking? Jonathan Erling?" She turned and looked at him.

Jeremy nodded and Jerlina shivered. 

"Are you cold? Should we get in?" Jeremy asked. He could feel her shiver.

"No," Jerlina shook her head. 

She was not cold, she was terrified.

Jeremy noticed her face getting pale and he picked her up and sat hugging her on a deck chair. He wondered why Erling makes her feel terrified.

"What is it?" Jeremy asked placing her between his legs and he wrapped his arms around her petite frame.

"Didn't he descend from Vlad the Impaler and I heard he drinks the blood of virgins to survive? People who know him say that he likes young women and he eats human brains for breakfast; like live brains... Will I become a target?" 

"Where did you learn that?" Jeremy asked.

Apart from the fact that Jonathan is a descendant of Vlad the Impaler, everything else screamed conspiracy theories.

"From videos...and certain blogs... Joel, did Rose take my picture to make me the target of Jonathan Erling?" Jerlina truly was terrified.

She knew rich people won't face the law and they all have weird hobbies. They can do what they want. But she didn't want to get involved.

Jeremy wanted to laugh at her. She seems to have a very terrible opinion about rich people that she believes conspiracy theories.

What should I do with that?

"What are you scared about?" He bit her ears. "You're not a virgin for almost a decade... Wasn't I who-"

"Joel!" Jerlina pinched his hand. She then placed his hand on her cheek and started laughing.

I'm stupid!

"Oh, is it because of this?"  His hands slipped inside her top. "Because you look young?"

His hand tried to slip inside her bra.

-----

"Let's invite Jeremy and Jerlina to the Primăvară Party in the Erling Estate this year, Mikey," Rose said stirring the cocktail.

"That's not suspicious at all," Mikhail hugged her from the back.