Chapter 47 - The Arrangement

Kelsey folded the letter and placed it back in its envelop. The envelop looked old and brown. She wasn't surprised with its appearance though, it was twenty three years ago since the letter was written.

She sighed and leaned on the dining chair she was sitting on. She rested her head on the headrest and briefly closed her eyes.

'I didn't mean to do it. I'm sorry, but I need to see him again.' Those two sentences kept flashing before her eyes as she pictured the cursive handwriting in her mind.

Kelsey rose from the chair and frustratedly ran a hand through her hair. She eyed the letter on the small dining table at Margie's kitchen before gently picking it up, ensuring that she didn't rip it.

She didn't know what to do. She knew she had to give it to him. But she didn't know if she could do it. The letter was not her's, it didn't belong to her and keeping it wouldn't be right. But she was afraid of seeing him again. She didn't know how to face him after all that had happened. She felt kind of bad for what she had said.

She sighed once again and placed the letter in the gold and white hatbox her mother had given her for her 18th birthday. Kelsey just hoped that she would gain the courage to return the letter.

Just as she was about to placed the lid back on the hatbox, something caught her eyes. It shimmered as it was reflected by the light, blinding her for a second. Kelsey dug through the box and took the bracelet out.

Kelsey smiled as the piece of item brought back so many good memories. It was a black braided leather bracelet with an inch and a half of metal connecting it. On the back of the piece of metal, there engraved 'E & K'.

She couldn't believe she still had it. She thought she had lost it after they moved houses. She really missed him. She wondered how he was all of a sudden.

"Happy birthday, Ems!" Kelsey greeted as she jumped on him like a koala and gave him a big, tight embrace. He was getting taller and taller by the day and Kelsey couldn't even keep up with his height. Meanwhile, she was still short, the top of her head only reached his stomach, almost to his chest.

"Thanks, Kace!" The little boy, maybe not so little anymore, gratefully told her and kissed the top of her head. He had just turned ten and double-digits meant that he was getting old. Almost near puberty in fact.

"I hope you like the cookies I baked you. My mom helped me make them!" Her eight-year-old said excitedly as she got off of him.

"I'm sure they're delicious like always." He toothily grinned at her. "By the way, I have something to give you." He informed her as he took her hand and dragged her towards his room upstairs.

Ems released his hold onto her and climbed on his bed to grab something on the shelf above it. He carefully got down and sat on the edge of the bed, patting the space beside him, informing her to take a seat.

Kelsey obliged and sat beside him and tried to peek on the item he was hiding in his hand. "What is it? What is it?" She asked him in anticipation, bouncing up and down on the bed.

"I want you to close your eyes." He ordered her and she pouted in response. "C'mon, just close your eyes for a sec." He pleaded.

She was about to listen to him when she remembered that it was his birthday and not her's. "Hold on!" She said, starling him.

"What?" He gasped.

"Why are you giving me something on your birthday? Shouldn't you be receiving gifts and not me?" She innocently asked, earning a chuckle from him.

Ems shook his head and beamed at her. "I know it's my birthday. But I just can't wait to give you this gift. I was going to give it to you for Christmas but that's not in another eight months." He explained.

"Oh..." Was all she could say.

"Now be a good girl and close your eyes." He repeated.

Kelsey finally obeyed him and closed the lids of her eyes. She felt him take her right hand and clasped the item, a bracelet she was guessing, on her wrist. "Okay, open them..." He announced as she slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the bracelet.

"Wow!" She gasped in amazement as if it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it!" She assured him. Then a glint on his wrist caught her attention and she gasped. "You've got one too!" She yelled in excitement.

Ems laughed wholeheartedly and nodded his head. "Yeah, because it's a best-friend-bracelet, you see?" He said, taking the bracelet off. "And on the back, it has our initials on it." He showed him the back of the metal piece and she squinted her eyes to see it clearly.

"Thank you, Ems!" She suddenly yelped and hugged him. He was caught off guard that he stumbled and ended up lying on his bed. "Happy birthday!" She greeted him again and showered him with kisses on the face. "Best friends forever!" She declared as he smiled at her and started a tickle war with her.

Kelsey beamed like a mad woman as the memory flashed in her head. She wondered where he was right at the moment and what he was doing now. He was probably married, have a child or two, maybe. She thought and smiled. He would have been an amazing father and she was sure he was one of those 'cool dads'.

She hoped she could meet with him again. She hoped she would get another opportunity to bump into him and reminisce the good ol' days they had together.

~ * ~ * ~

"Mason King?...." Margie's eyes bulged as she stared at the man before her. She couldn't be wrong, it was him. It really was him. She had been so familiar with his face since he was always on the front cover of magazines and a hot topic on the newspaper. This man had a reputation, a reputation that might be good or bad depending on the type of person judging him. But to Margie, he was bad news. A total bad news!

How was she supposed to marry the man her best friend cried over at night?

The thought haunted her mind over and over. She felt like a betrayer, a traitor. A sudden wave of nauseous flooded her stomach that she started staggering.

Mason was quick on his feet and caught her before she could meet the cold-tiled floor. He guided her on the chair opposite to his and kneeled in front of her. He was inspecting her, reading her expression, he was trying to determined who she was or if she was a known person. But Mason's mind was blank. She had never seen her, ever. And if ever he had, he was sure that his old self — the self who had not met Kelsey yet — would have noticed the beautiful woman in front of him before.

"Are you okay?" He asked her out of politeness.

Margie swallowed the lump that was stuck in her throat and nodded her head in response. She was afraid that if she talked, her voice would crack and give her thoughts away.

Mason eyed her for a few more seconds, ensuring that she wouldn't fall over the chair. Once he knew she was secured, he sat back down on the dining chair he had been sitting on before she arrived. "So you're Margaret Wilson?" He stated but it sounded more like a question. Margie could only nod her head once again.

Mason cleared his throat and watched her looked at him under her long lashes. "Were you expecting this? Do you want to get married?" He bluntly asked, catching her off guard.

Margie absentmindedly shook her head as if she had been programmed to do so when the question of marrying anyone who was not Bryan was asked. Mason nodded in understanding and sighed. "Well, I'm glad we're on the same page then." He said in relief.

Mason studied her when he didn't hear a reply. He hadn't hear her talk aside from her soft voice pronouncing his name. He watched her with scrutinizing eyes and based on his observations, she was not like those spoiled brats he'd met. She was simple and different.

"There's a guy, isn't there?" He asked her and her eyes widened in surprise. She didn't know she was that easy to read. But Mason thought that it was perfect. Her, being in love and in a relationship with another guy made his plan a lot easier to plot out.

She released her lip in between her teeth, unaware that she was biting it the entire time, and spoke. "I love him." She boldly told him. It wasn't a lie, she did really love Bryan. He became her world ever since he came into her life.

Mason sighed and nodded his head in understanding. "I'm sure you do. I can tell that you're really not into this, whatever this is..." He said gesturing between the two of them.

"I'm sorry if my father had set this up. This is far from what I want. I'd never imagined myself married to a man I barely know." She honestly told him, not knowing where all the confidence were coming from.

"But it seemed like you knew me a little while back." He pointed out, remembering how his name had escaped her lips the moment she saw him.

Margie nervously chuckled before clearing her throat when she looked at his serious expression. "I've seen you before. Not in personal, but in newspapers and magazines. I've seen you on TV as well." She explained.

"Ah..." He said in understanding. "So you're quite a fan?" He smugly, yet teasingly asked her, to break the awkwardness between them.

"Hardly." She replied with a smile, relieved that the tension was broken. She felt at eased knowing that he didn't want to get married to her either. "But I know a few who would go crazy if they find out that I've met the Mason King in flesh."

Mason laughed at this. "Don't mention it then, or else, rumours will start to spread." He warned her jokingly, but it was like a splashed of water on her face. The smile on her lips faded as she, once again, became anxious of their supposed marriage.

"Relax." Mason advised her. "I have a plan." He assured her. "I don't want to get married to you as much as you don't wanna marry me. Besides, I'm sure you've heard about my engagement."

The sudden mention of his engagement made Margie feel a bit queasy. She didn't know whether she should mention that she was friends with Kelsey or hide the fact that the woman he was engaged to was her best friend.

"If I were to wed, I only see myself marrying one woman. But sorry to say that, that woman is not you." He politely told her, however, she wasn't offended at least. "I love her, and this whole setup will not stop me from marrying the woman I love." He determinedly said as he started plotting the whole plan in his mind.