Skylar ignored Christian the rest of the time. It wasn’t a hard task to do since he was mostly engaged in conference calls all the time. She didn’t get to talk to Caleb as he returned late. She retired to her room early, just to avoid Christian. He would leave early the next morning and she could relax and enjoy herself for a few days before leaving for New York.
She lay down with her phone, chatting with her girl group, when there was a soft knock on her door. Startled, she sat up straight. Was it Christian? Who else would knock on her door at 11 o’clock in the night? Ignoring it, she quietly lay down to sleep. She had no wish to face Christian now.
There were two more knocks and then the footsteps faded away. Relieved, she tried to sleep but couldn’t. When nothing worked, she got up to drink some water. Maybe it would calm her down. At home, her granny always insisted on drinking some warm milk at bedtime and it always worked. But where would she get warm milk here? She would have to go downstairs to the kitchen to get some. What if Christian was lurking in the corridor?
Even after drinking water, she couldn’t sleep. After an hour of trying, she tossed and turned in vain and eventually got up to get some warm milk. It was a habit that Granny had inculcated in her since young and she knew nothing else would work. It was past midnight, and she opened her door to peer outside. There was no one around, thankfully. The entire house was eerily quiet. Could she make a dash towards the kitchen and get her milk?
Skylar glanced toward Christian’s room and heaved a sigh of relief to see it locked. He might have gone to sleep already. After all, he had a morning flight a few hours from now.
She crept downstairs, straight to the kitchen, relieved that she met no one. The place was bathed in darkness and she switched on the light to raid the refrigerator for milk. Finding it, she poured some into a mug and warmed it. Sitting down on a stool, she sipped and closed her eyes to calm herself down. There was nothing to panic. No one could get her to marry against her will. They might plan the engagement, but she would surely cancel it with Caleb’s help.
The warm milk relaxed her, and she rinsed her mug quickly. Now she could sleep in peace. Skylar climbed the stairs up to her room, exhaustion taking a toll on her now.
However, her eyes widened, and all sleepiness left her at seeing Christian standing in front of her door. Was she imagining him? How could he be here? She blinked and looked again. He was still there!
“What are you doing here, Christian? Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” she scolded him.
“Yes, I should, but I can’t. I had to see you before I left.” He stood watching her with a strange expression on his face. Was it the magic of the dim lights filtering from the living room downstairs, or did she really see a look of longing on his face? His statement made her heart thump wildly in her chest. Why did he want to see her before leaving?
“Why?” she breathed, baffled at the same look of longing on his face. No, it wasn’t her imagination, nor was it the magic of the lights. It was for real. He stood frozen, watching her while she looked for a way to enter her room and close the door to his face.
“Why do you think?” he asked instead of answering her.
“I don’t know. Maybe to threaten me to surrender to your wishes.” In a split second, Christian grabbed her and pinned her to the door with his body. “What the f*ck!” she swore, startled out of her mind.
“I don’t need to threaten you to make you surrender to me. I have other ways to do the job!” Skylar gasped with shock, knowing what he was implying.
“Your other ways won’t work on me, Christian. You can use them on someone else and marry her as well. Now please let me go. I need to sleep.” She placed her hands on his chest and tried to push him away, but he didn’t budge even an inch. Instead, he pressed himself closer to her, his eyes glinting at the challenge. The wish to prove her wrong played havoc in his mind.
“Really? Do you want me to prove to you otherwise? Do you want to see how I can make you surrender to me in minutes?” Skylar’s mouth hung open at his implication. Was he planning to kiss her now?
“No, I don’t need your proof. I know what I’m capable of. Stop playing mind games with me, Christian. You’re annoying me as hell. Goodbye, and good luck on your trip. I hope we will never meet again. I’ll pray to God that you find a woman for yourself on this trip.” She pushed him with all her might and was about to escape into her room when he grabbed her wrist.
“That can never happen. You are the only one for me. Even if it’s a loveless marriage, I’d rather face it than marry someone else. We will meet again,” he released her abruptly and stormed towards her room, leaving her head reeling with confusion.
His words echoed in her head.
We will meet again.
When will he meet her again? He was the most persistent creature alive. Hell! He was ten times more stubborn than she was!
She went inside and locked her door in case he returned to prove himself to her. No, she would never let him kiss her! The interaction with Christian left her breathless and wide awake. It was late when she slept and therefore, by the time she woke up, Christian had left already.
Skylar went sightseeing all by herself the whole day, but instead of enjoying herself, all she could do was think about Christian. Would he forget his wish to meet Mike? Would he really meet her? Or would he again forget about her for another four years? She just hoped for the latter. When she returned to Caleb’s house in the evening, she found her family all gathered together in the living room. It seemed as if they were busy discussing something important.
“Am I missing something? What’s up now?” she asked them, glancing at her brother and granny curiously.
“Come and sit here, Skye,” said Caleb.
She was instantly suspicious. Were they discussing her engagement without asking for her approval? Still, she sat down and patiently waited for them to talk to her.
“Have you thought about what you want to do in life? Do you want to study more or do you wish to get an internship somewhere? I want you to think about it and decide soon, Skye. If you wish to intern, you can join Christian’s hotel here in Cleveland itself. You wouldn’t have to go back to New York and live there all by yourself.”
Skylar gaped at her brother. She knew they would involve Christian somehow. Why did she have to join his hotel for an internship? His wasn’t the only hotel in the world!
“I think it’s the best decision for you, Skye. We will be thrilled to have you live with us,” agreed Lilian.
“But I don’t want to live here. All my friends are in New York. It’s my home. Don’t worry, I’ll find an internship in NYC itself. I don’t need to work in Christian’s hotel.”
They all frowned and glanced at one another. “Why? What’s wrong with working in Christian’s chain of hotels? You’ll learn more,” asked Caleb, totally annoyed by her stubbornness.
“Yes, and after marriage, you can help him handle it better,” suggested Lillian, who had no interest in her family business. “After all, it will be yours too when you marry him.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but before she could utter a word, they all chimed in, discussing about the brilliant idea.
“It’s for your own good, Skylar. Don’t fight against everything we say. We won’t live forever to look after you. Learn to listen to your well-wishers for once,” said her grandpa, sighing and getting up to leave. The topic was closed, and Skylar didn’t get to voice her opinion at all.
“Why does this always happen to me? Why don’t I have any say in the matters concerning me? I’m sick and tired of this life and you.”
Caleb sighed and massaged his head, thinking of ways to pacify his sister.
“We all want you to settle down in your career, in life. We want you to be happy. None of us here are your enemies, Skye.”
“Just leave me alone if you want me to be happy.” She stomped up to her room in frustration. It had become the norm in the family to dump all their decisions upon her.
“I’m leaving for New York tomorrow, Caleb!” she announced on her way upstairs. It was the only way she could get some peace of mind.
She packed up and booked herself a flight for the next day. Feeling relieved, she fell asleep, not knowing what was in store for her in New York. After all, Christian St. James went nowhere else but to New York on a work trip!