Falling, Fallen | ✔️

2

~Ayla's POV~

I parked my car in my parent's driveway the next day, spotting an unfamiliar car next to mine that I could only assume belonged to Mr. Maxwell. I checked my makeup in the rear view mirror and then got out of my car, clicking a button on my keys to lock my car doors.

My heels gently clacked against the ground as I walked up to the front door and let myself inside the house, since I knew the front door was going to be unlocked. Mom had a really bad habit of just leaving the door unlocked, which was something that I had scolded her for time and time again since I was around fourteen. Still, she almost never locked the door. If the door was locked, it was probably because dad had to do it.

As I walked into the large living room I found my mom and dad sitting on one of the white couches, whilst Mr. Maxwell sat on the other couch. He looked as crotchety as ever, I noticed. I didn't feel like sitting down by any of them, because I wasn't exactly happy about this marriage that I was here to discuss, even if I had agreed to it. I was only doing this for my dad's sake, and that was all.

"There you are, honey. You're a little late." Mom told me as she smiled up at me from her place on the couch, and I gave her a strained smile. "Yeah, sorry. I had a meeting that ran a little long." I fibbed, not wanting to admit to her that I was only late because of the fact that I had been stalling coming here for as long as I could. I could be a little mean sometimes, sure, but I wasn't going to say that in front of Mr. Maxwell. It'd probably make him rethink this entire arrangement.

"That's fine. My son is a little late, himself." Mr. Maxwell said, causing me to glance over at him and raise my brows. "Oh. I wasn't aware he'd be coming today." I confessed, cocking my head to the side slightly. Mom hadn't told me about this. All I had heard was that Mr. Maxwell would be here. I guess I had assumed that I'd be meeting my husband-to-be at some other time. Apparently not, though.

"Yeah, but he may not be very...friendly. He's definitely not happy about the marriage." He told me, causing my lips to twitch in amusement. "That's okay." I simply assured, not having much else to say. After all, it wasn't as if I didn't understand why he wouldn't be happy. I wasn't too thrilled about it, either. Still, I could at least be nice to him, so I hoped he would give me the same courtesy. We didn't have to be in love, but I was sure we could try to get along, if nothing else.

Mom gestured for me to come sit down and I hesitated before I did exactly that, except I sat next to my dad instead of her. The silence was pretty uncomfortable between the four of us, but I wondered if it was just because of me. When I had come in the house, I had heard their chatter from the front door, yet now they were all quiet. Maybe my parents knew that I wasn't too happy about this arrangement. It wasn't until about ten minutes later when there was a knock on our front door that my dad got up off of the couch and left to go answer it. Mom looked over at me with a frown when he left. "Did you lock the door again?" She asked me, a tone to her voice that made it sound like I'd done something wrong.

I gave my mom a look. "You're supposed to lock the front door, mom." I told her the same thing I always did when she asked me that.

Dad came back with a man trailing behind him—and when I had imagined what Mr. Maxwell's son would look like, this was certainly not what I had thought I'd see. As mean as it sounded, Mr. Maxwell did not seem to me as though he were a man blessed with good genes. Yet the man who followed my dad was incredibly good looking.

The man was tall, easily over six feet, and his shoulders were broad. He was a very wide man, with long arms and long legs. I couldn't help but to notice how muscular he was, his suit on his body clinging to his muscles so deliciously tight. Seeing a man in a suit had always done something sinful to me and I couldn't explain why. His sharp, angular jaw was lined with dark stubble and I watched him as he ran a hand through his messily tousled black hair, a look on his face that told me he was not happy to be here whatsoever. His nose was straight and I wondered if his full lips were as soft as they looked from here. How did he get them to look so nice?

"You're late." Mr. Maxwell scolded his son, who simply shrugged and plopped down further down the couch from his dad. "I know. I didn't want to be here." He said bluntly, surprising me. It caught me off guard a bit how smooth his voice was. Mr. Maxwell glared at his son before he glanced at my parents and I. "Ayla, this is my son, Soren." Mr. Maxwell informed me, and I hummed as I eyed him.

Soren glanced over at me and I caught his gaze, not used to seeing someone with eyes so blue that they almost looked like pure oceans. I couldn't get over how handsome he was, or the fact that he was related to the old man beside him.

"Nice to meet you." I murmured, and he just rolled his eyes. Obviously he didn't agree with me on that.

"So, about the wedding," Mr. Maxwell began, ready to jump straight into business. "I don't care what dress you pick or the details of the wedding, but the wedding has to happen before next month. So by the first, you two better be married." He said, glancing between Soren and I. My eyes just about bugged out of my fucking head. "Dad, that's literally in less than two weeks!" Soren scoffed, giving his dad an incredulous look that Mr. Maxwell just raised his brows at. "And? You're still expected to be married by then." He repeated, giving his son a look that seemed to dare Soren to challenge him. Soren grunted and rolled his eyes but he seemed to give up on convincing him. Like I said, Mr. Maxwell was a crotchety man.

It seemed nuts, almost unrealistic, to expect us to be able to scrape together an entire wedding within less than two weeks. I'd have to bust my ass to find a wedding dress, too. That was simply all too much to do within not even two weeks. "Sir, I don't know how we'll be able to do that." I told him, uncertain about this. Mr. Maxwell looked over at me and I nearly cringed away at the way his beady eyes looked at me. "If you don't think you can handle it, then I'll plan it. It needs to be done." He said simply, and I raised a brow. "Can I ask why we need to be married so soon? What's the big rush?" I asked, refusing to break eye contact with him. I felt my dad gently bump my knee with his, which I knew meant he wanted me to stop pushing it, but I ignored him. What with what I was doing here, the least that I could be given was an explanation as to why I had to do it.

"Because Soren is going to be running the new business when our companies merge. I'm retiring, and part of the deal with the merge, other than the marriage, is that Soren will run the company." Mr. Maxwell explained. I went quiet and pursed my lips, giving a simple nod of my head. Although I could've said I didn't understand, I did. Mr. Maxwell was a very well known man, so he likely didn't want Soren's supposed "playboy" ways to tarnish the image of him and his family. Essentially, my marriage to Soren was just a way to make it seem as though he was more put together, I suppose.

"Okay," I said softly. "Two weeks it is, then."