Chapter - 4

Dimitri lead them through the jungle, never once leaving her hand and turning around every once in a while to look at Trinity to make sure that she was fine. A gesture that made Trinity get this warm fuzzy feeling deep inside her belly. 

He cared about her. She didn't know why the thought was so exciting but she was having a hard time keeping that goofy grin off her face. She was practically bouncing with excitement and she couldn't have been more thankful that it was dark and he couldn't see her expression or he'd think she was mad.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Dimitri halted. Trinity peeked around him to see where they were and the only word she could say when her eyes landed on the scene in front of them was "Wow."

Dimitri smiled down at her, "Come on." He tugged on her arm and dragged her along with him to the wooden log. He sat down, pulling her dazed state along with him.

Trinity didn't even register the fact that they were already seated, her eyes and brain busy taking in the beauty that surrounded them.

She didn't have words to explain how beautiful the place was. It was a small clearing with a wooden log joining its two ends, acting as a bridge. The clearing was surrounded by tall trees from all the sides. The moon was reflected in the water below them and the flowers around them seemed to glow in the faint moonlight. The view was simply breath taking. It was nature at its best.

"Its magnificent." She whispered, not wanting to disturb the tranquility of the night. 

"I know. I found this place a few years back when I was just wandering about in the forest, looking for some peace." Dimitri explained, basking in the moonlight, never once taking his eyes off the moon twinkling in the water below them.

"Well, then you sure found it." Trinity grinned.

"That I did." He agreed. "I usually come here when I need some place quiet to think." He added after a short pause.

"Think about?" She prodded, turning to look at him.

He shrugged, feeling her searching gaze on him. "Just...things." He answered vaguely and Trinity knew that it was the end of this discussion. He didn't want to talk about it so she simply nodded and let the topic drop, returning her gaze back to the beautiful scenery in front of them.

"You're not going to ask what these 'things' I need to think about are?" Dimitri asked after a moment. Surely she'd want to know? That's what girls usually do, isn't it? Ask lots and lots of questions. Samantha does it all the time, sometimes to the point where he feels like pulling his hair out.

"You want me to?" She smirked.

"I....uh...I- no. No I don't." He stammered as he felt heat rise up his cheeks from embarrassment.

Trinity laughed. "You look cute when you're embarrassed."

"Right. Go ahead and call me cute because that doesn't hurt my man pride at all and that is just what every guy wants to hear." Dimitri grumbled, feigning annoyance, each word dripping with sarcasm.

Trinity laughed again and the sound pulled at something deep inside Dimitri. "I'm surprised you feel that way. Its a compliment. Not many guys in their mid to late twenties can be called cute."

"Well, maybe because they aren't actually cute. Kids are the ones who can be called cute. Not men my age! That's just....just unacceptable!" Dimitri huffed. 

Trinity stifled a giggle at his childish behavior. "Okay, okay. You're not cute. You're....you're handsome! Yes, very, very handsome!" She hastily corrected herself.

"So you think I'm handsome, huh?" Dimitri asked, expecting her to blush.

"Course you are. There's no denying it."

Needless to say, he was the one who blushed.

Trinity smiled at the light blush coloring his cheeks from her compliment but decided not to comment on it to save him from further embarrassment. 

"Anyways, now that we are some place quiet, would you do me the honor of telling me about the whole story behind your proposal, Mr Kaverin?" She asked, rubbing her hands.

"Of course, Miss Johnson." Dimitri obliged.

Clearing his throat, he began, "As you already know, I am the soon-to-be owner of the infamous Red Velvet hotels, whose current owner is Valéry Kaverin, my mother. Well, the thing is, that my mother has been, sort of badgering me to marry someone for months now but I didn't pay much attention to it, you know? I didn't really think she was that serious about it." 

"But apparently, she was. About a week ago she came to see me and told me that if I didn't marry someone within the next two months, she's going to give the whole company away to charity. This is the same company I've worked my ass off for the past nine years. I've tried every damn thing I can think of to change her mind but she wouldn't bloody listen to me. She's hell bent on this and knowing her, she'd actually give the whole company away to charity if I didn't do as she says." Dmitri all but growled.

"Sounds like a pretty stubborn woman to me."

"She damn well is."

"Well, that still doesn't explain why you'd want to marry me?" She asked, frowning slightly.

"You see, I already have a girlfriend."

"You do?" She asked, wide eyed and genuinely shocked, but there was something in her expression that Dimitri couldn't quite place as he turned to look at her.

"Yeah, but there's a slight complication." He said, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. He didn't know why but he suddenly felt uncomfortable telling her about Samantha.

"Go on, big boy, I'm listening." Trinity urged him on, ignoring the heavy feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach. She didn't know why but she suddenly wasn't so keen on helping him anymore. All she wanted in that moment was to go as far away from him as possible.

"She is a model." He breathed out and he felt her nod beside him. Taking that as a cue he continued," But unfortunately for me, she's under a six month modeling contract right now. She's already a month into the contract and in order to marry me, she'll obviously have to quit. But if she quits now, they'll have all the right to sue her. Sure, I can get her out of it without any problem but the thing is, that once word spreads out that she quit in the middle of a contract, no one will be willing to give her work after that. It'd ruin her reputation, and I don't want that."

"Well, yeah, I can see where you are coming from. But why can't you tell your mom all this? Sure, she'd understand, right?" 

"Trust me I would, if I could. I once mentioned Samantha to her. Well, of course, I didn't outright tell her that I was dating the girl but I did subtly hint that I was interested in her. My mum took one look at her photograph and declared and I quote 'she is a good for nothing gold digger'. Then she went ahead and said that she didn't want me doing anything with her."

"Ouch, that would've hurt, huh?"

"It damn well did. Needless to say I didn't mention Samantha to her again. Besides we both are pretty famous in our line of work and if it came out that we were both dating each other, the paparazzi would go ballistic. They'll start stalking us and make our personal life hell. So we decided to keep it a secret."

"But you could have told your mum, she's not a journalist from what I've gathered so far, so it shouldn't be a problem, I think." Trinity argued, her small joke getting a smile out of him.

"No, she isn't. But she sure as hell would announce it to the whole damn world. Sure, it'd take some time and a hell a lot of grovelling on my part to get her to agree to let us marry but once she does, she'd go and announce it to everyone that her son is finally getting married."

"If you tell her about all this right now and she does go and announce it, then Samantha will have to quit the contract even if she wanted to or not which would ruin her reputation as well as her career." She concluded.

He simply nodded. 

"Its pretty screwed up." She commented after a short pause.

"It is, but you see, I'm pretty intelligent so-"

"So very modest of you."

Ignoring her he continued, but not before shaking his head to himself with a small grin,"-I came up with this plan." 

She hummed a response and he continued,"So the plan is that I would marry a girl to get my mum off my back. It would be a one year contract marriage. Since it'll be a contract marriage I don't think Samantha will mind and since I'll finally be hitched even my mum would be happy."

"And I take it you want me to be the girl whom you'd be marrying?" Trinity asked, quick to assess the situation. 

"Yes." He replied, rubbing the back of his neck in nervousness. He realized that the reason for his nervousness was that he wanted her to say yes. 

He wanted her to be his wife. 

He wanted to listen to that laugh again and again. 

He wanted to be the one who could make her smile, the only one. 

Startled by the direction of his thoughts he quickly shook his head and turned to look at Trinity who, he noticed, was staring intently at the moon reflected in the water below them. 

What she asked next wasn't something he was expecting. Hell, he couldn't have guessed what she was going to ask even if his life depended on it. 

"Do you love her?"

He was so shocked that it took him a moment to realize they she was talking about Samantha. He thought it over for a long moment before answering truthfully, "I don't know. Maybe, I'm not sure."

"You're not sure?" She asked, confusion marring her features.

She didn't know much about all this love business but it should have been a yes or a no right? Where did this 'maybe' come from?

"No, I'm not. I mean, I like her. I like her a lot. She's been with me through a lot. I can turn to her for comfort, she understands how I feel and doesn't judge me for it. That's what I like the most about her. I not sure I love her but I guess, I'll get there eventually." He explained honestly.

Trinity nodded, taking it all in. Judging from the way Dimitri talked about Samantha, she could tell that he trusted her an awful lot and thought highly of her. Also, he did like her. A lot.

It was a good thing, right? She should be happy for him, shouldn't she? They were friends after all. So why was she feeling so gloomy all of a sudden? Besides, the fact that he liked someone else would make everything easier if she agreed to do this. She would know where to draw the line in their relationship, what to expect and what not to. And once the year was over, they would part ways- her with a new friend and a new experience and him with his company and the soon-to-be love of his life. She would be content with the feeling that she was able to help someone - a friend, a very handsome and a recently acquired friend, but a friend all the same.

Convincing herself that she was doing this just to help a friend and for a new experience, which as of now, looked nothing short of a small adventure to her, she took a deep breath and spoke with a small smile,"Fine. I'll do it. I'll marry you."