Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Who would've thought, I, Autumn Monet, would be shipped off to see if I were a perfect fit for some rich asshole.

This all being my mother's idea because if she asked, she knew I wouldn't agree to this. She instead goes behind my back, signing me up for this thing. At first, I thought it was a joke, but the moment she came rushing inside my job, I knew she got an answer. An answer that I wasn't happy about but went along with it anyway.

It started out like this……

Kira, my boss, and I were working our usual shift. The little bakery, Sweet Sally, down the street from my apartment building, is where I worked. It was never too busy here, being that we lived in the small town of Greendale. Our usual customers would come in like old man Joe and crazy Christi. We'd fill their regular orders and listen to a few stories they'd have for the day, all while serving other casual customers. Everything was running smoothly without missing a beat.

My blonde hair, blue-eyed boss was in a good mood today. Sometimes she can be a little feisty, however, it was nothing I couldn't deal with. In a way, we were the same. We had the same interest when it came to music and our social lives. She was my only friend, which may seem weird since she's my boss. Though, she is only a year older than me. Somehow, we just clicked.

After old man Joe and crazy Christi left, there wasn't many people in here. One person was sitting at the far back, enjoying a coffee and a muffin. Another one was at the bar indulging in a cup of tea and immersed in his newspaper. It's safe to say, they weren't paying attention as we cleaned around them. It's only been about two hours into my shift, leaving me five more hours to go. They usually fly by in no time, but today was a little different...

Wiping down tables and booths, Kira came sitting down in one of them with two cups of coffee and a small plate of lemon cake slices for the both of us. When there was down time like this, we usually enjoyed a cup of coffee and sometimes a little snack. The owner was very generous about this sort of thing. Considering the pay wasn't much, I didn't expect to be able to relish in all the goodies and trust me, this place had some of the best sweets.

Sitting down, I sipped the coffee, burning my lip a little in the process.

"Tasty?" Kira asked, biting a piece of her lemon cake. Somehow, she always made the best cup of joe. I don't know what she did to it, but it always came out spectacular.

I nodded, feeling the warmth coursing through me already. "Very. Five more hours to go. Do anything afterward? Thinking we could grab actual lunch this time."

Chewing her cake, she gave me a look. A look that told me something was up. "Well...I don't think you'll have time." She was careful with her words.

Confusion written on my face; I didn't have time to ask her a question as the bell dinged, signaling someone coming in. Our attention shifted as my eyes looked in surprise to see my mother running towards me. Little sister right next to her. She was in one of her more elegant dresses, meaning something big was happening. The way her face screamed with excitement made me queasy. Nothing ever excites this lady. Like ever! The fact that she walked in gleaming meant that I was going to have to sacrifice something.

As she made her way in front of me, she slammed the letter on the table, grinning from ear to ear. The confused look never left my face after I picked up the piece of paper, reading it over.

Dear Monet Family,

It is our pleasure to inform you that Autumn Monet has been selected to partake in our charming boy's quest to find his one true love. As heir to our success, he needs one lucky lady to be at his side. Will it be you?

My heart dropped. Reading the first few lines already made me so furious. I didn't really know what it was, but love and Autumn don't mix well. My mother knows this and yet here she is with this piece of paper that means absolutely nothing to me. To say I was fuming wasn't even close to what I was feeling at that moment.

"What is this?" I asked. I can hear my voice laced with anger.

My mother snatched the paper from me,holding it in front of my face again. "This is our ticket out of here,” she said all giddy. "We finally have a chance at life, Autumn."

At life. We haven't had a real life in who knows how many years. Lucky enough, I was able to finish school and my sister can still be in school. However, that's about as real as life gets. My mom has been working two jobs every day and I have been trying my best to work since I was eight-teen just to make enough to eat a meal at night. That was our reality. This...whatever it was, it was nonsense!

Ignoring her, I drink my coffee some more, my leg shaking violently. Of all things, this would be her way of trying to get us money. Did we need it? Absolutely, but this wasn't the way. Arduous work and determination were the way. Not handing me over to someone else's son to latch onto their wealth. That's taking the easy route.

Visibly frustrated, my mother sighed in annoyance that I wasn't complying. It's not the first time we've disagreed on things. This is the first time, however, that she's done something like this. It was idiotic, barbaric if you will. No matter what she said, I wasn't agreeing with it. Or so I thought...

"Look, A, I know this isn't something you're keen on but think about it. We'll be so much better off this way." She tried her reasoning, but it still wasn't convincing enough.

I scoffed. "And what if I don't get chosen?" I looked at her, still fuming.

That's when my sister, Summer, stepped in. She had the same long, wavy hair my mom and I had. Only her eyes were the same color as our father's. A light blue with hints of green in between. To say the least, she was beautiful and the most important thing in my life. It was a tough time for her growing up. With all our money issues, it was hard giving her things most kids her age would want. But it never stopped me from trying to be the best big sister I could be. That's why when she opened her mouth, I coward.

"Can you at least try? For me?" She gave me those puppy dogs eyes with her sweet innocent kid face. Summer knew I couldn't deny her when she did that. Sometimes this family irked me.

Rolling my eyes, I stuffed the lemon cake in my mouth very pissed about this whole ordeal. "Ugh whatever. But don't blame me if I don't get picked." I said my mouth full of sweet lemon cake.

They all screamed excitedly around me while I was furious. Nothing good was going to come out of this. I'll be missing work and leaving my sister here in this hell hole. Besides that, I'll be in a foreign area with strangers. The fact that my mom didn't have a problem with that was mind boggling. She was okay sending me off with strangers if it meant earning a little cash. Her intentions were well, but this was bullshit.

Nevertheless, it was a little exciting to get out of Greendale. I'm twenty-two years old and have never been out of this small town of mine. Seeing more of the world was bound to be a thrill. I'm going to a rich town although with little money, I couldn't wait to see it. My nerves were going to be at an all-time high.

Crossing my arms, I leaned back in my seat still annoyed. "When am I leaving?" I asked secretly shitting myself.

"Tomorrow morning." My mom responded.

I almost shit myself again. "Tomorrow morning!" I screamed.

She nodded, grabbing my arm to pull me up. "Yes, and we have very little time to prepare, so let's go!"

Without any more talking, I waved goodbye to Kira, who clearly knew about this. Of course, my mom told her not to say anything since my reaction was...well this. I only had the rest of today to get prepared and packed to go. My mom didn't waste any time getting me to the hair salon. It always took so long for them to do it. My hair was super long, down to my ass, and very thick. It was healthy and vibrant, so that's all that mattered. Sitting for four hours in a chair was mind numbing. All I had to do was scroll through my beat-up phone while they washed, blow dried, and curled my hair up. Of course, it came out gorgeous but was it worth all this?

After the salon, my mom stopped at the nail shop for my sister and I to get our nails done. It was a wonder where my mom was getting this money from. Usually, we can't afford to do any of this. Now magically that I'm going to meet some jackass she could afford all of it.

Our last stop was at my aunt Pauline's. She looked like my now deceased grandfather. Her hair was shorter and darker than my moms with the same chocolate-colored eyes. She had two kids, Jace and Taytum, and just now became divorced. Pauline was my mom's only sibling, and they were close. They both led the same life though Pauline was a little more financially stable than my mom. She was a cool aunt and tried to do as much as she could for us. Plus, I enjoyed my cousin's company. Jace and I were close in age, he being twenty now. While Taytum and Summer were a year apart. The best part of coming over here was seeing my Grammy.

My Grammy was the best human on the planet. This lady really taught me a lot of things I know. A lot of things my mom couldn't teach me. So, when I say we were close, we were fucking close. It made sense why my mom was able to afford all this today. All thanks to my Grammy.

Walking into her room, she turned her head to see me a smile forming upon her face. Maryann was her name, and she was not the woman to play with back in her day. Physically, she was impaired, but she still had all her marbles.

"My little Autumn, come here!" Her voice screamed with excitement as I walked over to hug her.

"Grammy, I missed you." Truly, I did. It's been a few weeks since I've seen her. Trying to work took all my time.

She brushed it off with that smile, never leaving her face. "Not to worry dear we have more important matters." She insisted. "Please, get my purse."

Doing as she said, I grabbed her purse pulling a chair up next to her bed. Her fragile hands digging through it looking for something important. Before taking it out, her eyes shot back at me hinting at something I wasn't getting.

"Dear, I know when you found out you were upset. After all, this sort of thing isn't for you." My Grammy knew me so well.

I nodded laughing slightly. "Tell me about it. This isn't my cup of tea." Being honest with her was always easy.

She smiled, pulling out an envelope. "In any case, it's happening, and I want you to take this."

Taking the envelope out of her hands, I started to open it, but she stopped me. Her cold, delicate hand resting on top of mine. Whatever it was, she didn't want me to see it just yet.

"Wait until you get where you're going to open it. It's my gift to you for being my sweet, endearing girl all these years." She said lovingly. "Any who, I had some specially made dresses for you packed and ready to go. Please, try to enjoy yourself, Autumn. I know it's the last thing you want to do, but you need a break. Even if you don't want anything to do with this man at least think of it as a vacation."

It warmed my heart to hear her say that to me. Her opinion of me means a lot. She was the woman I spent a lot of my time with growing up. We've built a bond like no other. This present and the dresses were more than enough. It was too much honestly, but that's my Grammy for you. Always going above and beyond. There was no one else like her and there never will be.

Hugging her, I almost teared up a little bit replaying her words in my head. Even if I don't get picked for this stupid contest thing, at least I have a well needed vacation. Things weren't going to be smooth sailing. I'll miss my home, my family, and my job, surprisingly. However, I was going to make the best of this.

Somehow.