Chapter 1

The boardroom is filled with the sound of frustrated remarks and fists slamming against the large wooden table. William’s eyes roam around the room as his arms rest on the table. He returns his focus to the binder in front of him.

“Are you saying we don’t know what we are doing?” One of the directors stands up from his chair, his hand scrunching the paper.

“That’s exactly what we’re saying. If you did your job properly- “

“Enough!” William’s voice booms through the room. Everyone immediately falls quiet and turns their heads to William. “Please sit down,” he instructs the director, without lifting his eyes from the binder. The director falls back into his chair and clears his throat.

“Sir, you have to understand . . . “ The director trails off when he notices William’s eyes on him. He lowers his head and pretends to read something on the paper. There is a moment of silence as they all wait for William to speak. William closes the binder with a silent thud before he turns his attention to the rest of the room. He leans back in his chair and takes a sip of his tea.

“This has never been a topic for discussion. I understand it will take more time and effort than usual, but it will be worth it.” There are a few audible groans. His eyes shoot to the directors. “I did the necessary research to be able to execute this project. If you have any doubts about me, it is best to inform me about this now,” he says with a hint of irritation.

“No, sir. We have never doubted you. We are just worried that it might be a financial black hole.” William raises an eyebrow at the older man sitting across from him. The older man shrinks back into his chair, ignoring William's stare.

“Please, I would like to know what your concerns are.” He leans forward and folds his hands on the table. The people around the table look at each other with unease before one brave woman lifts her hand to get his attention. He nods his head and waits for her to state her argument. This should be interesting.

In the empty classroom, Lianna sits on the floor with a piece of paper in front of her. “Sky full of stars” by Coldplay blares through her earphones and she hums along with the song. She bites her bottom lip as she concentrates on the floor plan drawing on the paper. She stretches her leg out, letting out a sigh of frustration. She cannot figure out how to connect the library and music room with the gymnasium without passing through the basketball court.

She grabs the eraser and erases the drawing, but the paper tears. She falls backward with a dramatic sigh. This project is not as easy as she imagined it would be. A knock echoes through the empty class and she lifts her head from the floor.

“Miss Evans, I have- “ Maeve walks through the door, but stops when she sees Lianna on the floor. She bites back a smile and Lianna waves to her before she sits up again.

“What’s up, Miss Lauren?” Lianna frowns when a girl appears from behind Maeve. The girl's eyes are red and puffy. She must have been crying.

“She said she wanted to talk to you.” Lianna gets up with a groan and walks over to them.

“Everything okay?” Lianna holds her arms out for a hug and the girl rushes into her arms. She mouths to Maeve, asking what happened. Maeve shrugs with an apologetic smile, gesturing that she needs to get back to her class. Lianna nods and the girl pulls out of the embrace. Lianna motions to the chair at her desk. The girl walks to the desk, followed by Lianna. She sits down on the chair while Lianna supports herself against the desk.

“Cheryl, would you please tell me what happened? Did someone do something to you?” Lianna watches the girl play with the edge of her school skirt. A tear rolls down her cheek and falls into her lap. The girl lets out a small sob before she breaks down, her face falling into her hands. Lianna crouches down next to Cheryl and rubs her back gently.

“It’s okay. We can sort it out. Don’t worry, I'm here for you,” Lianna whispers and hugs Cheryl again.

William rubs his temples with closed eyes. He forces his eyes open again and shifts around in his chair, trying to find a more comfortable position. A sharp pain shoots through his back which causes him to let out a pained groan. These ridiculous office chairs are going to be the death of him. He sits upright and focuses on the screen in front of him. He is currently looking for land to buy at a reasonable price, but he has not found anything to his liking.

There is a knock on the door. William looks at the door and notices the woman from the meeting earlier walking in. He leans back in his chair as he watches her walk to his desk. She walks around the desk and stops next to him.

“How was that?” she asks with a smirk. William closes his eyes as he chuckles.

“Not bad. You can be more aggressive the next time. The others did not take you seriously,” William says and the woman laughs softly. She inches closer to him and rests her hands on his desk. She plays with a strand of her hair and William notices her skirt riding up. He keeps his eyes on her.

“Come on Will. I am waiting.” William stands up. He leans closer to her, his mouth inches from her ear.

“Are you sure that you can handle it?” He stands back and watches the woman roll her eyes. She gives him a playful smile. Before she can answer him, his phone vibrates on his desk.

William apologizes and moves forward to get the phone. He inhales sharply when the same pain burns through his back. He has to get that looked at.

“Hello Mother,” he answers. The woman sits down on William’s chair and keeps her gaze on him.

“William, dear. How are you?” He rests his head against the headrest of his chair.

“Everything is going well, thank you. Why are you calling?” He knows she would never call him at work unless there is an emergency at home. What will it be today?

“Can’t a mother call her son to check in on him?” she asks with an innocent tone.

“Mother, I saw you this morning. And I will see you when I get home.” He tries to hide the irritation but is too tired to succeed.

“We have guests tonight, so please be here at five. We need to get everything ready for tonight. You need to be there too.”

“I have a meeting this afternoon with the other partners. I cannot cancel it at such short notice.” He takes a sip of water from his bottle. The woman frowns and slowly gets up.

“Your father is also expecting you tonight. You better not be late,” she says with a harsh voice.

“See you later.” William ends the call. He stares at the screen for a while, contemplating how his life could have been. It could have been so different if he was born into another family.

”Well, this will have to wait. See you tomorrow,” he says as he grabs his jacket from his desk.

“What? But we-“

“Zelda,” he calls, interrupting the woman. Another woman enters his office and greets him. “I have to get back home. There is an emergency that I need to attend to. Would you please tell Patrick and Gerald that I will not make it back in time for the meeting? I apologize for the short notice, but I only found out now.” He throws his jacket on and packs a few things up from his desk. She nods her head.

“Yes, Sir. Anything else?”

“That will be all, thank you.” Zelda exits, but not before she gives the woman next to William a glare.

“Seriously? After all that, you’re just ditching me?” William lets out a frustrated sigh. He never intended for things to even get to this point. It was just fun.  

“Enjoy your afternoon.” William walks past her and heads to his car. He will deal with her tomorrow. His parents will not keep him out of work unless it is important.

He exits the parking area and decides to buy something to boost his energy levels. It will be impossible to stay awake tonight if he does not get something in his system.

“Dig a tunnel, dig, dig a tunnel”

“You could dig and never get done”

“Dig a tunnel, dig, dig a tunnel”

“What was that?”

“Quick before the hyena come!”

Lianna erupts into loud laughter when she figures out the choir kids prepared a Disney song for her. She cannot stop laughing and has to hold onto a nearby chair to prevent herself from falling. Some of the other kids have also joined in on her laughter while others are still singing their hearts out. Lianna continues to laugh as she starts to dance with a few other students. Tears roll down her cheeks and she holds her stomach. They finally come to an end and Lianna hugs a few of the nearby kids.

“Ah, you guys. You didn’t have to do this. It was amazing.”

“We know you love Disney and all that, so we learned a song for you. It’s a late birthday present.” Talisha says and hugs Lianna. Lianna smiles again as she hugs Talisha back.

“Thank you so much. You are so special. You just made my year,” Lianna says while she hugs the other students. "But we still have to rehearse the real songs you need to perform this year. So warm up." Everyone bursts into singing, but it is random and chaotic. Lianna laughs again.

Her ringtone blares through all of the noise to get her attention and she hurries over to her desk. She smiles when she sees that it is her dad.

“Dad, hi.”

“Hey kid, how are things?”

“Good, good. The choir students just sang for my birthday.” She gestures for Talisha to get everything ready for the rehearsals.

"That is sweet. They must've practiced.“ Her dad's voice seems a bit off. It does not have the same energy as usual.

"Yeah, they were fantastic. Is everything fine?”

“Yes, everything is fine. I just- I have some news for you, but it is better not to do it over the phone.”

“Dad? Are you okay? Wait, I am on my way. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”

“No need to rush. I’m fine, kid. I’ll see you soon,” he says and ends the call. Lianna frowns at the screen and a heavy weight presses on her chest. She must get to her dad.

“Talisha, would you be a darling and lead today? I need to get to my dad.” Talisha nods her head and helps Lianna to pack all her stuff. Lianna rushes to the door with her bags, but she spins back to the class.

“Thank you, everyone. You guys are the sweetest. I appreciate it so much. Love you all.” She blows them a kiss and they all wave back at her. She heads out the door and greets the teachers in the hall. She hurries to the nearby bus stop and checks the time. Lucky for her, the bus comes roaring around the corner. At least she did not have to wait. She really hopes everything is all right.

William greets his mother with a kiss on her cheek. She walks off toward the kitchen and he follows her. He passes the study and notices that his father is not there.

“Where is Father?” he asks, sitting on one of the chairs around the island.

“Good afternoon.” William is startled by the deep voice from behind him. He turns to face his father. He bows his head to greet his father. His mother places a cup of coffee in front of him. He keeps his gaze on the steam from the coffee.

“What is going on? I had an important meeting that I had to cancel to be here.” William manages to keep his irritation at bay and he forces a neutral expression.

“What meeting?” His father demands as he sits down across from William.

“With Gerald and Patrick. We had a meeting about the annual reports.” His father’s head snaps to his mother with that look in his eyes.

“Why did you agree to meet them tonight if you knew he had such an important meeting?” He flinches internally at his father’s raised voice. His mother looks at him, searching for an answer. He recognizes the fear in her eyes.

“It is all good. They will not mind. It is not Mother’s fault.” William does not look back at his mother. His father stares at him, taking a sip from the coffee. His mother clasps her hands together.

“Your father has found someone willing to enter into an arrangement regarding marriage. We have invited them for dinner tonight. That is why we asked you to be here earlier for the guests. The girl, whom you might know, will also be here. You can catch up.” His mother smiles at him and he nods his head. His father hands him a document that looks like a contract.

“This is the contract you prepared regarding the arranged marriage. Check it to ensure everything is still in order and as you want it to be.” His father says, standing up and walking to his study. William remains seated as he watches his mother assign tasks to the maids. He takes the contract, slips out of the kitchen, and heads to his room.

His mind is all over the place, his thoughts scattered. He knew this day would come but did not expect it to be so soon. Well, he is 28 after all. Who is the girl? Someone he knows . . . Everyone he is familiar with is a greedy leech who wants his money. It has to be someone who has good connections. His parents, especially his mother, will not choose someone who might be bad for their image.

He enters his room and slides the door closed behind him. He sits down on his bed with the papers still in his hand. He loosens his tie as he turns the first page. He takes his time to read everything carefully.

After his first marriage, he learned a valuable lesson. He placed a few conditions in the contract to ensure the same thing does not happen. Even if it does happen, he would be protected. With a heavy sigh, he gets up and heads to his closet. He needs to get changed.

“Dad?” Lianna calls out as soon as she enters his house. “Dad? I am here. Where are you?” She runs to the living room, calling out. He is not in the living room or the kitchen. As she passes his bedroom, she catches something from the corner of her eye. She turns and notices a figure outside on the old wooden swing. She runs to the glass door and slides through the opening.

“Dad?” she calls and the figure turns around. The older man waves to her as he continues to swing. She finally reaches him and falls dramatically to the floor, out of breath.

“Woah, you okay there? I told you that you didn’t have to rush.” He slows the swing down and watches Lianna catch her breath. 

“You had me worried, Dad. Sheesh. Are you sick? Are you going to die?” She asks as she sits up. Her dad lets out a warm laugh and stops swinging. He gets off the swing and motions for her to stand up. She gets up and hugs her dad.

“No, kid. I’m fine. I also said that. I have something else to tell you. It is about your mother.” Lianna steps out of the embrace, her brows furrowed. Her dad takes her hand and leads her to the swing. She sits down on the swing and he stands in front of her.

“What about Mom?” Lianna uses her toe to slightly swing back and forth.

“Before you were born, she put some money into a trust fund.” Lianna’s frown deepens and her father chuckles. “She put the money into the fund for you. The terms of the fund are quite simple.”

“Wait, why are you only telling me now?” Her dad shakes his head.

“I am getting there. That is the terms. I was not allowed to tell you until you were 25. Since you turned 25 yesterday, I can officially tell you today.” Lianna cannot help the smile that forms on her face. She can use the money to put down a deposit on her project. She was going to ask non-profit organizations to collaborate with her, but if she has enough money to pay for a part of the project, they will be willing to work with her.

“But.” She groans and stops the swing. “There was another term.”

“What?”

“I don’t know how you will take this one, kid.” Her dad puts his hand on her shoulder.

“What?” Lianna purses her lips together. What could be that bad?

“I can only transfer the money once you are married.” Lianna tilts her head and leans closer to her father. She has to check if he is being serious. “It also states that if you aren't married at 25, I have to choose someone for you. Luckily for you, I found a suitable match.” Lianna opens her mouth, but snaps it close again. She gets off the swing and grabs her father’s arms.

“You’re not serious, are you? Please tell me you are joking.” He shakes his head. “Who?”

“William Rhodes.”