The doctor had seen my father, and he was okay, resting in his room. Aunt Ruth had announced to the guests that the party was over. I was beyond sad and deeply hurt.
"Natalie?" Rocky calls.
I feel relieved, just the person I needed. "Hey."
"What happened? Why was the party cancelled?"
My eyes become watery, causing Rocky to worry. "Are you okay?" He asks.
"Daddy is dying, he has a brain tumor."
"Oh, my God. Natty, I'm so sorry. How did that happen?"
"I don't know, he said he found out a few weeks ago."
Rocky hugs me, "Everything's going to be fine, Natty." He assures me.
I remember my plans for the night. Would having sex despite my father's current condition make me selfish? I didn't know. The only thing I wanted was to forget about my problems. I didn't want to think about anything.
Waking up, I'm shocked as soon as I realize that I'd been too wasted in love that I'd forgotten to go back home. "Crap!" I panic as I get up, alarmed. I look at my naked body and gasp. I really did it! I turn around. Rocky's still fast asleep.
"Rocky!" I shake him. "I have to go, why didn't you wake me?"
Rocky smiles, revealing a set of sparkly white teeth.
"I didn't want to disturb you, my love. You looked so happy and content."
I blush. I could tell I was as red as a tomato. "Yesterday night was perfect, Rocky. You don't know how much I love you." I say, as I kneel down, placing a kiss on his lips. I continue, "I'd give up anything to live like this everyday, with you." He smiles, cupping my face in his hands. "I have to go now. I'll call you." I say. We hug.
***
I head back to the mansion as fast as I can, silently praying that no one would see me. What if they had noticed my absence already? What could I possibly say? "I should text Lydia for backup." I whisper to myself, but before I can, I'm greeted with Judith's face.
"You startled me."
"Well, are you a thief? Why be startled in your own home? Where the hell have you been?"
I frown, "Away from you that's where." I murmur.
Judith scoffs, "Did you say something?"
"Mother, please. Don't act too concerned. I'm going to my bedroom." I respond, completely ignoring her.
She scoffs, yet again. "Listen, Natalie. You should be grateful for all the privileges you enjoy under my roof. A lot of people would die for it, Princess. The least you could do is be respectful, you brat!"
"Your roof? Mother, this is Dad's house, not yours. I'm going."
She stops me. "You're so proud of your father's achievements."
"I know that already."
"Then do the needful."
How are we even broke, to begin with? I thought dad had a whole lot of money?"
"Our money was seized, Natalie. Stolen, I'd say."
"Seized? By whom?" I ask, worried. I couldn't believe it. From what I'd known growing up, my father had enough wealth to sustain generations to come. What could've gone wrong?
"A very powerful man, my dear. He's stabbed us where it hurts most, but there's still hope, Natalie." My mother says as she moves closer to me, holding my hands. I look down, at our hands. She hadn't held me like that in years. It felt foreign.
"I don't even understand what you're saying. Who is this man, and why would he seize our money, I mean, is that even possible? Is that even legal?" I ask, scrunching my brows in confusion.
"What we did doesn't matter, Natalie!" My mother yells, grabbing my shoulders. I gasp. She continues, "You're a woman now, you graduate in a few weeks. You're our only child and only hope. This is the time to help your family, Natalie. Sacrifices must be made."
"What exactly are you going on about, mom?"
"Marry him. Marry the man responsible for all of this. He's agreed to return all our money and properties of only you marry him for at least a year. Just one year!"
My mouth drops. I fling her hands off my body as I step back.
"Come again?" I ask, hoping and praying that I heard wrong.
"You have to do this." She states sternly.
"Is this a joke? It's a really sick and frightening one if it is." I respond, annoyed. I begin to walk away, not in the least interested in what she had to say.
"Of course not!" Judith yells. "Your father is sick. Sick! We're too broke to even send him to the hospital. Your birthday, was paid for by your aunt Ruth. Need I say more?" Judith comes closer to me. She holds me again. "Get your hands off me!"
"Natalie."
"I will not be getting engaged to anyone!" I yell.
The sound of screeching tires wakes me. I rush to my window to find out what all the noise was about. I see a fleet of cars and immediately, suddenly my heartbeat increases and my stomach ties into knots. I rush to my closet to have a quick change of clothes. I needed to find out what was going on.
I get dressed, wearing a red lace peplum skirt and a white corset top.
From the stairs, I could hear a familiar voice, but I just couldn't make out who it belonged to. The only voices I could recognize were Judith's and my father's.
I can hear a few words as soon as I reach the stairs. "We can fight him together, if only your daughter agrees. If she decides to marry my son, we will help you with Carrington. He's a terrorist." I could tell it was Senator Jackson. I sigh. "He still hasn't given up?" I whisper to myself.
I listen some more, but I get impatient and I rush down the stairs.
"Senator, how pleasant it is to see you again, but I must tell you something; I will not be getting engaged to your son."
The senator is about to respond, but Lea enters the room. "Sir, a man is here to see you," She continues, "He said he's from Carrington."
"Can someone tell me why exactly this Carrington person is after this family?" I ask, as soon as Judith and I enter the study.
"You keep asking pointless questions when you know the solution already. I don't get you at all." My mom says, pouring herself a glass of water.
"I've told you that I'd out o— The door is flung wide open and our attention is diverted to the door. A man who seemed to be in his early thirties, stood by the door, dressed in an expensive grey suit.
"Mrs. Richardson?" The man asks, scanning the room.
"This is she. You are?" Judith inquires, clearly disdained.
"I believe, the answer to your problem." He says, this time locking eyes with me.
I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, "Problem? Who are you, and how can you just barge into our home?"
He completely ignores me, as though I'm not present in the room. "May we speak in privacy?" He asks, specifically looking at Judith.
Judith's Pov"Did Carrington send you?" I ask, as soon as Natalie leaves the room."Yes. I'll get straight to the point. Mr. Carrington has decided that if your daughter doesn't agree to marry him within the next 24 hours, he'll go public with something that will hurt not only your family, but will make you land in prison.""The docks, 2003." The man states, and I lose my balance for a second. It was a secret no one could ever know. It was a secret my husband and I had to die with."She'll do it." I respond as fast as I can."Here," He brings out some documents and hands them over to me. I take them. He continues, "This states that she will not withdraw after giving her consent, neither will she ask for a divorce. Mr. Carrington will be the only one capable of asking for a divorce.""She'll sign it." I respond, still trembling in fear.
Judith's Pov"Did Carrington send you?" I ask, as soon as Natalie leaves the room."Yes. I'll get straight to the point. Mr. Carrington has decided that if your daughter doesn't agree to marry him within the next 24 hours, he'll go public with something that will hurt not only your family, but will make you land in prison.""The docks, 2003." The man states, and I lose my balance for a second. It was a secret no one could ever know. It was a secret my husband and I had to die with."She'll do it." I respond as fast as I can."Here," He brings out some documents and hands them over to me. I take them. He continues, "This states that she will not withdraw after giving her consent, neither will she ask for a divorce. Mr. Carrington will be the only one capable of asking for a divorce.""She'll sign it." I respond, still trembling in fear.
My eyes are red and puffy from crying. I'm dressed in a grey dress, ready to be sold off like a piece of furniture. My life had take a wicked turn in a split second. I walk to the balcony as soon as I hear a car arrive. I look down from the balcony. It had to be him, Carrington. As though he can feel my eyes on him, he looks up. Our eyes meet. I look away and retreat."I'm glad you made the right decision." Judith says, barging into my room. I look at her, anger and pure disgust in my eyes."Shall we? We mustn't keep him waiting.""Where is my father? Does he know what you've done?""Your husband to be is waiting, Princess."As I arrive downstairs, the first person I see is a tall, well built man. He looked like he was in his late twenties. He had blue eyes, and was blonde, just like me. He has a blank expression on his face. He must be Car
"I'd like to escort my father to the hospital before I leave." She demands as she walks up to me."No, you can't. I'll have some of my men escort him if you wish."She gives me a dirty look, "Don't you have a father? How can you be so cruel?" She asks, and I almost laugh. Father? I want to grab her neck and yell. Tell her that her father was the reason why I didn't have a father, a family for that matter. I chuckle. "I did, at some point." I answer, trying to calm myself. I continue, "But now, I don't and I certainly don't care about you or your father." The only reason why I was"You can't stop me from seeing my father, I will see him with or without your consent!""I'm your husband, Natalie," I say as I pull her closer to me, squeezing her arm, I continue, "and, you will do as I wish."There's so much anger and hatred in her eyes as she squirms, "In name alone
I glance at the clothes and look at the clock, it was almost nine in the evening. I was ready to go for dinner even though I was terrified. After dressing up and applying a thick coat of red lipstick, I head downstairs when I notice Carrington already on the dining, alongside the strange girl, Laurel.Carrington gets up and takes out my chair for me. I don't say anything but I give him the could shoulder and glare at him. I was petrified. He frowns slightly."Laurel, please, could you excuse us? Just a minute.""Yes, sure." She says, and I could swear she gave me a dirty look."Thank you, for wearing the dress I sent. I must say, it suites you."I chuckle softly, annoyed by his guts. "I told you to stop acting friendly with me. Stop pretending to be a good person, because we both know you're not."He sighs, "Look, Natalie, I really don't hat
I didn't know what time it was because I hadn't left the room since what transpired between Luke and I earlier on. I was curled up in my bed, with no tears left to cry. My mind drifted into thoughts about my father. I hoped he was doing well and recovering well. I missed him so much during these hard times. I wonder if he knew what my mother had done. If he knew that I had been sold off like a piece of furniture just to save our name and money. My mind drifts off to Rocky. Why hadn't he come for me? Did he hate me? It wouldn't come as a surprise after all, I did betray him.I had decided to take a tour round the house— if I was going to escape again, I needed to know every possible escape route. Luke's house was indeed very huge. There was a total of nine rooms and every room had a bathroom in it. There was a mini theatre on the second floor and beside it was a chapel with the statue of Mary in it. I had prayed there for a while, asking and b
Luke had offered to get me a glam team for my hair and makeup but I had refused, because I would feel more uncomfortable than I already was if he kept throwing favors my way.I am getting ready when the door opens. I look through the mirror to see who it is. It's Luke. There's total silence for a few seconds until I speak."What do you want?" I ask, still looking at him through the mirror."May I come in?" He asks. "You already opened the door, didn't you? Might as well enter." He enters, a box in his hand."What is it?" I ask. He opens the box and it's a ring. A very expensive, shiny, beautiful blue ring. I look at him, my face emotionless and his, hopeful."I realized that I didn't get to give you this because of the way things happened so fa—"You mean how you coerced me into marrying you?"He's quiet. He
Luke’s Pov"I asked you a question, Bart," I ask, wondering what it could be. Was he taking drugs?He gives a wide smile, "Nothing serious, sir." He replies, but I don't believe him. Naturally, Bart gave off an awkward vibe and his personality was negative. He always tried to play the good guy but any wise person could see through it. I don't believe him."I don't want you doing drugs or anything illegal in my home for that matter so get rid of whatever the hell it is you're on." I continue, "I need you to arrange a bouquet, a very huge bouquet of all the freshest flowers available and send them to my wife before noon, okay?" He nods.He looks agitated and sweaty but I ignore it and leave. I had a long and interesting day ahead."Good morning, Mr. Carrington." A female staff says to me as I walk the grounds of Carrington Enterprise