Karen is home.
"Aunt Maya?" she called as she walked into the kitchen but found no one. Turning back, she found Zachary who had a forlorn look on his face."Hey," Karen greeted casually "Is something wrong? Where's Aunt?""Oh, Karen you're back!" Aunt Maya said as she emerged from the passage. Karen walked over to her and gave her a peck.Aunt Maya asked "How was work? You didn't stress yourself, did you?""I'm used to it, Aunt Maya." Karen replied as she poured the woman a glass of water."I have something to tell you," Aunt Maya began as she took the glass from Karen."I guessed," Karen chuckled as she glanced at Zachary "The atmosphere is..daunting.""Well," Aunt Maya started "A proposal came in earlier today.""A proposal?" Karen took her seat "For who?""You, my dear," Aunt Maya answered "Kevin Kord wants you to marry him.""..." Karen opened her lips and shut them again. Her heart beat accelerated almost the same time."T-to..to..marry..him??" Karen repeated nervously."See mother?" Zachary came from behind "She doesn't like the idea. Please don't force it on her.""Zach, stay out of this" Aunt Maya ordered "It has always been Karen's dream to be married."Turning to Karen she asked, "Right, dear?"Before she could reply, Zachary interrupted "Not to that man, mother. Haven't you heard the rumours?? He is cold and vicious. Why would you-""Those are just rumours, Zach!" Aunt Maya raised her voice "He's my friend's son. I've known him since he was a child. You make it seem like I'm giving Karen off to a Lion.""That's exactly what you're doing, mother" Zachary continued to argue "Karen does not know this man!"Aunt Maya sighed, "What's wrong with you, Zachary? The Kord family is responsible and well known in Willow-ridge. They have companies doing well in the entire city. Apart from their illegitimate son who nobody really thinks about, this family is close to perfection."Seeing that his mother was beyond reasoning, Zachary turned to Karen."Speak, Karen" he said "Do you really want to marry this man?? Why are you quiet?!"Breathing rapidly, Karen fidgeted for her inhaler when she couldn't contain the feeling anymore."Damn it," he hissed "I can't believe you." With that he walked away.Aunt Maya held Karen's hands and looked up at her."You know," she spoke softly "I read that diary of yours. You loved romance fairy tales so much when you were a little girl and you wished for one when you became older.""I am no genie, of course" Aunt Maya chuckled sadly "But if I can give you just this one wish, why shouldn't I? I want to make your wish a reality before you..you leave." her eyes glistened with tears.Karen wiped her tears away, "Don't cry, Aunt Maya. I..I understand.""Although, your fairytale has a flaw." she said"A flaw?"Aunt Maya nodded, "Your suitor is blind.""Oh," Karen muttered "The blind CEO.""Despite that he is very agile and skilled in what he does. That is why he's loved more than his illegitimate brother."Karen nodded."Your cousin, Zach is just protective of you. But I'm sure he will come to understand.""He will," Karen agreed."Let me make you dinner, dear." Aunt Maya got up and disappeared into the kitchen.Karen was dazed for a moment. She couldn't believe the event that took place moment ago and thought that she was dreaming however she knew she wasn't when she felt the pain from her pinch.Taking deep breath, she calmed herself down and thought that since Aunt Maya wanted this there was no harm. Besides, what could a blind man possibly do?Karen then found her way to Zachary's room. Opening the door she walked in and found him staring through the window."I have never seen you that angry in years, Zach." Karen began. "Do you have a grudge against Mr Kord?"Zachary turned to her sharply, "I don't. He's just not good for you, Karen.""What is good for me?" she asked"Anything but Kevin Kord," he answered almost immediately "Karen think of it, he is rich and wealthy. You both are poles apart. You do not even know each other!""Zach, I won't be the first to be getting married to someone I do not know.""What? You think this is some kind of historical drama?? This is about your life, Karen.""Zach, your mother wants this. She seems happy about all of this and I hate to make her sad. You should go and apologize to her for hurting her feelings.""Stop kidding, Karen" his eyes blazed with anger "I know you're doing this because you believe you owe my mother everything.""I do," Karen nodded "She raised me after my parents' death and has since treated me like her own daughter.""You don't owe her a dime, Karen." Zachary replied "As your only relative left, that was her duty. All she did for you was her duty.""I have a responsibility towards her too,""The responsibility does not include getting married to a total stranger!""Zach-""Isn't this whole thing suspicious, Karen or are you and mother just pretending not to see it??""What are you talking about?" Karen asked"Kevin got rejected by the woman he loves few days ago, and now he suddenly wants to marry a low class girl.""What are you saying, Zachary? That I don't deserve to marry someone sophisticated simply because I'm a low class girl??""That is not what I meant, Karen.""It sure sounded like it,"Furious, she turned to leave. However,"I..I love you, Karen."Turning, her gaze lingered on him."I always have," Zachary admitted "Since mother brought you from the orphanage, I have been fascinated by you. I guess that's why I can't let you make this mistake."Shrugging, he added "It kinda took long for me to confess but I finally did."Karen's nose twitched."And hey," he continued "You don't have to love me back, sincerely.""Zachary, how..how could you?" Karen's voice cracked."I know right," he replied casually and closed the distance between them. His tall frame hovered over her as he stared down at her with grey glistering eyes."I couldn't stop myself despite knowing that it's not possible.""I...I don't know what to say right now.""Nothing," he ran his hand through his hair "Don't say anything. Forget I ever said this.""But Zach-""Don't marry him, Karen."Shaking her head, Karen walked out and slammed the door behind her...."Mr Kord, Mr Lyons asked to meet with-""I'm not available," Kevin answered his secretary with a cold voice."Okay, sir. How about the scheduled meeting with the manager of the company's resources?? The meeting has been delayed for-""Delay it again."The secretary nodded as she scrambled to read up all the CEO's pent up schedules."Mr Kord, there's a complain about the increasing-""Take it to, Elliot.""Mr Kord, you had twenty-five extended interviews last weekend. Would y
"Here?" Karen repeated absentmindedly "To..to do what, Aunt Maya?"Aunt Maya pulled Karen to her room and threw her wardrobe open. Pulling out a short gown she held it to Karen's chin and grinned sheepishly."Yes.. perfect for the occasion!" she placed it on the bed and began to scurry for more."Aunt," Karen called more loudly to get her attention.Aunt Maya turned, "I'm so sorry if I'm acting weird, dear. It's just that I'm so excited to have to plan your wedding and witness it as well."She held Karen's hands in hers. "Don't be nervous.""I'm.. I'm not," Karen assured herself "It's just that..why..why is he coming here?""Probably to get to know you?" Aunt Maya chuckled and sat Karen down "I know this will be your first time with..with the opposite sex, Karen and you need not be nervous."Karen let out a sigh."I know you'll be fine," Aunt Maya smiled "Now go on, freshen up quickly."After that, Aunt Maya went back to Karen's closet and began to rummage through, muttering to hersel
Karen jerked her hand from his grip while Kevin cleaned his palm against his coat, as if he just held dirt. Karen scoffed softly, "Too much pride for someone who got reject-"Raising his fingers to the air, he warned "Don't you dare say that!""Mr Kord, not all women want you" Karen proceeded to say "If it were up to me I wouldn't be here speaking with you, I just..I just have to do this because of my aunt.""Baseless excuses," Kevin dismissed her words "You've no reason to marry a rich, blind man save for his money.""I know your dream girl rejected you because you're blind, Mr Kord and this has led you to believe no one can accept you just the way you are but you're wrong." Karen saw a muscle twitch in his jaw but did not stop talking."I don't know about other women, but I'm not looking for perfection nor am I looking for something to increase my status on the social ladder or even money to embezzle,"Kevin went suddenly quiet as he listened to her.Karen continued, "Hell, no mat
"Dad, it's four days since you gave the ultimatum" Elliot said to his father as he barged into his study "Kevin hasn't found a wife."Mr Kord placed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and stared at Elliot, "Are you eager to become the CEO?" Mr Kord asked"Of course, dad." Elliot answered impatiently."And you're proud for not having to work for it??" "What?"Mr Kord leaned back on his chair and completely removed his glasses."When will you become something, Elliot?" Mr Kord's voice was stern "Look at your blind younger brother! You are nothing beside him despite having your sight which he doesn't!""Dad-""Silence!" Mr Kord fumed "When I brought you here and raised you, did I teach you to become useless?"Elliot's hands curved into a fist. Mr Kord banged at his desk,"Answer me!" "No." he curtly replied "Then?" he got up on his feet abruptly "Why do I have to do every single thing for you? Even the position of the CEO which supposed to be yours, you cannot even clinch it! I ha
Stepping out of the car, Karen followed Mrs Kord into the hall with Kevin behind. While Mrs Kord took Karen to her make-over section, Kevin went the other way."Look at this dress," Mrs Kord held out a red off the shoulder gown "Do you love it?"When Karen didn't answer, Mrs Kord drew close, "Karen??""Y-yes," Karen answered absentmindedlyMrs Kord kept the dress back and took Karen's hands in hers, "What were you thinking about, you zoned out completely?"Karen shook her head and forced a smile, "Nothing, Mrs Kord.""It's the impromptu wedding, right?" Mrs Kord blurted out "I know this is all too soon for you and you probably don't want to marry my son but I want you to know that it's not as bad as it seems, Karen. With time, you and Kevin will get to know each other and grow close."Karen nodded and feigned a smile. As she moved with Mrs Kord through the clothing section, she cheered herself up and soon forgot about her predicament.After the artist performed a glorious work on her f
Elliot was going through his phone, searching for a possible match on a dating site when he saw a couple of female workers giggling sheepishly at something they found on their cellphones.Sitting back, he realized that everyone at the office seemed to be giggling into their phone especially the female workers.Due to this, he left the dating site and moved on to social media for the latest news and the first thing that popped up on his feed was the arrogant face of Kevin against that of an innocent, and beautiful woman Elliot had never seen before.His muscles tensed as he scrolled through and realized that Kevin was the trending topic. Everyone was talking about the much anticipated wedding and only few were able to question the suddenness of the marriage.The spinsters who had their eyes on Kevin complained bitterly of Kevin picking a low class lady as his wife. Many people attributed it to the fact that Kevin was only trying to make Selene, his true love, jealous while others saw t
Karen was glad when the closing hour arrived. She immediately placed every message that was dropped for the CEO on his desk and waited few minutes before picking up her bag and walking out of the building.However, her way was blocked by three ladies."Seems like being a whore really pays off, huh?" the one in front said and was backed by two other ladies."I don't understand?""You don't?" she scoffed "F*cking with Mr Daniels and managed to climb your way up to the target- Kevin Kord.""I did none of that, now if you would excuse me," Karen made a move to leave however they stopped her again.One of them yanked her handbag to the floor, with her things scattering all over the ground. Karen kept her cool although, her breathing was becoming ragged and uneven. Her face turned pale."How dare you sneak right up under our noses while pretending to be a simple, unproblematic low-class girl when you're infact a desperate woman!" Claire said"She must have gone miles proving her self just s
The next day, Karen walked into Mr Daniels office by noon on his call. "Sir, you had-" Karen began the moment she stepped foot into the office however a hand clasped over her wrist and pulled her in forcefully, after which the door was shut close.Karen gave him a confused look. Handing out the documents in her hand she said,"Sir, is something the matter?"She had barely finished when he snatched the documents from her hand, causing them to fall on the ground. Holding his phone in front of her, he said,"What is this?!"It was exactly the same picture that Sam showed her yesterday. Karen was rendered speechless. She didn't expect that the camera would capture her almost perverted look at Kevin Kord."What? Cat got your tongue??" Daniel slid his phone into his pocket "When you rejected my advances you could have told me that you were among the ladies waiting on Kevin's bed!""Please, Mr Daniels" Karen's voice quivered "I hate to disrespect you. Don't make me.""You have to give me an