CHAPTER FOUR
Michael stared blankly at his room door, not realizing when tears dropped from his eyes. He cleaned his eyes and sniffed. "He collapsed? When?" The next words that were spoken by his elder sister, Michelle, made his phone fall from his hands. He couldn't believe it; he really couldn't believe it. His dad was in a coma. As if just realizing the words that kept ringing in his head, he picked up his car keys from his table, left his room with a bang from the door, and ran out of his house, forgetting to lock the door. He sighted his car, which was neatly parked in his parking lot, entered, and drove out hurriedly towards the hospital with a speed that he'd never driven before. The smell that came from the hospital reminded him of memories he wished not to remember—the smell of drugs, injections, and mostly blood. It reminded him of how and where his mom died. He hated it. On reaching the room that was assigned to his dad, he sighted his sister, his only sister, seated outside the room, crying. He ran to her and hugged her, assuring her that everything would be alright, even though he knew he was so scared. "I... I was talking to him on the phone, and before I knew it, he collapsed. He collapsed Michael, then his driver called and told me he was already admitted and that he was in a coma." She wailed heavily. He patted her back, telling her soothing words that could calm her. "Everything will be alright; dad can't leave us; he can't. He has to live; to reap the fruit of all his hard labor, he has to." He assured her and himself. He stood from the seat and walked closer to the door, opening it slightly. He could see his dad lying unconsciously on his sickbed, an oxygen mask placed on his nose with drips and pipes neatly arranged beside his bed. As he saw him, he cried silently, remembering exactly how his mom died. Dad can't die. He can't. He can't. He can't. He muttered silently. He stared at Michelle, who was still crying and drained of emotions, and shook his head. She can't take this, and neither can he. It's too much information for her, for him, and for her unborn child. He saw her protruding belly heave up and down as a result of her heavy breathing. Soon she fell, screaming in pain, holding her belly, holding him. "Doctor! Nurse!" He screamed. Nurses came rushing toward us along with our family doctor, Mr. Philips. "She's in labor. Call her husband now!" Mr. Philips instructed. He quickly took out his phone from his pocket and called Ryan, her husband, and his childhood friend, who was in Australia, for a business meeting, informing him about the news. Six hours and forty-five minutes later, his sister was still in labor, and his dad was still in a coma. Ryan was already waiting along with him, praying for a miracle. Soon, the door to the labor room opened, and out came Mr. Philips. "She has delivered a bouncing baby boy; we had to do C.S. since she couldn't push." As soon as he said that, Peter ran toward the labor room but was stopped by the doctor. "She's resting now; everything was successful; just give her time." He advised, patted his back, and left. "Thank God!" He sighed. Ryan came to him and hugged him. "I'm a father! I'm a father!" An hour later, he was seated on a chair in the room Michelle was admitted to. He stared at the beautiful baby in his arms and smiled. "He's so beautiful," he muttered as he held the baby's soft hands. "You're so beautiful!" He heard Ryan's voice as he held Michelle's hand, kissing her fingers with love in his eyes. "I love you." "I love you too," Michelle confessed with a weak smile on her face. Her mind was not really at rest. "Everything will be alright, babe. Everything." Ryan assured her, and she nodded, believing him. Seventy-six hours later, they were inside his dad's hospital room, seated. He was awake. Everyone was happy, including Michelle, who had a wide smile on her face. Their dad was also happy as he held the baby in his arms, blessing him. Satisfied, his dad looked at him and asked: "Michael, when will I be expecting yours?" "Dad, let's not talk about this now. I want you to focus on recovering." He advised, intending to change the subject, but his dad was adamant. "I've already gotten a wife for you." His dad stated: "What?! Dad!" He exclaimed, which made his dad cough. He ran to his dad's side and gave him water. His dad drank it and stared at him with sad eyes while Peter collected the baby from their father. "Her name is Ashley, the only child of Mr. Blacks, owner of Millennium Inc., which ran bankrupt. She's well-mannered, and I'm sure she's going to be a good wife, I assure you." "Dad, I'm just twenty-four." "Just twenty-four but reckless, how many times have I caught you with a woman on your bed? How many times, Michael, do you tell me?" "Dad, that's my private life; let's talk about another thing." "Can't you see Ryan? He's your friend, yet he's married already and has a son." His dad praised him, and he stared at Peter, who had a smirk on his face. "Yes, dad, he's married because he has been dating Michelle since high school; he met the love of his life at a very young age; and besides, don't forget that he's two years older than I am; he's Michelle's agemate. I'm still too young, and I haven't found anyone yet." "That's why I found one for you; see, Michael, I don't have much time left, so I want to see you settled. I don't want to die knowing my son is irresponsible." "Dad! You won't die; stop saying that! And besides, I'm responsible. Once I'm through with my schooling, I'll officially take over the company, you know?" "You know that's not what I mean." His dad stared at him, daring him to object. He stared at Michelle with pleading eyes, begging her to talk to their dad for him. "Listen to dad!" She said. "Don't argue, and just listen to him; accept everything he's saying." He looked away from her, knowing fully well that she was not on his side. "Listen to me, son—" His dad coughed uncontrollably. "Listen to me." "Dad, don't bother; I'll see to it he marries her, so don't worry." Michelle assured their dad. "Yes, sir, please." Ryan also. "Thank you, my child—" He coughed more and more until blood gushed out of the old man's mouth before he passed out. "Dad! Dad!" They all screamed, begging him to open his eyes. Several attempts to wake their dad almost proved abortive, and it was then Michael realized he had to stop his Cassanovic characters and take up the responsibilities he'd been avoiding. "Fine, I'll marry her dad. Please wake up." He pleaded as tears flowed out of his eyes.CHAPTER FIVEThe agreement has been made. The contract had been signed. The wedding was over. The young couple made their way to their matrimonial home after the reception. The drive to the house was peaceful and quiet, except for the noise created as Michael rapidly typed on his iPad. He didn't utter a word, and neither did she. The drive lasted for about thirty-three minutes—the longest thirty-three minutes that Ashley could ever imagine. The couple arrived at the mansion, and the golden gate was opened by the gatekeeper. As the driver drove in, she could see the mansion and how magnificent it looked, and then she stepped out of the car.She made her way to the front door and was amazed at the sight before her. She noticed the intricate gold molding on the pillar fixed at the sides of the front door. The glittering color was the perfect accent against the beige building; it added an imperial flair to the neo-classical-style mansion."Welcome home, Ashley." Michael said, which made he
CHAPTER SIXAshley Black rose up from her bed in her matrimonial home, as she was supposed to be in school because her first class of the day was at 8 a.m. She checked her table clock in her elegantly designed room and realized that if she didn't start dressing up, she would definitely be late for her class. She ran towards the bathroom and did her morning routine. By the time she was done, she had quickly dressed up, and soon she was ready to go to school.She walked down the stairs and stopped when she saw him. Her husband, Michael, who was already seated on the dining chair, was eating his morning breakfast, which consisted of tea and three slices of bread with scrambled eggs. She saw that hers was also ready. She made her way to the dining room."Good morning." She greeted Michael as she sat on the chair beside him."Morning, how was your night?" Michael asked her."My night?" She asked to be sure of the question he asked. Because she could remember after the small chat they had an
CHAPTER SEVEN The class came to an end. Ashley and her friend, Suzy, found their way out of the hall and headed towards the lagoon front to rest, as their second class for the day will begin two hours later."So, married woman." Suzy, her best friend, teased her."Stop it, babe." Ashley cautioned her friend. They were back as friends again, and Ashley had apologized to Suzy for yelling at her and calling her a betrayal."Can't I tease my friend anymore?""You can't; I don't even know why I married; if not for my dad, who badly needed the money, I wouldn't even have married.""What happened? But your husband is so handsome.""A husband that I practically know nothing about.""Then try to get to know each other. If I were the one who got married to that handsome man, I wouldn't even care if it was a contracted marriage; I would just throw myself at him. My God! He's so freaking handsome! Sorry, babe, but I have a slight crush on him.""Talking about crushes, I have a crush," Ashley conf
CHAPTER EIGHTMichael was a bit scared that Ashley and her friend had caught him; he knew they passed him by, but he wasn't sure they caught him, because if they had, they could have at least said something. He had to make sure they didn't catch him, so he went to where they were seated to confirm."Ashley." He called."Yes, how can I help you?""I... I need to speak with you for a moment.""You're free to do so.""Privately. I need to speak with you privately.""Whatever you have to say, you can say it right here. With Suzy present.""Please, just this once. Please." "What do you want to say to me, Michael?" Ashley asked him."When did you arrive here?""Not quite long, why? Oh! If it's about the lady that was on your lap, I saw it." Ashley dropped the bomb, which made Michael instantly nervous."You... you saw the lady? Ashley, I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to.""You didn't mean to what?" Ashley interrupted him. "You didn't mean to kiss her? Or you didn't mean to cheat? Which one?""T
CHAPTER 9The sky was dull. It was as if it was going to rain that morning as Ashley made her way to her early morning class. She contemplated whether to go back to her hostel to get her umbrella, but threw the thoughts out of her head, cause she was quarter way through to the venue of her lecture. She didn't enter cab because she felt that she needed to exercise, not knowing that it would likely rain. She heard the honks of a car, and she ignored it as she kept on moving, until she heard it again. She directed her gaze to series of cars that were passing by her. A white car honked again."Ashley! Ashley!" She heard her name coming from he car beside her. She looked inside the car and saw that the person calling her eagerly was Justice."Hey!" She greeted him."Hey, yourself! I've been trying to get your attention since."I'm sorry.""Enter, enter." Justice encouraged and open the door for her."Thanks.""You're welcome. So how are you?" He asked as soon as her was comfortably seated.
CHAPTER 10The party was in full blast by the time Ashley and Suzy arrived. The music was loud enough to deafen the youths. Red solo cups littered all around the large room. Boys, and girls dancing to the popular music blasting from the speaker."Mhen! This party is so on point." Said Suzy as she pushed her way through the crowd."I know right.""So what made you come?" Asked Suzy."What did you say?!" Ashley asked shouting, as the loud music didn't make her hear what her friend had said."I said, what made you change your mind to come?!" Shouted Suzy."Ohh! I was invited personally, Justice invited me!" Replied Ashley."Wow! That's great. Speaking of Justice, where is he? I haven't seen him.""Ashley!" Shouted Justice and he pushed his way to meet her. He was so happy because she had decided to come and that means she had agreed to them dating."Justice!" "You came.""Yes.""Omg, thank you so much, Ashley." He hugged her, "I'm so grateful.""Wait, I don't understand, won't you thank
CHAPTER 11Michael understood what Philip told him and decided to act towards it immediately. "Where is she?" He asked Philip."Over there, where you left her." Philip pointed and Michael saw that Evelyn had already engaged herself with another person."Hello, babe." Michael said and out his arm around her waist."Oh, Michael.""Yeah, it's me.""Okay, Alex. See you later." Evelyn ended the conversation with the guy she engaged herself to, to keep her busy against any embarrassment."Let's go over there and sit, since the music has already reduced." Michael suggested and the two made their way over to the cushioned chair they sat before."And what do you intend we do there?""What do you intend to do?" Michael asked her instead. He was in for anything that would make his wife, Ashley, jealous."Let's make out." Evelyn suggested and he nodded his head in agreement."That's such a good idea."* * * * *"I'm sorry about what happened earlier." Ashley apologized making Justice chuckle."Th
CHAPTER 12Ashley was damn confused. If confusion was a person, that would be Ashley. She knew what she would do and that was to go to her parent’s house. She had to confirm what Michael had just told her. Yes, she knew her dad signed some contract but she couldn't imagine that he didn't even ask what she wanted before signing it. How could she have trusted her dad and leave him to do the signing alone without her? He just sold her freedom for.a year, just like that, without asking her whether she was okay with it.“Babe, what’s wrong?” Asked Justice from the car.“Oh, nothing!” She responded, not wanting Justice to know anything about this. It was extremely embarrassing. She entered into the car, faced Justice and said; “you don’t have to worry, babe.”“I know something is wrong, you can tell me Ashley.” He persuaded.“Umm, its… its… Its really embarrassing.”“Is it something I can help with, does it involve money again?”“hmmm… It’s actually about the contract, I just heard something