CHAPTER ONE

                                       LALIYA’S POV

Three years.

After three years with him and this was how he repaid me.

I stared at the papers in my hand with a blank emotion, because what was I supposed to feel? I knew it would happen eventually, but no prepping could have readied me for it.

My head lifted on its own to look at the man I’d been living with for three years now. Living with? No, I meant the man I’d been married to for over three years now.

We were arranged to each other three years ago and while I had to do it because it was in my father’s will as his last wish, he had to do it because only then would his father give him the full ownership of the companies home and abroad.

The stipulation for the marriage was three years because they thought we would ‘fall in love’, and we were three years into our marriage three months ago. He also got his ownership three months ago and I had been waiting for the divorce papers since then. Look! here it was.

Did our marriage last three years? Yes! Did we fall in love? No! Sometimes I doubted he even remembered I existed. We barely interacted except his brother was around, never slept in the same room, never even shared physical contact since our wedding day when he gave me a quick ‘kiss’ on the lips.

I knew he was only in the marriage for his company, but after everything I left to be with him all because my dad wished for it, he threw me away immediately he got his wish, without even asking if I was ready for it or not. I wasn’t getting anything from the arrangement, other than being a good daughter that honored her father’s last wish, but I guessed my feelings didn’t matter in it at all.

                                        FLASHBACK

“Liya, you don’t have to,” my eldest brother said for the hundredth time.

“But I have to. You heard what the lawyer said, it is dad’s last wish. We have to honor his last wish.”

“Dad is dead, Laliya,” my elder brother snapped. I winced at his use of my full name. I was the last child and only daughter of the Barbados family, and my four brothers (Derek, Teal, Brad and Crone) never called me ‘Laliya’ unless they were annoyed or disappointed in me. It was always ‘Liya’. Hearing one of them call me Laliya now, I couldn’t tell if they were annoyed at me or disappointed. Even worse, both!

“Do you even listen to what you’re saying? Dad is freaking dead. You want to marry a man you know nothing about because ‘dad said so’? Please!”

“Let’s say you eventually get married to him, he lives in Las Vegas. What’s going to happen to everything you have here?”

“You’ll find something to do with it. Can’t you just do this for me, hm? He didn’t ask you for anything, so you don’t know the burden of having to honor a last wish. I’d feel terrible if I don’t do it, I swear.”

“We’ll find ‘something’ to do with a multi-billion dollar company? Laliya, listen to yourself!” My soul jumped out of my body as Derek, the first son of the family yelled at me in sheer anger.

Frustration ripped through my body and I glared at them. Why were they acting like it was my personal choice to get married to Santiago Meadows? I didn’t even know who he was until after our dad’s death.

Frank Barbados, the patriarch of the Barbados family, lost to cancer and died three months ago and his official will was read a few weeks ago by our family lawyer. In the will was that his last wish was for me to get married to the son of his best friend, the CEO of Meadows Empire, to fulfill a pact they both made when they were young.

I know, Yay me!

My brothers utterly refused the arrangement and we’d been on it for over two weeks. I had never disappointed my father and I wasn’t going to start now, especially not when it was his last wish.

“Listen to me, guys…”

“You will listen to us. When did these all start? You are going to disrespect your brothers for a man you haven’t met yet?”

I gawked at how they were so adamant in making it look like I wanted the marriage. “What, no! I am not… Why are you making it sound like I’m in love with him? I don’t even know him!”

“And that is the reason you will not marry him, Laliya. Read my lips, you–will–not–marry–Santiago–Meadows!” Brad had never not given me what I wanted, but it was written clearly on his face that he wasn’t going to back me up on this decision of mine, but I was going to do it whether they liked it or not. I had two choices at the moment; My brothers’ satisfaction or my father’s honor.

I didn’t need to say a word, they could see my choice clearly written in my eyes.

God forbid a word went out amongst our rivals that Frank Barbados’ last wish was still standing with no one to honor it. It would be such an embarrassment to our name and I wasn’t willing to risk it.

There were some things money couldn’t fix and it was pride. My brothers knew this, but they were too hot-headed to think about it at the moment.

“I’m sorry, but I already made my decision.” My eyes searched around the table for warmer eyes, but I found none. I gulped down the golf size lump in my throat and forced myself to proceed. “I am going to marry Santiago Meadows and your support would be highly appre…”

Derek interrupted me by getting up with a loud bang of his fist on the table. “I have also made my decision. If you go ahead and do this, albeit knowing that none of us supports you, you better not call me even if your heart is broken into a thousand pieces.” He picked his car keys from the table and left with not a single glance at anybody around the table.

Brad stood up and followed him.

Tension brimmed around the table between Teal, Crone, and I, and tears pooled in my eyes as I watched the perfect relationship I’ve always shared with my brothers fall apart all for a man I knew nothing about.

Was he worth it? No, he wasn’t. I didn’t even know him.

However, was my father worth it? Yes, he was. But he wouldn’t want us to fight like this. In fact, I was utterly shocked at my brothers’ refusal to honor him. He was the perfect father to us since we lost our mother after my birth.

“Why aren’t you getting up to follow them?” I asked Teal and Crone with no humor in my tone. If they were hellbent on making me look like the bad guy, then they were free to leave. I was going to do this, with or without their help.

“Do you want us to?” Teal ignored my questions and asked his own instead.

“Derek and Brad left. I see no reason why you shouldn’t. You don’t agree with me anyway, what’s the point?” My tears fell without prior permission and I wiped them off instantly. I didn’t want them to see me cry. Our relationship was now that awkward.

“Liya,” Crone called with the warm voice I had once gotten used to. Before this whole mess, I could count on one hand how many times my brother yelled at me.

“Forget it! I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Don’t be like this…”

“‘Don’t be like this’? Derek just told me he wouldn’t care if my heart was broken into a thousand pieces. Really? Is it my fault I got our father’s last wish to fulfill while you all got your shares of his properties?”

Teal let out a deep sigh and brought forth his hand to hold mine. “You also got your share, Liya. You really don’t have to do it. Some wishes are not meant to be fulfilled.”

“This man is our father! I’m even sitting here wondering if he has ever failed you for even a moment, for you all to decide to not make him happy this one last time.”

“The thing we are not willing to do is give you up to marry someone you don’t know. Dad made a childish pact with his best friend years ago, to get their children married, and he actually considered it without your permission. We are disappointed in him.”

“This could have been a good discussion if he were to be alive, but he isn’t. And like I said, I am going to honor his last wish.”

Sensing my persistence on the issue, Teal and Crone shared eye contact and then proceeded to stay silent for a minute or two. “Okay fine…” I heard Teal speak again. “...we will support you.”

My head snapped to them and a gigantic grin contoured my face. “Really?” They nodded in response. “All four of you?”

“No. As you can see, Derek and Brad left. It’s just Teal and I for now. We can speak to them later.”

After their agreement and my excitement, they got up to leave. They took turns to envelope me in hugs and once they got to the door, Crone looked back at me.

“Hey, Liya.”

“Hm?”

“If that fake to-be-husband takes even a single hair from your body. I’ll ruin him down to crumbs.”

“We.” Teal added. “We’ll ruin him down to crumbs.”