"We were just discussing your marriage."
His words echoed through her mind, giving her a hard time in believing her ears.
Marriage?
Never in her life had she ever thought of this. The day had arrived when she was going to get the talk.
"Father!" Her thoughts were interrupted by her father's raging tone. She found him to be staring back at the old man with nothing but contempt. He was obviously outraged by his act.
"There's no need to get your blood pressure shooting high, Mathew." The old man scoffed. "I am only talking to my granddaughter about it. After all, she has the final say in this matter."
The more he talked about it, the harder it was getting Ayal to comprehend the meaning lying under his words. There was clearly something she was missing on. What did her father know that was kept away from her?
"I have already turned the offer down. More so, you have no right to bring my daughter into any of this without my permission." Her father spoke up. He seemed to be running out of patience with each passing second.
Ayla was struggling to process it all on her own as she kept standing in her place, rooted to the floor. Worry could be seen written all across her face. She wanted to interrupt their banter and say something for herself. But she didn't think that it would be appropriate for her to do so. She bit down on her lower lip and decided to go take the leap since she couldn't figure out another way.
"Will both of you just stop for a minute?" Drawing in a deep breath, she took a step forward. "I am standing right here, am I not?" Her eyes jumped from her father's baffled face to her grandfather's silent figure.
She waited for any of them to speak up, but when they didn't, she decided to continue on.
"Will either of you care to elaborate what all of this is even about?" She found her breathing getting heavier as she brought up the question.
"That is exactly what I was trying to do." Her grandfather waved his hair in the air, gesturing to her to sit down.
"There's no need for any explanation here, Ayla. Pretend that you didn't hear anything." Her father couldn't stop himself from interrupting in again. How could he when he knew exactly in which direction the conversation was heading in.
"Will you stop it already, Mathew. Like I said before, the decision lies in Ayla's hand. She has the right to say no or yes in this matter just like she has the right to know about it." The old man glares in his direction for the briefest of moments before turning his attention back to the lady in the room.
Cleaning his throat a little, he began. "I don't know whether your father mentioned it to you before or not, but his business is kind of in shambles. Being the kind of man he is, he didn't bring it up before me, but I found it out." He paused for a second, allowing her to let this new information settle in.
True to his predictions, Ayla didn't have a single clue about this. She could sense that things were a little rough back at the company based on the amount of time she saw her father spending in his study and taking care of meetings. But never had she realized that things could be this worse. She glanced towards her father only to see him avoiding her gaze.
She didn't know what to say to him. So, she decided to let her grandfather do the talking. "Please continue." She settled down next to him as she asked him to carry on.
"So you see, when I found out about it I decided to talk to your father. You know, to help him out. After all it's my legacy that your uncles and your father are continuing." A proud smile graced his lips. "But your stubborn father here turned me down. It was back when things were too much of a mess."
"What about now?" Ayla couldn't help herself but intervene. "If it was a mess before, what is it now?"
"Much more of it. A trick or two along with some loans would have saved it back when I found about it. But it's beyond salvaging right now. If things continue to be the way they are right now, I am afraid that the company will go bankrupt." The old man heaved out a tired sigh as if explaining it alone had taken a toll on him.
"What does any of it have to do with marriage?" Her brows drew closer as the realization hit her. Didn't it all start with him talking about her marriage? What did bad business have to do with it?
She saw the old man looking towards her father, who finally decided to speak up.
"He wants you to marry in some rich family. According to him, that's going to save the company." Her father scoffed.
"It would." The old man slammed his fists on the table, startling Ayla. "It's not some rich family, I am talking about the Atkinsons. If Ayla agrees to marry the young master of the Atkinsons, your company is not only going to survive this crisis, but it will prosper."
"Father! Do you even know what you are talking about? How can I just ask her to marry some guys just to save my own company. You know I can never do that." Mathew shook his head before turning his attention towards Ayla who had gotten quiet. "The only reason I am ever letting her marry someone is because of love."
He waited for her reply, but didn't get any.
"You don't have to listen to anything he is saying. He's just an old man with crazy ideas."
"Sorry for wanting to get you out of this mess, son." The old man slammed his fists on the table once again. "And don't act all good before her. As if you didn't marry Laila for the same reason."
His words only served as another shock to Ayla who could only question her life.
A marriage for business? The words revolved around her mind, the voice of the old man echoing in her ears. Her father married her mother just so he could save his company? The more she thought about it, the more difficult it was starting for her to wrap her head around it. "Dad?" A small whisper left her lips, her eyes trailing across the table to meet his own. "You married Mom for the same reason grandfather wants me to marry someone." She managed to force the words out, but it wasn't a question. To say that she was shook down right to her core wouldn't be an understatement. Based on what she knew, or what she saw during her childhood, her parents clearly married for love. Now that it was revealed to her that it wasn't the case, she didn't know what to make out of her memories. "That's not it." Ayla saw him shaking his head before he continued. "She was someone who belonged to one of t
No matter how hard Ayla's father tried to dissuade her, she had made up her mind. All she asked from the old man was to give her a day to think about it. She ended up locking herself inside her room, asking for some privacy. Other than Nina, her personal maid, nobody else was given the permission to disturb her until she said so; not even her father. She spent the rest of the day going through some old albums from her childhood. It was the hope of gaining some clarity about the matter that was making her reminisce about her past. Her lost gaze jumped from one picture to another as her fingers flicked through the pages. A tear or two would become eminent, filling her eyes up, only to be blinked away. She didn't want her emotions to get in the way. Whatever decision she was to make, it had to be rational. Ayla was clearly not ready to give up on her dreams, neither did she want to leave her father behind. The prior was something
The next day… The clock had struck twelve and the sun was shining in the sky with all its might. It's bright rays striking against the glass panes, trying their best to seep into the room. Inside the spacious room, a demineering figure could be seen sitting at the head chair of the table. His cold gaze was sending shivers down the spines of others. "I don't know how you guys managed to mess this up even after my clear instructions." He was holding everyone responsible for the slightest drop in the value of the company's shares. "Boss, it's not our fault that news about grandfather's deteriorating health got out." One of the men sitting around the table spoke up on behalf of everyone in the room. He failed to understand why they were getting scolded for something they had no hand in. "Do you think I don't know about that?" He scoffed, glaring down at the man. "That is exactly why I had given you all clear instructions not to l
Claude not only wanted to have a proper chat with her, but also wanted to meet her in person. He was hoping that it would give him some sort of insight. He wanted to see for himself the kind of person Ayla was before coming to a decision. Not that it would matter, but he still wanted to do it for both of their sakes. He made Ethan find out her routine before making him drive all the way to her college. "Are you sure, Boss?" Ethan pulled the car over before the main entrance. He looked over his shoulder to make sure that his boss was not doing things in a rush. "Don't make me change my mind now, Ethan." Claude threw a glare in his direction. "There's no harm in meeting her in person." "You do realize that you can ask your grandfather to set up a meeting." Ethan still wanted him to give it another thought. He couldn't help but wonder how the meeting would be going down. "I didn't hire you for not using your brain." Claude
"Excuse me?" Claude rushed into the room and decided to ask for help. "Can anyone check on this?" Even though his words were nothing but a general question he made a beeline to where Ayla was standing with an old man in a white coat. He looked like he was either one of her professors or her mentor. "What is it?" It was the old man who decided to inquire about the matter. "I hurt myself. I need someone to have a look at it." Claude replied with a worry filled tone and a frown. "May I have a look at it?" The professor took a step forward, thinking it was something really serious. But what he saw was not something he expected. Claude pushed his left hand forward and showed him his thumb. It took the old man some good seconds to figure out the problem. There was a small red spot in the middle of it. "Is this all?" The old man threw Claude a puzzled look. He looked like he was either questioning his own sanity or Cla
Claude had come straight to his home after getting his apparent injury bandaged to have a conversation with his old man. Whatever had happened in infirmary, it only pushed him to make his decision. The man ended up saying yes to his grandfather. Claude saw through her. He saw the dreams which filled her eyes, and he wanted to be the one to help her in making them come true. It wasn't that Claude didn't have faith in her. It was quite the contrary. He believed in her. All he wanted was to be there for her. That was all he could think of after their brief encounter. When his old man asked him to meet the lady officially, he turned him down, giving the excuse that he needed to go out of the city right away to take care of a project. It was nothing but a well thought lie. Claude was rather looking forward to seeing Ayla straight on their wedding day. He wanted to give her a small surprise. On the other hand, he was somewhat scared about her reac
The entire place was overwhelmed with silence as emptiness lingered around the corridors of the courthouse. Guards were stationed at every corner, filling the place with ghastliness with their black uniforms. They were given strict instructions to not let anyone step inside the premises. If someone was to resist them, they should be escorted out even if meant using force.Despite the fact that it was Sunday, the operations of the courthouse were supposedly running with the bare minimum staff. The rules were bent because the day was to mark the union of two aristocratic families of Los Angeles—the Atkinsons and the Lawrences.Not to forget mentioning how the main room was decorated with the blood red roses in a minimal way. Every precaution was taken from both the families to ensure that nothing was to get leaked to any of the news channels. And those who managed to find out about it were asked to keep their mouths shut unti
The short arm of the clock was already resting on three as it waited for the long one to strike twelve. As soon as it did, bells began to chime, marking the start of the event.Only a handful of people were present in the main hall where the ceremony was supposed to take place. But there was still one thing missing from the picture: the bride and the groom. Neither of the two could be seen as far as any of the prying eyes were to search."This man will be the death of me. I swear." Sylvia, Claude's mother, muttered to herself as her eyes darted around the entrance.She had tried to reach out to her son more than once, but got the same response in each try. He had switched off his phone. The only other option that was left for her to deal with was to get in touch with Ethan, who was Claude's assistant. But the result was the same. He has had phone switched off too. All she could do now was to hope for Cl