SOPHIA'S POV
"You did what?"My voice trembled as I stared at the man I called my father; the walls of his office seemed to close in as he refused to look up at me.
"It was a bad business deal, I had no idea it would lead us here; I didn't know it was a scam." He said, bending his head.
If I had not known him better, I would have believed he was genuinely remorseful, this had been the drill for the longest time.
"Dad, you gambled away a business the whole family has been depending on. This is not even the first time you're doing this. How could you continue even after we almost lost everything the last time?" I said trying to control my voice out of respect.
"It wasn't supposed to end like this, It seemed a fair deal, the benefits were mouth watering –"
"I can't believe you would do this. You even used my shop as collateral, you know how things have been for me, and you still want to take everything from me?" I asked, tears rolling down my cheeks.
I had woken up that morning with the intention of resuming work, a little fashion designing house I had been running since I turned 18, it wasn't doing too well but it was enough to sort our bills everytime my dad gambled and landed us in trouble.
I got to work and the place was locked, my things were thrown outside with security officials not letting me go in, I had fought but my efforts were futile and they had insisted I go talk to my father.
"Who do we owe this time? How do come out of this mess?" I asked, my voice crossing the line I had set for it.
"Don't talk to father like that." My sister Henna shouted from the corner she had been standing the whole time.
I turned to face her, my insides boiling with suppressed anger threatening to burst out "What did you say?"
"Come on Sophia, it was just one bad mistake, it's not like those things are not supposed to happen in businesses, it's called risk and it's unavoidable, don't be a brat." She said and walked off to stand close to my father who had his head buried between his hands.
I bent my head in frustration, biting my lips to fight back tears "I must really be the only sane person in this house, Henna at your age , I was already paying for the family's bills, I was working more than expected to make sure we didn't lack, what have you done with your life so far if not constantly causing trouble?"
She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair.
"I don't know how you guys don't understand that I'm tired, my business is falling and I haven't taken time to create a good life for myself because I've been sacrificing everything to make this family stable. The only business we have had been gambled away, how did it even get up to that extent Dad?"
"If it's not gambling, it's a police case or some fight over jewelries, can I please catch a break?" I yelled, my chest rising and falling in anger.
"I'm sorry Sophia, I honestly didn't mean for things to turn out like this, it was a good game and I was close to wining, I just kept putting everything down and I unfortunately ended up loosing everything." He said and started hitting his chest.
"Just like that?"
"They were going to arrest me till he came, he helped me out and I had to put the business down, he said he'll give me everything back if I can grant him a favor, I had no choice."
"He? Who? And what has that even got to do with my shop been locked up?" I asked walking closer to his table.
"I'm sorry Baby." He said, his voice trembling.
I sank on my knees, He had gotten me that shop on my 16th birthday, when we still had things to our name, it was the only way I could assist the family and he just gave that away too? I was immediately reminded of the knot I felt in my stomach when I realized of my helplessness, I felt sick.
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.
"So I can't get my shop or the company back if we don't do as "he" says?" I asked.
"Yes, he has everything and I'm indebted to him, it was the last option, the other guys wouldn't listen, he seemed like a decent rich man so I agreed, I signed everything to him."
I scoffed.
"Who is he and what does he want?"
"Bran Garner"
I staggered backwards, my breath rising again.
"Which one?" I asked not believing my ears.
"There's only one Bran Garner Sis, the Multi millionaire." She said and rolled her eyes.
I knew that, I knew him too but how? Why? I couldn't believe what was happening, it was like the universe was throwing me into the same hole that I had fought hard and long to escape from.
Not this name again, not him again.
"Is there nothing else we can do? Do we have to go through him?" I asked, trying desperately to find a little hope in the situation.
"No, I signed everything to him, we're indebted to him, he was the safest option and we have to do as he says." He said avoiding my eyes again.
"We? How convenient." I said.
My head was already running in different directions, this wasn't the kind of situation I wanted myself in, it was like having your life placed in the hands of the devil.
"Just think of something else, is there nothing we can do, no other solution?" I asked, I was already livid.
"I had no choice Sophia, neither do you." He said finally looking up at me, his eyes filled with something I couldn't name, something more than desperation.
"What do you mean?" I asked walking up to him, there was something in the air, that made my eyes water and my heart sink.
His voice came in a whisper, almost inaudible "You have to Marry Bran, Sophia."
The room spun, the floor felt unsteady beneath me.
*BRAN’S POV*“Sir, I have rounded up the offender case” Pierre reported.“Good,” I said over the phone.“There is something else sir” Pierre quickly added before I could end the call.“What is it?” I asked, my curiosity suddenly awakened.“So I had made an acquaintance with one of the cops at the station during Mrs Sophia’s kidnapper’s case” Pierre reported.This got me interested and I became quite eager to know more.“Okay?” I asked.“At that time, I had asked him a couple of questions but he couldn't give me a direct answer because of his position so he only showed me a picture of the two guys who were supposedly arrested for bullying that same night,” Pierre added.“You mean that same night those two guys were thrown in the cell turned out to be the same day the kidnapper died?” I asked.“Yes, sir, which I suddenly found suspicious……but that's not the point, the point now is that I just saw one of those guys getting into a car with Mrs Jane’s assistant” Pierre reported.“What?……yo
*BRAN’S POV*I stood there, surprised and baffled at the same time about what Liam said about Sophia. I couldn’t help but ponder what he meant by those words. But deep down, I knew that there was something Sophia was still keeping from me. I didn’t want to poke around so I don’t trigger her, with hopes that she will come around and tell me. ********************************************************************Liam left the front of the hall and followed the path his secretary followed, and met up with him at the parking lot. “I am sorry, sir…… I lost him,” the secretary said as he bowed his head in disappointment.Liam sighed as he looked around, quite displeased that his secretary had lost the young man. “It’s fine… let’s go,” Liam said and walked out of the parking lot, followed by his secretary.They both got to the car, got in and drove off. *BRAN’S POV*I still stood by the entrance when my phone rang; it was a call from Pierre.“I have him, sir,” Pierre said over the phone.
Just as I was about to elaborate more on the brand, a jarring crackle ripped through the sound system, and the crowd collectively gasped.My eyebrows furrowed as the large LED screen behind me which was displaying close-up images of my designs flickered. The beautiful imagery of my Collections has been replaced with warped, random, and nonsensical images, and the background music is discordant and off-key. I stood there frozen’ my heart beating as though it was beating against my rib cage. Bran stood the moment the issue started and called out to the technicians to have it fixed immediately. People in the audience exchanged confused glances, while some laughed nervously and others looked increasingly uncomfortable. The technical team rushed towards the stage, their faces filled with a mix of confusion and growing alarm as they tried to fix the problem. Bran walked up to the stage where I stood and led me off the stage gently to a seat, and then he went back up to the stage.“We a
I was lost in thoughts and questions when a notification popped up on my phone. It was a message from Tessa telling me about the finalization of the banners for the launch later today. I picked up my phone and replied to the message.The new design launch is today, and my father’s birthday party is in three days. Maybe this is how things were supposed to turn out for me. I had planned to take back my father’s company, but now I am the one running it. I had planned to get married to Bran, make him love me wholeheartedly and then divorce him after a year as revenge for what I went through six years ago. But these past few days, I can’t seem to understand myself. Sometimes, I feel drawn to him, and my initial plans tend to recede from my mind. I suddenly heard a faint thud, and it seemed to come from the kitchen. I turned around to the direction of the kitchen and wondered what could have made such a sound. Mrs Reeves wouldn’t be in the kitchen at a time like this cause it’s already
Ren drove Jane to a private and reputable bar to keep her reputation intact. After a couple of minutes in the bar, Jane had been gulping down a couple of glasses of drink while Ren stood by her side, worried and concerned. She ordered another set and was about to gulp it down when Ren reached out and stopped her as he held her hand. “I think that’s enough for tonight,” Ren said, his eyes fixated on Jane.Jane looked at Ren and then removed her hand gently so she wouldn’t hurt herself in the process.“What? You also won't let me do what I want in peace?” She asked and turned back to her drink. “Of course not, ma’am,” Ren said and took a few steps back. Jane gulped the glass of drink and after placing the glass back on the counter, she stood from her seat, her stance not balanced, as Ren immediately reached out and held her in place.“Let me help you to the car,” Ren said and led her out of the car after he paid the bill for the drink.Ren finally led Jane into the car and drove he
*SOPHIA’S POV*The ringing and vibration from my phone called back my attention as I reached into my pocket for it and picked up the call, it was a call from Liam. “Hi,” I said as I walked away from where Tessa stood and towards the exit of the hall.“Hey, Sophia,” Liam said over the phone.“How have you been? I am sorry I haven't been in touch for a while now” I apologized. “No it's fine, I know you've been occupied with your new design launch and taking over your father's company,” Liam said.“Yeah, it's just been quite a lot,” I said.“I know right…… Quite a lot that you didn't tell me there was an accident on your way to the meeting” Liam said. “That—that came as a shock to me as well…… I still have not been able to process what exactly happened that day” I said.“Why do you say that? It must have been indeed quite a shock” Liam said.I suddenly remembered how Bran suggested and ordered Pierre to find any link or traces to the accident without attracting any attention. “It's n