003

A few days later.

*

“Where are you coming from?” Wendy asked as Kaylie entered the parlor, her right leg crossed on the left with her arms folded on her chest.

Kaylie sighed and closed the door behind her. She didn’t interact and wouldn’t have stepped out of her room if not for Jaxon she was searching for and, since she didn’t want to get into an argument, she ignored her, heading to her room.

Wendy stood and rushed to her front. “Why are you getting worse every day?” She challenged.

She exhaled softly, her hand placed on her chest. “The thought of not having to tolerate you for a longer time makes me so happy.”

Kaylie furrowed her face, unclear. “What do you mean?”

Wendy giggled. “Don’t be in a hurry; you’ll figure it out soon,” she said. She returned to the sofa and sat, staring at Kaylie’s face, her lips tinted with a smile. “Congratulations in advance, big sis.”

Kaylie withered her forehead, confused, her eyes fixed on Wendy, who was no longer looking at her. She was confused and curious, but since she knew Wendy wouldn’t tell her, she took her eyes off and walked into her room.

*Moments later*

Andrew knocked on the door, and without waiting for a response, he banged into the room with a paper in his hand. He walked to the bedside, and before Kaylie could lift her head from the pillow, he threw the paper at her.

“Sign it,” he commanded. “Don’t read the conditions; who are you not to agree to it by the way?”

Kaylie sat up. “What’s it?” She asked, reaching out for the paper.

She picked it up and furrowed her face at it, asking again, “what’s this?”

Andrew summoned his courage to look at Kaylie’s face. “An arranged marriage contract.” He proclaimed and quickly glanced away from her again.

He had been disquieted lately and didn’t have the guts to look straight at her face, unknown whether it was out of pity or guilt.

Kaylie’s eyes slammed shut. “An arranged marriage?!”

He nodded. “Yes,” he confirmed. “Both families already agreed to it. All that’s left is your signature, which you’ll apply now. Be fast about it.”

“But…” she stammered. “I… how’s… that’s… I…”

Andrew looked at his wristwatch and returned his gaze to her. “You’ve no right to think about this, but I’ll give you until evening,” he said. “Be sure it’s signed before I return.”

Without waiting for a response, he veered around and left the room.

Kaylie gawked; her eyes widened, feeling her heart ripping apart.

After staring at the entrance, dumbfounded for a few seconds, she took her eyes off it and scoffed softly.

She hadn’t healed from a wound they caused her, and now, they’re trying to throw her into another pitch.

The pain they caused her was always worse than the previous one.

She glanced at the paper again and giggled for a reason she didn’t know. She wouldn’t accept the marriage but still wanted to check its content.

She opened the first page and her eyes broadened at the headline, staring at the name written next to hers. “Huh?!” She was shocked.

“Garcia Gage?!” She uttered in disbelief.

Her lips quivered and she couldn’t utter a word, despite a lot passing through her mind.

She furrowed her brows. “What are they doing?” She wondered and after a second thought, her mind processed the marriage’s purpose, causing her to chuckle softly. “They’re trading me for a connection?”

She paused for the following second. However, things were getting interesting, so she opened the next page. “What?!” She was gobsmacked, seeing her parents’ signature beneath Chairman Paul and his wife’s signature.

She snickered twice and withered her face. “How could they approve it without my consent?” She wondered, her mind slowly boiling in anger.

She couldn’t take it anymore. She wouldn’t read further.

She wanted to close the file, but her eyes caught a glimpse of the date at the last line.

“Next week?!”

“Why will I get married in a week?!”

She didn’t want the marriage and would do anything to thwart it. However, the wedding date was around the corner, making her instantly doubt whether she could do anything before then.

She lightly bit the left side of her lower lip. “What can I do?” She thought. “What should I do?”

Her grandfather was the only one in the position to save her, but he wasn’t back yet, and all her efforts to find him were abortive.

She had a onetime glance at the paper in her hand and furiously shook her head, throwing it away. “No!” She screamed. “I can’t sign this!”

“I will not sign it! No!”

*

-Later in the evening-

She heard a knock on the door and paused the music. The thought of all she was going through was freaking her out, so she was listening to music to unwind her mind.

She lifted her from the bed header and took off the earpiece. She got down from the bed and walked to the door. She unlocked it and returned to the bed.

Andrew heard the door click and expected Kaylie would open it for him to come in, but since she didn’t, he helped himself and entered. “Why did you lock the door?” He questioned.

“Because no one respects my privacy and I want to earn it,” she taunted with an immediate response, without glancing backward at him.

She arrived beside the bed and sat. She crossed her feet, her lips tinted with a smile, staring into his eyes. “I understand I’m not welcome here, but since I’m staying, I need my privacy. So I won’t tolerate anyone banging in again.”

Her words piled him up, but he ignored them and lowered his gaze, stating, “I’m here for the paper.”

Kaylie nodded, beaming. “I know,” she spoke calmly. She crossed her hands over her chest and stretched her neck, gesturing to the bedside cabinet with her lips. “There.”

Andrew stared at Kaylie for a second, surprised at how bold she had suddenly become. He took his eyes off her and paced to the cabinet.

He picked up the paper and hurriedly opened the page that required Kaylie’s signature. He rushed to her front, pointing it at her to show the blank space under her name.

“Why haven’t you signed it?” He asked, keeping his voice low to hide the anger burning in his mind, but she didn’t respond so he couldn’t help raising his voice, shaking the paper. “I said why haven’t you signed it?!”

She calmly nodded. “Yes,” she responded. Her voice was cool, yet blunt. She paused for a second before adding with a candid expression, “and with the look of the situation, I will not.”

“You won’t?!” Andrew repeated, amazed. Kaylie’s words, and actions were surprising, and he scoffed, belittling. “What right do you think you have to decide whether or not you will?”

Kaylie authoritatively lifted her brows and looked into his eyes. “Because I am an adult…” she gave a simple response, instantly proceeding, “I’ve got every right to make my decision at this age, and if you doubt that, sue me in court.”

Her response and gaze got under his skin and his eyes instantly reddened. He ground his teeth, lightly tapping on his chest. “I’m the head of this family and-”

Her laughter interrupted him.

“You’re the head of this family?” She repeated, surprised. She furrowed her face, throwing a question. “Have you eliminated Jaxon?”

“Huh?!” He sounded; her question caught him off guard.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “I mean, who doesn’t know he’s the head of this family? And you can’t take his position unless you’ve eliminated him?”

She shrugged. “And even if you are, do you have a say?” She bashed. “We know the person in charge, don’t we?”

Andrew was speechless and stared down, unable to defend himself.

Kaylie smiled discreetly. “Stop claiming what’s not yours,” she proceeded. “Jaxon’s absence doesn’t give you the right. Your wife is the decision maker; you’re weak to be one.”

Her last line pushed his button. “Enough!” He yelled, but she didn’t want to stop.

“Are-”

“Shut up, Kaylie!” He shouted. “Enough of your gibberish!”

He strode closer to her. “Look, Jaxon isn’t around, so you’ve got no chance. I’m your father and I’ll dictate your fate. So whether or not you want this marriage doesn’t matter,” he let out. “You’re marrying Gage because I say so!”

Kaylie’s eyes turned red and she couldn’t maintain her calmness anymore. “What if I refuse?” She yelled, frustrated. “Is there anything you can do?”

She stood on her feet and Andrew stepped backward in shock, fear suddenly overwhelming him as if she would hit him.

She took a step forward and locked eyes with him. “Why must I always abide by whatever you want?! Why must I be the scapegoat?!”

She paused and scoffed, slightly staring downward. “Because you’re my adoptive parent?” She asked and raised her gaze again, staring at him in the eyes. “Why did you adopt me when you don’t have enough love to share with me?”

She tapped her left palm with the right dorsum. “What action did you take when Wendy snatched my ex-husband? Weren’t you just watching?” She queried. “You watched your wife maltreat me and did nothing to stop her? Were you not my father, then?”

“Why didn’t you take responsibility during those times? Why are you mentioning being my father now that I’m against my will?” She questioned. “What use were you to me that is enough to convince me?”

She puffed and paused for a second before furthering, “I’m dealing with pains caused by you, your wife, and your daughter, and here you are, wanting to push me into another calamity.”

She frowned, glimpsing at him. “Isn’t this wickedness? Shouldn’t you at least let me heal before pushing me into another trouble? I need my time. I need time to heal.”

“This isn’t a trouble; it’s a marriage.” Andrew corrected.

“Then let Wendy take it instead.” She provided an alternative.

“Huh?!” Andrew wasn’t expecting that.

Kaylie folded her arms and elevated her shoulder. “Yes. Since it’s just a marriage, why me, not Wendy?” She challenged.

“It’s obvious you’re trading me off for a favor from the Garcia. They’re the wealthiest family in the city, so you want me to marry their eldest son for a connection with them in return, right?” She expressed. “It’ll be more favorable if it’s your biological daughter?”

“I’m more like an enemy to you now. Don’t you think I can betray you?”

“Yes, you can, but that’s not the issue here…”

Emily's voice came as the door opened. She walked to stand next to Andrew, facing Kaylie, explaining, “you’re right. It would be more beneficial if Wendy should marry Gage instead of you, but there’s a twist.”

Kaylie’s face furrowed. “A twist?” She uttered, confused.

Emily nodded twice. “Exactly,” she confirmed, explaining, “Wendy can’t marry Gage instead of you because this marriage's purpose differs from what you think.”

“What do you mean?” Kaylie asked.

“It means this marriage isn’t for connection, but to pay off a debt.” Emily proclaimed.

Kaylie scoffed. “To pay a debt?” She repeated in disbelief. She crossed her hand over her chest, bending to the left a little as she locked eyes with Emily. “You want to marry me off to pay a debt and could even say it to my face?”

“Do you expect I’ll accept?”

Emily slowly shook her head. “No,” she answered. She paused, shrugging, as she took a deep breath. “I don’t expect you’ll accept. However, what will you do when the is Jaxon and not your father or me?”

Kaylie frowned at her. “Jaxon’s debt?” She asked. “What are you talking about? What does that mean? Answer me!”

Emily loosened her hands from her chest and sighed. “It means only one thing, and since your father had been keeping it from you all this while, I’ll take the responsibility to tell you,” she said. “Jaxon owes the Garcia. He owes them a huge amount of money.”

“Huh?!” Kaylie toned in disbelief. She couldn’t believe what she just heard. She swiftly shook her head in opposition. “No. that’s not possible. It’s a lie!”

Emily calmly nodded. “Okay, if you think so,” she uttered. “But why do you think he had been hiding since all this while? We’ve been keeping it a secret because we don’t want to hurt your feelings, but things have gotten worse.”

“What he owes is a lot compared to what the Garcia requests and who are we not to give it?”

“But Jaxon would never do that,” Kaylie protested. “I trust him. He wouldn’t marry me off to pay his debt.”

“You’re right; this isn’t Jaxon’s decision, but me and your father’s,” Emily revealed. “And it’s like this because that’s how it should be. You’re Jaxon’s favorite; his beloved granddaughter so you should do this for him. He doesn’t like Wendy so you can’t expect she would do this for him.”

“But-” Kaylie had an opinion, but Emily didn’t allow her to complete her statement.

“Kaylie, this is Jaxon’s only chance. The amount he owes is huge. He can’t pay it in his lifetime,” Emily implored with an appeasing tone, manipulating, “if truly you love him, if you really care about Jaxon, you shouldn’t give this a second time before accepting it unless you want him to commit suicide or die of depression.”

“How come? What leads to the debt?” Kaylie was still in doubt.

“He collected a loan from chairman Paul to invest in a business but used it to run an illegal deal with a foreign and was duped. He keeps it a secret until everything backfires.” Emily narrated.

Andrew joggled his head, backing her up. “Yes, that’s true. We only found out when Chairman Paul started searching for him and that was a few weeks or a month after your wedding.”

Kaylie exhaled softly and brushed her face with her palms. She had lost her gut to the shocking news and her feet suddenly began shaking.

She moved backward and sat on the bed. “Jaxon…” she called in a whisper.

“We’ve until tomorrow to give chairman Paul feedback or the matter will get out of hand,” Emily informed. “Jaxon’s secret will be revealed to the public, and if that should happen, you know what it means, right?”

“Father will lose his reputation and since he’s run an illegal business, the government will be involved. They’ll search until they find him and he’ll face the law,” Andrew analyzed. “If things should get that worse, no one can save him, and your beloved grandfather will have to spend the rest of his life in jail.”

“Will you want that to happen?” Emily threw a question immediately as Andrew stopped talking. “And lastly, Kaylie, think about how Jaxon will feel if he finds out you have the chance to save him, but didn’t,”

“He’ll hate you, blame himself, and regret ever showing you love. He’ll take his last breath holding a grudge against you in his heart,”

Emily reduced her voice volume so her words would sink into Kaylie’s heart. “All these, do you want them to happen?”

Kaylie caged her head in her hands with her eyes closed as she tossed her head. “No!” She screamed.

She panted for a minute and gradually opened her eyes. She licked her lips and took a deep breath before raising her head.

“If I sign it, will Jaxon come out of hiding and be safe?”

Emily nodded. “Yes, of course,” she assured. “He’ll have nothing to worry about anymore.”

She stared at Andrew and stretched out her hand. “The paper,” she requested. “I’ll sign it. I’ll marry Gage.”