Diane, Malvika and Natasha sat at the edge of their father’s sickbed, tears in their eyes. Their father, Mr. Matthews laid on the bed, his eyes dropping. His arms were skinny and he looked weak, fragile and frail. From time to time, he coughed and his body trembled involuntarily.
The eldest of the three sisters, Diane who was about twenty four years old, was already sobbing. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were puffy. The youngest, Natasha, began to cry at the sight of her father dying and her elder sister crying. Malvika, the middle sister, tried to put on a brave face but she sniffed intermittently and a single tear rolled down her eyes.
“Dad?” Diane called out weakly, her voice croaking from tears.
He turned his head slowly. Diane held his hand and he smiled weakly at her. “Di?” he croaked.
“Dad,” Diane whispered again. “Please, don’t die.”
He smiled at her again. “Di,” he called. “Come closer.”
She slowly moved closer to him, her eyes brimming with tears as she held his frail hand.
“Bring your ear closer,” he said, slowly, his words drawling. Diane bent her ear close to his mouth. He whispered furtively into her ear. Her sisters watched as he spoke to her, wondering what was been said. All they could see was Diane’s face changing form sad and worried to horror.
Then, she raised her head up. “What?” she asked slowly and calmly. “Why dad? That’s basically impossible.”
“It’s possible,” he replied and coughed. Natasha rubbed his arm and he passed her a weak smile. “I’ve spoken to him and he has agreed as long as you agree.”
“Dad….” Diane protested weakly, snot running from her nose to her upper lips. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.
“Please, Di. That’s my only way of giving you and your sisters a good and befitting life after I’m dead.”
“Don’t say that,” Natasha cried. “You are not going to die.”
With great and painful effort, he stretched out his trembling hands, his face contorting in pain and stroked Natasha’s hair slowly. “Natasha, don’t worry. You will have a better life after I’m gone, I promise you.”
“Dad!” Natasha protested, tears streaming down her eyes.
Their father turned his attention back to Diane. “It’s really important,” he said slowly and weakly. “Please. Think about me and your sisters. Please.”
Diane just stared at him as the tears in her eyelids slowly slipped down her cheeks.
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The restaurant was quite empty. Very few people could be seen. At a corner in the restaurant, Diane sat at a table with an old man.
Diane ran her hands across the smooth, shiny and glassy table. She just stared down at her fingers on her table, unable to look at the old man sitting across her. The old man happened to be her father’s best friend and most trusted colleague and business partner, Mr. Logan Langston.
“My son will soon be here,” he informed her.
Diane nodded. “It’s okay.”
Few minutes later, the door to the restaurant opened and a young man walked in. Diane looked up and her mouth parted in surprise. The man was really handsome. Tall and muscular; his wavy curly hair slanted across his face and parted in the middle. His chiseled face looked more attractive to Diane than anything. The way he walked fascinated her. And when he began to walk towards them, she thought she would hyperventilate.
The man stopped in front of them. He stared at Mr. Langston for a while, then said, “Good evening father.” He pulled out a chair and sat down.
Mr. Langston gave a curt nod. “Nicholas, you are late.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that,” he replied, not sounding sorry at all.
“Well, this is Diane Matthews. Diane meet my son, Nicholas Langston,” Mr. Langston introduced.
Nicholas turned to look at her. Diane tried to stretch her lips to a smile but the glare and scowl on his face made her cower in fear. He gazed at her then, turned back to her father. “Let’s just get over this.”
“So have you agreed to the decision?”
Diane sighed softly. “I don’t know, Logan. I’m really confused right now.”
Nicholas growled. “That makes two of us.” His husky voice sounded melodious to Diane and she nearly swooned.
“It’s very important that you agree to this,” Logan Langston advised her. “The only way the shareholders of your father’s company will let you be part of them or rule them is if you get married.”
“But what kind of a rule is that?” Diane asked slowly, confused.
“It’s only known to the business world,” Nicholas replied unkindly. “Unfortunately, a sheltered girl like you would not know anything about it.”
Diane shrunk back at the sharpness and harshness of his words.
“Nicholas,” Langston scolded, glaring at him.
“I’m beginning to reconsider my decision,” Diane muttered. “Can’t I just marry someone else?”
“Don’t kid yourself by thinking I want to marry you,” Nicholas said angrily and harshly.
“Di, your father thinks it’s safer to marry someone he already knows and I agree with him. Listen, you can get a divorce in a year. It’s not really important. The marriage is just for you to secure your place in your father’s company."
Diane sighed but nodded slowly. “Fine. I guess I’ll do it.”
Logan beamed. “Nicholas?” he asked.
“What?” Nicholas snapped, glaring at his father. Diane cringed away at the murderous look on his face.
“Are you agreeing to this?” Logan asked impatiently.
“Did you leave me any choice?” Nicholas replied rudely.
“I guess that means yes,” Logan said, smiling. He brought out some documents from his briefcase. “So, here are some agreements of course.” He scanned through the papers. “Nicholas, Diane has two younger sisters and they will live with you for the meantime.”
“What? Why?” Nicholas asked rudely.
“Because they are young and they have no place to go,so, their place is with their elder sister of course.”
“Continue.”
“Diane, Nicholas’ sister, Jenny has been living with him also and that’s not going to change.”
Diane smiled softly. “That’s okay.”
Nicholas growled again, startling her. She darts a glance at him in shock and irritation. He stared hard at his father and asked, “So what do I get from this marriage?”
Logan sighed. “What do you want?”
Nicholas raised his brows. “That you will just let me be and I’ll continue my production industry without you nagging at me?”
“Anything you want,” Logan agreed.
“Good.” He placed his hands on the table. “Because I’m really not interested in business. You can give that to Mark. Secondly, Miss Matthews and I should not be forced to have a romantic relationship.”
“Nicholas....." Logan started to protest.
“Yes or No?”
“That’s fine by me,” Diane spoke up quietly, fiddling with her fingers.
“Good. Also, I should be allowed to continue my relationship with my girlfriend."
“No way,” Logan protested. “What will the public say? You have a wife and you are cheating on her her with another woman.”
“As far as I’m concerned, Miss Matthew here is the other woman,” he spat out angrily making Diane flinch.
“Nicholas,” Logan warned.
“Logan, it’s cool,” Diane said in a calm and quiet voice, as she peered at Logan.
“Diane, are you sure?” Logan asked worriedly. “I don’t think that is a good idea at all.”
“No, really, it’s cool. He’s right, you know. I’m truly the other woman he is being forced to marry.”
“Good that you know that,” Nicholas replied. He relaxed back into his chair. “Since we’ve cleared all that,when is the marriage date?”
“By next week Saturday, you are expected to be in the registry,” Logan informed them. “It’s not a fancy wedding. Just the both of you and some family members.”
Diane sighed and rested her back on the chair. Here goes my dream wedding, she thought sadly.
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“Logan,how dare you?!” Ashley screamed angrily, hitting her palm on the table. Her hair shook violently as she yelled at him. Her eyes were blazing with anger. She couldn’t stop herself from trembling. She was just that angry.
“Hey, stop. You will hurt yourself,” Nicholas said softly, holding her hand.
Ashley flung his arm away. “Don’t touch me! How dare you, Nicholas?!” she yelled angrily. “What do you take me for?! A fool!”
“Of course not Ashley. Why will you say that?” Nicholas felt helpless and desperate. He needed to make her understand his point and see things from his point of view. But she was too angry to even calm down and listen.
“I should be asking you! Do you think I’m really going to let you marry someone else?! You must be joking!”
“It’s just for a year, Ash. I promise, I’ll marry after that," he said, his voice laced with plea and a hint of desperation.
“Oh really, Nicholas? Do you think I’m a fool?” she screamed at him.
“Ashley, no. I really don’t want to do this. I have to do it. That’s the only way father will let me continue my production career in peace.”
“Oh really? So, you will rather have your production career than me? You might production career is more important than me?”
“Of course not Ashley. You are just as important as my career.”
“What’s so special about producing anyway?!” Ashley lashed out at him. “Why can’t you just join the family business?”
A look of hurt crossed Nicholas’ face. “I can’t believe you will say this, Ash. You know how important my career is.”
Ashley took in a deep breath, her chest heaving. She touched his arm. “Nicholas, I don’t want you to marry another woman. Is there no other way we can go round this?” she asked softly.
“Unfortunately, no,” Nicholas replied.
“Seriously,” Ashley sighed. “You know what? I’ll just leave. I need to go home.” She turned.
“What?” Nicholas caught hold of her hand. “Don’t leave me Ashley, please.”
She turned and sighed. “I’m not leaving you, Nick. I’ll never leave you. I just need to clear my head."
“You sure?” he asked uncertainly.
“Of course.” She leaned in and kissed his lips.
“I love you,” Nicholas whispered.
“I love you too babe,” she replied. Gently, she pried his hands off her and walked out of the house.
Nicholas stared at her retreating figure, then at the closed door.
“So, you are seriously getting married to that woman?”
He turned and saw his sister, Jenny, standing by the stairs, her arms folded. “What woman?”
“Diane Matthews," she spat out like the name was some kind of disease that affected her.
“Unfortunately, yes.”
“That’s not fair," Jenny retorted. "You are breaking my friend's heart.”
“It’s not intentional.” He rubbed his face. “Gosh. I’m so confused.”
“You had better start thinking of what to do because I don’t want to see you marry anyone aside Ashley.”
Nicholas rolled his eyes as Jenny turned and walked back upstairs. Just great, he thought, slumping back into the sofa. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and sighed. My life’s messed up. Thanks to Diane Matthews.
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The car drove into the compound and parked properly in the garage. The driver got down from the front of the car car and hurried to open the door for Diane and her sisters, Malvika and Natasha. The three sisters got down and retrieved their luggage from the boot of the car. Diane smiled at the driver. “Thanks,” she said. The three sisters stood and stared at the magnificent house. “Wow,” Sixteen years old Natasha, muttered. “This house is huge.” She clutched her bag tightly as she gazed admiringly at the beautiful house. “Huge is an understatement,” Malvika, replied, shuffling her feet. For all her twenty years, she still looked like a dwarf. Not exactly a dwarf really. But she was short; even shorter than Natasha, which she hated. “Hmm.” Diane turned to her sisters. “Well, let’s get inside now, shall we?” Following her lead, they approached the door and pressed the bell. It was opened by a middle aged woman, who was dressed in a whi
Just as soon as she finished unpacking, there was a knock on the door. Diane stood up to open it. Rachel stood there holding a folder. “Rachel, what’s the matter?”“Mr. Nicholas asked me to give this to you.” Diane collected the file. “He said, his father said there will be a meeting in the company tomorrow morning and the shareholders want to meet you. He wants you to go through all the information in here.”“Okay. Thanks.” She closed the door and sat back on her bed, carefully opening the folder and bring out the files and papers in it. She scanned through it for a while, yawing intermittently. After some time, she returned the papers back to the file and dropped it on her bedside locker. Then, she relaxed into her bed and closed her eyes.Her eyes flew open at the knock on the door. She sat up. “Who is there?”“Malvika.”
Diane walked into the house, tired and hungry. Rachel hurried towards her. “Welcome Mrs. Langston,” she greeted. “What will you like to eat?"“Just send me a plate of noodles or something,” Diane replied off-handedly as she moves towards the stairs.“Sure ma’am.”She paused and turned to Rachel. “By the way, where are my sisters?” Diane asked.“Natasha is upstairs,” Rachel replied. “I think she said something about doing her assignment. Malvika is not around.”“I see. And Nicholas?”“He’s not around, also. He is not back from work.”Diane nodded and walked upstairs. She took a turn and bumped right into Jenny.“Watch your way!” Jenny snapped.Diane rubbed her fo
Diane sat on the couch, her legs crossed, her hands wrapped around a glass of wine and her eyes staring into nothingness. Tired of looking at nothing in particular, she reached out and took the magazine lying on the dining. She began to skim through it.It was around eleven in the midnight. Everyone had gone to sleep. Everyone meant Malvika, Natasha, Jenny and the maids. Nicholas and Ashley were not back from their date yet.Diane had slept around eight in the night, after dinner. She woke up two hours later, around ten p.m. She had rolled around on her bed, browsed on her phone, went through her social media pages- Facebook, Instagram, twitter- every single thing and she was still bored. She had left her phone on the bed and came downstairs, dressed in only her robe, to get a glass of wine.Then, she sat on the couch, currently going through a magazine.The door suddenly opened and Nicholas staggered in. Dian
CHAPTER 5Diane sat on the chair in the ward, tears streaming down her eyes. Her cheeks were puffy and wet and her eyes were red. She supported her chin with her palm and sobbed silently.Malvika sat on the bed. Tears rolled down her eye but she didn’t cry our loud neither did she sob. She just stared into space. Her hands were folded on her laps. The tears flowed freely but not a sound came out from her mouth.Natasha, on the other hand, was throwing a tantrum. She screamed loudly, tears rolling down her eyes. She pulled her hair, jumped and wailed loudly. She was breathing hard, yet she didn’t stop crying. She panted as she screamed, wailed and cried. She breathed hard. Balls of sweat rolled down from her face. Snot ran down her nose but she was too busy crying to even bother to wipe it off.Jayden held Natasha who just shrugged him off, pushed him violently and continued her mourning. Unsure of what to do, he walked towards Diane and took h
Diane raised her hand and struck him across his face. The impact of the slap made Nicholas whip his head to the other side. Ashley and Jenny jumped from their seats and hurried towards him.“Don’t you dare ask me where we are coming from?!” Diane yelled. She held his shirt and pulled him roughly. Malvika and Natasha tried to hold her and pull her back but she shoved them aside roughly. “You really want to know?! You really want to know where we are coming from?!” She yelled, tears rolling down her eyes.“Hey!” Ashley said, attempting to shove her. “Get away from him!”“Stay out of this!” Diane barked and Ashley flinched, steeping back in shock and fright.Nicholas held Diane’s wrist. “What is wrong with you?” he yelled.“Well, why you were having fun with Ashley, I was busy watching my fathe
Natasha hurried down the stairs, dressed in her school uniform and with her bag slanted across her shoulders. Her feet made loud noises on the floor as she practically flew down the stairs. On getting to the bottom of the stairs, she halted and stared around her curiously, her gaze landing on Ashley and Jenny who were on the couch. Natasha furrowed her eyebrows. 'Where is Jenny?’ she muttered to herself, moving towards the dining table. One of Nicholas’ maids, Mina, walked out of the kitchen holding a plate and a jug in her hand. As she headed towards Ashley, Natasha stopped her. “Hi Mina. Have you seen my sister this morning?” “Which one?” Mina asked. “Diane. I’ve checked her room and she isn’t there. I wonder where she might be.” “No, I haven’t seen her this morning.” Natasha nodded uneasily and moved to the dining table to sit. Her mind was really disturbed, making her unable to eat. She waited for a while.
Nicholas came out of the bathroom, a towel tied around his waist. He looked at Ashley’s sleeping figure on the bed, shook his head and smiled fondly. Careful not to make a noise or disturb her, he treaded slowly towards the dressing table and picked up his body cream. He spread out his palm and pressed out the cream.After rubbing cream all over his body, he hurriedly wore his jeans trousers and shirts. He picked up his hair cream from the table and pressed out the cream. He stared at it with a puzzled look on his face. It looked oddly strange. Then he, shrugged and rubbed it all over his hair.He pressed more into his hands and rubbed all over his hair. He was so engrossed in rubbing the cream all over his hair that he did not realize the transformation that was taking place on his head, neither did he bother to check the mirror.Once he was done, he tapped Ashley. “Hey babe.”Her eyes fluttered open. She closed them back