The black gigantic gate opened and a black Hyundai sped into the magnificent billionaire mansion. The doors on the two sides of the car flung open and two men in black suits stepped out of the car. A middle aged couple could also be seen, stepping out through the other side of the car. They were both dressed in shabby clothes, and mere looking at their appearances, one could easily tell how poor they were.
They clung on to each other as the sun shone on their gloomy faces. The men in black led the way and they all proceeded to the white painted edifice which was heavily guarded by men in black suits. The door opened and they were led into the building by the two men in black suits who were walking ahead of them.As they stepped into the luxurious living room, the cold from the air conditioner swept through their skins. They both stood in the middle of the room with their gazes on the spacious floor. A few seconds later, voices followed by loud laughter could be heard from the large stairs at one side of the room. A dark, averaged looking man in his sixties appeared on the stairs, making a phone call as he walked down the stairs slowly with the aid of a walking stick. He was no other man than the ruthless billionaire, Mateo Steel.Clothed in a black quality emirati thobe, he walked majestically into the room, accompanied by two men in black suits. He lowered the phone from his ears as he stared at the couple in front of him. His lips curved into a mischievous smile that made the couples shift uneasily. “You didn’t bother to sit?” He asked as he moved towards the long brown sofa in the living room.The couple remained silent with their heads bowed as they dared not raise their heads to look at him.As he settled on the sofa, he signaled one of the men. A big cigar was brought before him and he began to smoke with his legs crossed stylishly. “Your keeping standing won’t bring me my money, will it?” He asked in a serious tone. “Sir, we are begging for more time, please, just this once,” the woman said with fear written all over her tone “Sir Mateo, please pardon us this once. I promise I will pay back a small amount of the money before the year runs out,” the man pleaded along with his wife.He chuckled at their words and he puffed out smoke from his mouth.“How much do you owe me?” He asked as he took off the cigar from his mouth.The couple looked at each other and they turned to look at him again.“Um..1.5 million naira,” the man muttered uneasily.“Yes, we promise to return a part of the money before the year runs out, and we will pay back the interest slowly,” the woman put in.He chuckled again and shook his head as he looked at their faces.“Morris, these were the same words you said some years ago when I invited you over. How long will I keep hearing this over and over again?” He asked seriously.“Sir, you know things are quite difficult for us, but we promise we will do something about it” the man said at once.“Exactly!” He exclaimed as he stood up from the sofa and a beam of smile appeared on his face.“Exactly the words I've been waiting to hear. I want you to do something about it,” he said as he walked slowly around them.“And you know, I've found a solution to this. And I'm going to offer you an opportunity for you to be able to do something about it,” he said with a grin which left the couple completely stupefied.“ What.. what is the opportunity?” Mr Morris asked at once.“Well, some days ago, I stumbled on Alex, your daughter,” he spilled and the couple looked at each other in dismay.“Yes, and she’s grown into a very beautiful woman whom men would hardly resist,” he continued with a smirk on his round handsome face which had a few wrinkles. He kept silent as he saw the confused looks on their faces. He walked towards them and stood only a few meters away from them.“You see, I happen to have a son who has refused to get married, whom you all know quite well. And you both happen to have a very beautiful daughter who is still unmarried. Why don’t we, you know, strike a deal with our two beautiful children?” He asked with a smirk and the couple opened their mouths, a little alarmed.“Mat, you want my daughter to do what?” Mr Morris scowled.“To do what you’re thinking,” Mateo replied with a smile.“No, that’s not going to happen!” The woman thundered as she shook her head in disbelief.“And it’s happening already,” Mateo said confidently.“Alex is never going to marry that horrible son of yours!” She barked and he shot her an angry look. She began to pant as she caught sight of his angry eyes. She held onto her husband and he took hold of her palm as she began to sob.“Mat, we can solve this some other way round. Alex is our only daughter and our only child too. Our lives depend on her. We’ve planned her future perfectly for her, please you don’t have to do this,'' Mr Morris pleaded.“Adrian is my only son too. And my life depends on him. I’ve planned his future perfectly for him with your daughter involved in it,” Mateo said as he placed the cigar back in his mouth.“No, that’s not happening! Alex is never getting married to your son, never!” The woman yelled again.She looked at her husband who beckoned her to keep silent and she kept silent as she wiped the tears dripping down her face.“You have only two options. Marry your daughter off to my son, or be prepared to go to prison as the agreement states,” Mateo said again as he walked back slowly to his seat. “Ha!” They both exclaimed. “Please Sir, it hasn’t gotten to that,” they both pleaded with their knees on the floor.He kept silent as he watched them from his seat. He let out a sigh and signaled one of his men. A bottle of red wine was brought before him and he began to sip his wine slowly.“You see, of all the debtors in my book, you Morris. You’re the only one I've been lenient with all along. You know why? It is because of your loyalty and commitment all through your years of working with me as a laborer. When you and your wife approached me for the money several years ago, did I hesitate in lending you?” He asked and they both shook their heads.“We went into an agreement, Morris, you signed the agreement with your wife. That refusal to pay back my money will land you both in prison, Right?” He asked again and they both nodded.“Now, I'm offering a solution so you’ll both not end up in prison, and you’re refusing,” he said with a scoff and they both shook their heads.“Mat, this solution you offered is the same as going to prison,” Morris said and he frowned.“What do you mean? That you prefer to go to prison than letting your daughter marry my son?” Mateo asked angrily.They both kept silent.“Then be prepared to go to prison. And you know what, I will still get Alex for my son. You know I will always get what I want, no matter what,” he said as he smiled sinisterly.“Please, Sir Mateo, you need to reconsider,” the lady weep.“Toyin, you should stop the tears, because what I'm offering you is a lifetime opportunity. You have the opportunity to become in-laws with a billionaire family. Alex will get a life changing opportunity to be married to a billionaire husband. A lot of girls are praying for such an opportunity” he stressed.“Opportunity to get married to a monster? Then why isn’t he married yet, why?!” She flared and her husband touched her arms and motioned her to keep silent.“Morris, I've made the decision and it’s final. I’m giving you only seven days to think about it,” Mateo said as he sipped from his glass again.The couple became silent and the woman’s silent sobs could be heard.“You should be happy, come on, let’s toast to our soon to become in-laws.” He said as he raised his glass high while letting out a chuckle.She dug her pail into the well again as she wiped the sweat off her brows. She dragged out a few quantities of water from the well and poured it into the bucket beside her."Argh," she exhaled as she ran her hand into her thick black hair.She could feel the heat from the sun as she stood beside the well tiredly with her bucket of water beside her. The sound of a car could be heard approaching the yard, and she turned to see her parents stepping out of the black car which had stopped in front of the short wooden gate.“Baami, '' she cried with excitement as she dropped her pail beside the well and rushed to meet her parents who were walking towards her.“Maami” she called but there was no response from either of them. She could see how gloomy their faces looked and she wondered what the problem could be.As the car drove away from the yard, her mom walked towards her and took hold of her hand“What’s wrong maami? Did that good for nothing man hurt you?” She asked anxiously as she looke
PRESENT "So now that you've told him everything about yourself, what do we do now?" Mr Morris asked with a little tone of anger. "I didn't tell him everything about myself, I never knew this was his plan all along," she cried from the floor where she sat. "You are not getting married to that man, ok?" Her mom assured. "Really? I hope you are prepared for life in prison. And you know Mateo very well, you know what he can do better," he put in again. "Dad, I'm not going to marry that man! Never! I have a life to live, I have my future well planned, I can't marry that monster. Did you forget what he did to his first wife?!" She thundered. He kept silent with his gaze on the floor. "I can't stand this, we need to find a way to sort this out!" She barked as she stood up hurriedly from the floor and stormed out of the room. She walked down the dusty road surrounded by large acres of land which were all filled with cocoa trees. It was evening and the sun was beginning to set.
She opened the door and let out a sigh as she saw Asa standing on the doorpost that afternoon. "Asa," she called tiredly as she walked back into the room. "Have you been crying?" Asa asked as she walked in after her. "Yes. I'm so confused right now. I don't know what else to do," she cried as she sat on the neatly arranged bed. "Lex, you're wearing yourself out for nothing," Asa said as she sat on the bed with her. There is no other furniture in the room apart from the large bed and a wooden table in the middle of the room. "For nothing?" She asked as she wiped the tears off her face. "Babe, this is an opportunity for you to leave this farm. You know it has always been our dream to get married and leave this place. You have that opportunity before you, to get married to a billionaire man..," she explained with empathy. "Asa, you seem to have forgotten the man we are talking about" she said as she looked at her face. She shrugged and looked away from her. "Well, you can ma
"Alex, are you really sure you want to do this?" Maiden asked as she jumped down from the veranda. "It's the only way out. The only way I can free my parents from going to prison. The only way I can get back at Femi's betrayal," she said as she placed a cocoa seed in her mouth. "And the only way is by dying? Because marriage to Adrian is the same as dying," Bisi put in. "I don't care. We will all get to die anyway," she said as she spit out the seed in her palm. "So, are you saying, we should start the marriage preparations?" Maiden asked with a little excitement and Alex eyed her. "If we are starting anything, they're going to be the ones to provide everything. We still haven't heard from them yet," she said. "Hmm, I can't believe this is happening. You are going to be married into one of the wealthiest families in the country. Well, I wish you the best. And maybe, who knows, Adrian might not be what people actually thought him to be," Bisi said with a smile. "Adrian is eve
There was intense preparation in the Bimpe's home as people trooped in and out of the yard. The young men could be seen, arranging chairs under the big tree in the yard while the voices of young and aged women were heard as they chatted and laughed while surrounding the large cooking pots in the fire. Inside the room, she sat on the white plastic chair as Maiden applied makeup on her face. Bisi and two other girls were also in the room, arranging a few things on the bamboo bed. "It's almost twelve and there is still no sight of them," Bisi said from the bed where she sat. "Or, they decided to change their mind?" One of the girls asked."Better for Alex. Who needs them anyways?" Maiden asked, with her head bent towards Alex. "Please be careful with the brows. Are you really sure you can do this right? I don't want to look like a masquerade in front of everyone" She complained and they all laughed. "What are you insinuating? That I don't know my job?" Maiden frowned."You know, you just st
Now this is the real marriage I'm talking about. You do things the traditional way, your marriage will last" Mateo's voice sounded all over the room and everyone laughed. He sighed as he saw his father picking his teeth as he discussed with the men in excitement. He has been waiting for hours for them to finish off with their meals so they will leave at once. But it seems his father was not yet prepared to leave. He was beginning to become impatient and he stood up. "I'll be in the car waiting" he said as he stormed out of the room with different eyes trailing after him."Wait for me outside" Mateo said as he stood up immediately and walked out after him.He stood on the porch as he watched the people sitting under the tree, eating and drinking with excitement. He wondered if poor people were always this happy."You missed a very good meal. This is the best I've had in years" His father said from where he stood beside him.He turned to look at him with his face burning with anger. He becam
She watched the guard dragging in her luggage with a dark and plump middle aged lady walking beside him. She had seen the lady earlier amongst the maids and she presumed her to be the head maid as she seemed to be the eldest amongst them. The lady took her stand beside her and they both stood side by side looking at Adrian who was sitting comfortably on the couch, while paying little or no attention to them. He stood up and adjusted his suit before turning his face towards them. "Take her to her room upstairs" he ordered with a deep voice. "Ok, sir" the maid nodded and picked up the bags. "This way, ma'am," she said to Alex who nodded and followed behind her.They both walked to the large twin staircase and as they walked, she saw Adrian heading out of the house and she wondered where he was heading tonight. The maid led her to a lit up passage which contained several rooms. They walked to a door and the maid pressed a keypad on the wall. The door slid open and they both walked into th
"What is he going to do now? Is he going to kill me?" She asked anxiously as they all walked back to the kitchen. "Hey, why did you run out like that? See how you made the boss fall," Vivian said. "Oh, poor me, the village girl in me just resurfaced" she cried and they all laughed. "Oh, I've never seen the boss so embarrassed before" one of the ladies put in. "Yes, did you see the look on his face?" Another one asked and they all laughed again. "Wait, why do I have a feeling that you did it on purpose? To get back at him for what he did last night?" Vivian asked as she looked at Alex who was smiling. "No, I didn't, but it was nice anyway, sweet revenge" she said and they all laughed again. "Come on girls, get busy" Vivian ordered and they all began to get busy. "Is he always like this? Mean? Cold? Arrogant?" She asked as she continued chopping the tomatoes. "Not really, though he isn't nice, but he wasn't this worse. Everything changed when Barbara came in," Vivian