KAREN: A BILLIONAIRE FEUD

KARENMy heart beats hard in my chest as I walk towards the elevator. I hope Henley will forgive me for leaving him hanging like that. That kiss wasn't meant to happen. I press the button and the doors slide open. He tastes better than I had imagined. Butterflies dance in my stomach as my heart continues to beat hard in my chest as the elevator slowly glides down. What have I done?What if Jason finds out?The elevator dings and the doors slide open and I find Jason on the other side of the doors obviously planning to get in and come look for me. All the blood must have drained from my face because he looked at me puzzled. "Where have you been?" He questions me. "Upstairs," I say and get off on shaky feet. I hope he doesn't observe how shaky I am. "Doing what?""Helping your brother."I say simply meeting his eyes. Twitchy eyes always looked guilty to him. "Why would my brother want your help?" He scoffed. I want to snap at him and tell him that I'm capable of doing thing

KAREN"If anyone asks why you passed out, say it's because of the food. Don't embarrass me." Jason says coldly as he leads me into the five star restaurant which is possibly owned by his family. And by anyone he means reporters. I'm not going to hear the end of this for a very long time. He'll keep letting me know that I embarrassed him by passing out on the night he decided to pity me and propose finally. I turn my head to the side and roll my eyes. Like I even wanted him to propose. I don't want to marry Jason and I have to find a way to call off the engagement. It wasn't part of the arrangement. The huge chandeliers twinkle beautifully as we walk into the lobby, immediately a man dressed in a crisply ironed black suit walks quickly towards us with hands outstretched and a big smile plastered on his face. "Mr Daniels!" He said quite brightly with a bow. Yup.They own this restaurant. "The soon to be Mrs Daniels," He bows and smiles at me. I almost want to correct him that

KAREN"Take me home, please," I settle in with a sigh of relief. What a day!I unbuckle my silver strapped heeled sandals and slip my feet out of them with a quiet moan of relief. One of the worst days yet. A day filled with nothing but pretense and disappointment. ..but what's done is done..I now know where I stand in my family. I'm the one who's life has to be sacrificed for a family that has no sympathy whatsoever. A waste of time and effort. Now I know what all those years of intense grooming really were for. I wasn't groomed to be the perfect wife for Mr Right, I was groomed to fit in front of the cameras. To keep up pretense. Ever since I was born, I have done everything for them and what do I get in return?Nothing.Responsibility. Duty. Loyalty.All an excuse to hide their selfish intentions. When do I get to do something I really want to do?At this rate if I keep sucking it up to them, it'll be never. That'd mean giving up my entire life all for nothing. No can

KAREN It's been exactly one week since Jason's proposal without a word from him since lunch. So much for happily ever after. If he thinks I'm going to cower while he lords his half hearted proposal over me then he needs a rethink. If my family is so poor and getting married to me won't benefit MERC, why did he agree to marry me? What's in it for him in all of this? What deal did my parents make? I don't want to imagine things but my parents wouldn't even talk to me especially since the confrontation with my mother. Father's heard of it by now already. At least they know what my intentions are now and if they think I'll be the obedient daughter this time then they're in for a surprise. Which is why I agreed to go out with Henley, especially after that kiss we shared. At least he's not boring like his brother. I suck on the straw attached to the juice carton I am holding in my hand as the sweetness of the fruit juice slides over my tongue. I'm going to have to be discr

HENLEY "What? What do you mean you can explain?" I stuttered. Mr Daniels Snr heaved a sigh from his end and took a very deep breath. "I promise to explain everything to you when you come over. This is not a conversation that can be discussed over the phone. Please, son, hear me out." He pleaded. I shake my head repeatedly, still in denial even though it's beginning to make sense to me. "It means it's true, right?" Mr Daniels Snr said nothing to that. "It means that woman speaks the truth," I say strongly, a faint echo of the British accent that normally slips out without notice especially when I'm stressed. I am pretty much stressed right now. "Henley, just come over. I'll be waiting," the call goes dead. My phone drops to the table with a clatter as I groan in frustration and bury my head in my hands. "No, no, no, " I say over and over. I have two options, stay here and wallow in denial and ignorance or get out there, face the press that have no doubt assembled at