"Let's get married. I'll pay you any amount you want," She spill those words to him like they were nothing, while he stares at her unbelievably wondering how she got the guts to ask him that. "This can't work, Alicia. You're older than me. I am not ready for marriage, and even if I am, you aren't expecting me to settle down with an older woman, right?" Hearing those words from him, her heart shattered into pieces as she tries to fight her tears back. She's only twenty-nine and he's twenty-six for goodness sake. How is she old? After her first boyfriend ditched her and ran away with her money on their wedding day, Alicia has spent the recent years of her life, hating on men and vowed to never get married. However, her life became a mess after her parents wouldn't stop pushing her to get married, and now she has only one week to bring home her boyfriend whom she lied to reside in Asia. Do you think she will be able to bring home a man when she have known in her life? What does fate have in store for her even if she eventually finds a man?
View More'You have to get married, and take over the family business, Alicia' her father's deep baritone voice echo in her head for the umpteenth time as she pulls over at the roadside. She can't help the scoff that tears through her throat. For the first time in her twenty-nine years of existence, she feels so empty and like the whole world is against her. She never imagined that her dad who loved her so much and would do anything for her, would go to the extreme length of asking her to get married before she can have access to the family wealth, knowing that she detest the word 'marriage' let alone getting herself involved in it.
The sound of her ringing phone pulls her attention, and she reaches out for it lazily.
"You have one more week to present your boyfriend to us, Alicia," Again, her dad's deep voice sounds through the phone as soon as she answers the call. It's just like she dug her own early grave by telling her dad earlier that she has a boyfriend. What was she supposed to do when the man was hell-bent on frustrating her to death? 'When are you getting married, Alicia? You're twenty-nine already, and still not thinking of marriage. Are you planning to stay single for the rest of your life?' Her mom's everyday frustration would wake her from sleep, and also send her to bed every night.
"I know, dad. I will do that. I told you he traveled to Asia and will be back in a few days," She lies to the man over the phone, while having a grimace on her face.
Dropping her phone on the seat with a deep sigh escaping her throat, she rests her head on the headrest as she closes her eyes. Being born into a wealthy family and the only child of her parents, Alicia has so many responsibilities on her, and also, her life has been planned before she grew up.
She was supposed to get married at the age of twenty-one, at most, so she could take over the family business. However, she failed as her first boyfriend whom she was supposed to get married to eight years ago, dumped her on their wedding day, after he stole ten million dollars from her. Ever since, she has developed this hatred for men and never thought of getting married again. Although she still has some male friends, but getting involved with any man is just what she doesn't want. Her parents have kept up with her decision for seven good years, and she was happy until they started pestering her about marriage one year ago. She thought she could handle the pressure from her desperate parents, but she was mistaken and she eventually had no choice but to lie to them that she has a boyfriend she would introduce to them next week.
She couldn't have stayed at the roadside forever, so she just turn on her car ignition and hits the road afterward. Maybe going to a bar to chill out won't be a bad idea. Besides, she needs to clear her head and have breathing space for some time before she returns to the hell of a house she lives in.
Pulling over in front of the bar a few minutes later, she hops out of the car and catwalks to the entrance door, walking in afterward. The smell of alcohol welcomes her as she walks in. The bar is filled with many people as always, so she just walks over to the counter and knocks on it, getting the attention of the male bartender behind the counter.
"A glass of tequila, please," She says to the bartender as she flips her blonde hair backward and sighs briefly.
"One minute, please," The bartender says to her before going to get her order, and in less than two minutes, he drops a tall glass filled to the brim with tequila.
"Thank you," She mutters as she grabs the glass and empties the content into her mouth in one shot.
"Another one," She pushes the glass to the counter and runs her fingers through her hair frustratingly. Her life is so messed up.
"Here," Grabbing the glass again, she gulps down the content in one gulp and requests another shot, while the bartender stares at her for a few seconds.
"Hey," A deep baritone voice speaks from beside her, and she tilts her head to see a young handsome-looking man, graced in a black and orange outfit standing with a smile dancing on his lips, revealing his perfect dentition. For a minute, she checks his perfect figure out, his pair of deep blue eyes, raven hair, pointed nose, and his broad chest that has a portion of it revealing through his button-down long-sleeve shirt, which has the sleeves folded up to his elbow level.
"Hi," She replies casually, turning her attention away. She's going through a lot already, and having a stranger bother her now is the last thing on her mind.
"My name is Ren Houston, may I know your name?" He asks politely like a gentleman.
"No," She replies bluntly.
"Come on, I don't mean any harm. I..."
"I don't want to talk to you. I hope you get that?" And with that, she drags herself up from the chair and drops some dollar notes on the counter for the bartender before she walks elegantly out of the bar, while Ren stares at her until she's out of sight.
Stepping out of the bar, she walks over to where her car is parked and hops in. She drives out of the place afterward.
The sound of her ringing phone pulls her attention just as she drives down the road, and she reaches out for it lazily after she parks her car at the side of the road.
"Hey, baby girl," A feminine voice sounds through the phone as soon as she slides the answer button.
"Yeah, what's up?" She replies in a low tone.
"Hey, are you OK?" The feminine voice sounds worried over the phone.
"Yes, I'm fine," She replies lazily as she rests her head on the headrest.
"Do you want to hang out later?" The voice asks her.
"No, I have something to take care of," She can't possibly hang out with her friend, knowing that she has something to figure out, right?
"Alright, see you later then," The call drops dead and a deep sigh escapes her lips. About to drop the phone on the seat, it rings again, and this time, with a strange number displayed on the screen.
"Who's this?" She asks as soon as she answers the call.
"This is Ren. You forgot your purse at the bar, so I picked it up for you," Hearing the guy's voice, she can't help the deep sigh that tears through her throat. Turns out that she has to see him again. If she didn't have anything important in it, she would not have bothered to take it back, but that purse has so many important things to her.
"Thank you. I'll come and get it later," She ends the call almost immediately and drops her phone on the seat, running her fingers through her hair frustratingly afterward...
Chapter 100 Everything went too fast, Mr. Douglas was finally sentenced to death by hanging since he killed two people, and his wife was sentenced to life imprisonment for being an accomplice and didn't say anything when her daughter was killed. It has been three months since Alicia has been at home, while Ren and Felix have been managing the company in her place. The two men have developed a strong bond together in which they are now best friends. Lilian too has been supportive of her friend, although she was still single. Alicia on the other hand was in her final trimester, and they would be expecting a baby anytime soon. It has been a hard day for Alicia, since she has been struggling the whole day, trying to suppress the pain she kept having occasionally. She has been feeling this pain for the last one month, and the doctor would always tell her that it was fine whenever she had gone to the hospital. Sitting on the couch and watching TV, she suddenly feels a st
Chapter 99 Writer's POV Mr. Williams has finally been laid to rest a few days ago, and the last few days have been hard for Alicia. Trying to balance between getting over her dad's death, and caring for herself and her unborn child has been difficult, but with Ren, Lilian, her mom, and Felix beside her, she was able to improve. It was supposed to be a beautiful morning, but no day has been beautiful to Alicia after everything that happened. Just if she had known, she would've involved the police before and let them handle it, or at least told her dad about it, maybe the innocent man wouldn't have lost his life, but then, she believed that God has already destined this to happen in the first place, so there was no reason to regret it now. Standing on the balcony and leaning over the rail while staring up at the sky, many thoughts run through her mind, including finding out later that Emily died at the hands of her dad. Although they were never on good terms, but she was
Chapter 98 Alicia POV We all pace restlessly in the hallway after dad was taken into the emergency room, and the doctors are trying to revive him. He was shot in the chest, and I don't know if he would survive this. Douglas and his wife have been taken care of by the cops and have been apprehended. "Calm down, babe, he will be fine," Ren tries to calm me down, even though he knows things may not be fine. My dad is inside there, fighting for his life, and I don't even know if he is going to survive it. "Will he be fine, Ren? Will he be ok?" I ask him, but he only sighs and pulls me into his arms instead, hugging me tightly, while I cry on his chest. My stomach is already big and round since I have passed my second trimester. The sound of the footsteps drawing close behind us pulls my attention, and I quickly turn to see that it's the doctor. "How is he, doc? Is my dad ok? Is he going to be fine?" I bombard the doctor with questions while I wait for him to r
Chapter 97 Writer's POV "My uncle, Mr. Douglas Williams, has been blackmailing me for the last few months now..." She stops to see the shock on his face as his eyes slowly widen in shock. "Wh...what are you saying?" He yelled from the crowd, even though his conscience was judging him deep down. "Mr. Douglas hired someone to get married to me, so he could claim my dad's properties," She said, airing confusion in the hall, as everyone started murmuring. "What are you talking about?" Her dad finally stepped forward, confused about what Alicia was saying. "You should ask your brother, dad... Ask him what you have done to him to make him think he could ruin your life. Ask him why he hired Felix, forced him into a relationship with me, and when we planned to get married... Why he sent him away and made him look like a bad person!" She yells at the top of her voice as tears brim in her eyes. Seeing the confusion in her dad's eyes hurts her even more, because this man
Chapter 96 Alicia POV I feel nervous today, especially as Ren is not here with me. It was finally the day for the end-of-the-year party, and I was supposed to be happy, but I don't feel any emotions as the only thing I feel at the moment is emptiness. I arrived with my parents and Lilian moments ago, and they left to greet the guests. My uncle is not yet here, and I think he must be preparing himself to get the title of a CEO today. "Hi, Alicia," Hearing his annoying voice behind me, I turn to see him standing with his devilish wife beside him, both smiling innocently at me. If I was not aware of what they have done, I swear I would think they are the sweetest people on earth. "Hi, uncle, Aunt," I reply to them with a smile, since I have to pretend nothing is going on. I don't want him to do something stupid here. The last thing I want now is someone getting hurt in this building. "Brother, you are here?" My dad utters as he walks up to us, and they both excha
Chapter 95 Writer's POVNext evening It was a beautiful night for the family of Mr. Williams, since they just came back to the country, and the grand dinner date was going to host tonight. Mr. Douglas and his family were also invited by his brother to the date, and of course, he honored the invitation. "It has really been a while, brother. I have missed you so much," Mr. Douglas utters as he glances at his brother, Alicia's dad. "I have missed you too. How are you, Emily?" Mr. Williams replies to his brother before he turns to Emily and smiles at her. "I'm fine, Sir," Emily replies to him. "Where is Alicia? Why is she not here yet?" Mr. Douglas asks as if he was missing Alicia, but that wasn't the case. "I think she should be here any moment from now," Mr. Williams replies, and just then, Alicia walks down the staircase, graced in a red short gown that stops right before her knees. She has her hair packed in a tight bun, light make-up on her face with a red li
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