Fixing father's shitty deal

Roman's POV

"It's ill luck to speak against the dead, Roman." Mother scolded me on the phone.

I rolled my eyes, my gaze settling on the moving streets. I'm fashionably late for my meeting with Lucien and my so-called wife-to-be. Tim, my driver, is zooming through the street like being too late to this meeting could cost him his job. 

"Mum, I'm only saying I wish Dad didn't sign the marriage clause in his contract with Lucien. Why do I have to get married to Lucien's daughter to reclaim my rights to the Lotus-tale park?"

"We've talked about this, Roman. Your father and Lucien were great friends and partners. He wouldn't have signed it if he didn't trust Lucien."

"Well, mom. Dad was fooled." My voice cut through hers. "I went through the records, mum. Lucien is manipulating the contract terms. He is cutting down workers' salaries significantly, enriching himself and making conditions hard for workers in the park."

Mother sighs. "Son, I know you won't leave your billion-dollar business abroad to come save a lowly park like Lotus-tale if you didn't care. I know you usually won't care about things like this, except it means a lot to you, Roman. I know how much this park means to you, that's why I'm asking you to go through with the agreement."

"So I have to marry Cherry, or else everything Dad worked for all these years is wasted?" I groan in frustration, my fingers sweeping through my face to my chin.

"I wish there was another way out, son." The call dropped. 

I clenched my fist, angry and irritated. That old skunk, Lucien, has got Father wrapped around his little finger from the beginning. He leveraged on my father's open-heartedness, throwing him into this goddamn contract that will only fatten his pocket. 

And now that my father is dead, my hopes to save the park are tied to the forced marriage to a woman I don't know and I've never met. Cherry Odessa Damaris. I heard she's beautiful, but I really don't care for beauty.

It's been years since I succumbed to a woman's beauty, and after that night, I couldn't see any other woman but her.

I didn't even know her name, and I didn't ask. I just wanted to be with her that night. 

As my eyes swept through the street, the memory of that night lingered in my mind. I had met her on a street like this on a cold, chilly night. I had a rough day at the office and a terrible argument with my father about his deal with that devil, Lucien. 

Father never listened to me. I hated that I felt unworthy as his child. And then, that moment I saw her standing in the street, alone. 

I was scared she would get hurt if she stayed there any longer, so I politely asked her to come with me to a safe place. 

It was a very short night. But she left me with a souvenir, a handkerchief with a rare blue cherry scent. I knew we only had that night and might never see each other again. Yet I took that handkerchief with me everywhere like a good luck charm. 

I pulled out the handkerchief from my suit pocket, clenching it until…

"We are here, sir!" Tim's voice shook me out of my thoughts. Here I am again, back in the devil's mansion, hoping for a renegotiation of his wicked terms. But I know Lucien, he won't give in without a cut-throat fight. He is manipulative, as he is smart, and I know he would put me in a position where I won't get to say no. 

But I'm ready for him. I didn't raise a billion-dollar firm from scratch by being a weak negotiator. 

I tucked the handkerchief back into my pocket and stepped out of the car. Tim quickly stood in my way, bowing politely.

"Sir, you might want to smile a bit. You look like you're about to go knock someone off instead of asking for a girl's hand in marriage."

Trust me, Tim, I wish I could knock off Lucien, that old devil. 

"Thanks Tim." I adjusted my tie. "I'll try not to look like a paid assassin. But I'm not smiling for anyone." I walked past Tim and as I stepped into the house…

*Sniff.

Wait what?

That smell. It's the rare blue cherry scent.

The girl I met that night. She's here!