6: Another Proposal

Matthias

There was nothing free in this world. That was the number one lesson the world had taught me.

Not air, foods, especially freedom. You got to pay for those things, and the price sometimes couldn’t be paid by money.

And that was the price of my freedom.

I knew it would not be easy. Fuck, I expected that much, yet it still bothered the hell out of me. The scene from three days before night kept playing in my mind; how Althea froze in her seat, looking beautiful with those red lips that made me think the unthinkable for a second, but then surprised me with a reply.

“You must be out of your mind.”

I thought about it before. She wasn’t my type at all. She was way too naive and fragile. She wasn’t even ready to deal with this mess. But she was also my safest option. She was new to this, sure. And that was exactly the reason why. Because no one was behind her, controlling her. She’s probably the only one who wasn’t interested in my money. She barely had any interest in me, as much as I could tell. 

She was good at listening to some bullshit before, so why when I tried to tell her something she should’ve considered, she just walked away?

Walking away was an understatement for sure, because she ran fast. She left me without giving me any chance to speak. I tried to call her, but it was always her servant, Deborah,  that picked it up, saying that Althea wasn’t interested in talking with me.

This woman sure knew how to make things harder.

I looked at my phone, consider to call for extra help. It was easy for me to find her private number, email, or even track her whereabouts. I could also make things hard for her. Yet somehow, I didn’t feel like doing it. If I wanted to do this, I had to earn her trust. 

But how?

I leaned to my seat, looking at her profile on my monitor. There wasn’t much to know about her. Althea Devanka Lewis, graduated from a small university in Boston a year ago, and was 5 years younger than me. I didn’t find any info about her work except a few art commissions here and there.

No business experience, no notable family members,  just some average girl trying to live in the city. No one would ever guess someone like her was the only daughter of a wealthy businessman like Jessen-Keith Lewis. 

If Jessen was a bastard, he wouldn’t even consider putting her daughter’s name on his will. It still didn’t answer my question of why he didn’t even act like a father in the first place. Or maybe some men weren’t capable of being a father, like mine.

I crossed my arm, still staring at Althea’s profile, before a knock on my door made me shift my attention. My secretary, Liana, came with another stack of papers and letters.

“I guess you’re getting more popular these days, Boss,” she joked, putting those stacks on my desk.

I sniffed, not really surprised. Since my father died and I inherited the whole company, people thought they might have a chance. Fathers introducing their daughters, uncles promoting their nieces, and so on. As if I was interested in marrying anyone.

I wasn’t. I knew it well that involving heart and feelings was only a temporary joy before you suffer in the end.

“This marriage thing is driving me crazy,” I mumbled.

“Trust me, once you get married, you’ll know the real deal, Boss,” Liana replied. “But it isn’t as bad as you think.”

“Good for you and your wife.”

Liana married her girlfriend two years ago. And while I was happy with them, the concept of love still felt like a lie to me. Some people might be blessed with it, while some were just ... like me.

I was happy with being alone. I always was. But this shit wouldn’t let me be at peace. And while I needed to get married, I definitely would not let those people control me with the possible-wife they offered.

That was why I needed Althea.

“It seems like there is another one who is just  as popular as you,” she added. “People are talking about her.”

“Her?”

Liana nodded. “The one that you brought with you to Rochefort's party. What is her name again? Athena?”

“Althea.”

“So you remembered her.” Liana teased. It was hard to forget her when she screwed me up this bad. “It seems she is getting a lot of proposals too.”

“Propo–what?” My eyes widened . Did I hear it right?

“Someone from Combercast came, and he told me that his boss is going to marry the new heir of Erbeauty.”

“Combercast? You mean that old bastard? Richard Clinton?”

Before Liana gave me another answer, I stood up quickly from my seat. I grabbed my phone and my car key.

“Where are you going? How about the–” 

“I’ll deal with it later.”

I knew some people would try to go near her as soon as possible. But that jerk Richard Clinton? That man sure didn’t know when to stop.

God, Althea. You better not do anything stupid before it was too late for both of us.

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