Tangled

Josephine's POV.

"Wait! What?... You can't expect me to leave my career and marry that man."

My voice is tremulous. I still couldn't believe what my dad just told me.

"Mom, you know Dad is asking for an impossible thing… I just can't give up my dreams just like that… and what will I tell Max?"

"Sweetheart, you know your dad loves you so much… he is asking you for something hard… but if you think of it, if you don't help him out, he will be going to jail for a pretty long time." My mom says, her voice tremulous, she has been crying all night.

I run my hands into my hair, this is too much for me to take in.

Tears welled down my eyes as I looked up at the high ceiling, the Hermitage Chandelier hanging above my head really did add colour to the luxury sitting room where we were all seated.

"Sweetheart!" My dad called, his voice very quaky. From the look on his face, he really needed this arranged marriage to work out and really fast.

"I received a call from my lawyer at the international criminal court in the Netherlands… turns out my investors have gone ahead to press charges against me at the international level, even after I had asked them to be patient just a little while… you just have to help me out! Please!" My dad is now on his knees, tears well down his eyes.

Looking around I could see my mom crying by the dining table. Our nanny is handing her a piece of towel to wipe her tears.

The nanny really could use that towel, as she too was weeping uncontrollably.

 I plopped myself into the Modshop Eden Rock Sofa behind me, I held my head with my hands as I watched everything play out right in front of me like a video of some sort.

My dad had called me earlier to come back home, that he had something to discuss with me.

Ever since MetapleX was hacked by an unknown hacker, investors from my dad's company had been on his neck.

Some even threaten to kill him if he doesn't return their money.

It has really been a battle, I used to work with my dad at his Tech. Company, but after the crash I decided to go back to MIT to further my studies.

"Dad the last time I called you… you told me Mr Thwane Clark has agreed to help you out and pay up your investors…why then has he suddenly changed the terms of the agreement?" I ask, with my eyes furrowed up in bewilderment.

"My daughter, I am as surprised as you are." He is now trying to dap his tears with the towel the nanny had given him.

"It really baffles me… I mean who would even reject such an offer." His brows still furrowed in surprise.

I shake my head in disbelief, looking at my dad and mom one last time, with tears welling down my eyes uncontrollably, I stand up abruptly.

I can't give up on my dreams, vision and true love Max Berkeley.

I can't marry Thwane Clark, it's impossible.

I ran towards the door, yanking the door open, I made my way out of the 8-bedroom duplex, my heel hitting the Michigan grass very harshly, entering my car, and I zoomed off.

The faint voice of my mom and dad screaming my name was all I heard playing in my head as I drove through the street at a very high speed.

My life is ruined after all my efforts.

—------------------------------------------------------

" No you can't leave me here… I mean we are lovers and I love you and want to get married to you… see I have even bought the ring…am just waiting for the right time to propose to you." Max Berkeley says his voice laced with fear.

I could bear hear him due the loud DJ playing at the club downstairs.

I gazed into his eye, as I whisked my yoghurt with a straw, I found myself lost in a verdant oasis of true love, where every glance is a journey to a world only we can explore together.

His chocolate brown had a superb finish, his hair stands as a masterpiece of precision. One could really say of a truth his hair had been styled by a master.

Looking at his biceps I couldn't help but wonder if he had been chiselled by the great Phidias.

"It doesn't matter, Max" my voice sounded cold and laced with trepidation.

"What doesn't matter?… I have loved you since the day I walked into your dad's office and saw you… your charming blue eyes sucked me in like the endless depths of the ocean, pulling me into a world of love and wonder that I never want to escape from…Please don't leave me… I can't survive without you." His voice is mellifluous and tears well down his eyes as he holds my hand.

I couldn't help but join him in crying. I love him, but I have to get married to Thwane Clark, a multi-billionaire who has a track record of being mean.

"Max! I love you… and nothing can change that…not an arranged marriage… not Jupiter or anything… but I have to do this, otherwise my dad will be jailed for life."

My voice tremulous, as I sniff up my tears.

"I really love you… and I don't want you to go… please is there no other way… I mean he can have a share in the company in exchange for the funds he releases to your dad." His voice is quaky, I could see trepidation reeking all over him.

" We tried but it didn't work." Tears flowed down my eyes as I held his hand tightly.

What he doesn't know is that I am more afraid than he is. Thwane Clark has a track record of being mean to women, some people even say he is a misogynist.

"Max, I am very sorry." My voice quaky as I stood up from the table, looking at him one more time. I kissed him for the last time and without looking back at him I made my way out of the Golden Diner, a restaurant in New York City known for its mouth-watering Korean fried chicken wings.

Closing the door of my car, I picked up my phone and tested my dad.

"AM READY TO DO IT"