Chapter 6

"What?! Why am I just getting to know about this now?!" Collins exclaimed in utter shock.

"It happened too fast, honestly. Plus, I didn't have any other options left on the table. Either I got married to him or I got thrown in jail for assault, leaving you and Granny to rot. I couldn't even bear the thought of not being there for  grandma."

Aella tried to explain to him. Collins had barely come out of jail when he called his sister. Aella had to meet him at a coffee shop instead of her "marital home" for fear that Damien would somehow find out she brought a stranger to his house.

"Let's look on the bright side, Collins. You're a free man again. Grandma has a chance at survival. I just signed the documents, and the surgery will commence in a few hours. What we have to think about is how to get you a job so you can survive in this  country."

Collins didn't give her a response. He looked lost in his head for some reason. "I don't have a lot, but here's 500 dollars."

Aella slid the thin wad of 100-dollar notes across the table to him. "You'd have to find somewhere to stay. When I get my salary from my job, I'll give you half of it for you to find your feet. For now, you have to find something to  do.

"You can't marry that man, Aella. I won't allow you to make that mistake."

Aella stared at her brother in silence for a few seconds. Was he being real?

"If you didn't notice it early, I'll let you know that the mistake has been made already, and that mistake got your life back. That mistake got Grandma her life back. We can't do anything about it because it's too  late.

"Fuck all that, Aella!"

He flared up from his seat and sprang to his feet in rage. "I don't care if you marry him to save me from hell! Are you telling me that you're fine with getting married to him? It was a spoiled rich brat who put me in jail for something I did not do. They think they own the world. They think they can do anything they want and get away with it! Is that who you plan to live with, even if it's just for a few months?!"

The silence from Aella soon made him aware of the commotion he'd just caused, the eyes he'd attracted with his outburst, and slowly, he got a hold of himself. He finally took his seat and faced a pissed-out Aella.

"We both know that the rich prick is going to frustrate you to death. He's going to take advantage of you and dump you when he gets what he  wants."

"And you think I don't know that? I'm doing this because I don't have a choice, Collins. You have to understand. He's fulfilled his own part of the deal, and I have to fulfill mine, or I go to prison. Why rebel when I could endure for a few months? Do you want to be thrown back into prison? Do you want Grandma to die?" She questioned him.

He opened his mouth to protest, but words couldn't get out of his mouth.

"I thought so," she muttered. Collins sighed helplessly.

"Look, Aella, I'm just trying to look out for you. I don't want that bastard to do anything stupid to  you, he said, holding her hands, his once-red eyes now filled with concern. She knew her brother had a very short temper, but she also knew he was acting like this because he was sincerely concerned and he loved her.

"You don't have to worry about me, Collins. I'll be fine. What I want us to think about is how we can get you back on your feet. First, let's start with trimming this overgrown beard of  yours, she stared in irritation.

****

"9:30?? How?!"

Aella screamed her lungs out when she took a glance at the clock hanging on the wall. She was supposed to get ready for work and follow Collins to work an hour ago! Why did she have to oversleep today, of all days?!

She flung the duvet away and dashed into the bathroom immediately. It didn't take her long to take her bath. In less than fifteen minutes, she was done and dressed, ready to go to work.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

She cussed several times as she frantically searched for her ID card. She finally found it. With her heels in her hands, she busted out of the room and ran down the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her.

She thought of branching Damien's room just in case, but she knew he didn't bother to wake her up; he wouldn't bother to wait up for her. She was soon out of the estate and in a cab, on her way to the company.

"Ma'am?"

The driver called to her as he drove.

"Yes? Yes? What is it?" she questioned impatiently as she tried to put on her shoes.

"I... I think you have your shirt worn inside out," he informed her as he gave her a glance through the rearview mirror.

"Wh...", She checked her shirt just to be sure he wasn't messing with her, and he wasn't. She couldn't care about that now.

He soon dropped her, and she ran as fast as she could into the three-story building. She didn't bother using the elevator because her guess was that it would be full on a Monday. She jumped the stairs, floor to floor, until she got to the last floor.

Panting and sweating like a little girl who'd been chased by a ghost, she soon realized she'd somehow gotten the attention of every staff member on the floor.

It turned out they were having an open meeting with their CEO, so her heavy steps attracted their eyes. From their confused looks, Aella knew she wasn't looking too good.

"And just in the nick of time, our latest employee is here. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Aella Thompson, our newest designer. Oh, and before I forget, my wife," Damien introduced her to the rest of the workers with a cheap smirk on his face. Great.

Did he have to introduce her now?

She had no choice but to approach them with a sheepish bow, knowing she'd lost her first impression on her colleagues.

"I'll let you know that you were an hour and thirty minutes late. Unfortunately, lateness is heavily frowned upon in this organization, and for that, 10% of your salary shall be deducted as punishment," he informed.

"10%?! But I'm a new employee! Is there some kind of grace for first-time offenders?" She asked, shocked and still panting. She couldn't believe her ears.

She had people to take care of. 10 percent was too much of a deduction, for goodness sake!

"Besides, we literally live in the same house. You could've just woken me up for work."

"Did you hire a human alarm clock? How dare you tell me I should've woken you up? You think I didn't see you sneak into the house hours past midnight?!"

His smile was replaced by a death glare.

"My grandma just had her surgery, for goodness sake! I had to stay with her for some time before coming back home. I sneaked in because I knew you'd make a fuss about  it."

"I don't want any lame excuses from you!! I don't tolerate bad behavior from anyone here, and you won't be the first! Do I make myself clear?!!"

His anger-filled voice bellowed through the whole floor, and he shut Aella up immediately. She looked around, only to see that they were giving the rest of the staff some premium husband-wife reality TV drama.

"And next time, come to work looking sane, at least. Your sweaty, haggard look will affect our workspace. This meeting is  dismissed, he said, walking away into his office.

Slowly, she felt the eyes of the workers peel off her before going back to their positions. What a great way to begin her career.