One: The Engagement

“Shane, this is Erwan Fuenter, your fiancé.” My eyes widened upon hearing those words from my dad. We are sitting on a couch inside the living room and my dad called me out of my room because according to him, I have an important visitor to meet. He forgot to mention that he came up with another mischievous plan to control my life.

Erwan, or whatever his name is, stretched out his hand as if offering a handshake. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. I heard him chuckle as he slowly put his hands down. It is my first time seeing him and I don’t have any idea where he came from but I swear, I can’t stand this guy! I faced my dad with annoyance written all over my face.

“This guy is my fiancé?” I said, pointing at my so-called fiancé.

My dad nodded.

 “Come on, dad. You must be kidding.”

“I am not, in any way, kidding about this. You’re 20 now, Shane. You must sort your life. Mr. Fuenter is an honorable man, he is the same age as you, and I figured that you will be a good fit for each other.”

The living room is silent and only the three of us are there but I wish that someone will burst open the door and tell me that he is not my real father.

“You did not even talk to me about this matter, and why are you hurrying about my marriage? It’s not like the world is going to run out of guys that I can marry!” I did not bother to hide the irritation in my voice as I stared at him with full of disgust.

“I never said that I needed your opinion about this. What is there to fuss about? I am only doing what is best for you.” His voice is calm yet superior. He did not even move an inch from his seat. It is not hard to figure out that this conversation is just like a business meeting to him, his black business suit and formal posture prove it all.

“Best for me? Do you even know what is best for me, or are you just doing this for the sake of your business?!” 

“Do not speak to me like that in front of Mr. Fuenter. I am your father and I am not giving you any right to disagree with my decision. ” The warning in his voice is enough to make me shiver but this is the only opportunity to disagree with him.      

“I do not even know him. For pete's sake, Dad, let me live my own life!”

“You have plenty of time to get to know each other. Trust me, he is a great man. Besides, I will never hand you over to a man that I do not trust.”

Trust him? How can I ever trust him when all he did was manipulate my life?

“No, Dad. I am sorry I can’t do this.” I shook my head, my voice barely audible.

“Shane.” He called my name with full of authority.

I did not speak. I did not answer him. For the next couple of minutes, the living room became much silent and I wonder if dad can hear my pounding heart and notice my trembling knees.

The decisive expression on his face made me wriggled in my seat because I am certain that if I do not act the way he wanted me, I will suffer great consequences.

He looked at me warningly and fear began to eat my system. My dad holds something in his authoritative aura that makes my stomach rumble. I’ll admit it, I am afraid of my dad and all my life, I feel like I can never get to live the way I want because he already got my future planned for me.

I tried to keep my composure and hid my fear.

 “Dr. Mavero, I think that Shane needs some time to sort things out.” Erwan butt in. For a moment, I have forgotten his existence. I studied his figure, he is wearing a fitted gray v-neck shirt topped with a black suit jacket that made me notice his broad shoulder. His alluring look screams tidiness. His long pointed nose and fine thin lips suit well with his sharp jawline. Something in his looks tells me that he is an easy-going type of guy who doesn't take anything seriously. But it makes me envious of him.. he seems free.

I look up to see his eyes and notice that he is also looking at me, I immediately diverted my gaze at my dad.

My father’s eyes were no longer looking at me, his brown eyes that are closely similar to mine are earnestly peering at the guy who is sitting beside him on the sofa.

“Do you think so, Erwan?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. I think that Shane is just shocked by her sudden engagement with me. Let us give her some time to figure things out.”

Dad turned his attention back at me.

“Shane, this engagement is arranged for your own sake, I assure you that.” His voice is rough and dismissive. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw him sprang to his feet and walked out of the living room.

 Now, there are only the two of us here.

I breathed deeply as I gathered all of my courage to face him. My knees are no longer trembling and my chest finally relaxed.

“Mr. Fuenter, as you can see, I cannot do anything to change my father’s mind and cancel this engagement. But, I trust that you do not also agree with this kind of agreement. So, I am going to ask you a very tiny favor that can change both of our lives. I would like you to do everything in your power so this engagement will not proceed the way my dad wants it. ” I directly looked into his blue eyes and speak formally.

“You are asking me to ruin the engagement?” his eyebrow raised and his eyes intently stared back.

“Yes, Mr. Fuenter.” I gulped.

He crossed his legs on the sofa and placed his fingertips together. His lips are slightly forming into a curve but he stopped them from becoming a smile.

“It is very brave of you to ask me that thing when you do not even have the slightest idea about who am I. Indeed, I do not also agree with this agreement. However, I’d like you to know that my mom personally asks me to do this fiancé thingy with you, and I happen to love her veeery much to the point that I cannot disappoint her.” I closed my eyes for a moment and exhaled deeply. This guy is starting to get into my nerves, seriously, is he going to let that favor of his mother change his life?

“So, you are telling me that you won’t cancel the engagement?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest while waiting for his answer.

“I am glad that you are fast to get that, Ms. Croven. As a matter of fact, I will not lose anything if I participate in this agreement.” I can see that he is trying to suppress his laughter now. The nerve of this guy to laugh! Does he think engagement is a joke?

I rose from the sofa and stand in front of him, my arms still crossed and my eyes looking at him unbelievingly.

“But, Mr. Fuenter, it seems that it did not appear to you that this engagement can lead to an actual marriage, and that can absolutely change and ruin both of our lives.”

“Oh, I am aware that of that, and I do not find any reason to go against it. Now, if you will excuse me, Ms. Croven,” he paused for a second and rose to his seat, “I have to go.” He continued and patted me on my shoulder, smiled and waved his hand at me before making his way out of the house.

Wow.

I was dumbfounded by his attitude. What the fudge did just happened? Does he really want this engagement to pursue? What the fudge is wrong with him? He does not even know who I am or what am I like.  The only thing he knows about me is my name, yet he seems so driven to continue this freaking engagement.

I run to my room exasperatingly and lay down in my bed.

I stared at the ceiling of my chamber, endlessly thinking about my future that is already planned by my father, the clock loudly ticking on the left corner of the wall.

Dr. Mavero Croven, my father, is an influential man who circulated his life with his business. He was a neurologist, but most of the time, he focused his attention on running his well-established companies instead of going to the hospital. In the first few years when he was just a newbie in the business world, he believes that he can be both a successful entrepreneur and a doctor at the same time. Whenever someone calls him to attend to a patient, he will stop whatever he was doing and run to the hospital. But, everything change, his business started to bloom and became well-known in the industry. He did not throw his medical license out of the window and kept it hidden in one of his drawers.

I do not know if it was about his business but he suddenly stopped coming to the hospital and locked himself inside his office. Then when he came out, he focused his attention on the business field and I never heard a single phone call from the hospital again. Before I knew it, he became more greedy for power and connections and centered his life in the company which makes me think that he had already forgotten that he has a daughter. Maybe something happened that made him decide that being a doctor was not really what he desires.

Now, I can’t help but think that maybe, I am just one of the valuable assets that he can bargain anytime he wanted.

How can I escape the wrath of my father?

I grabbed a book from my bookshelf and read it. I do not have anything better to do anyway.

But no matter how hard I tried, my thoughts kept coming back with the idea of my engagement. I rolled in my bed and suffocate myself under the pillow that I grabbed. What is the sense of living a wealthy life when I can’t even decide what’s best for me?