Author's point of view...!
Taking a steadying breath, I pulled myself together, feeling something shift deep within me. If they want me dead so badly, then let it be...! “Fine,” I muttered, biting back the bitter taste forming in my mouth. “I’ll go through with the wedding, Dad, but I don't think this would work out well...?" His eyes narrowed, I continued under my breath, "You won't be able to leech them for long" He gritted in frustration and grabbed my wrist, stopping me from going out. "If it's not going to work, you will have to make it work, Ericka. No matter what..." he said in his menacing tone. I squeezed my eyes shut. This man could be the cruelest father in this entire world and the heavens had cursed him upon me...! I sucked in a cold breath and calmed my nerves. I was never a loser, and I won't be one in the future as well. "Okay fine...! I will marry him..." I blurted out, pulling my wrist from his grip. "I will go through it. Even if it is to fight for every breath I take." I said that to myself. He looked at me with smug satisfaction, already dismissing me as if I were some chore he had finally completed. I forced myself to stand properly, my heart feeling both fractured and hardened. I turned and walked away. When Chairman Davis put this proposal before me, I tried hard to refuse it but he was so serious about it. He didn't let me talk to him anymore. I thought maybe it was for my good and his son might be the right partner for me. God...! Who could have guessed, what his son actually was?? I walked back to my room and slammed the door behind me. As I know I couldn't avoid this, I can at least make it bearable. Sitting on my bed, the first thing I did was block Logan's number to let my mind suffer less from his venom. A week passed and Dad indulged himself in the so called preperation of the wedding. I didn't hear anything from Logan after that and I had been avoiding Dad as well. I was glad that at least I wouldn't have to hear those venomous words again, but soon, my little shell of safety shattered. The day before the dramatic wedding, my Dad walked in with his phone in his hands and my heart skipped a beat. My intuition was screaming in my head that it might be something, something was really off. Did Logan call him? And what is he up to now? "What is it, Dad?" I asked, puzzled, and as expected, Dad replied with some urgency in his tone. "It's Logan, Ericka" My heart sank, I couldn't avoid him any longer. I extended my trembling hand towards him to get his phone. Preparing myself for the curses that would follow, but Dad didn't lend me his phone;; instead, he said excitedly. "Get prepared, honey" I was stunned for a moment. Did he just call me honey!! As if smacking me out of my trans, Dad continued. "He hung up but he called me just to invite us to a family gathering and you to his bachelor party..." Wait...! What?? "What...!!" I was so shocked. That scumbag is actually inviting me to his party...! No way, right? Is that for real!! Or is that some kind of trap that he laid carefully for me!?? No way...! There is no way I am going to be his prey. I won't go there...! "Come on, get ready..." My Dad's desperate voice pricked through my thoughts, and I tried hard to protest. I can't go...! I must not...! "No Dad...I wouldn't..." I protested but he cut me off yet again. "What did you say..." Dad's eyes narrowed and his demeanor instantly changed into something ugly. Not again...! Before I could repeat myself, he blurted out through his gritted teeth. "I don't want to listen to that nonsense crab again, Ericka..." he smacked, "Your father-in-law had arranged everything for you to get ready for this party, and you would do whatever is needed..." I froze, speechless. It seemed that I couldn't just avoid this disaster. "Mr. Jameson had personally asked me to tell you to dress up elegantly as this will be your first time meeting your future husband..." he added, seriously as if stating a chapter of solemn oaths. My future husband...! Yeah, right!!! I heaved a sigh. Dress up to be humiliated or to be killed...? I have no idea what he had planned after I ditched him. He must be going crazy with anger by now. Everything that I had been trying hard to forget, to bury, resurfaced. I found myself trapped in this. My mind insisted that this was the trap he had been preparing all this while, and I could not afford to go. He is a monster and I am sure he would go to any extent to stop this wedding. Though we share the same goal, he would never consider my safety to achieve his goal. Instead, he would rather kill me without any hesitation. "We will be leaving early this evening. Be ready and don't you dare play any tricks this time, Ericka" Smacking that, Dad left me alone to cry. What a loving father...! I stayed in my room all day, with no food and no one to talk to. How could I even think about eating when I knew that something wrong would happen to me tonight? That was so annoying...! In the evening, I was called out by my father. I descended the stairs only to find the entire hall crowded. As I reached the bottom, my eyes widened. There were young women everywhere, dressed in matching uniforms, bustling around like a carefully choreographed performance. Mr. Jameson had apparently arranged for a whole team to prepare me for tonight’s ordeal—maids, makeup artists, stylists, and even assistants holding a lineup of designer dresses, bags, heels, and jewelry. The setup was impressive, like something straight out of a fairytale. But instead of feeling pampered, I felt trapped. This wasn't helping. A knot settled in my gut. I tried to take in everything, but still, my hands and legs shivered. The extravagance around me felt suffocating. All of this was for bringing me to him...! Logan, the man who starts hates me to his core. Just the thought of his name sent a shiver through me, a nauseating churn roiling in my stomach. I didn't understand why I had to do this. Why was he throwing a party if he despised me so much? The entire team worked swiftly, doing all the chores they were supposed to do, but I couldn't help but feel uneasy. “Ma’am, we’re ready,” one of the makeup artists said, her voice cutting through my anxious thoughts. I blinked, snapping back to reality, and hesitated before looking at my reflection. "What the heck..." I exclaimed in shock. “Is that…me?” I murmured in disbelief. The person in the mirror who looked back at me didn’t look like me at all. The transformation was stunning, almost unrecognizable. I looked like some high-fashion model, too polished, too poised. A stranger, to be honest. "You look so beautiful, ma’am," the girl beside me said, her voice soft with admiration. I forced a tight smile, trying to appreciate the compliment, but something inside me just wouldn’t let it settle. I sighed, my eyes falling from the mirror. No matter how beautiful I looked on the outside, it couldn’t erase the turmoil I felt within. "Ma'am, we will leave now," the girl from earlier said in a low tone, and I nodded. The entire team left, leaving me alone in my room. I inhaled and exhaled a few times to let my mind settle into reality. No matter what was waiting for me out there, I had to face it. **************Author’s Point of View… It had taken years. Years of waiting, of planning, of bleeding in silence. But on a crisp autumn morning, under the golden light of the boardroom chandelier, Nathan Dawis, finally held the final piece of his revenge in his palm. He had already taken down Michael and his empire effortlessly and now it's time for the snakes in his sleeve. “Fifty-two percent of the shares,” the legal advisor announced, sliding the final signed document across the table. “Congratulations, Mr. Dawis. You now own the Dawis Empire.” Nathan smirked. He had already bought forty seven percent of the company shares secretly and with the five percent shares, his grandma, Amanda Dawis gifted him, now he owns fifty two percent of the shares of the Dawis group , making him the biggest share holder and indirectly the owner of the company. There was no thunderous applause. No dramatic music. Just a quiet click as Nathan signed the last page. He stood slowly, slipping his pen into
Author's point of view... "Ericka...!!" A voice rang out in disbelief, cutting through the soft silence in the car like a whip. Ericka’s heart jolted. She turned her head just in time to see Anna, standing in the rain-drenched street, her eyes wide with shock—and rage. “What the hell are you doing?!” Anna screamed, her voice trembling. The first thing that Anna thought was that Nathan taking advantage of her friend. She thought Ericka was being forced into something. Before Ericka could even react, Anna stormed toward the car in a fury. Nathan instinctively reached for Ericka’s hand, pulling her closer protectively. Anna reached the car and slammed her palm on the hood, startling them both. Then, with a sharp glare at Nathan, she grabbed a loose stone lying near the sidewalk and then, Thund...! The passenger side mirror shattered in a violent clatter. “Anna!!” Ericka flung open the door and rushed out, grabbing her friend’s hand before she could strike again. “Stop i
Author's point of view... Ericka stepped out of the café, her head down, her thoughts spinning like a whirlwind inside her. Though she tried to smack it out of her head, she couldn't completely. At that time, she was ignoring him, she hated him and she thought he was so angry with her. She even thought he would kill her but in reality, he was always good to her. All he wanted was her to come find him. She gasped and covered her forehead. "How idioty I was!" she muttered to none particular, "He saved Ryan…he saved me...! Yet he never even told me…" "He had always been there for me...!!" Her feet moved on their own, aimless and slow, as if waiting for her heart to catch up. The late afternoon sky had darkened unexpectedly, casting a shadow across the pavement. She didn't realize it. Her mind was somewhere deep. Thunder rolled in the distance, and the wind started to whip around the trees lining the street. Still, Ericka didn’t stop. She was lost in the memory of Rya
Author's point of view... Ericka stood up from her seat, her chair scraping back abruptly as Ryan limped into the café. Her heart dropped. He looked like he’d walked through a warzone, his lip split, a dark bruise under his left eye, his arm in a sling, and several small cuts which were now brownish in color, peeking out from under the collar of his hoodie. “Ryan…! What happened to you?!" she exclaimed, rushing to him. She thought he might have gotten into a fight at the college. He raised a hand quickly, attempting a smile despite the pain. “Don’t panic, sis… It looks worse than it is.” Ericka was both furious and concerned at the same time. How could she not panic! “Worse than it is?” she repeated in disbelief, helping him settle into the seat across from her. “You look like you were thrown into a boxing ring and left there overnight!” “I’m okay,” he said, waving off her concern. “Just… let me breathe for a sec.” Ericka stared at him, her mind spinning. The last tim
Author's point of view... The warm morning light continued to spill into the room, and Ericka lay still beneath Nathan, her heart beating louder than the birds chirping outside. He hadn’t moved, and neither let her walk out. His forehead was still touching hers, as they lay there, tired. And the million dollar smile on his lips was lazy, amused, and far too confident for someone who just stole something so precious from her. Ericka pouted. “You said you wouldn’t do anything until I was ready…” Nathan raised a brow, eyes still locked with hers. “You nodded.” “You are so cunning!! I was under a spell!” “I’ll gladly cast it again,” he murmured, nuzzling the tip of her nose with his. Ericka huffed and turned her face away, her cheeks turning redder. Is this the same man she knew before? “You’re unbelievable.” she mumbled. Nathan smirked. “You’re unbelievably cute when flustered.” She tried to push him off. “Let me go. I need to shower.” But instead of letting her
Author's point of view... The morning sun slipped in through the half-open curtains, casting warm stripes across the silky white sheets. Birds chirped faintly outside the window, but inside the room, everything was still. Ericka stirred slightly, her lashes fluttering open. Her head ached faintly, her body heavy as if she’d just come out of a dream. She blinked several times, trying to register where she was. "Soft sheets… expensive scent… wait… silk robe?" Her eyes widened as she slowly sat up, finding herself wrapped in nothing but a man’s black silk robe that hung loosely around her shoulders. "What the—?!" before she could realise, the words slipped out of her mouth. She stared at her arms, at her bare legs peeking from beneath the robe. No clothes…! A drop of cold sweat dripped down her forehead. As she tried to remember, her head spun but still... no memory of changing into these by herself… Her mind raced, still foggy from the night before. Then she turned her head.