2. I WILL MARRY HIM

After Darian left the house with his chauffeur, Lena went to get her father new drugs from her money.

It was already late when she returned home. She gave the drugs to him and sat down when he was done taking his prescribed dosage.

She coughed out to attract his attention. Glancing at her father, she placed her hands on her chin. "Dad, who was that man?" She was ready to talk about it now. "And what was that whole nonsense he was spewing? I didn't understand anything. Could you please explain this to me? Properly this time." She demanded, swabbing her feet on the floor.

Her father heaved a long sigh. Shaking his head in pity, he stared at his daughter.

"He's Darian Dawson, the CEO of Darian's Holdings. He doesn't reverse his decisions, he speaks once, he's dreadful, and no one dares go against his will," Gavin replied to his daughter in a reserved tone.

 "How did you get involved with him, dad?" She continued with her questions.

He heaved a weary sigh, folding his arms together; he rested his back on the couch and shook his head in regret.

"I met him years ago," He began, "You were in school, and your mother just passed away; I got fired from work, and it was all hard for me. I took to drinking when I met some men. They were bad associates, but I felt like I needed them then. We would go to the club every night and gamble, and that was where I met Darian for the first time," he told his daughter. Pausing for a brief moment, he continued. "He was young and vibrant, and I envied him so much. Days after meeting him, my friends approached me and told me about a business I could involve in that would fetch me some money." He sighed again and sipped in some water from the can. "They told me I needed huge money to start the business and eventually cajoled me into lending some money from Darian because he was a regular at the club where we gambled."

Lena stared at her father surprisingly —she had no idea her father was into that shady stuff. When she lost her mother while in the uni, she had proposed the idea of coming back home to stay with him in Geneva, but he had opposed it and told her he was doing okay; she had no idea he was moving with bad friends.

"What happened after that?" She asked impatience laced in her soft voice.

"I approached him, and he challenged me to a pool game. I won, and he said he would lend the money to me, which he did."

"So, what did you do with the money?" She asked him again. "And how much was it?"

"A huge amount, a Hundred thousand dollars." He said, and Lena almost screamed; that was huge!

"That big money? What happened to it?"

"I gambled with some, and when it was time for me to invest, I didn't find my friends anymore. They left with all the money, leaving me in debt."

"Oh shit! Dad, how could you be so gullible to let anyone do that to you?" She was disappointed. 

"Yes, I was foolish. I agree, but the situation at hand now is that. . ." He paused again. "I need to pay back his money. He would make sure he throws me in jail if I don't." He panicked as he thought of ways to solve the payment, but nothing popped into his head.

"What do you plan to do, dad?" Lena inquired of her father.

"I don't know of anything, I have no money with me, and the only way is..." He stared at her, and she quickly abated his glance as it reached her. "Please, Lena, you have to do this for me." He begged her, "I'm weak, and going to jail would worsen things. He's a vicious man. He would render you homeless, throw me in jail and take everything from you. Please, consider all of this and help me."

She glared at him in confusion. She understood what he meant but feigned not to. 

"Dad, I don't understand what you want me to do here. Do you want me to work for him?" She queried.

"He gave us conditions, Lena. He gave us conditions, you either become his wife, or I pay my debt." He bowed his head and rubbed his temples, closing his eyes, he felt a sharp pain hit his chest; he breathed hard and opened those eyes again, boring into his daughter's.

"You want me to get married to him?" She asked surprisingly.

"That's the only way to save me from this, Lena," Gavin stared apologetically at his daughter.

 

Lena stood up and turned her back to her father; she shook her head in disagreement, walking steps away from him.

"How can you, dad?" She frowned, "How can you tell me to go marry a man I barely know?" She was disappointed. "I saw him for the first time today and..." He held her shoulders, rubbing them gently; her heart softened, and she stopped speaking.

"I regret this mistake, depression led to all of these, and I'm so sorry. Please, Lena, save me, and the family, and you won't even have to be with him for long." He told her, letting go of her, he sat back on the couch.

"How is that possible?" She sat on the couch and glared at her father; she was mad at him. "How do you plan to repay him a whole sum of a hundred thousand dollars?" She was interested in the magic he wanted to perform to bring out the money.

"When you become his wife, you will have access to lots of things, and within a short period, we will get the money and pay him back, and then, you can file for a divorce." Lena shook her head and was disgusted with her father's point.

She wondered when he started to build up those ideas and how he even managed to get himself into that mess.

"And you think he would be foolish to let me get such an amount?" She scoffed. "Father, I can't do this. I'm sorry." She bluntly refused.

"Then, do you want to watch me die?" He held her hands and stroked her fingers. "Darian is merciless, he has strong connections, and he's even involved with the..." He paused and didn't talk further. "Maybe it's time to go join your mother in heaven." He relaxed on the couch, letting his thoughts completely control his mind.

Lena gazed at her father; she had adored him since she was little. He loved her so much and cared for her. Growing up as a child, he made sure he gave her all that she needed, and ever since her mother died, he had been the only one for her. She didn't want to watch him suffer when she could easily help him but getting married to a stranger was never part of the plan, she closed her eyes, and tears dripped down her cheeks. She had plans, great plans for her life, with her best friend, not this.

She wished she could turn back the hands of the clock and do some things right, her father had made a lifetime mistake, and now it would even cost her her own life. Lena was not ready for marriage —not to a stranger, but then, she had to save her father and herself.

"Lena?" Gavin called her again, she looked at him pitifully, and he was close to tears. She knew she couldn't watch him go to jail and die there; she would do it.

"I will marry him." She agreed to do it.

"You will?" There was a mixture of little excitement and more sadness on his face, it wasn't his joy to give his daughter away, but sometimes, when life hits hard, we have to move with the train.

"Yes, for you, father, for you." She sobbed, and he pulled her into an embrace. She cried slowly.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He apologized and hoped that she would be able to forgive him someday.

~

~

Lena returned to her tiny room, flopping on the bed. She thought of everything and wasn't sure she wanted to do it, but she had already told her father that she would.

When she was little, she planned to marry when she was twenty-four, and she was just a year before that. She sighed and rested on the teddy bear she got as a birthday present from Lisa, her best friend.

Life is not fair. She thought as she reminisced about everything that had happened so far. All her life, she'd never had a boyfriend, never loved a man, and now, she wasn't just going to love a man, she was getting married to a stranger.

She wondered how people could be crazy to make such decisions; she was thankful he had never been married, but that didn't settle it. She didn't plan to marry someone she didn't know.

She stretched her hand to pick up her phone, and she swiped on the screen. She dialled Lisa's number and placed the call in her ear, waiting patiently for her to pick up.

"Hey, baby!" Lisa's voice rang loudly in her eardrums. She sighed, wishing Lisa could stop yelling whenever they were on a call.

"Lisa, I'm getting married." She broke the news sadly to her.

"Married?" Lisa laughed for a few seconds and stopped, "To who?" She laughed again. "What the hell! Are you daydreaming?" She asked, "And stop this joke. I'm not in the best mood for this." She warned Lena.

"I'm dead serious! My dad wants me to get married to settle his debts!" She knew it was a shameful thing to say, but she and Lisa had gone past that stage; she was her best friend and more like a sister to her. She knew everything about her, and there was no point hiding things from her.

"Oh my gosh! That's terrible!" Lisa screeched. "Who is he?" She asked again.

"He's Darian Dawson, CEO of Darian's Holdings," she replied in a faint voice.

"Oh my gosh, oh my Gosh! Are you kidding me now?" Lisa squealed.

"I'm serious. Do you know him?" 

"Of course I do! That hot man? Oh my gosh, you need to see his body. He's so hot and devilishly handsome! Oh my God! That's a big catch." 

She knew it, Lisa knew him—Lisa was an avid reader of celebrity news and was sure she had read everything about Darian's life.

"Have you read about him too? What are his good and bad sides?"

"Oh my God! I don't know what to feel!" Lisa giggled over the phone.

"I don't know either, I saw him, and he doesn't even look nice; I didn't plan to get married this way. The plan was to work hard and get married at twenty-four, and now, I'm even jobless, I have no savings, I'm just twenty-three, and dad wants me to save him by getting married to this stranger. I do want to cry out; I'm unhappy about it." She sobbed and was about to cry again, "I'm sad!"

"Hey, calm down, okay? Just be positive about him." She told Lena.

"Positive about someone I barely know? How will I live with a stranger for the rest of my life? I can't handle this. I don't think I can do it." She said to her.

"Lena, you will be fine. You can't go back on your decision now. You have to save your father from going to jail, or do you want him to be in jail while you live your life?"

"I don't. But it's so hard to do, so difficult, and why does it have to be me?"

"It will get better, I'm always here for you, and I've got your back anytime and any day. Don't worry too much about it, be positive!" Lisa told her again, and they ended the call.

Lena closed her eyes, dropping onto the bed. That was it, she was going to marry Darian Dawson, she couldn't back out now, she had to save her father.