Xavier was out with his friends on a boat cruise, that Monday morning when he got the call from him father. Who could judge the grandson of a wealthy billionaire for going on a boat cruise on a Monday morning while other people are working their asses off to make ends meet. Xavier's ends were never separated to begin with.
"We need to talk. Now!" His grandfather had sounded commanding over the phone, leaving Xavier speechless for a brief moment."Did you hear me?" Mr Smith asked"Yes, grandpa, of course. Do you want me to come to the office?" Xavier asked trying to sound composed and less busy not knowing the sound of the boat engine in the background already gave him off."Actually, seems like you're busy. I want you at the apartment by 4pm sharp. Today."Mr Smith ended the call and sighed. As much as Xavier had his head in the business, he was also someone who loved to have fun at any point in time. He never missed the opportunity to party. Never in his life had he ever rejected and invitation to party.Mr Smith was well aware of Xavier's refusal to settle down and he knew it wasn't going to be easy to convince him to get married to Celine but he had a secret weapon which he had kept for a while and now was the best time to pull it out.On the night of his twentieth birthday, Xavier had gone out with a group of friends and had engaged in illegal car racing. They kept driving at full speed without any control whatsoever. They were all drunk and still driving mad fast.Xavier had gotten so drunk his vision wasn't clear again and he had hid a woman who was trying to cross the road. The woman had looked left and right and didn't see any cars coming. But the moment she got to the middle of the road, Xavier's car came out of nowhere and hit her.Xavier was too drunk to notice he had even hit someone instead he drove on to the finish line. It was his opponent who noticed and drunkenly called 911.The woman had passed on before she could be taken to the hospital and hence Xavier was arrested for murder.He was only twenty and so scared, his grandfather had been disappointed in him and had refused to help him out of the situation."You are getting what you deserve. How could you be so careless?" Mr Smith had said to his grandson. He was very mad at himself for letting the boy have so much freedom. If he hadn't let him, something like this wouldn't have happened.Xavier was detained in a cell and was to be arraigned before a court but he had asked his grandfather for a favour."Grandpa, please help me out, just this once and i promise to pay you back whenever you need me to. I'll do whatever you want. Please Grandpa"Xavier had pleaded, so his grandfather considered his plea and pulled some strings behind the scenes. At the end of the day, the most punishment Xavier got was a week of community service.Ever since that incident, Xavier never sat behind the wheels again. Instead he got himself a new chauffeur. Getting behind wheels brought back memories he tried so hard to forget.Now was the time for his grandfather to get back his favor. As the wise men would say, a promise is a debt.At 4pm sharp, Xavier walked into the room and met his grandfather already seated on his chair. The chair was his grandfather's favorite, it was hand carved by his dad while he was in high school and it was one of the few things that reminded them of Xavier's father around the house."Hi Grandpa." Xavier said sitting opposite his grandfather. "Hope everything is fine?"During the drive home, he had been wondering what was so important that his grandfather wanted to talk to him about urgently."My dear grandson, I have good news" Mr Smith said. " I found you a wife!"Xavier gave his father a side look and then burst out laughing. "Come on grandpa, is this some kind of joke? I think I was quite clear about the fact that i was never going to get married? What's this nonsense you're saying about finding me a wife?" Xavier asked out of surprise."I'm not joking and I knew you'll say no. Which is why I'm not giving you an option. Remember child, a promise is a debt.""What promise?""The one you made while you were behind bars five years ago! To do whatever it was that i wanted. This is what I want""But grandfather why are you doing this. I don't want to get married and that's final. I'll make it up to you regarding the promise" Xavier said abd tried to walk out."SIT DOWN!!" Mr Smith bellowed. Xavier had almost forgotten how much he had been scared of that voice while growing up. He sat back down almost immediately.Mr Smith lowered his voice."You don't want to commit to one person, because you are scared. But what is life without risks son? This girl i picked for you is the best version of a perfect woman and I'm really sure you'll like her" he sighs "think about it, even though it's not an option. You're getting married and it's final!" Mr Smith stood up and left Xavier sitting."You're only doing this because you want you lineage to continue. Think about my feelings too" Xavier murmured under his breathe as his grandfather walked up the stairs.Celine had gotten a call from her dad early in the morning. He asked her to come home that he had an important discussion that he wanted to have with her. She had gotten home that evening and met her father sitting in the living room, his palm placed under his chin. He was so deep in thoughts that he didn't notice his daughter come in."Dad? I said good evening!" Celine repeated herself seeing as her father didn't hear her the first time."I'm sorry my dear, I have a lot on my mind. Please take a sit" Celine sat directly opposite her father. She was confused as to what would make her father thinking so hard."So Celine, you know i have taken loans in the past to be able to make ends meet and also pay for your tuition?" She nodded in response and her father continued. "Most of those loan sharks are on my neck. I also have to pay tuition for your sophomore year too."Celine sighed and her father gave a slight smile and continued. "I went to my boss to ask for a raise and possibly a sa
Xavier is sitting on his bed deep in thoughts. He was 25 and had the life of everyone's dreams. I mean what more could he ask for? He knew how much wanted for his lineage to continue. It was the only reason they ever argued around the house. Xavier had even given Mr Smith the idea of adopting a kid but the old man had always replied with"Blood is thicker than water"There was no winning whenever he argued with his grandfather. He knew deep down that he had to do what the old man wanted else he wouldn't be able to bear the consequences.He had regretted his actions on the night of his 20th birthday. He's had to live with the guilt for five years now. The only way he deals with his guilt is to party like there was no tomorrow. And even though he partied a lot, he rarely took alcohol, he had come to dread the liquid..Whenever he wasn't partying, he was working. He would have his head buried in files all day working hard to make the family business bigger and better. His grandfather lik
Celine had given her conversation with her father a lot of thought. It wasn't making any sense to her. She was a firm believer in love marriages. Arranged marriages weren't her thing and her father of people knew that. The offer Mr Smith had made was very mouth watering...but sacrificing the rest of her life to be with some stranger in exchange for a comfortable life sounded like a good deal at the same time sounded like a really bad decision to make.She knew that if it were up to her father, he would have married her off immediately. She was grateful that he considered her feelings at least. She couldn't imagine if her father had given her no other option than to get married to the billionaire's grandson. She needed to talk to someone about it. She was usually busy trying to make ends meet so she had literally no friends. Well, except Zack her boyfriend, most times she wondered why he was with her. She brought absolutely nothing to the table, she was young and broke. She had big dre
"Look, James it's just a little favour. I really need this" Paul said to his friend over the phone.He had decided that he would do whatever it takes to make Celine marry Mr Smith's grandson. So he had called a doctor friend of his to request for a favour."What you're asking me to do is against my Ethics and you know I swore and oath before I was given my license" Dr James had said over the phone to Paul.Paul wanted a fake test result from James. The paper was to state that he had cancer and that he needed to undergo series of chemotherapy as soon as possible."Please James! For the sake of our friendship" Paul begged. He and James went way back to elementary school. They have been best of friends for as long as they could remember. Even when James went to Med school and Paul to Business School, they never lost contact of each other."It's only for a short while, it'll be over before you even realize and the document will be destroyed without traces" Paul promised.James coul
Early the next morning, Celine is making breakfast when her father comes out of room fully dressed for work. "But dad, you need to rest" She said with a look of disapproval. "Working is like weakening your immune system the more."Paul sighed, he didn't think this far. If he doesn't go to work it's going to make Mr Smith wonder if something was wrong. He should have told his boss of his plan before hand."I won't go after today. I just need to let them no at the office that I'll be taking a leave due to health issues" He told Celine. He couldn't think of other reasons that'll convince her to let him go except this one. "Alright dad" Celine shrugged " but at least have breakfast before you go, and also I have something to tell you" Paul sat at the table to enjoy the breakfast of pancakes and hot chocolate.Celine sat opposite her father too and watched him eat. Her emotions were like a rollercoaster as she watched him. He was the most important person in her life and she wasn't r
Later that night, as Celine was preparing to go to bed, she received a text from unknown number. The person introduced herself as Alexis and said she had been appointed by Mr Smith to be at Celine's every beck and call. More like a personal assistant.Alexis said Mr Smith had planned a date for Celine and Xavier to meet tomorrow. The date was to be at a fancy restaurant, so Alexis had asked Celine to meet her at the mall in the afternoon tomorrow for a bit of girls time before the date.Celine wasn't feeling the need for a personal assistant or even for a girls day out with some girl she had never met. She knew she couldn't back out now, she was doing this for her father.Alexis had even said Celine had to quit all her side jobs. Celine was cool with quitting all other jobs especially that one with the shady coffee shop but one job she didn't wish to quit was the one with the orphanage. She made that known to Alexis over the phone.The next day, she met Alexis at the mall. Alexis wa
Mr Smith had called Xavier into his room that afternoon, he felt like he needed to have a heart to heart conversation with him before he met Celine. Mr Smith was willing to let Xavier in on the little he knew about Celine."Wait! You mean it's not Maria you want me to marry?" Xavier had said in shock.Maria had been his friends since they were kids, they grew up together and basically did everything together. Party, drink and the likes. One the night of his 20th birthday she was also there and was like some sort of comfort to him during that period.Xavier knew his grandfather was good friends with Maria's family, so had thought in his head that he was going to get married to Maria, after all she was from a respectable family and also belonged to the high society."You want me to get married to your employee's daughter?" Xavier asked his grandfather. Some times he wondered what went on in the elderly man's head."Sit"Xavier who was on his fit before sat back down to listen to wha
Celine felt bad about how her date with Xavier had ended. She knew something was wrong but she could not wrap her head around what it was.Did she say something to spite him? She kept asking herself during the ride home.Even Alexis was confused as to what could have gone wrong. “Don’t worry Celine, he could be really hot headed sometimes” she consoled.Meanwhile, when Xavier got in his car and was about to head home, he got a text from Maria 💌 Heyy….party downtown! Wanna come? 💜 💌Of course, perfect opportunity to party away his grievances, he wouldn’t miss the chance. So off to the party he went.Maria was waiting for him by the time he had arrived.“Heyy…haven’t seen you in a minute, what’s good?” she hollered embracing him.“Yes… work and stuff” he replied “how have you been?” “Partying as usual”Xavier really liked Maria, she was his spirit animal according to him. They grew up together and she knew every single detail about him, both the good and the bad.Maria a