All Chapters of The Husband I Had To Beg: Chapter 1 - Chapter 4

The day I discovered I would have to beg Aziel Richards for help was the day I realized God had a truly twisted sense of humor. I was sitting in Gerald Hartwell's office, still wearing the black dress from my dad’s funeral. I've lost count of the times I was told that the funeral arrangement was beautiful, as if my father's death could be reduced to a floral arrangement and a polished eulogy. Many people showed up to pay their last homage to my father. Business associates who had spent years trying to outmaneuver my father now stood in line to shake my hand. Politicians who had once called him a ruthless capitalist now spoke of his philanthropy with tears in their eyes. Some old friends who hadn't bothered to visit him in the hospital now wept openly over his coffin. I watched them all with a face carved from stone.She hasn't cried once, they whispered. What kind of daughter doesn't cry at her own father's funeral? I heard them but I have learnt long ago that the truth was a l

The days after the funeral I swallowed in grief and sleepless nights. I did not leave my apartment but I had Nina with me. I sat on my couch in my father's old sweater and stared at the walls, replaying every moment of my meeting with Aziel until the memory felt like a wound I kept pressing on purpose. Nina brought me food I barely touched and sat with me in the silence and I was grateful for her presence even when I could not find the words to tell her so.On the third day, I received a call from Arthur Kane.I stared at his name on my screen for a long moment before I answered. I did not want to hear his voice but I knew that ignoring him would only give him more power."Ria," he said, his voice smooth as silk. "I was hoping we could talk. Privately. Away from the prying eyes of the board and your uncle.""I have nothing to say to you.""I think you will want to hear what I have to offer. Meet me at the Garden Club this afternoon. If you do not come, I will assume you are not inter