Chapter Five

David’s POV

“Hi David” an unfamiliar voice says, my eyes scan her face for any sign of recognition, but nothing comes to mind.

“I’m Daniella” she says, her hands obstructing my view as she pushes her hand out in the hope of a handshake. 

“David” mom calls out, waving me over, “come here, there’s someone we want to introduce you to”.

I smile, grateful for the interruption, “please excuse me, I’m needed elsewhere” I say, leaving her hand hanging in the air as I walk away from her.

“Is something the matter?” I ask, joining the group. Asides my parents, I notice two ladies, one who looks to be in her late 20's, her face ringing a bell though I can’t place where I know her from and the other in her early 50’s.

“Hello” I say, exchanging handshakes with them, acting like the gentleman I was brought to be. “I feel like I know you, is there a chance that we’ve met before?” I ask, my eyes pinned on the lady in her late 20’s. 

Mom chuckles, “Don’t tell me you don’t recognize her?”. I smile, turning my attention to mom, “am I supposed to remember her?” I ask, my voice low as I respond.

Mom smiles, “this is Dena, your best friend from when you were much younger”. 

I smile, slowly turning my head to face her as recognition rings in my head, “I apologise for not recognizing you, it’s been a while since I last saw you”. 

The lady standing in front of me looks nothing like my childhood friend, but I guess that’s what puberty does to you. She looks much prettier and she doesn’t seem as wild and unladylike as she was when she was much younger.

She blushes, “I’ve missed you. I thought about you while I was abroad, I really didn’t want to leave you behind but mom said we had to leave” she says, exchanging glances with her mom, “but thankfully we are back now and we are here to stay”

I nod, not knowing what to say. To me she was only a childhood friend, one whom I forgot about a month after she moved. I smile, “I’m glad to know you didn’t forget me” I reply politely.

“And that brings me to why I invited you over” mom smiles, a playful look in her eyes. “Miss Dena here is single and she’s ready to get married”

I smile, “congratulations Dena, whoever he is, I’m sure he’d be lucky to have someone like you had a wife” I say, totally oblivious to what is going on.

Dad clears his throat, the first sound I’ve heard him make since I joined the group. He doesn’t look at me, his eyes are pinned on mom as if his life hangs on her very word.

Weird! I think to myself. Mom smiles, “her husband is a lucky man and that’s why I am proposing a match between the both of you”

My gaze shifts to dad who’s averting his gaze from mine and now I completely understand why he’s been quiet since I joined the group.

My gaze turns to Dena and her mother, they don’t look shocked or surprised as I am, so they are probably already aware of this decision.

I smile, pulling myself together before responding, “thank you so much for considering me ma’am to be worthy of Dena” I say, my eyes fixed on Dena’s mother, “but I am already seeing someone and I don’t believe in cheating” I say, stuffing my hands into my pocket.

The lady smiles, perfectly hiding her dislike for the words that just came out of my mouth, “that’s not a problem, let me know if it doesn’t work out. Come on Dena” she says, pulling Dena away from the group.

Mom smiles, “do you really have a girlfriend?” She asks. I shake my head, “I think you have bigger problems. I won’t be surprised if that lady is upset with you over her daughter being publicly rejected”.

Mom nods, the realisation suddenly hitting her, “I should go and apologise. We would talk about this later” she says, pulling dad along as she walks away.

The rest of the party goes on without a hitch, as I hide myself in the corner, patiently waiting for my parents' announcement of me becoming the new ceo of Luna enterprises.

I stand to my feet as I watch mom and dad walk onto the stage hand in hand. This is the moment!

“Thank you so much for coming, we appreciate everyone who showed up. We have a special announcement to make and after that we’ll be out of your face and the party will continue” mom says.

Mom smiles, before handing the mic to dad, his eyes searching the crowd before landing on mine, “our first son Carter turned thirty-five today and not only did he enter a new age but he will be entering into a new stage of his life”

This is it, the moment I have been waiting for all my life, I think to myself, waiting for dad to announce my promotion to ceo.

“David would be getting married in two months time and we want to take this opportunity to invite everyone one of you to the wedding as he enters a new phase of his life” he says, before handing the microphone to the MC and walking down from the stage, hands intertwined with my mom’s.

I don’t know whether it is the loud clapping or the ringing in my ears, all I know is that the room begins to spin.

“David?” Dad says, placing a hand on my shoulder, causing me to snap out of panic and face reality. I scan the room, there are many happy faces, all excited on my behalf, among those happy faces are looks of annoyance belonging to ladies who dreamed of marrying me.

“David, this was the only way to let you inherit the company?” Dad says, pulling me out of my thoughts. I look at him, a feeling of resignation in me, “you both should have discussed this with me” I say, running my hands through my hair.

He nods, “I know but we thought this was the best path to take. David you need to get married in two months time and your wife has to be pregnant in a month's time of your marriage or we’ll be forced to hand over the company to your younger brother” he quietly says, his eyes fixed on me.

“Really dad?” I say, he nods, “yeah, you know I’ll never force you to get married but you need to look established so that others don’t come for you”

“Are you okay?” He asks. I shake my head, “this is all too much for me, please excuse me”

He nods, “we’ll talk later”. I nod, walking out of the room and heading straight to my car, “I’m heading home” I say to the driver, before getting lost in my thoughts.