Chapter Four-What Made You Change Your Mind

Damian’s cold face expressed warmth, but then again,

“ What made you change your mind,” he asked

Layla wasn’t expecting such a question and the young man that was with Damian seemed interested as well.

If she said it was because she didn’t want to be subjected to a life of hardship because of the challenges they were facing then she was a gold digger, and she couldn’t say it was because she loved him. After all, she didn’t.

Her silence was beginning to annoy Damian and make him uncomfortable but he was not going to make it easy for her, he needed an answer to his question. Maybe she didn’t hear him, so he rephrased his question,

“. What made you change your mind, why do you want to marry me now,”

Layla wasn’t a liar but still couldn’t tell him about her plans.

There was something about Damian that made it impossible for her to lie to him even though she was not looking him in the eyes.

“ I don’t want to go to the countryside and I want to complete my education,” she said seriously.

Damian was a little lost but his countenance remained calm,

“who is sending you to the countryside” he asked not hiding the confusion on his face.

Layla’s hands that rested on her thighs balled into fists to prevent them from trembling.

Damian only asked a simple question but his aura made her feel uneasy, her head was still lowered to the ground when she replied,

“ Mom said our business is down and we will be moving to the countryside if I don’t marry you”

“ What..” the young man who was with Damian exclaimed, and before he could say another word Damian gave him a warning look and he muttered “ sorry” under his breath.

“ Since you are ready, we will get married in a week, till then you will live with my mom while the necessary arrangements for the wedding are made,” Damian said to Layla.

His principles would not allow her to live with him nor was he ready to allow her to stay close to Ava her so-called best friend, he knew Ava to be a bad influence and would not like his future wife to be associated with her. Damian had other reasons for wanting to keep Layla away from Ava but he never said a word about it to anyone.

Layla lifted her head frightfully, how would she keep Ava posted about everything that was going on, she didn’t intend to stay married to this man for long and the only person who could help her achieve her aim was Ava.

Layla had an idea immediately and asked Damian in a very calm and polite tone,

“ Can my best friend come with me, she’s going to be my maid of honor too. I’ll need her around to help me with the wedding preparations”

Damian saw this coming and judging from how cunning he had known Ava to be, he knew she was the mastermind behind this but played cool about it,

“ No, and you don’t have to worry about the wedding plans, my mom will have it sorted out” he replied sternly, pretending to be offended.

“ do you have a problem with that” Damian added

“ No” she quickly replied. Indeed it was a problem but how could she tell him?

“ Good, my driver will take you home from here, don’t bother about your mom, I’ll have my mom talk to her,” Damian said casually.

“ But, I have a question” Layla abruptly said.

“ that is..” Damian asked impatiently.

“ Why did you ask to marry me

Before helping us, I mean you could get any woman you want very easily”

Damian stared at her chuckled and asked,

“ aren’t you a woman too?”

“ I am” she responded shyly knowing that he was not going to tell her what his reason was.

“ so why not you my pretty Layla”

Layla relaxed and then said,

“ Can we have a quiet wedding please”

“ Why so” Damian frowned.

“ Because I don’t want to become a center of attraction in school, it will be difficult not to draw much attention if everybody knows I am married,” Layla said. She had it all planned out, she didn’t plan to remain married to Damian for a long time and if she had a big wedding announcing to the whole world that she was Mrs Wilson, it would be difficult for her to leave Damian without people tagging her as an adulteress.

Damian on the other hand perceived that it is because of her shy nature.

“ Is that the only reason or there is something else?” he asked.

“ No, that’s the only reason” she replied refusing to lift her head in a bid to avoid his intimidating gaze.

“ Is that all? Or do you still have more questions to ask?” Damian asked while glancing at his watch and Layla took it as a clue that he had work to do probably.

“ That's all” Layla responded fast and tried to take her leave,

“ Wait” Damian called out making her stop in her tracks,

Layla felt so peccant that she couldn't stand there any longer.

“ My driver will take you home, and I hope we don't cross paths again till we need at the altar” Due to what she did yesterday, he was afraid that she might change her mind, so because of that, he didn't want to see her again till on the wedding day.

“ I'll keep that in mind” Layla affirmed, she will find another way to communicate with Ava and diverse a plan on how to leave Damian as soon as possible.

As Layla made her way out of the office to the garage, her mind was in chaos, and her legs wobbled like jelly at every step she took.

Damian took out his phone and called his mom,

“ Mom, Layla has agreed to the marriage arrangement, my driver is bringing her home please take her through some beauty treatments”

“ Really?” His mom replied from the other line and excitement surged through her voice.

“ yes, I need her to be a woman when I walk down the aisle with her, not some girlie teenager. You know what I mean” Damian said.

He wanted his wife to command respect from everybody, and although Layla is already smart with a little more confidence gained and some makeup, she is good to be addressed as Mrs. Wilson.

“ Why don't you allow Isabella to handle that?” His mom questioned, she felt it was only right for Layla’s stepmother to handle her daughter's looks and appearance.

“ No Mom, I want you to handle it, after all, it was you and Dad's decision for me to marry Layla” he replied sternly.

“Okay,” his mom replied and was about to hang up when Damian spoke up again,

“ one more thing Mom,”

“ What is it again Damian” Karen replied and facepalmed,

“ Is it possible that no one sees Layla until after the wedding?” he asked anxiously,

“ Damian, what is it you are hiding?” Karen asked perplexed

“ Can you just do as I say, Mom, please” he pleaded,

“Fine, but you have to tell me why you are being so suspicious”

“ I will mom, I have to go now. Bye Mom” Damian said and ended the conversation.

When Damian ended the call, Kelvin his best friend who has been standing with him throughout stared at him critically and said,

“ you have a lot of explanations to do dude”

Damian looked away and sat on the seat meant for the CEO and said,

“ I don't know what you are talking about” he doesn't want to tell anyone about his arranged marriage, especially because of the situation surrounding the marriage, he somehow felt bad that he kept this secrete away from Kelvin his best friend who is more like a brother to him, they never kept anything away from each other but this was different so Damian did not and was not ready to disclose the reason to him.

“ Wait, isn't that Ava? She's Ava’s friend right” Kelvin asked and his eyes opened wide at the realization of who Layla was.

“ Well, I don't know what you are trying to insulate but she is going to be my wife in a few days,” Damian said emphatically.

“ Hold on dude, hope it's not what I am thinking, come on Damian,” Kelvin asked seriously. He was beginning to get upset that Damian kept this away from him.

To Kelvin, Damian could propose to any woman and she’d readily accept but he chose Ava’s best friend.

It saddened Kelvin that his friend was still bent on taking revenge on Ava for all she made him go through, Damian made him understand that he has forgiven Ava but right now it doesn't seem like it.

“ You should be ashamed of yourself bro, I expect you to be more mature than this” Kelvin scorned and left his office angrily.

Damian on the other hand felt bad that he could not tell his best friend what was going on, it hurt him so bad that Kelvin thinks so low of him.

Why would he want to use Layla to get revenge on Ava? That's absurd.

Despite that, Damian chooses to remain silent about the truth behind his arranged marriage to Layla, it is best that way, When the time is right, he will tell Kelvin the whole story but for now, this is just between him and his parents.

He settled down and called Amy through the intercom to know about his schedule for the day when he heard his phone ring,

He picked up the phone and immediately his eyes came across the name of the caller that was displayed on the phone screen, his heart trembled with fear, and Damian began to sweat profusely.

“ What does He want now” he panicked.

He picked up the call and before he could utter a word the caller spoke in a very tense and angry voice

“ How dare you, Damian!!!”...