Chapter four

"He has a baby girl. The girl at the reception! Chole is his daughter. He wants me to be a mother figure to Chole. And according to him, it is only through marriage. He wants me to marry him in exchange” I explained as simply as I could. Madison paced for a while before sitting down.

    “It isn't that bad! He is a good man, you like his child already and it is for the best" she tried to be positive. I chuckled bitterly and whispered “you think?". Madison listed out how beneficial the union will be to me and the company. 

   “He is a good man. Since he lost his wife, I heard he has never messed around with other women. If he finds interest in you, it means it is a good thing” Maddie tried to find Rays of hope in the whole situation. Somehow I found Madison's words offensive and I didn’t know when I yelled.

   “He is the same damn guy from the other night!!!. He is the same man I spent the night with". I cried, frustrated and confused. Madison's jaw dropped at my words. She was at a loss for words for the first time since I had known her. 

      “I am sorry" she managed to say from her breaking voice. I inhaled and politely told her I needed some alone time. Immediately she left, I laid on my sofa and slowly I dozed off.

     I woke up to a buzzing phone. I slowly extended my hand to the sound of my buzzing phone and noticed several missed calls from a strange number. I dialed back and I was shocked at the quick response from the receiver.

Me: hello?

Receiver: Hello miss Irene. It's Chole. Did I bother you?

Me:(surprised). Hey… hey baby girl. I slept off honey. No you didn't bother me. How are you doing?

Chole: I am fine. How are you doing? Did Dad scold you? You left without seeing me. I am sorry if he scolded you for bringing me to his office.

Me: (chuckled at her silliness) no honey, I was so stressed and I forgot to. Forgive me princess.

Chole: (excited) you are forgiven. Will I see you tomorrow? I am having a tea party at noon. Will you attend?

Me: Oh baby, I will have a tight schedule tomorrow. But I will try to adjust my schedule for you the day after.

Chole: ok Irene Angel. Goodnight. (Hangs up)

  Immediately she said “goodnight" I was shocked. I checked my wall clock and it was past 10pm. I freshened up and tried hard to forget all the day's events but I couldn't. I coiled up frustrated in my thoughts.

     As soon as I was about to sleep, I had a big flash of the night with Damien. I hated the memories but I couldn't deny the fact that I enjoyed the moment.

           The only thing I could remember at dawn was how I shamelessly enjoyed the moments with Damien. I woke up with a hungry stomach and swollen eyes. I wore my robe and went to the kitchen for scrambled eggs.

   Immediately I lit the gas, Madison walked in with a cup of coffee in her hand. “Good morning ma'am. I am sorry for being insensitive last night. I think you shouldn't agree to his terms, we can talk to other investors from Africa and… .. “

  "I have considered his terms and it is the best offer” I interrupted Madison and continued with my eggs. Madison was struck with surprise. She helped herself with a seat in the kitchen and watched me prepare breakfast. “You don't have to do this Irene" she said as soon as I placed breakfast in front of her.

   I ignored and stuffed my mouth full. I knew how uneasy my decision made me, but I knew I wanted to help. I continued my day's work till an email came in from Damien. 

     “If you have given it a thought and it is positive, meet up at Arena avenue by 4pm.

Come with your lawyer “

  My heart raced as I read through the mail. I tried to affirm I was doing the right thing but I could utter it. At 2pm,I dialed my lawyer and we agreed to meet at Arena avenue by 4pm. 

      I wore a polka dot dress, tied my hair in a ponytail, applied my perfumes, wore my jewelry and picked a matching shoe and bag from my closet. I walked downstairs and Madison followed suit.

     We finally arrived at the location and we waited outside for ten minutes till my lawyer arrived. Immediately I got another email from Damien.

      “Come inside".

We walked inside and my hands had started to feel sweaty. We were in front of two officials, immediately I guessed we were getting married right way. Damien instructed Madison and our lawyers to wait outside.

    Few minutes later, I was exchanging rings with Damien and I couldn't wake up from this dream. We took our vows and signed our marriage certificate together. “Congratulations Mr and Mrs" the middle aged woman said with a simple smile.

    I nodded and soon we walked out. Damien sent us a location, a few meters away from Arena avenue and asked us to meet and discuss terms there. I trailed slowly behind his car till we got to a halt.

    We were in front of a lounge,but not so busy. Damien's bodyguard led the way and we followed suit. We got inside and we were led to another session. It was sound proof and really quiet. I sat on a couch with my legs crossed and my heart in halves. 

   Damien walked in and sat at the seat at the head of the room. “Good evening everyone. We are here as witness to the contract between me and Miss Swift here who had just become my wife legally”. Damien said with no feelings or facial movements. He signaled his lawyer and she shared the contract papers to me and my lawyer.

   "Miss Swift, I am glad you are already going through my terms. You have to stick to each and every term listed for Me to carry out my terms easily. Our marriage is only a contract to us. I mean to all of us here. To the general public and to my baby girl, it is a union of love and commitment. Also note, that you are not allowed to be involved in any romantic relationship with anyone till the end of our contract. We are to live like couples in the presence of everyone, you are to be a good example and a loving mom to my child. Teaching her the basics of a family and many more. All these terms are to kill any form of scandal. This would not be good for my business and it will be totally bad for your business too. So this is a win win”

   My eyes did not blink for even a second as I looked at Damien restating the terms he had drafted out for me. I slowly nodded, holding back my tears and cleared my throat. “What about my terms? I mean this is a two way coin right?” 

  Damien smirked and nodded softly. "It's well stated in the contract papers. I am a man of my words Miss Swift. Just keep my terms and I will also”. He said with a soft smile. After minutes of silence, I took out a green pen and asked for the papers I was signing on.

   Madison looked at me and gave me "please don't” but I had made the decision already. I signed and passed it down to Damien who had signed before getting here. I sat in cold silence, thinking of how my dad was going to react to all of this and how Chole was going to accept me.

    Soon, the lawyers left, leaving me, Damien, Madison, and his bodyguard. “Meet Raymond. He is the head of my security team and my right hand man" Damien said, sipping water. Raymond turned with a smile and I waved back.

   "You will be moving in this evening. And before that, we would be taking some love up photos for the public. It is necessary. Your outfits are in the next room. Don't worry, Raymond has many talents! Get dressed”. Words were like nails in the hands of a carpenter when it comes to Damien. 

   Madison and I got to the room and three outfits were hung. I sat on the chair and tried taking off my shoe but a tear fell off my eyes. “Hey. You don't have to cry now" Madison said in a soft tone. She kissed my cheeks and hugged me tightly. 

  I changed into the first outfit, it was a red dress, it was a designer dress and it was perfect size. I adjusted my hairstyle and light makeup to suit. I stepped out to meet Damien dressed in a black suit with a tie matching my dress. 

   Raymond had set the scene for the picture and he suggested couple poses for us. It was weird and I was totally getting nervous again but Damien was composed the whole time. I changed to the second outfit which happened to be a matching pajamas outfit with Damien.

   Raymond instructed us to sit close to a prop and lean towards each other smiling broadly. Immediately Damien leaned his head on my thighs with a broad smile, I felt a strange shock from my spine. I tried to smile but I couldn't. Damien looked at me and whispered “just smile Miss" I inhaled and gave the broadest smile ever although faked.

  Finally, it was the end of the photo session. Madison was with Raymond picking the most romantic and convincing photos and I was alone with Damien. “How are we going to tell Chole and my dad?" I said out of the blue. My question paused Damien's activity. He kept quiet for a while and said “I will handle your dad, you handle Chole".