It was in the early evening, but it seemed later than it should have. The stormy weather gave an eerie vibe that loomed overhead. A lone wanderer is seen quickly walking towards a sizeable two-story estate door as the lightning flashes illuminating the person trying to avoid the rain. Being his last delivery for the day, he’s been ready for his shift to end so he can take a hot shower to take away the weather’s chill. The small awning above the door gave little relief from the drenching rain from the storm. It finally opened from knocking on the door for a minute and sounding the doorbell multiple times. A rather displeased man is standing there and questions him. “This is the Weston estate. State your business.” He bellowed, looking at the gentleman in front of him being rained upon. “I’m here to deliver this envelope. It’s assigned to Mr. George Weston and must be hand-delivered and signed for.” The delivery man said quickly, holding a large brown envelope while getting drenched
To everyone at the table, this came as a complete surprise. Everyone knew that with the help of the Andersons, the family would soar to the top known families in Swanville, California. Steve was the young master of the Anderson family; he was to be the next CEO of their real estate company and heir to Anderson’s fortune. Who wouldn’t want him to be their grandson-in-law? Everyone was whispering to one another, unable to believe what the head of the family had said. “Grandfather, why? He’s competent; he can bring many benefits to the family if this union can be….” Said Claire, almost in tears. She worked hard to pursue this family union, bringing her more benefits into the family’s good graces and using this opportunity to get ahead in the company. A young man sitting opposite Claire smiled. He was jealous of Claire’s influence on the family; she and her sister were always his grandfather’s favorite. He was Henry Weston, Claire’s first cousin, and she and he were always rivals. “Si
“You still want benefits?” Asked George Weston, getting aggravated over the whole ordeal; what was the matter with today’s youth? I would have jumped at the chance to marry into a wealthy family. “I’m selling my freedom of three years in an arranged marriage that we both don’t want; of course, there has to be an incentive.” “How about this, If you two don’t continue the marriage after the allotted time, you can walk away with a million dollars.” Said George Weston. “A million is too low, three million, and it’s a done deal.” Blake is reputed, and how could there be such a low number for the time he had to stay with this woman? “Agreed. What do you say on your end, my dear?” Asked George Weston, looking upon Claire with hope. “Okay, but during this time, he cannot touch me. I will continue to be pure for my future husband. If he defiles me, this contract will be breached, and he will have to pay me fifteen million dollars back as compensation.” Replied Claire looking at Blake with
Blake closed the door and sat on a wooden chair in front of the desk. It was a fairly spacious office with an oak desk, leather seat, a couch on the side, and filing cabinets. A window with shades was behind Mr. Wilson as he sat, giving a vibe from an old movie. “Blake, what happened during your last delivery?” Asked Mr. Wilson, sternly looking at Blake. “I don’t know what you mean?” Asked Blake with a blank expression. “I just got off the phone with a Mr. Weston stating that you will be reporting back to his home tomorrow morning and that you will not be able to work that day. Who did you offend? Do you know who that person is?” asked Mr. Wilson getting angry. “It’s the goddam Weston Family; they are one of the most influential families in the city.” “Sorry, Mr. Wilson, but I was going to explain to you as soon as I got back that I was not going to make it into work tomorrow, but I guess grandfather beat me to it.” Said Blake without showing any concern. “Grandfather, who’s your
Blake awoke early that day, washed and ate a light breakfast, and headed to Elon Delivery Services to meet with Mr. Wilson. When he arrived, Mr. Wilson led him to one of the best shops in the city and bought him a costly three-piece suit and leather shoes. Later he looked into the mirror, and even he was astonished at his image. “I clean up pretty nicely.” It’s been a while since Blake had dressed in a suit other than his military uniform. “That you do. Now let’s get you to your wedding, shall we.” Mr. Wilson then patted his shoulder as they walked towards the counter and paid the clerk. Blake chuckled under his breath, but it was getting pretty late, and he had promised to arrive around seven. He then went straight to Weston Manor after dropping Mr. Wilson back at the company. “Where is that boy? It’s almost seven. Did he run away? I swear I’ll hunt him down if he doesn’t show.” George was looking at his watch as he muttered to himself. Claire was in a long plain-looking white g
Shocked by what he had just heard, Steve didn’t realize that he was too late to take Claire as his wife.“Claire, you will go to your husband this instance and stand by his side,” George stated angrily, coldly looking at Steve.Claire could only obey her grandfather and walked towards Blake, who had just arrived at the foyer.“Claire, what’s going on? Who is he? Grandfather, can someone please tell me what is going on?” Steve, who still couldn’t comprehend what had happened, asked franticly. “Steve, I’ve already told you that Claire is now married to this gentleman. She is no longer your concern, and you will break all contact with her from here on out.” George replied coldly at Steve.Steve was in denial, shaking his head.“This is impossible. I don’t believe you. How can this happen? Claire, I love you, and you love me, you are to be my wife, this is some joke, haha, you got me, Claire come here to me, don’t play with me.”Claire stood by Blake and held her head down with tears dro
Mother and daughter talked about how luxurious the home was and how tiring it would be to keep this home cleaned with all the detailed chores. A two-bedroom house with a single bath, living, dining, and kitchen was a lot to handle for them. Blake just let them talk, paying them no mind as he looked at the home smiling. “I don’t know. We could get someone to come once a week and take care of the home. What do you think, mother?” “Why spend unwanted money when we have someone right here? We’ll give him an allowance to pay the utilities and groceries for the week. He can take care of the cleaning and cooking himself.” “You’re right; it would be better and cheaper to have him do it. He could at least show some worth.” While the mother and daughter had made up their mind that Blake would be the one responsible for the chores, he went into the most oversized bedroom to have a look. Only then did Claire notice that he had left them and went into the bedroom, so she followed him in. “Hey
In a flash, a year and eleven months had passed. A pandemic had taken over the nation in twenty-twenty, and many had suffered. The small business was significantly impacted, and so was the entertainment business. Dynamic Entertainment was at a significant loss during that year. The company can barely make ends meet, even with the twenty-twenty-one recovery this year. George called a great meeting for the company, and everyone was in the conference room. Claire was sitting at the back while Quinton and his son Henry were seated on both sides of George, with the remaining board members sitting around the table. “Okay, I won’t beat around the bush here. It was brought to my attention that we’re in a deficit of thirty million dollars, and there will be trouble with the new regulations out there right now. Any ideas on where we can get more investors for the company.” No one said anything but looked around with concern on their faces. Whispers were heard throughout the meeting room, but