Chapter 5

Din was a timid child but had always pretended to be strong. For his sister at least, he had to pretend to be the hero so she wouldn't have to be scared of anything.

His mother had pleaded he should get out. The side of her door wasn't opening too. She had no choice but to push him out of the car and watched him stumble to the ground.

Din fell into the snowy floor. He wasn't seriously injured but he was bruised and his head was bleeding too. He couldn't stand up. His left leg was stuck in between the trees he rolled upon. He struggled to pull his leg out but it was too late for them. Din watched the entire thing happen. Their car had hit a gallop and rolled into a huge tree and immediately, fire came out from that direction.

Before he knew it, he couldn't hear anything anymore. No sound of help, no sound of cars, just black light, and the moment he opened his eyes, the first thing he said was a small plastic tube injected into his vein. He was at the hospital but his question was... Who brought him there?

"Sir! Your coffee." A voice broke his thoughts and brought him back to the present day. The lady who always hands over his morning coffee whenever he comes to the company stood in front of him. She wouldn't dare to touch him but she noticed his mind was gone. Din stopped in front of the elevator and turned to look at her. The lady seemed to fear him as she kept her head low the entire time she stood next to him. She pushed her hand forward to him.

"It is cold." Din's cold voice spoke. He rejected it with a frown on his face. Memories of that night made him angry. He got to know his grandfather had brought him to the hospital and since then, he hasn't raised a question about what he and his father had argued about the night his parents died.

"S_should I get you another sir?" The lady asked, her head was still down.

Din didn't bother to answer her questions. He pressed the elevator button and watched it open as he stepped inside. He glanced at the lady. "Throw it away. You are excused." He pressed the button that would take him to the top floor and watched the door close.

His reflection came into the mirror in the elevator. He sighed as he held his briefcase firmly. He saw the door open and walked into his office.

"You are late!" A raspy voice said as Din turned to look at the man sitting on his chair. His legs were crossed on the table as he adjusted his glasses.

Din placed his briefcase down, removed his suit then attached it to the hanger.

He forced a smile on his face as he turned to look at his grandfather. "I didn't know you would be here. What brings you to the office today?" Din questioned. He wasn't expecting his granddad. Normally, his grandfather would have called it he was going to come to the office but that day he didn't.

Din hated him. All these years, he had hated his grandfather and blamed him for the death of his parents but he loved his job so he had to endure until his grandfather handed the company over to him and retired.

"You old are you again?" His grandfather asked. Din went silent. "29?" He wasn't sure of his grandson's age. He was getting old.

Din sniffed and his grandfather took that as a yes.

"Why is my age important?" Din asked. His hands rested on his upper hips.

His grandfather sighed. "I am getting old. At least let me see my grandchildren before I die."

Din scoffed. "We have talked about this before grandfather. The person I wish to marry is Beth but you don't want me to marry her and you never gave me reasons why you don't like her. As far as I know, she is responsible, beautiful, and would be a good wife to me." Din started but his grandfather ignored him.

He dropped a picture on the table making a loud thud. Din glanced at the table and saw the picture.

"What is that?" Din questioned. His grandfather exhaled as he removed his legs from the table and stood up. He patted Din's shoulder.

"Her name is Jessie Walker. Make sure you get married before the end of this month. To Jessie."

"What?" Din yelled. His grandfather picked the picture from the table and handed it to him. "What do you mean to marry her? What do you mean before the end of this month?" Din rashly collected the picture from him as he questioned. Confusion was all over his face as he looked down at the woman in the picture. He frowned at the sight of her.

"Don't let me do this the hard way. Just obey me and the company is yours." His grandfather walked to the empty couch and sat down. "I know how much you love the job and this place but if you don't do as I say, you can say goodbye to this place." his grandfather threatened as he crossed his legs on top of each other.

Din scoffed. "And who could do a better job than me? Henry?"

"We shall find out. He is your cousin after all." his grandfather said.

Din approached him. "You know how irresponsible Henry is. Granddad! You can't do this to me. Henry will ruin this place if you hand the company over to him."

"Then obey me and marry her."

"Before the end of this month? At least cut me some slack." Din threw his hand into the air. "I don't even know this girl!" he pointed at the picture in anger. Frustrated.

"But I know her and I know she would be right for you."

"Even if you know her, I am not in love with her." Din pointed.

His grandfather started laughing. "With time, love will come. Your father and mother weren't in love when they met. It was all arranged too but they had you and your sister and loved one another."

"Then they died." Din frowned. He wanted to punch his grandfather but he kept his anger within. He sighed. "Granddad, please. Please rethink this. At least give Elizabeth a chance. I know she will make you happy."

Din's grandfather stood up and placed both his hands-on Din's shoulder. They were about the same height. "I already made up my mind. I will send her home address to Khalid and he will give it to you. Trust me, I have looked into her and she is the perfect girl for you." He released his hand and walked towards the door. He turned to look at Din. "Dinner tonight. Abby and Sierra would be present and if you can't make it then you don't need to come but remember, before the end of this month!" He said those words as he opened the door, stepped out then closed the door behind him.

Din stared at the closed door as he threw the picture to the ground. He began to step on it as he yelled.

His grandfather was making him go crazy. He wasn't expecting a proposal or to get married to someone he doesn't know. Beth had told him he was going to have a good day but this doesn't look like a good day to him. It looked more like hell.

He didn't stop stepping on the picture. His eyes began to search the room as they came across his baseball bat that rested on the cupboard. He moved to the cupboard and brought the bat down, dragged it to the picture, and began to hit it again. There was nothing he could destroy in the room except that woman's picture and if he needed the company, he had to obey his grandfather and get married to Jessie or whatever her name was.

Even the sound of her name tightened his stomach. He hated her even though he hasn't met her yet. Beth was better and the only woman he would ever love so Jessie's marriage to him would only be because his grandfather wanted him to and when his grandfather handed the company over to him, he would divorce Jessie and get married to the woman of his dreams. Beth.