“What?”
“What?”
“Is the almighty Daddy’s puppet not going to tell me to listen to Daddy this time around?” Ophelia asked and he shifted to the edge of his seat.
“What do you mean?” he asked before adding. “What do you daddy’s puppet?”
“Haven't you always advised me to do things my dad wants me to?” she asked and he looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. “I have always known”
“And yet you still did them?”
“Yeah because you asked and you are my friend so I did not think you would ever want me to be hurt soooo…” she trailed off.
“You knew and you still them? That is shocking considering that you are so independent”
“Hey, I never wanted to be independent, I was forced to become one” she said brushing her hair away from her face. “You don't think I should get married though why?”
“I believe you should get married to the one you love, I think marriage is a big deal, I can't imagine living in the same house as someone who you don't like”
“Then I guess the fortune of the Frost ends with me because I have no plans to fall in love and neither do I have plans to get married by myself. I think the best I would have to come close to a romantic relationship would be you” she said causing him to pause with shock on his face.
“Not that I am saying that we are in a romantic relationship but you are a guy and I am comfortable with you” she trailed off and then brightened up as though she had the brightest idea. “Or should I marry you instead?” she joked.
“You should marry someone you love” he stuttered flustered by her suggestion.
“Don't get all serious, it was a joke” she said as she began to stroke her cheek. They fell into a small silence and then she cleared her throat breaking it. “I have always listened to you and I wish I could do the same this time but I am afraid it would be different this time around”
“Are you saying you are going to get married?”
“Yeah”
“To a random stranger”
“How bad can it be? He is a man after all,” she said, she was going to wed in the end but to the man who she chose among the men her dad had chosen already. She was going to put them through a test and the one who wins would be the one she picks. If she was going to live with them she was going to draw up a contract so it had to be the person who understood her reason for the contract.
“My mom did it”
“And she left,” Green said in a scream.
“Where the hell is my coffee” Ophelia let out in frustration before turning to Green. “I know you are worried about me, that is why you are here after all but this is not the time for you to tell me what to do. I listened to you before because I wanted to and I am going to decide if I want to listen to you now as well” she said dropping her legs to the ground and standing at her feet.
She turned to him and smiled at him before walking away. He was just a jerk for bringing up the fact that her mom left even though she did not care about the topic. She walked to her room and called her dad to set her up with the first guy. She knew her dad well and that he would have enough options in case she bailed from all the options, she had to be careful even though she wanted to be as picky as she could be. She did not want to end up with an old man in a wheelchair after all.
THREE DAYS LATER
She was to meet this mystery man and all she got from her dad was his name, the name of the restaurant and the time to be there. She wanted to be good enough for pictures in case anybody decided to take pictures of her and her date. She had not been in the city for a while so she was sure the press had forgotten all about her and her troubles.
Her date had to either be a self-made billionaire who wanted a merger with Frost or an heir to another corporation. The media would be on the tail of any of them so it would be the best opportunity for her to get her good image out there.
She knew she had to impress the press, so her father would applaud her for all the good publicity she would be giving them. She had an entire team get her ready from her makeup to shoes and she made her way to the chosen restaurant.
She sat at the table and waited, she would have walked out of the room but decided to wait to see who the unlucky man was because there would be no way she would be with a person who decided it was the right thing to keep a woman waiting for such a long time.
A few moments a man walked in and from the stares of the people in the restaurant she was sure he was her date. Her father would pick someone influential and popular or else he would not be the same.
“Ophelia….” Cade trailed off as he sat down in front of her.
“Cade Vale?” she asked and he just stared at her. “Excuse you for staring” she said snapping her fingers in his face.
“Sorry are you Ophelia Frost?” he asked.
“Yes I am,” she said a puzzled expression on his face.
“Not Victoria? Toria for short?” he asked.
She crossed her hand over her chest and let out a sound he was unable to pick out. “Aren't you here because our family set us up?” she asked him and he nodded.
“I am Ophelia Rainbow Frost”
Ophelia looked at this man, she remembered him all too well, she even remembered him from just seeing his name, he was the man she had spent the night passionately with when she was in her third year at college. She could never forget him no matter how hard she tried, she had always hated that he found a way to pop into her memories once in a while. She blinked her eyes at him multiple times, how did he remember her so well even up to her name? When she woke up that morning she had run away from the room before he could wake up and tried her best to forget about him.She never thought she would have a reason to ever encounter him ever again, considering the fact that she would be leaving the city behind anyway. For her own sanity, she never went back to that club in case she ran into him. How shameful it was for her that a girl who ran her mouth so much was a virgin. She did not think that her father's first choice for her would be this man sitting across from her, she did not know
“Your terms are?” Cade asked as they dug into the meal in front of them. “You want me to tell you now?”“Is anything wrong with now?” he asked looking around, maybe she thought the place was not good enough to discuss those kinds of matters. “Well, it seems rushed, what is the reason you are rushing?” “I have to get married before I turn twenty-five in August to take over the company or else my cousin or brother might be the one to inherit it”“And you are so interested in the company why?”“Do you know how much effort I have put into the company? I slept in the penthouse at work for three months, how can I let someone else take over? I studied business administration instead of engineering as I originally wanted because my grandfather wanted me to. Should I throw it all away after coming this far?”“Of course not, I can understand, I am sitting here now because my father already has everything planned out for my life” she sighed before taking a bite.”Maybe rich people do not have
Of course, the papers read, IS THE TROUBLESOME MS FROST BACK IN THE CITY FOR MORE TROUBLE. One of the reporters had caught wind that she was around and now her name was swimming in the news. She smiled at her phone as she thought to herself. ‘I still got it’ Maybe her father was the one who put the reporter on her tail but the fact that all the other reporters were eager to write on her showed just how influential her family was. Many of the reports were speculating that Cade and her were together and she knew from experience that now was the best time for her to jump on the news and make it work to their benefit. “Hello” “You finally picked,” Ophelia said.“Oh sorry about that i do not like to take personal calls during work hours” Cade replied. She had been calling so much he had no choice but to pick up and know what she wanted. When they had exchanged contacts he did not know she would reach out so easily.“And I am not really interested in calling you at all but you see this s
“You are wearing that to the movies?” Cade asked and she looked down at her dress and back at him. She could not deny that she was being a bit extra just to see the movies but she was always extra so there was nothing wrong with it.“What is wrong with what I am wearing?” she asked crossing her arms across her chest and leaning on one leg. “Too glamorous, are we attending a party or an event? Are you trying to outshine the bride?” he asked leaning on the sports car behind him. He had taken time off work earlier than usual, the staff watched in awe as he walked away early from work. They were both sacred and joyful, afraid that it was a test and joyful that for the first time in six months since he took over the office they got to go home early. He had gone home and changed out of his usual day-to-day suit and thrown on a t-shirt and chinos. Ophelia could not deny that he looked good in those casual clothes. “So if I dressed like this I would outshine the bride? These brides should
Ophelia was graceful in her dress and Cade could not deny it so he was almost jumping on his toes, pointing his hands in her face and laughing his ass off when she said her legs hurt. “I told you to wear something comfortable,” he said as he could not help himself. “I did not know that I would need to go around a bookstore trying to educate a grown man on how to treat a woman, the way a woman wants to be treated” she sighed. “Wait here then” he said pointing to the bench behind them. “Here?”“Yes”“Why?”“You ask a lot of questions and I will be back soon” he said turning on his heels and walking away. She watched him go and her eyes darted to a group of schoolgirls giggling in the corner. Their eyes turned to face her and they had the most offended look on their face. She knew they were schoolgirls because they were still in uniform. “If you have a beef to pick with me don’t be a coward and go for it” Ophelia said making the girls turn to her. If those girls made a scene here sh
“What was that all about?”“Market survey?”“Market survey? He asked as his voice rose. “Yeah, I wanted to know what they thought about us together”“And why were you promising to buy them lunch?”“Because they made me happy,” Ophelia said. “Where did you go?” she suddenly remembered that the reason she got into a mini squabble with those girls was because he left her. “To get this,” he said dangling a paper bag in her face. She had not noticed him holding it since he came. “What is that?”“Sit” he said pushing him to the bench. “What is that?” she asked again as he took out the box from the paper box and opened it to reveal a pair of slippers. “You bought slippers?” she asked looking down at the box and back at him. “Yeah” he said taking off the heels from her leg and sliding the slippers into her legs. He did the same for both feet and then carefully placed the heels into the box. “Aww, that's so cute,” One person from the bystanders said. “I always knew he was the perfect b
“What was that all about?”“Market survey?”“Market survey? He asked as his voice rose. “Yeah, I wanted to know what they thought about us together”“And why were you promising to buy them lunch?”“Because they made me happy,” Ophelia said. “Where did you go?” she suddenly remembered that the reason she got into a mini squabble with those girls was because he left her. “To get this,” he said dangling a paper bag in her face. She had not noticed him holding it since he came. “What is that?”“Sit” he said pushing him to the bench. “What is that?” she asked again as he took out the box from the paper box and opened it to reveal a pair of slippers. “You bought slippers?” she asked looking down at the box and back at him. “Yeah” he said taking off the heels from her leg and sliding the slippers into her legs. He did the same for both feet and then carefully placed the heels into the box. “Aww, that's so cute,” One person from the bystanders said. “I always knew he was the perfect b
Ophelia got home late, after the extra weird conversation with Cade in the car, but they still went to see the movies, she was somehow comforted that she was not the only one who craved the attention the public gave. She had always wondered why some people would be so invested in the lives of others and even want to tell them what they could and could not do, She thrived on that attention, that was what made her who she was so she was not that bothered by the attention neither did she ate. It was just a wonder to her. “Green what are you doing here?” she asked as she entered the kitchen to see Green sitting there with a glass of liquor in hand. “I came to see you,” he said standing up and pushing the stool behind him that it screeched on the floor. “Aggh” she exclaimed at the sound of the stool on the floor. “Sorry about that” he said and there was nothing he could do to stop the sound. “What are you doing here?” she asked again as though he had not responded to her question.“T
Abigail could not believe that instead of debunking the rumours that Cade was an illegitimate child, he was owning it like it was his identity. He was still facing so much backlash for keeping it a secret from the public that the people seemed not to like the idea behind the fact that he was not a full-bodied Cade.The girls who swooned over him before suddenly began to dislike him. Abigail was thrilled, but she knew that the battle was not easily over; there was no way that Charles would just let him go; she needed to do something that would make the board of directors and all of the people of the nation want him to leave the company. She had to make him unfit.She was glad that she always prepared for this; while she was busy siphoning money away, she was still actively preparing for someone else to take the blame in her stead, and now it meant that she could easily take all of the blame and dump it on him. She had called Frances into the room to share the news with her; she knew th
Carl had come to meet his grandfather earlier. He was tired of his mother's games and how she kept trying to put him in the middle of it all. He knew he was incapable of being the good chairman the company needed, and amongst all the grandchildren, only Cade had been preparing for this moment his whole life.The rest of them sat with their hands folded because they believed that since they were affiliated with the Vale family, a responsibility was going to drop on their laps soon, and they could get on with their lives. Even without the jobs in the company, they could live good lives on the return on the shares they owned because they all owned a lot, and the company was always doing well."But Grandpa, if we do that, the prices of the shares?""See this," Charles said, showing an electronic tablet that had been resting on his lap since he came in. "This is supposed to go up tomorrow, so are you saying we should do nothing about it?"Cade took it up and read through it. His face chang
"I did not think that you would help me out," Harper said to Green with a smile on her face. She had called him about a week ago to tell him that Ophelia and Cade were now locked in. Green had been so angry about it. He waited years for Ophelia, only for her to end up Cade. He had expected that he could pull them apart, but now he was hearing that she was together with Cade and they loved each other now.When they kept telling the public that they were deeply locked in, he could tell that she was doing this just because her father asked her to do it. He waited, hoping that there would be a time when they went their separate ways and then he would swoop in to save the damsel in distress."I refuse to lose to Cade.""I like how you think," Harper said, and her phone began to ring. She took up her phone and stared at the screen. "Ophelia is calling me?" She murmured, looking at the screen, her eyes growing wide and wider."What are you waiting for? Pick it up," Green urged her."I should
Frances was sitting in a coffee shop; she had gotten a message from Ophelia that they had to meet up. As much as she did not want to have to go out there to meet her, she was curious to see her face after reading the news. She had not thought to publish the news like that because she did not want to do anything that might affect Cael, be it directly or indirectly, because she still believed that they would be able to get together soon.She was however happy for whoever had taken that news and ran with it; the entire city was buzzing while waiting for a statement on the family. She felt that now that Cade was so put in the public eye, Charles might consider Cael as a better-suited candidate for the position."Did I keep you waiting for long?" Ophelia asked as she sat down.Frances swallowed as she saw how good she looked; she was tempted to almost comment on it; she did not look like she had seen the news. "No, I just sat down a minute ago," she said, and Ophelia nodded."Have you orde
THREE DAYS AFTER THE WEDDING TUESDAY MORNING "Honey" Ophelia sat by the side of the bed shaking Cade; his eyes opened slowly as he wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her in."Good morning, darling," he said and pouted, waiting for a kiss. She closed her eyes and bent down to kiss his lips. "That was so short," he said, his eyes opening wider. "Something is wrong; what is wrong?" he asked, his eyes catching a glimpse of the frown on her face. "What happened?" he asked, sitting in bed quickly."You might want to see this," she said, taking her phone and giving it to him. He took the phone from her hand and sat up straight. He read through the screen as his eyes widened with each statement he came across."What is this?""The number one trending news in the city this morning.""From what source?""Apparently it started as a rumour from a blog but when the reporters reached out to Abigail yesterday evening for an interview, she did not confirm or deny it so they are just carry
"My mom wanted you here, but I never did, so it is crazy that you are trying to force me to sleep with you," Cael scoffed as they sat on the bed in the room. They had been so preoccupied with other things that it was the night of the wedding that they all realized that they did not have a house, so they went back to the mansion.Charles had taunted them for their poor planning; Cael could not believe that his grandfather had not stepped up to do anything concerning the wedding even after he had leaked the secret to him. He was feeling overwhelmed by the situation and was now convinced that his grandfather was doing the right thing by not allowing him to be the next in line for succession. Even when he had leaked the secret of the wedding to Charles, he did not do anything about it.Even this evening, when they got back to the house after the wedding, Charles was not shocked to see them back at the mansion; he just nodded his head at them and retired to his room. He did not know why he
"You look so beautiful," Fiona gushed over her daughter as she entered the room."I do?" Frances asked, and her mother nodded."Like the star of the show that you are," she murmured, and Frances smiled.She had been so busy stressing and preparing for the wedding that she feared she might not look good in any of the images because of how stressed she was. She felt good to receive a compliment from her mother considering how shallow she was; she would be into complimenting something or else she found it appealing to the eyes."I hope you remember all I have been telling you." Fiona said, and Frances nodded.Her mother had basically turned it into an anthem that was engraved in her mind. She had told her to make sure to get pregnant between the first few weeks of pregnancy so she could have an edge over Ophelia, who was still yet to show any signs of having a baby. She also told her to make sure she sucked up to Charles, even though they all knew how almost impossible that might be."Do
THE FAY OF THE WEDDING Ophelia's eyes fluttered open as she turned to Cade sleeping beside her. She felt his hand that had been holding her head up all night. She snuggled into him and felt his hand pull her in closer."Are you awake?" she murmured, trying to look at his face from her position."No," he drew out, and she laughed."You are asleep yet talking?" she said, and he tried to nod but was failing badly because of the pillow."I talk in my sleep," he added, and she gave him a frown."Then sleep and talk some more. I want to go get myself a cup of tea," she said, trying to stand up from the bed, but his hand on her wrist pulled her back, and she dropped to his chest."What are you doing?" she asked, propping herself up with her hand on his chest."I think you forgot something," he said with a pout and his eyes closed.She traced his pouted lips with her fingertip. "And what can that be?" she asked, feigning ignorance."I know that you very well know what I am talking about," he
A FEW DAYS TO THE WEDDING"I have something to report," Paul said, coming into Charles's office. He had been working in the background to make sure that Aigail and Cael's plan did not work. He knew that they had been so busy with the board meeting, and he had to work too. He was not going to sit down and assume that since he was the chairman, everyone was supposed to be automatically loyal to him.He was meeting with all of the board members and directors while trying to know their stand on the matter; for most of them, they kept trying to play both sides and see which side would favour them. Charles lowered the glasses from his face and dropped them so they dangled by a rope on his neck.The entire company was so tense that even a child could tell that something was up. The staff were trying their best to be careful not to choose sides so they did not find themselves jobless after the board meeting. Everyone was walking on eggshells since the chairman was no longer working from home