'You have to get married, and take over the family business, Alicia' her father's deep baritone voice echo in her head for the umpteenth time as she pulls over at the roadside. She can't help the scoff that tears through her throat. For the first time in her twenty-nine years of existence, she feels so empty and like the whole world is against her. She never imagined that her dad who loved her so much and would do anything for her, would go to the extreme length of asking her to get married before she can have access to the family wealth, knowing that she detest the word 'marriage' let alone getting herself involved in it. The sound of her ringing phone pulls her attention, and she reaches out for it lazily. "You have one more week to present your boyfriend to us, Alicia," Again, her dad's deep voice sounds through the phone as soon as she answers the call. It's just like she dug her own early grave by telling her dad earlier that she has a boyfriend. What was she supposed to do whe
Three days later at the mallA pink sports car pulls over in front of the mall, and parks amongst the many cars in the garage. Alicia and a young lady of about the same age as her hop out of the car and walks toward the mall elegantly as they both mutter inaudible words to themselves and laugh happily. Stepping into the mall, the two walks over to the counter where they pick up baskets and start shopping.A few minutes later, they finally return to the receptionist to pay for everything they bought. "Everything is three thousand boxes. Are you paying with cash or a card?" The innocent receptionist asks them politely. "I'll pay with a card," Alicia replies to her. After she paid for the things they bought, they finally stride to the exit door with all the things they bought. Stepping out of the mall, she collides with someone and staggers back. "Are you OK? I'm so sorry I didn't see you coming," Raising her gaze to check who she just collided in, she almost rolls her eyes at the pe
"Hi, it's nice to meet you again, Miss Alicia," Ren smiles at her politely as he quickly stands up to his feet to greet her. Glaring hard at him with her blood boiling in rage, she feels like grabbing the glass of wine on the desk and spilling it on his face, but that'll be too harsh. Not that he has done anything bad to her, just that she never liked him from the onset, or maybe it was because of her hatred for men trying to get close to her unnecessarily. "Now that you're here, you can't just leave like that, right? We should sit and talk," He smiles at her politely, and she sighs briefly. Contemplating whether to sit with him or not, her phone suddenly beeps and she checks the screen 'I'm sorry for arranging a blind date between you and him, I don't mean any harm. Ren doesn't look bad, you can introduce him to your parents as your boyfriend, and sort it out later. Good luck, darling' she scoffs after she finishes reading the text that her friend sent to her. Is she crazy? Her par
Three days laterStaring at her reflection in the mirror, she sighs for the umpteenth time as she shuts her eyes tight. It's finally the day to be present at her parent's house, but she's nervous. 'Where's your boyfriend, Alicia?''Don't tell me you're still single, cousin? That's pathetic''Honestly, you need to get yourself a man. You're twenty-nine and turning thirty soon. You'll eventually get married to an old married man if you're still being like this,' thinking of the humiliation she's going to face when she gets to her parent's house later, she can't help but feel more nervous. This was the same reason she moved out of the house months ago and decided to live with her friend for the sake of her mental health, but it seems like that can't be avoided now. Taking a deep breath, she finally picks up her handbag from the bed and strides to the door, and pulls it open, striding out afterward. Driving down the road a few minutes later, her hands keep trembling nervously on the st
Mr. and Mrs. Williams' faces lits up in excitement as they glance over to Ren almost every second. Seeing their only child have a man in her life has been one of the best things that they ever wanted, and it seems like their dreams are finally coming true. While her parents are busy admiring the handsome man that their daughter finally chose, Alicia is sitting frozen in her seat and still trying to understand what's happening. The last time she checked, he didn't agree when she asked him for this, so how the heck did he suddenly show up at her dad's house? How the heck did he even get her house address? "Be careful with that, babe," Ren says when water spills on her body, and she raises her gaze to look at him, still having that confusing expression on her face. "Wow! Your fiance is cute, Alicia," Adelie commends, and Alicia just gives her a fake smile. Lisa can't just stop glaring hard at her, and her parents too. "So tell me, how long have you and my daughter been together?" Mr.
The next morning...The sound of the knock on the door pulls Alicia out of her deep sleep, and she groans tiredly as she forces her eyes open. Trying to sit up on the bed, she feels her legs heavy like something is pushing her back to the bed. "What's that?" She mutters to herself as she runs her fingers through her hair lazily. Realizing that she didn't sleep alone in the room, her eyes widen as she finally manages to sit on the bed, but she cringes when she finds Ren sleeping like a mad person with his head resting on her lap while having his hands wrapped around her legs. "What the..." She cringes angrily as she screams, snapping him out of his deep slumber. "Can you let me sleep, please?" He whines sleepily. "Get away from me you pervert!" She curses under her breath as she pushes him off the bed and he lands on the ground. "Ah!" He winces in pain, holding his butt. "That was mean, Alicia," He yawns, rubbing his sleepy eyes. The knock on the door pulls their attention, and
She paces restlessly in her room, while Ren sits on the edge of the bed having a blank expression on his face as he stares into space. "Look at me, Ren... I swear I didn't tell them to say that, OK? You have to believe me. I... I didn't know that they were going to take it this far and...and..." She sighs briefly and runs her fingers through her hair as she plunges herself into the sofa that's just opposite her bed. "What do we do? I'm not ready to get married. I'm still very young and...""It was all your fault. You could've just let me handle this and not ever show up here. Now, look what you've got me into. Shit! I don't want to get married," She laments angrily, and he scoffs. "This is not the time to blame me, Ren. My parents are going to frustrate me to death if I don't do this..." She pauses and bites her bottom lip. How the heck is she going to say this to him? "Look... I'll pay you any amount of money you want, I promise. Just uhm... Let's get married, OK? I know this is
Three days laterAlicia and Ren have been in the house with her parents for days, as they never allowed the two out of their sights. While trying to sort the marriage issues out, the two didn't stop being all romantic especially when her parents are around. Of course, they wouldn't want to stir up confusion. After dinner, the two return to their room, and Alicia heads into the bathroom to shower as soon as they walk inside the room. Sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at the bathroom's closed door, the thought of her crying some days ago flashes through his mind, and he can only get curious. Why was she crying? He was sure that he didn't do anything wrong to her, so that alone convinced him that there was more to that tears than he knows. Still lost in thoughts, the sound of the door opening pulls him back to reality, and he raises his gaze to see that Alicia already walked into the room, wearing her pink beautiful robe. For some seconds, his heartbeat stops as he stares at
Chapter 100 Everything went too fast, Mr. Douglas was finally sentenced to death by hanging since he killed two people, and his wife was sentenced to life imprisonment for being an accomplice and didn't say anything when her daughter was killed. It has been three months since Alicia has been at home, while Ren and Felix have been managing the company in her place. The two men have developed a strong bond together in which they are now best friends. Lilian too has been supportive of her friend, although she was still single. Alicia on the other hand was in her final trimester, and they would be expecting a baby anytime soon. It has been a hard day for Alicia, since she has been struggling the whole day, trying to suppress the pain she kept having occasionally. She has been feeling this pain for the last one month, and the doctor would always tell her that it was fine whenever she had gone to the hospital. Sitting on the couch and watching TV, she suddenly feels a st
Chapter 99 Writer's POV Mr. Williams has finally been laid to rest a few days ago, and the last few days have been hard for Alicia. Trying to balance between getting over her dad's death, and caring for herself and her unborn child has been difficult, but with Ren, Lilian, her mom, and Felix beside her, she was able to improve. It was supposed to be a beautiful morning, but no day has been beautiful to Alicia after everything that happened. Just if she had known, she would've involved the police before and let them handle it, or at least told her dad about it, maybe the innocent man wouldn't have lost his life, but then, she believed that God has already destined this to happen in the first place, so there was no reason to regret it now. Standing on the balcony and leaning over the rail while staring up at the sky, many thoughts run through her mind, including finding out later that Emily died at the hands of her dad. Although they were never on good terms, but she was
Chapter 98 Alicia POV We all pace restlessly in the hallway after dad was taken into the emergency room, and the doctors are trying to revive him. He was shot in the chest, and I don't know if he would survive this. Douglas and his wife have been taken care of by the cops and have been apprehended. "Calm down, babe, he will be fine," Ren tries to calm me down, even though he knows things may not be fine. My dad is inside there, fighting for his life, and I don't even know if he is going to survive it. "Will he be fine, Ren? Will he be ok?" I ask him, but he only sighs and pulls me into his arms instead, hugging me tightly, while I cry on his chest. My stomach is already big and round since I have passed my second trimester. The sound of the footsteps drawing close behind us pulls my attention, and I quickly turn to see that it's the doctor. "How is he, doc? Is my dad ok? Is he going to be fine?" I bombard the doctor with questions while I wait for him to r
Chapter 97 Writer's POV "My uncle, Mr. Douglas Williams, has been blackmailing me for the last few months now..." She stops to see the shock on his face as his eyes slowly widen in shock. "Wh...what are you saying?" He yelled from the crowd, even though his conscience was judging him deep down. "Mr. Douglas hired someone to get married to me, so he could claim my dad's properties," She said, airing confusion in the hall, as everyone started murmuring. "What are you talking about?" Her dad finally stepped forward, confused about what Alicia was saying. "You should ask your brother, dad... Ask him what you have done to him to make him think he could ruin your life. Ask him why he hired Felix, forced him into a relationship with me, and when we planned to get married... Why he sent him away and made him look like a bad person!" She yells at the top of her voice as tears brim in her eyes. Seeing the confusion in her dad's eyes hurts her even more, because this man
Chapter 96 Alicia POV I feel nervous today, especially as Ren is not here with me. It was finally the day for the end-of-the-year party, and I was supposed to be happy, but I don't feel any emotions as the only thing I feel at the moment is emptiness. I arrived with my parents and Lilian moments ago, and they left to greet the guests. My uncle is not yet here, and I think he must be preparing himself to get the title of a CEO today. "Hi, Alicia," Hearing his annoying voice behind me, I turn to see him standing with his devilish wife beside him, both smiling innocently at me. If I was not aware of what they have done, I swear I would think they are the sweetest people on earth. "Hi, uncle, Aunt," I reply to them with a smile, since I have to pretend nothing is going on. I don't want him to do something stupid here. The last thing I want now is someone getting hurt in this building. "Brother, you are here?" My dad utters as he walks up to us, and they both excha
Chapter 95 Writer's POVNext evening It was a beautiful night for the family of Mr. Williams, since they just came back to the country, and the grand dinner date was going to host tonight. Mr. Douglas and his family were also invited by his brother to the date, and of course, he honored the invitation. "It has really been a while, brother. I have missed you so much," Mr. Douglas utters as he glances at his brother, Alicia's dad. "I have missed you too. How are you, Emily?" Mr. Williams replies to his brother before he turns to Emily and smiles at her. "I'm fine, Sir," Emily replies to him. "Where is Alicia? Why is she not here yet?" Mr. Douglas asks as if he was missing Alicia, but that wasn't the case. "I think she should be here any moment from now," Mr. Williams replies, and just then, Alicia walks down the staircase, graced in a red short gown that stops right before her knees. She has her hair packed in a tight bun, light make-up on her face with a red li
Chapter 94 Mr. Douglas POV It was finally a few days to the end of the year party, and I can't help the excitement that fills my heart, since I have been looking forward to it. Yes, my dream is finally going to come true, so it's only right that I am happy, right? As my driver drive me to the restaurant where I asked Felix to meet me so we can talk, I can't help but think back at the things I've done, and I can only be proud of myself. Just a little one more shot, and everything will be fine. I finally arrive at the restaurant a few minutes later, and the driver pulls over at the parking lot before he comes to open the door for me, and I step out of the car. Stepping into the restaurant a few minutes later, I spot Felix already sitting at the far end of the restaurant, waiting for me. I had called him earlier today to let's meet at the restaurant tonight because I have something to tell him. I just hope this works out. "Have I been keeping you waiting?" I ask
Chapter 93 Ricco POV Driving to Emily's house to check on her and maybe get her to change her mind this morning, but I was disappointed when I found her hugging someone in front of their house, but I became perplexed when I drove closer and found out that the person she was hugging was Ren. Is she kidding me? I wanted to turn back and leave, but I can't help it. "Is he the reason you broke up with me?" I turn to Emil and ask after I punch Ren hard in his face, and she sighs briefly. "Can you just leave, Ricco? You are creating a scene here," She utters without remorse, and I scoff as waves of anger spur through me. "Why? You are embarrassed? You don't want me to embarrass him? What has come over you, Emily? Have you forgotten who this young man is? He is your cousin's husband for goodness sake, what the hell do you think you are doing?" I yell at the top of my voice, finding it difficult to contain my anger. I feel my blood boiling in rage, and my knuckles itch to
Chapter 92 Emily POV I know it must've been hard for Ren to have dumped his wife like that and decided to get married to me, but what matters to me is that we are finally going to get married soon, and I don't care about any other thing. I haven't talked to my parents about it, but I'm planning to do so today. Descending the staircase after I left my room a few minutes ago, I take a deep breath and gulp down the lump in my throat as I spot my mom and dad in the dining, having breakfast. It's just 8am. "Good morning, mom, dad," I greet them once I arrive at the dining and pull out a chair to sit on. "Good morning, darling. Did you sleep well?" Mom asks, and I nod my head. "How was your night?" Dad asks with a wide smile on his face as he glances at me, and I nod my head. "It was fine, dad," I reply to him. "I made your favorite, baby. Why don't you have your breakfast before it gets cold," Mom says before she stands up to serve my food. "Thanks, mom,