EDWARD
“I want this report completed by the end of the day.” I slammed the poor excuse of a report on the desk and glared at the man who kept standing there looking stupid. It has only been a week since he joined and my patience is really running thin.
“Do you understand?” He flinched at my harsh tone.
“Yes, Mr. Dan.” Just then, the door to my cabin opened and my father walked in followed by our lawyer. If I were to go by my father’s expression, it was something concerning. I shifted my gaze back to my personal assistant still standing in front of me.
“Leave!” He quickly got hold of the file and scurried out of the cabin.
“Dad?” Both him and Mr. Davis took the seat opposite me.
“Edward, Mr. Davis is here to show you your grandfather’s will.” It wasn’t something I was expecting. Granddad passed away about a month ago and his will had not been brought up since. I leaned back in my seat and loosened the tie around my neck.
“I am busy right now, dad. Can’t it wait?”, he sighed before glancing at Mr. Davis who had quite a serious expression.
“I am afraid not”, my eyes twitched as I mentally clawed at all the possible conditions they might put forth . I nodded and looked at Mr. Davis to proceed.
“Mr. Dan, your grandfather had included in his will that you get to inherit Dan Realty provided you settle down.” He stopped for a quick second to judge my expression before continuing. “You are required to get married.”
I stared back unblinking at the expectant faces of the two mem seated in front of me. “I am not in the mood for some jokes right now!”
I looked between the both of them who maintained their serious stances. Granddad would often advise me on how I should settle down, start a family and to think that he put his condition in his will was not too absurd but my mind was in denial.
It was my dad who exhaled.
“He is not joking. Your grandfather wrote in his will that he wants to see you settle down with a decent girl of your choice and provide a family for Anna.”
Clearly, I still had not grasped the seriousness of the situation considering I wasn’t feeling the helplessness that I should drown in at this moment.
I was still searching for words when Mr. Davis spoke further. “If not fulfilled, after your father, it goes to the Anderson’s.” My head shot up in a microsecond almost giving me a snapped neck.
“Anderson’s? Our rival?” Our lawyer warily nodded before I slammed a fist on the table, making him flinch in his place. I was out of my seat and walking towards the window, absolutely clueless as to who in their right mind would do that.
“Was he in need of some kind of medical help and we overlooked it?”, I asked.
“Edward!”, Dad sounded offended.
“That would explain this will because this clearly the most ridiculous fucking thing I have heard in my life.” While Dad looked exhausted, Davis looked scared. Scared of me? The only scary thing there was that will.
“Grandad actually wrote this?”. Was I hoping that I would be offered a totally different answer, something like they had planned the April fool’s prank though it was mid September? Probably.
“He did”, Mr. Davis shifted awkwardly in his seat and the urge to throw him out of the cabin was too much.
“I don’t get it dad. Why do I have to marry? Anna has a family. She has me. She has you. She has Emma. This is her family.” I reasoned but the shake of his head told me that he was anything but convinced.
“The little girl needs a mother in her life.” I shut my eyes in annoyance. This single statement has always felt like a blow to all the efforts I had put in for Anna over the years.
“She does not. I am the only parent she needs in her life.” Even as I said it, my confidence faltered a bit. I had gone out of the way to be the best parent to Anna yet a weak voice lingered at the back of my mind which claimed otherwise.
Dad slightly tilted his head to the side while staring right at me . “You know it yourself.” He sounded confident like he had read my earlier thoughts.
“I am serious. Son, I know how much you have tried to always be there for Anna but like every other child, she needs a mother. That is a void in her life. I can see it, most probably, your grandfather did to.”
I pressed my fingers against my forehead and leaned back in my seat. Even if Dad was right, I was not ready for a wife . I had not given relationships and dating a single thought after her. And here we are talking about marriage.
“I need time to think about it.”
When I raised my head, they were still sitting in front of me with grim expressions like there was something else I was yet to learn about . The thought alone was dreadful.
Mr. Davis drummed his fingers on the desk before letting it out. “You have one year before you settle down.” I could feel an approaching headache and undoubtedly, it was going to stay for a while now.
“There is a deadline.” My voice came out icy. Dad hesitantly nodded and I honestly wanted to bang my head against the wall but settled for a humorless chuckle. I was anything but amused.
“And what else? Does granddad need me to impregnate my wife with a dozen kids? Would he like that?” One might consider it aggressive sarcasm but honestly, I was skeptical. At this point, I wasn’t putting anything past him to put it in his will.
“No such thing mentioned”, Mr. Davis shrinked a little under my glare while Dad glanced a worried glance at me, probably thinking I was losing it. Well, I wasn’t too far from it either.
“I’ll leave you to it.” Both of them were on their feet and
in the next moment out of my cabin, leaving me in turmoil.
EDWARD I discarded the coat and leaned back against the couch. There had been a lot of work pressure since the last few days and topping that was Grandad’s will that had me stressed. I had been pushing it for some months now.“Daddy?”, I opened my eyes to look at my daughter who stood there with a cup of coffee, Emma close behind her.“Yes, sweetie.” I smiled at her.“I brought you coffee.” She carefully brought the cup forward, her eyes trained on them like splitting a moment of attention will spill the drink.“You did? That’s so sweet .” Taking the cup from her hand, I placed it on the table beside me. “Come here.” I picked her up and sat her on my lap. “I’ll put her to sleep.” I told Emma.“No, it’s okay, son. I’ll wait.” Anna placed her head on my chest and played with the shirt button. Emma had been staying with our family for as long as I could remember. She had always been there for me, treated me like her own. If I trusted anyone with Anna more than myself, that would be her.
EDWARDThis was not how I had imagined the day to turn out. This day was supposed to be enjoyable for Anna. Instead, she shed tears. I was one second away from getting the hell out of this place but stopped when Anna nodded to a milkshake.That brought me back to the thoughts of a feisty little waitress. Steph. I think that should be a short form for Stephanie.I was intrigued the moment she stepped in and shielded Anna. Why would she do it? Out of pure good will? Or was it how she planned on earning Anna’s complete trust for some reason? That would justify Anna’s undue attachment to her.It is difficult to believe that in today’s world people would lift a finger for someone unless it is serving some ulterior motives of their own.Could be depressing, seeing things from my perspective but I deemed it advisable. That is how things work in the real world, one works their way up the ladder and stays on top of their business.My thoughts were interrupted when I saw her walking up to us.
STEPHANIE “Mom!” I called after closing the door behind me. I had moved back into the house, the day Dad got back from the hospital. I wanted to be there for him, to relieve my mother of some duties, since she had a job cleaning a well-to-do organization. Well, the other half of the reason was that it would help with minimizing the expenses of getting a nurse to stick around, since I studied nursing but had to drop out halfway, I could do whatever I could. “In here.” She called out to me. I followed her voice to the kitchen. She stood behind the counter making dinner for Dad. I went straight for a hug. I missed her despite the fact I visited on my off days. She patted my shoulder, returning the hug. “Well, you are happy! What is it?” I loosened my hold around her.“I got the role of an assistant at ‘Your Home Your Haven’.” Her face broke in a grin once the news settled in.“You got the job! Well done, honey!” She gushed.“I never doubted my daughter for a second! I knew you would g
STEPHANIE“And here is a vanilla milkshake for the sweet girl”. Little giggles follow as I drop the glass down. The diner was a little less crowded compared to other Friday evenings.“Thank you, Steph”, I bent down to her height and she placed a kiss on my cheek. This was our usual. Almost a few months ago, she had walked in with Emma, her babysitter. She was kind of bummed because apparently some kids at school had been mean to her.Some kids can be really cruel. The other night I was serving this table and a little boy after a brief observation had stated that I was dumb because all blondes are supposedly dumb. I had kept my mouth shut and walked away, knowing very well that nothing decent would come out of it.Well as I was saying, back then I had cheered her up with a milkshake on the house and at the end of the day, she had officiated that we were best friends. I guess it is very easy for children to make friends.“You are welcome, cupcake.” I kissed her cheek making her to grin