CHAPTER 2

Nicole was not wrong.

Her father wasted no time in bringing up the issue. In fact, for dinner the very next day, he prepared what one would call a mini banquet, consisting of foods fruits, meats and wine of all kinds. Apparently he felt the need to do something grand to commemorate his big announcement and the expansion of his empire that would come about as a result....She was not impressed. 

To be quie honest, she found the whole situation rather wasteful especially since her appetite was nowhere to be found for obvious reasons. But even if she was hungrier than a starved lion, there was only so much food she could eat and eventually, the rest soul go to waste.

While her father excitedly barked out orders to the poor servants who were running helter skelter to make sure that everything was perfect, Nicole sat idly in her chair, tossing her lunch around on her plate. She was yet to take even one bite, neither did she feel motivated to. Moreover, she knew that even if she tried, it would end up tasting like sawdust in her mouth.

"Is all these really necessary?" Nicole asked her father at last. The constant movement around her was starting to give her a headache.

"Of course it is." He replied excitedly. "Today is a very special day, especially for you. I thought you would be more excited."

"I might be if you had told me what this 'big announcement.' Was before going ahead to invite a bunch of random strangers into our home to celebrate."

"Our guests are not strangers, they are friends and family. You've known some of them ever since you were a little girl."

"And now you want to marry me off to one of them." She muttered under her breath. 

"What was that?" Her father asked but she was quick to cover up.

"Nothing."

He studied her for a few moments probably before deciding that what she had said was not worth the hassle anyway so he continued.

"Like I said, they are all friends and family..."

"I have no friends!" Nicole returned, rudely interrupting her father mid sentence. "You made damn well sure of that remember? And the only family I had died four years ago so don't stand there and tell me shit about friends and family. I am all alone in this world and i've already made my peace with that fact."

At her outbursts, a strange expression took over her father's features and if she didn't know better, she would have thought he was hurt by her statement, but she had learned earlier on in life that Christopher Meyer was an unfeeling bastard whose heart was made up of rocks.and dynamite. He felt no emotions whatsover, and the only time one could get a reaction out of him was when money was involved, and even those reactions were only ever centred around anger, self satisfaction and greed for more.

"What is this big surprise?" She demanded when it became clear that her father was not going to comment on her statement from earlier.

"You'll find out very soon. Just like everyone else" He replied curtly, rising from his seat and making to leave but Nicole was not having.

"I am not everyone else though am I?" She screamed after him. "I am your daughter and I deserve to be treated with some level of respect. I am sick and tired of being used as a pawn in your grand scheme only to be treated like a nobody when it actually counts. So save us both the stress and tell me the news before the guests start to arrive. I deserve to know before them especially since it concerns me, you said so yourself. Please daddy!"

"Go and get changed into something presentable. You don't want to be late for dinner. " He said simply in reply before disappearing into his study.

Nicole collapsed into her chair, hot tears burning at the corners of her ears.

Her father was about to announce news this big about her future and he didn't even have the decency to discuss it with her first. 

She knew what his plan was. He had played this particular card one too many times in the past so she was no stranger to it. He planned to place her on the spot in front of a crowd so that she would have no choice but to surrender to his scheme.

She had been trained to always put their family first and defying her father in front of a crowd could undermine his importance and her father knew she would never do that, or at least he thought she would never do that which was why he wanted to announce her marriage in a way she wouldn't be able to escape or argue.

He was wrong, because unlike all the other times when she was willing to bend to his will even though she really did not want to, she couldn't do it this time, not when yielding meant she was going to spend the rest of her life with that gruesome man who would probably beat her for sport and make her life a living hell.

She was only giving her father an opportunity to discuss his plans with her behind closed doors first before taking it public so that she could voice out her opinions because in as much as she hated him, he was still her father and she didn't want to fusion of him before strangers by defying him, but since he refused to handle things the easier way then he had better prepared himself for what was coming.

Like he had ordered, she went up to her room but rather than changing into a dazzling dress with her hair and make up all done like she knew her father wanted, she took her shower and changed into her most comfortable sweatpants, and baggiest t shirt. She intentionally chose the colour black to further show her defiance and she didn't even bother to fix her hair. 

She also waited until the bulk of her father's guests had arrived before making her way leisurely down the stairs as if she had all the time in the world. She knew how much her father hated tardiness which was why she chose to arrive several hours late, ignoring all the guests that had been sent to fetch her.

All her life, she had only done the things that pleased her father, the things that made him happy, and even that was not enough for him. Look how he wanted to repay her for her years of obedience and sacrifice. Not again.

"Hello everyone!" She greeted the guests in a sing song voice, staggering a bit and only managing to catch herself before she made contact with the ground. While waiting for the time to pass, she had poured herself a couple of drinks and was now slightly drunk, another thing that infuriated her father. She could see the angry veins popping of the side of his head but she didn't care. For what she wanted to do, she needed all the courage she could get and if the only place she could found such courage was a t the bottom of a bottle then so be it. 

"Hope i didn't miss the good part?" She slurred before slumping into a nearby seat. "I was rather..." She paused, reaching for a nearby bottle of wine and pouring herself a glass before finishing, "...preoccupied."

"Clearly." Her father replied for the first time since she arrived and  rather than taken her seriously, he chose to regard her instead as a little girl who was simply throwing a tantrum.

"My apologies." Nicole declared with a nasty belch, causing the guests to look at her in disgust and disdain.

"You didn't miss much though..." Her father continued, ignoring the stares of scrutiny that were being cast in his and Nicole's direction. These were people of high influence in society and if Christopher could not handle his own daughter then some of them were already questioning whether or not they wanted invest their money in his hands. They were already doubting his capability and it was all Nicole's fault. She knew that she was going to get the backlash of it all from her father later, but right now, she was enjoying herself too much to care.

"...just the announcements that you are to be married to Don Matteo in two weeks, and should prepare yourself accordingly. " Christopher finished with a calmness that suggested he had just told his daughter she was going to get a new haircut rather than that she was getting married.

"Congratulations." A bunch of voices said after his announcement, and a few of them even clinked their wine glasses together while other patted Don Matteo on the shoulder congratulating him as well, but Nicole couldn't help but find the whole situation comical.

"When did you say the wedding was supposed to be again?" Nicole asked all of a sudden, speaking with a  a calmness she did not feel.

"In two weeks. Why?" Her father replied. I mean why would she have anything to say about her own wedding or the date, right?

"Oh, nothing much." She replied. "I was just checking my mental calender and apparently, that very weekend is already scheduled for my vacation to Peru so I'm sorry folks but y'all are either gonna have to reschedule or find another bride. Whatever you decide though, it might be wise to check in with the bride before making sensitive decisions about who the groom is going to be or when the wedding is going to be. Hell, you might even want to find out from her if she ever intends to get married. Just saying...wouldn't want you to end up at the wedding and find out that the  bride is nowhere to be found!"

"Nicole!" Her father scolded in a loud voice, startling everyone and effectively putting an end to her drunken ramble.

"What has come over you? You will compose yourself thus instant or face the consequences. "

"Consequences. " Nicole retorted with a laugh. It was a homelessness laugh that spoke to years of suffering and pain. "What consequence could be worse than the fate you've already damned me to? Huh? Tell me daddy, what fate could be worse than spending eternity with this dog of a man."

"Enough!" Her father deadpanned, standing up from his seat and marching towards her, he literally pulled her from her seat by the nape of her shirt and dragged her to the next room, away from the prying eyes and ears of the guests.

"What has come over you?" He demanded as soon as the door was shut behind them. "You used to be very obedient and humble."

"And look how you decided to repay me for years of obedience and dedication."

Christopher ran a frustrated hand through his scanty hair. "Do you seriously think I'm doing this to punish you or hurt you?" He asked, placing his hands on Nicole's shoulders.

"What would you have me call this then? That man is almost as old as you, he is probably a couple of years older , and that is the man you chose for your daughter whom you claim to love? I call bullshit!"

Christopher sighed, clearly starting to lose his patience. 

"At least if you are married to him, i can rest easy knowing that you will be protected and well taken care of."

"But most importantly, you will also rest easy knowing fully well that the North Bank contract would be awardeded to you without question right? I mean isn't that the real reason why you are so eager to ship of your only daughter to her doom?"

"And what is so wrong with that? Huh? This is only one of the many sacrifices i've had to make to get to where I am today, to make sure that you always had a full stomach and a roof over your head. So what is wrong with you doing the same for your family?"

"So that's all I am to you Huh? A simple sacrifice, a mere means to an end." Nicole laughed again. "And here I was thinking that I meant much more than a bargaining chip at least to you."

"Look, I don't know what you want me to say but you are going to marry Mattteo whether you like it or not and I can only hope that you learn with time that this was the best choice for you, for this family."

"I would do no such thing. In fact, I would rather due than man marry that man."

"What did you just say to me?" Christopher asked, stalking angrily towards her, but just before he could reach her, a knock sounded on the door, diverting both their attentions.

"Can I come in?" It was Don Matteo and as soon as Nicole saw him she rolled her eyes at his fake humility and gentleness which he had used to fool her father over the years, but not Nicole. She could see right through him and she had long since known him for the snake that he was.

"The guests are starting to get a little restless. I thought I should inform you."

"I'll go and calm them down. In the mean time, maybe you should try talking some sense into her because i'm honestly at my wits end."

"I'm not sure I'll be able to do much, but I will try." Don Matteo replied before ushering Christopher out of the room.

The moment Nicole's father was gone, Matteo's aura changed. He stood up straighter and walked with more confidence. Even his voice changed and a grim feeling had fallen over the room. It's like he was a different man in the presence of her father but when they were alone, he turned into a predator.

For several years, Nicole had done everything in her power to avoid being alone in the same room with the man and on all the occasions when she had failed, Don Matteo had never once failed to make his advances at her.

"Hello wife. " he said at last, offering her one of his nausea inducing smiles.

"Hello fool." She replied, offering him a smile of her own. But apparently, her tone of speaking did not seat  right with him.

"I am to be your husband. You will speak to me with respect."

"Over my dead body." Nicole retorted, making Matteo angrier and causing him to stalk towards her and grab her painfully by the hair. It hurt like hell but Nicole refused to let him see her tears. She refused to give him that satisfaction.

"You know the stubborn horses are always the most satisfying to take." He replied, his foul breath fanning over her face so much so that she wanted to do fetch."

"Did you forget to wear your glasses old man? Because you would have seen that I am a person and not a horse." 

Nicole knew that the man hated being called old and that was the very reason why she kept calling him that. She had made it her life's mission to make his life as hellish as he wanted to make hers and she would stop at nothing to achieve that.

She could see him clenching his jaws in anger and she smiled in satisfaction, an act that pissed Matteo off even further.

"I might be an old man..." He replied, still holding on to her hair but letting his free hand roam over her body and rest on her ass. "...but You belong to me. You hear me? You belong to me!" He declared, bringing out his disgusting tongue and licking a nasty trail around her earlier. 

In all her life, Nicole had never felt more repulsed by a person like she did in that moment so without thinking, she untangled herself from his grip, pulled her foot back and kicked him right in the the shin.

Matteo yelled in pain cursing loudly, but Nicole didn't wait to see his reaction. Instead she fled towards her room and bolted the door quickly behind her.

Only once she was safe within the confines of her room and far from Don Matteo's blood sucking fangs did she let the tears which she had been holding back fall freely.

She cried herself a river and fell asleep in a heap at the foot of the door.