Chapter 2 - Marry him

“Go upstairs and pack your things, we don’t have much time,” her mother Lily said while packing some other boxes. She didn’t spare her daughter a glance.

“Mum, what’s going on?” Avery asked with tear-filled eyes. She didn’t know where they were going. What about her school and her internship? Her father descended the stairs and said,

“My dear, our company is bankrupt and we tried to partner with the Crowns to help us up again. The son of Andrew Crown wanted to marry you in exchange but since you don’t want that, we just have to do what we have to do.”

Avery was lost. Her parents always provided her with everything she wanted so how could she have known that their business was suffering? Also, they didn’t mention it in the morning when they told her about the arranged marriage. “If the company was suffering, then why didn’t I know about it before?”

Her father sighed and looked at her with pitiful eyes, his hands resting on her shoulders. “You have school and we didn’t want to burden you. Unfortunately, your scholarship has also been canceled. The Crowns were the main sponsors and that has been withdrawn as well.”

Avery felt like she was hit by a plague and her eyes began to water. “So where are we going?”

“To the countryside. I’m thinking of going into farming. The land is good there and so is the weather,” her father said calmly. He never lied to her before so she believed him but then again,

“Dad, you are a chartered accountant. You are my motivation to pursue this scholarship and get it to be a chartered accountant like you. How can you give up now?” She asked desperately. Her father led her to the two-in-one sofa and they sat down while he explained things to her.

“I didn’t give up. I took some bad risks and we lost everything. I’m sorry but we just have to be there until things get better,” he said sadly. Avery was restless.

“Isn’t there a way?”

“The Crowns. They were willing to help but Mr. Andrew Crown called to cancel everything this morning. He said his son Anderson was no longer interested in getting married to you. We’ve tried our best Avery, but this is reality.”

Avery panicked from guilt. How could she have known that her parents' arrangements were so important for the business? She was also curious to know if Anderson exposed her bad behavior. She always kept to herself and stayed in her shell so what she did today was unthinkable. “Did he state the reason why his son refused the marriage?”

“No. He only said that Anderson wasn’t ready to talk about it.”

Avery knew that she had to seek Trent’s help by all means. “I think I know why. Don’t move. I will sort out everything,” she said, standing up and running upstairs.

The couple exchanged amused looks. “Do you think it would work?” Lily asked her husband, Rudolph.

“It seems to have worked,” he smiled and said.

“This seems like a better approach. Early this morning, we were forcing her and she didn’t agree. And why did you come up with the scholarship thing? That wasn’t part of it,” Lily asked curiously.

Trent responded, “It’s called thinking out of the box.”

“So should we take the boxes in?” She looked at the boxes exhausted. Indeed if the plan doesn’t work, they would have to relocate to where they could get cheap labor.

“No, no, no. Not until we receive another call from Mr. Andrew Crown,” Rudolph said with a smile. The Crowns have been the business gurus for decades and Andrew was a very good man. Rudolph was certain that her daughter would be safe with Anderson since his father loved his mother dearly. Anderson was never seen or heard of womanizing or with any woman so he knew that he made the right decision by accepting the arrangement.

I’m in her room, Avery called Trent on FaceTime. He answered instantly and seeing Avery’s teary face and red puffy eyes, his heart sank. He knew that Anderson was up to something.

“What happened?”

Avery narrated everything to him through tears. When she was done, Trent cursed. “The son of a bitch.”

“What do I do Trent, I don’t want to marry him,” Avery cried and said, hoping that Trent would save her from her misery.

An idea crossed Trent’s mind instantly and a smile lined the corners of his mouth. “Marry him,” he said. Avery was awed.

“What? Didn’t you hear me? I hate him. I don’t want to marry him,” she yelled. Trent explained.

“But you can’t let your parents' business fail. You are their only child and you can’t fail them.”

“You are right but are you breaking up with me?” Avery asked. If Trent loved her, then why would he comfortably ask her to marry Anderson? It didn’t make sense to her.

“No. The project is fifty percent done. As soon as it’s completed, I will come and pay up everything the Crowns would invest. At that time, you can file for divorce and also leave with fifty percent of their wealth,” Trent revealed. Since he couldn’t help at the moment, he could still take advantage of the situation. If Avery got fifty percent of the Crown's wealth, they could combine their resources through marriage and become trillionaires.

“I don’t want their money. I don’t want to marry him. I want you,” Avery cried. Trent ignored her mood. One day, she would realize the sense in his advice.

“This is what you have to do. Marry him but make him miserable. Make him regret it and let him be the one asking for the divorce.”

Avery froze and thought about Trent’s advice. It was a perfect way to escape and she’d have nothing to lose. “I think I can do that.”

“One more thing,” Trent said.

“What is that?” Avery asked worriedly.

“You are not allowed to give your body to him. You are mine. Do you understand that?” Trent asked seriously. He couldn’t tell her the main reason why she couldn’t sleep with Andrew, not ever.

“Of course. I will never make him happy. I will come up with excuses till he gives up,” Avery agreed. The only one she would give her body was Trent.

“That’s my girl. Now wipe those tears and go find him. Make the apology sincere, so that he won’t suspect anything.”

“Okay Trent, I love you,” Avery said with new hope.

“I love you too,” Trent said, satisfied. He knew that Anderson could never win against him, even if he used a shortcut.

When Trent hung up, his anger burned so much that he couldn’t help it. He took his phone and dialed Anderson’s number. It rang severally but there was no answer.

“It’s okay Ander, keep running. You will regret having eyes for my girl,” he muttered and clutched his phone tightly.

At Anderson's luxury home, a man lay on the bed, half-covered with a duvet and half-naked. The phone by his bedside lit severally but there was no sound. He muted it as soon as he got home and showered. He hadn’t slept well for days and it was beginning to take a toll on him.

At his gate, a girl was trying to find her way to him but was sent away by his security men because of the instruction he gave that he didn’t want any distractions. The girl at the gate left when another car drove in shortly after.

The car was familiar and well-known to all so security let the car in. A tall attractive man stepped out and unlocked the doors as if he owned the house.

“Ander!” He yelled but got no response. He continued to yell the same name while he checked the kitchen, and laundry room and was about to climb up when he bumped into the housekeeper.

“Nancy, where is Ander?” He asked curiously.

“Sleeping,” the housekeeper responded.

“So early? What’s the time? It’s not even 9 pm,” the man frowned and said. The housekeeper was patient enough to explain,

“He was busy and hadn’t slept for days. I suggest you keep the noise down,” the middle-aged woman advised.

“Of course, I will,” the man said and climbed the stairs to the master bedroom.

“There you are, will you wake up or I should move the bed beneath you?” He roared. The man on the bed snapped his eyes open.

“Martin?”

“I can’t believe you are sleeping. Get up and let’s go somewhere,” Martin said while lowering himself to the edge of the bed. Anderson frowned and lifted himself to a sitting position. He was just in his boxers.

“I’m tired bro. We can do that tomorrow night.”

“I’m going alone then,” Martin stood up and said. He came in early, so they could have some fun, not babysit a sleeping man.

The sleep cleared from Anderson’s eyes. “Hey don’t leave, ain’t you hungry?”

“No I’m not hungry so what’s going on?” Martin sat back on the bed upon the realization that he had Anderson’s complete attention.

“After Sophie’s wedding, there has been too much for me to do. And why didn’t you attend?” He asked curiously, while he massaged his temple.

“Why should I attend when another man stole the only woman I love?” Martin frowned and said rhetorically with a bitter expression.

Anderson chuckled and said, “Sophie is three years older than you Martin.”

“It doesn’t matter. I like older women. More mature and aging like fine wine.”

“That is merely a cliche,” Anderson said. He never took Martin's feelings for his older sister seriously anyway.

“It’s the truth,” Martin insisted.

The two friends talked through the night, ate, drank, and slept on the same bed as they usedt. Anderson woke up with a headache. He never thought he’d feel so pained for being rejected by Avery. He took his phone and saw a lot of missed calls. Seeing the name of the most persistent caller, he squinted his eyes in annoyance, “fuck you, Trent.”

The sound of his voice woke Martin, who was still drowsy from sleep. “What’s the problem and why are you talking aloud? Am sleeping, man.”

“Wake up. It’s past nine o’clock,” Anderson yelled, startling Martin to be fully awake.

“What?” No matter how late they slept, they never woke up late. Anderson had already walked into the shower. Within fifteen minutes, the two men drove out of the house. As soon as they reached the reception, the receptionist stopped them and said,

“Mr. Crown, the new intern, Avery has come to look for you a couple of times.”