Choose wisely

Derrick stood dumbfounded, trying to grasp what he was seeing. Stephanie quickly pushed the man on top of her away and covered her body with one hand, while she tried to pick the dress she had wore with the other hand.

"Patrick, take me out of here!" Derrick ordered.

"Derrick, I'm sorry," she pleaded.

Derrick moved slowly and tripped: he felt dizzy. But Patrick caught him quickly.

"Derrick!" Stephanie yelled. She grabbed her dress from the dining table, wore it and ran to him. "Derrick? What happened to him?" She turned to Patrick.

"He got shot. He needs first aid. Now," Patrick urged.

"Goodness ! What have I done?" Stephanie said amidst tears. "I'll be right back," she added as she placed a cloth on the wound to reduce the bleeding and instructed Patrick to put some pressure on it.

"What are you waiting for? Get out!" She ordered the man she was copulating with.

"Bitch." Patrick could not hold back his irritation. He looked to see if her guard would defend her but he seemed satisfied.

"Well, that'll do it," said the security guard.

'Not the first time?" Patrick asked.

"Absolutely not."

***************************************************

"Oh, my baby!" Brittany exhaled, hugging Derrick who lay asleep on Stephanie's bed with a drip connected to his good arm.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She charged at Patrick.

"That's enough now," Donald interrupted, pulling her in for a hug.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Patrick apologized. "Mr Derrick instructed me to not take your calls," he continued. "I decided to call when he fainted, I knew he wouldn't want to be here if he had a choice." Patrick looked at Stephanie sternly while she was sobbing.

"What do you mean?" Brittany asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Mum, Dad, please I'm sorry," Stephanie pleaded.

"What's going on here?" Donald inquired. "Are you alright, Stephanie?" 

"Stephanie darling, what's going on?" Brittany asked calmly. "What happened? Did you hurt my son? Do you know who shot him?"

"Mum , I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do what I did. I... I got carried away." Stephanie begged.

"What did you do, Stephanie?!" 

"I... I cheated on Derrick, and he caught me."

Suddenly, there was a grave silence in the room.

"You? Stephanie? Goodness gracious!" Brittany asked in shock.

"Mum , I'm sorry. I love Derrick. I got carried away."

"Hello ?" Donald said into his phone. "Come to Noah's. I need to take my son to the hospital immediately."

"Okay . Thanks. I'll be expecting you. My son needs to leave here immediately." He ended the call and walked out of the house without saying a word to Stephanie.

**************************************************

"Mum, I can't marry that whore," Derrick protested, walking down the stairs while Brittany trailed behind him.

"Derrick, please listen to me," she pleaded.

"Okay , I'm listening. What is it? You want me to marry a whore? That's not happening! Forget about it."

"Derrick , I know she cheated, but this is a contract marriage. You don't have to love each other. This marriage must happen. Please!"

"I know what type of marriage it is. Do I need to love her? No! Can I live with a whore? Hell, no! I'm a man, Mum. My ego will be affected forever, knowing that my wife cheated when we were engaged, arranged marriage or not!"

"Derrick , look at me. I'm pleading with you, this marriage must hold. Please! If you don't marry Stephanie, your brother will. You know what you'll lose if that happens. Please forgive her."

'Mum, I agreed to this dumb idea of marrying Stephanie because of you! I agreed to this silly plan even after finding out she is nothing! In fact, most men want a virgin bride! Why? Of course, I'll be glad to know that I'm the first and only man to have sex with my wife. Why do you think dad cherishes you? Same reason, Mum, same reason! He'll always protect you because of what he did to you. But I accepted to marry Stephanie regardless. And now I find out that she can't even control herself.' He paused for a breath.

"You're making me say things I shouldn't. Let Mikel marry her. I don't care. I can't and will never marry her." he added firmly, barging out of the house. 

**************************************************

"Hello?" Donald said into his phone. "Did he change his mind?" He asked.

"No. He's resolute in his decision," Brittany said from the other end of the line.

"He's just like his father" Donald muttered. "Don't worry, I know how to crack him." 

"Don't go hard on him, please." Brittany pleaded.

"Don't worry. I got this." Donald ended the call and devised a plan.

"If he doesn't want to marry her, then why are y'all forcing him to?" North complained, having eavesdropped on Donald's and Brittany's conversation. "Mikel is still here. Mikel marrying Stephanie is the same as she marrying into our family," she added.

"The final decision is mine to make. I can cancel the wedding if I want," Donald stated.

"At what expense? Losing half of your wealth? Come on. You and I know that you can't afford such a loss," North remarked with a smirk. "Mikel's ready to help you retain your wealth. Think about that," she said trailing her finger on his chest before moving into the adjoining room.

**************************************************

Derrick got into his Ferrari, one of the cars at the parking lot. After the incident, Donald added four more cars to Derrick's convoy for more security.

He sat quietly in the car, knowing that his dad had sent for him regarding the him and Stephanie's marriage. He breathed anxiously, contemplating what to expect.

The car finally stopped after a thirty-minute journey.

The security guards stepped out from the vehicles, and one of them opened the door for Derrick to alight. His blue suit complimented his physique perfectly.

He placed his right hand on the sensor and the gate opened.

Donald laid close to the pool with his face down and a towel wrapped around his waist, while two of his maids gave him a massage.

"Hey Dad."

"Good afternoon, sir." The maids greeted.

"Hello." Derrick responded.

"Hey boy," Donald replied, turning to see Derrick. "You're always on time." 

"Time's money, Dad." 

"That's true." Donald chuckled.

"Serve us some wine, will you? Do that and excuse us," Donald requested.

"Okay sir." They poured some wine into two glasses and served Donald and Derrick before they walked away.

"How's your hand, son?" 

"It's healing fast, I guess"

"I heard you called off the wedding." 

"I can't marry a whore." 

"It's only for ten years, Derrick. You can get a divorce after that."

"That's a decade, Dad, my youthful years."

"You can have more women. She only has to be your legal wife."

"I am your son, but I didn't inherit your character," Derrick said and they laughed at the sound of having more women.

"Seriously, Derrick, you need to carry on with this wedding."

"I'm sorry, I can't marry her. I'm not aware of the contract you have with her family, so y'all should sort it out without me," Derrick added firmly, placing his glass on the table.

"Derrick, I'm drop dead serious. We need to push through with the wedding."

"I'm leaving," Derrick said as he made to stand up.

"Derrick, if you leave here without consenting to marry Stephanie, I'll withdraw all my businesses and properties in your name. I'll freeze all your accounts, local and foreign, and make you regret the day you were born!" Donald threatened as Derrick froze on the spot, different thoughts ran through his mind.