In the official presidency office sat her father and Spencer Sherrod, her father-in-law. Roslyn was nowhere in sight, and for that Racheal was very grateful.
Spencer Sherrod stood up as soon as the couple walked into the huge, lavishly designed office with flags standing before one side of the walls.
He walked up to them, and the young couple bowed in greeting.
"Welcome to the family." He said, giving Racheal a hug.
"Thank you Mr President." She said.
"No. You can call me Spencer, or father-in-law. You just married Steffan after all." Spencer Sherrod said with a wide smile.
Racheal looked at him warily, despite his sunny countenance, she instinctively felt he could not be trusted. This was a man that could be ruthless when he needed to be.
Besides, she could not forget the attacks he launched on her country during the war.
One could argue that it was a war and that her country fought back. But still, it took a certain kind of person to be willing to go to war in that manner.
If her father was dangerous, this man was just as dangerous or even more dangerous.
"Have a seat." Her father said calmly to her and Steffan as her father-in-law returned to his seat. She took the opportunity to closely observe Steffan.
He looked like his own man, despite being the president's son. A dutiful son, but someone who could not be bossed around. He had a strong air of independence around him.
"How old are you my dear?" Spencer asked
"Twenty-three" She responded. She wondered which of them requested that the bride be chaste. The president, his wife whom she had only seen but not yet had the opportunity to speak with, or Seffan?
"Nice. You and Steffan would get along just fine, as you are around the same age. He is twenty-seven." He responded.
Racheal wondered in what world twenty-three and twenty-seven were close in age, but as usual, she said nothing.
She was finally beginning to come out of shock, as a new realization dawned on her. She was in bigger trouble.
She just got married to an enemy country, more accurately, sold out to them. She was now technically their property, their bargaining chip to keep her motherland in check.
"We are here to finalize a few important details." Spencer Sherrod said. His face had suddenly taken on a serious expression and Racheal realised she had been correct. This was not a man to be taken lightly.
"You are not our hostage, but you will be closely monitored at all times. Under no circumstance will you have any communication with your family in private. If you need to speak to them, you will do so in the presence of two or more of our intelligence security, and vice versa."
Racheal nodded. She was not expecting any less.
"And finally, when you have children, you will never bring them here, not even for a visit."
"That was not included in our initial agreement." Her father spoke up for the first time. He was evidently angry.
"It is now. Further requirements will be disclosed as time goes on." Spencer Sherrod said with a tone of finality.
Racheal did not realise she was trembling till Steffan placed his hand over hers in reassurance.
"As you can see, we will take good care of your daughter." Her father-in-law said looking from the couple to Roni Rana, the smile returning to his face.
On their way to the private Jet hanger, her father walking beside her, whispered "You must never fall in love with him."
She turned to look at him in surprise. He squeezed her arm, painfully digging his fingers in. "Promise me".
"I promise." She said hastily.
"Good. There are some duties that may be required of you, loving him will pose a complication to those plans." He said.
On the flight home Racheal thought of those words. She should have known. There was no way her father was going to give up so easily. This was all part of a grand scheme of his, and she was just a pun.
She needed no seer to tell her that when things got serious, her family would not care a hoot about her safety. That is why she was offered in marriage instead of her step-sisters.
On the evening they arrived in the country, her new home, a VIP party was thrown in celebration. All the important politicians were there, ministers, senators, marshalls, the vice president and their wives. A few even brought their heirs.
They all greeted her with civility and commented on how extraordinarily beautiful she was. She smiled back and gave appropriate responses.
She finally took her seat beside Steffan, a little away from the head of the table where the president and his wife sat.
"Nice to finally meet you sister-in-law." A young woman said, taking the seat beside her. Racheal looked at her in surprise. "Don't tell me Steffan has not mentioned me yet?"
"That is my sister Skylar." Steffan said a little apologetically.
"We have not had time to talk much." Racheal said, looking back at Skylar. "Nice to meet you."
"My God, you are beautiful. Steffan is so lucky." Skylar said. Racheal blushed and said thank you.
Steffan said nothing but she noticed him smiling a little as he started eating his meal.
The table became a little noisy, everyone was having some small talk with their neighbour. In a few minutes Skylar shared with Racheal more information about the Sherrod family than she may have learned in one year.
Racheal listened in silence but gave Skylar encouraging nods and little attentive sounds. She was growing to really like her sister-in-law.
"Who is that woman in the white dress?" Racheal asked with a discreet gesture when Steffan stood up to speak with some men, perhaps about business.
Skylar had said Steffan was the president of a tech company, the biggest in the country. "She has been staring at me since we got here."
Skylar looked up and her face twisted in irritated anger. "That's Thalia, Steffan's ex. They were even engaged." Skylar responded glaring at Thalia from across the table. "Stay away from her, she is a witch."
Later, Racheal went to the restroom when the guests loosened up and became even more noisy. There was plenty of music, and wine.
As she stepped out, she bumped into Thalia at the door. Remembering Skylar's advice, she walked on quickly without a pause.
When she got back to the hall, the look on the guests' faces had changed, everybody was standing and there were harsh whisperings.
"We apologize for this, ladies and gentlemen. We will resume the search immediately." A guard was saying.
Racheal took a place beside Skylar and asked what happened. "The vice president's gold cufflink is missing. It is a treasured heirloom." Skylar said.
The situation struck Racheal as very strange. This was a gathering of the upperclass, the very top. Why would anyone steal?
She was not paying much attention when a guard took her purse from her with an apologetic bow. Then she heard the collective gasp, and looked up.
The guard had found the gold cufflink, in her purse.
"No! I don't know where that came from." Racheal said immediately in horror. The guests began to whisper, and soon it became a full hall of murmuring and irritated hiss.Everyone was giving her dirty looks. "What is the meaning of this?" Steffan said, walking towards her. Racheal turned to look up at him. His eyes held a look of confusion. "I don't know where that cufflink came from, I did not take it.""Then how did it get in your purse?" Racheal heard a beautiful feminine voice say from the other side of the table. She turned to look. It was Thalia, she was looking at Racheal with sympathy."I am not a thief." Racheal said, defending herself. Thalia looked horrified. "I would never label you. I just asked a question." She said sweetly, looking like she may soon burst into tears. Steffan's mother Danna Sherrod shifted towards Thalia and rubbed her shoulders, consoling her.The woman had gone over several times during the dinner to check on Thalia and have small chats with her.
The bracelet sparkled against the light shining down from the ceiling. "It's beautiful." Racheal said in genuine awe. She could not remember the last time anyone had given her something this beautiful. Or any gifts at all."I'm glad you like it." He said. "Hold out your wrist."She did, stretching out her right hand. He placed the bracelet on her wrist and clasped it. It felt cold.She turned it this way and that in the light, admiring the delicate beauty of it."It suits you." He said. Racheal looked up at him. He was looking at her in the same strange way he had since they got in the elevator. And somehow the look made her heart race and skin hot.It was a different look from the one he had given her before the elevator. That kind, patient look that made her want to impress him.This look made her want to… She did not know what this look made her want to do!"It's a wedding gift." He finally said. "In our culture, a man is supposed to give his bride something valuable on their wed
"It's fine, Aunty. We did not take any offence at all." Thalia said, smiling kindly and patting Racheal on the shoulders. "No. She embarrassed us." Danna Sherrod said angrily. "Soon the whole country will learn that the country's First Son is married a common thief.""I did not steal ma'am." Racheal said politely. "Then how did it get in your purse of all places?" Danna Sherrod barked."I don't know." Racheal said honestly. She was beginning to feel trapped. Last night she wondered if someone could steal without their own knowledge. Like Skylar had observed yesterday. She had not even gone near the vice president the whole time. So how could she have stolen his cufflink?And what would she need a cufflink for, especially one that had the family initials on it. She could not sell it to anyone. It had to be someone trying to frame her. She suspected Thalia. As far as she knew, only she had enough motive to frame her, except she had other enemies. She broke into a sweat. Did she ha
The couple turned back to look at her."What is wrong with her look?" The president asked."She looks…" Danna Sherrod struggled for a word. "Inelegant, plain GAUDY." She shrieked. "She looks stunning to me." Skylar cut in. "More elegant than SOME PEOPLE with their extravagant makeup." She did not look at Thalia but everyone knew who she was talking about. Thalia had on layers of red lipstick, bright, bright highlighter and her cleavage was bare and bouncy.Steffan looked at Racheal who was close to tears now. She did not know why her mother-in-law hated her so much. She had not even made any effort to get to know her first. "Do you like your dress?" Steffan asked."Yes.""Good. Let's go." He turned to walk away with her."But I can change my outfit if your mother prefers." She said trying to keep up with his long legs."No." He said strongly. The force behind the one word silenced her.She quietly let him lead her, hand in hand to the convoy waiting outside. The security guards we
Racheal drank from a cup of tea. Thankfully it was sweet, the way she liked her tea. She might as well enjoy it, lunch was still far away. But as she finally finished her tea, she looked up to see the assistant return with a tray.He set it before them and Racheal gasped in shock. The tray contained toast and jam, a cup of cappuccino, yoghurt, nicely chopped fruits, scrambled eggs, two cupcakes and water."Here? The press conference will start in a few minutes." She could not help blurting out. "I will not watch you starve." He said. "I had them postpone the event for another hour. Eat!" He peeled open a finger of banana for her. "No unauthorized person will come here. This is a private waiting area."Racheal wanted to die of embarrassment. He must think her a glutton. And he said something about starving. If only he knew she had mastered the art. Her stepmother had starved her non-stop after all."Why are you smiling?" He asked Racheal shook her head. "Thank you." She replied i
After that it was commotion. The crowd went wild trying to defend Racheal. Some attempted to grab at the old woman after the guards handed her over to the cops who pulled her through the crowd.Racheal was partially blind from the sting of the chicken blood in her eye. Her dress was completely ruined and her hair and face felt sticky. Steffan guided her into the car, and she could feel his anger even without seeing him. They drove hard and fast back home. She heard Steffan rummaging through the fridge in the car. Then he leaned in close and she felt something cold on her face. “Don’t move.” He commanded and Racheal stayed still. She felt him gently wiping her eyelids and her brows. “I cannot do much.” She heard him say in frustration. She said nothing. With the brief wipe he did, she was able to open her eyes a few inches. But soon, the mess from her hair began streaming down her face again. She quickly shut her eyes close. As soon as their cars pulled in through the presid
Racheal went with the intelligence officer, while wondering why her father called so soon.It was not like he cared about her, or even missed her. Perhaps he was trying to put on an appearance for her in-laws, because she could not imagine him calling just to check up on her and ask how well she was settling in.She scoffed. “This way please.” The intelligence officer said, showing her around a bend. And then they were standing in front of a heavy glass door.Racheal gently pushed the door open and found herself standing in a huge hall with people seated at cubicles working on computers and whispering into their headphones. “Come ma'am.” The intelligence officer said and began walking ahead, down the hall. She finally stopped in front of a chair facing three men in suits who were staring intently at her.“Please take a seat.” One of the men said. Racheal sat down, all the while wondering if she was really going to sit and have a phone conversation in front of these people. The i
“What has come over you?” Racheal heard the first lady ask in a puzzled voice. “We are your family.”“And she is my wife. I have a responsibility to her.” Steffan's deep voice boomed and Racheal could not help shiver.But she smiled a little. She had barely known this man for a few days but he was so protective of her.“A wife we chose for you.” His mother shouted, slamming something that sounded like a table. “Oh, wait. Are you beginning to fall for the girl?”Racheal held her breath. “Oh, Don't be ridiculous. What makes you think that is ever possible?” Steffan responded quickly. Too quickly. Racheal felt her throat contract and her chest beginning to beat faster. She turned away from the door.“I simply want you to…” Steffan continued but she tuned out his voice, and began running back towards the main hallway. She had heard enough. She should not have listened. Maybe it was better to, because why was she feeling hurt if she had not begun to harbour hope in her heart. Hope th