Chapter 2 Committing Suicide

At the Johnson mansion, Emmanuel Johnson and his dear wife, Rosemary Johnson were sitting in the living room drinking tea. “My dearest wife, do you think I’m harsh for refusing James to marry Serene Logan?” asked her husband.

Rosemary loved her son very much. In her eyes, he was the perfect son. When he heard her husband's words, she smiled and said, “You are not harsh at all, hubby, I don’t like Serene Logan as well. I don’t think she sincerely loves my son.”

The surprise was shown in Emmanuel’s face. He did not expect his wife to side with him, since his wife loved his son dearly.

“I think I have a solution to stop this nonsense. Patrick Lewis has a beautiful daughter, and she is compatible with my son. I will give Patrick Lewis a call to discuss this matter.

I heard that Lewis Group is facing bankruptcy and no company is willing to cooperate with him.”

“Emmanuel, you know that I hate arranged marriages and we promised our son not to interfere in his love life, even though I don’t like Serene, but I love my son, therefore I don’t support your idea.

What you are doing is going to hurt my son. Please don’t interfere in my son’s happiness. Why don’t you discuss this matter with your son before you contact Patrick?” asked his wife, annoyed.

“James is on a business trip, and I don’t want to disturb him, I want to speak to him in person when he comes back,” said Emmanuel with a sigh.

“Please don’t involve me in this matter, I’m telling you I’m on my son’s side,” said his wife again. Emmanuel and Rosemary loved their son James dearly, he was a pride and joy to his parents.

After he graduated, he went to the Johnson Group. James was smart and he was business-minded. He became the CEO of the Johnson Group at the age of twenty.

Since his wife was upset, Emmanuel Johnson decided not to continue with this issue. He went to his study room and read Patrick Lewis’s proposal again.

Emmanuel knew that it would be difficult to convince James without his wife’s support, so he must think of a way to win James over.

Therefore, he drafted a marriage contract indicating that should he marry Victoria Lewis for two years, then he would allow him to marry Serene Logan.

During that time, Serene Logan must not be pregnant, she mustn’t provoke Victoria Lewis. He promised that he would personally send the engagement invitation cards as soon as their marriage is dissolved.

Emmanuel knew how much James loved Serene Logan. Previously, James threatened his parents that he would kill himself if they stood between him and Serene Logan.

At the Lewis Group, Patrick Lewis was in his office sitting on the sofa, the lights were off, it seemed that there was no way out, his company was going down.

He was thinking of thousands of employees who were going to lose their jobs, and their families. He was thinking of his precious daughter Victoria’s future.

He had bought the strong painkillers this morning since he had a headache, but now, he was thinking of using these painkillers to take his own life. It was time to meet his dearest wife in heaven.

He knew that he was a coward, but there was no way out. He tried everything, but no one was willing to help him. Even his friends were no longer taking his calls. He helped most of them when they were facing difficulties. Some of them still owed him a lot of money.

He was thinking about whether to leave a note for his daughter or not. He decided not to. He didn’t know what to say to his daughter. He took the pills from its container, and he poured them in his hand, before he stuffed them in his mouth.

Suddenly, someone opened his office door. He was so shocked, the pills in his hand scattered on the floor. Victoria switched on the lights. She was shocked by the scene in front of her.

She rushed to her father and hugged him, “Dad, what are you doing?” she asked him, crying. Her dad cried and said, “I am a failure Victoria, let me go to your mother, I let both of you down.”

“Dad, do you love your company more than you love me? Who am I to you, daddy? You want me to be an orphan at a young age?” asked Victoria, crying.

“I’m sorry my sweet baby, daddy didn’t mean to hurt you, I will never do this again, I promise you” said her dad, hugging her tight. They both cried so hard.

Victoria was the Director of the Marketing department in the company. She was busy with her work. Her office was on the fifty-ninth floor, one floor below her father’s office.

The whole day, she felt that something bad was going to happen. She prayed, but she couldn’t shake that feeling. She knew that her dad was feeling depressed because of the company's bankruptcy, so she decided to check on her father.

She couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the pills in her father’s hand and on the floor, she nearly died. How could her father do this to her? She thanked the Lord for His faithfulness. If she had delayed, her father would be no more.

She didn’t want to think about her life without her father, it was meaningless. Her father was everything to her, he sacrificed a lot raising her alone. She was more than shocked. She was numb.

“Daddy, help will come, don’t give up. You have helped so many people, we will overcome. I prayed over this issue, and I believe my prayer is going to be answered, daddy” said Victoria, comforting her father.

“I’ve tried everything, my daughter, no one wants to give me a hand” said her father, helpless. At that moment, his cell phone rang, “Hello, this is Patrick Lewis.”

“Hello Mr Lewis, this is Emmanuel Johnson from the Johnson Group. I received your proposal to cooperate with us. I decided to give you a chance, but I have one condition. When can we meet?” asked Emmanuel Johnson.

Patrick and Victoria were shocked. Her father couldn’t believe his ears. “Mr Lewis, are you still there?” asked Emmanuel Johnson. Patrick snapped out of it and replied, “I’m here Mr Johnson, when are you available?”

Emmanuel smiled and asked, “why don’t you come to my office now if you are not busy to discuss your proposal?” Patrick was still shocked, he pinched himself to check if he was not dreaming.

His daughter next to him was looking at him with a smile. Patrick smiled and said, “I’m on my way, Mr Johnson, thank you so much for the call,” he dropped the phone and hugged his daughter tightly.

Victoria was so happy she started crying and said, “I told you daddy that help would come. I will accompany you daddy, but I will wait for you in the car.” Father and daughter left the office in a happy mood.

Victoria did the silent prayer and thanked the Lord for His faithfulness. Patrick Lewis went to meet Emmanuel Johnson with his daughter Victoria to negotiate cooperation with the Johnson Group.