“Your employee is very rude. How do you cope with her?” Was the first thing Ray said when he entered Edgar's office. It seemed like the man was already done with whatever he'd been doing on his laptop. “Patricia?” Edgar chuckled. “I'm sorry about that. She might be a little in her head sometimes but she's the best we have around her. Very innovative with amazing marketing skills.”“Apparently she lacks communication skills,” Ray scoffed. “I lost a few pounds just talking to her. How does she market with all that intimidating aura or does she bully the clients into accepting her proposal?”Edgar burst into laughter, “If she heard that, you'd be losing a lot more than a few pounds.”“I don't doubt that.” He took the seat opposite Edgar’s. “You done for the day?”“Yeah.”“Is this the right place to discuss or do we do lunch or something?” Ray asked. Edgar suspected the discussion had to do with Elsa. His office was soundproof and there was zero possibility of them being overheard by ou
“Where are you going dressed like that, young woman?” Mrs Larry was leaning against the door, watching the girl eagerly go through her closet. When she stepped out in a skimpy skirt and sweater, she was forced to ask. “To see the man you're forcing me to marry,” Elsa answered easily. She'd already expected her mom to come barging in at some point so she practiced the lies to tell incase any situation came up.“Edgar?” Mrs Larry scolding tone had shifted to excitement. “You're going to see him? Do you want me to come with you?” Elsa paused, throwing her mother a weird look. “And why would you come with me? Is he going on a date with you?” She didn't mean to come off as rude as she sounded. On a normal day, her mother would have lashed out on her but since Edgar was involved, she let it slide easily. “No, I was just trying to offer you closure Incase you're uncomfortable around him. What restaurant are you going? Is it somewhere expensive?” Mrs Larry pressed further. At that point,
“Where are you coming from?” Was the first question that greeted Ray the minute he stepped foot in the house. He didn't know how to answer it. He didn't Edgar when he was leaving and he knew Elsa didn't want him to find out. “I'm sorry, boss. I know I should have told you but it just slipped my mind. I went out but I came back as soon as I could,” Ray apologized. Edgar sent down his glass. In the few days he spent in the mansion, he noticed that Edgar was some sort of alcoholic. He wasn't a drunk per se but the amount of alcohol he consumed in a day was quite disturbing. “You didn't answer my question. Where are you coming from?” Edgar repeated. Ray sensed the annoyance in the man's tone age decided it was better to come out straight than beat about the bush. “I went to Mama T’s place,” he answered.“Who the hell is that?” At first, Ray assumed he was kidding but the man's puzzled expression suggested otherwise. He didn't know the popular spaghetti vendor yet he claimed to be very
“It's been months, father. Why do you keep doing this to me? You'd rather leave his position vacant than hand it over to someone else?” Tyrone complained. Carter shot him a look.“Why is that complaint directed at me? You know the way to your grandfather's house, don't you?” Carter said indifferently. “You see?! That is the problem! When it comes to your children, you are barely concerned but once Zade is involved, You're up on your feet, jumping to resolve his problem,” Tyrone huffed. “When last did you check up on your wife?” Carter asked, ignoring his outburst.“Really? We're going to talk about Helen now? The company needs me and you're talking about a murderer!” He fired. “The company doesn't need you, your family does. You should dedicate this time to fixing whatever what broken between you too. You did a lot of wrong to that woman and I won't deny she did you dirty too, but I think she still loves you…”“I do not want anything to do with her! If you're not going to help me w
“What happened, Elsa? You sounded urgent on the phone. Did something happen?” Ray asked, literally jumping out of the cab to meet the panicking girl. “It's happening, Ray. It's happening,” she shook him violently, tears streaming down her cheeks.“What is happening? Talk to me, Elsa. Why are you crying?” Ray was more than worried now. The fact that he didn't know what was happening made him more tense. A pool of dread was forming in his stomach.“They're making me marry him in two days! Two days, Ray!” She said. “What? Marry who? Edgar?” “Yes! Yes!! He came here today and I thought he was going to cancel the engagement but no! He told them he wanted to get it done as quickly as possible before he lost me to someone else. We're getting married, Ray! I'm marrying a total stranger!” The words rolled off her tongue quickly.Ray's brain was working overtime to process all that information. Was it because of their fight?Because he refused to stay off Elsa? He didn't know what to think
Elsa held her cheeks the slap met her in the face. Ray's jaw dropped as he accessed the damage. He knew they wouldn't take the news lightly. He tried warning Elsa but the stubborn girl wouldn't listen. The glare Larry gave him was enough to make him sink into the ground to hide away from trouble. The man still harbored grudges about him supposedly hitting his wife and now marrying his daughter ahead of her groom was just the last straw. “We're in love, Dad. I don't care what you or your mother think. You can hit me as many times as you want but it won't change my feelings for him. We're married now! The earlier you get used to that, the better for all of us!” Elsa said defiantly. “What did you just say? You're married to this nobody? You think I'm going to stand back and watch you spend the rest of your life with a riffraff? You would have to kill me first,” her mother clapped back. Elsa stepped forward, unafraid and twice as stubborn as she was earlier. “Well get prepared to die
“You need to stop this madness, Ed. Ray is my husband and I would never marry you no matter what,” Elsa yelled, banging against the door.Twenty-four hours after Ray's arrest, Edgar had her locked in his guest room. Even when she was already married, he insisted that the engagement would proceed tomorrow as planned, regardless of what priest or court married them. She tried to argue of course, but trusted Edgar to arrogantly capitalize on his affluence in the city. She didn't know what to do or how Ray was faring. Her heart was heavy with guilt because it was all her fault. He'd warned her about everything that was bound to happen but her adamant self wouldn't pay heed. Now, he was in jail suffering for granting her wish. For wanting to make her happy. Tears stung her eyes. She had to get out of there. There had to be a way. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to him. “Edgar! Ed!!! You need to let me out! Please let me out!” She pleaded but there was no response
The day she dreaded most was here already. It seemed like only a few hours had passed but it was, in fact, forty-eight hours. She was to accept his ring publicly before two hundred guests and smile like it was a dream come true. The thought of it was horrifying but there was nothing she could do. After Edgar showed her a clip of Ray going through torture, her heart couldn't take it anymore. He had already been through enough, the suffering was totally unnecessary. “Mom,” she tried to reason with her mother one last time. “You look gorgeous sweetheart. Do you know how much this dress is worth?” Mrs Larry asked, her voice pitching with excitement. “I don't care how much the dress costs, ma. I need you to listen to me, please,” Elsa pleaded. Mrs Larry stopped adjusting the ropes. “Fine, I'm listening. Let's hear what you have to say.”“During your time, were you forced to marry Dad?” Elsa asked. Mrs. Larry frowned. She knew the direction it was heading and frankly, she wasn't ready