“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
“No.”It was a reflex. Like her mind was unwilling to be controlled by circumstances but that stubbornness was about to cost a lot.She scanned through the room warily. As expected, their eyes were bulging, lips parted to express their shock. Then her fiance. The man she'd rejected in less than a heartbeat. He didn't seem surprised like the rest. He probably saw it coming, but that wasn't a good thing. He was furious! So furious that he smashed the glass box against the floor, inciting another round of gasps. “What did you just say?” He literally growled at her. Elsa felt so small before his rage. He looked like he was about to crush her into tiny pieces. Cautiously setting a distance between them to avoid a direct impact from any form of attack. “Elsa!” This was her chance. Pretend it was a mistake and marry him. It wouldn't have taken anything from her. It was just a stupid engagement but she'd already said no and somehow, replacing it with a yes became difficult.“I said I c
The last minute was spent staring at the man who looked just like Ray. His primary focus was the family name. “How authentic is this? He could be a doppelganger for all we know,” Edgar said to the man. “That is also a possibility, sir, but what are the chances? According to what we know, he was found in the sea with no memory of where he came from. According to the news, Zade Delamonte had been missing after his car went off the bridge.”“And it brought him all the way from there to here?” Edgar's doubt was evident but it was mostly him trying to erase all possibilities from his mind. If Ray was a Delamonte then he was as good as dead. No way his grandfather would let him get away with hurting his grandson. It wouldn't matter if he knew or not. “I don't know what to say about that, sir but I assure you this information is seventy percent accurate,” the man said.“And the other thirty percent?”“That he might be a doppelganger just as you have said. Only a DNA test can confirm our
“Why'd he change his mind? What did you do?” Ray asked weakly. It came as a surprise when Elsa came to visit. He questioned her about the bruises on her face but she skillfully avoided the question. Now, she was saying that Edgar was fine with them being together. It sounded too good to be true. “I didn't do anything. After I rejected him before his business associates, he just gave up. I guess he's still trying to recover from the shock of being publicly humiliated,” Elsa shrugged. Ray didn't believe her. Edgar was not that simple. There was something more. Something she wasn't telling. Elsa could see the doubt on his face as clear as day. She didn't know what more to say to him. She was just as surprised and suspicious as he was. Edgar had suddenly changed his mind for reasons best for him. The good thing was that they could finally be together. The bad side was that they didn't know his next move so they couldn't prepare for anything. “Will you tell me what happened to your f