Din was a timid child but had always pretended to be strong. For his sister at least, he had to pretend to be the hero so she wouldn't have to be scared of anything.
His mother had pleaded he should get out. The side of her door wasn't opening too. She had no choice but to push him out of the car and watched him stumble to the ground.Din fell into the snowy floor. He wasn't seriously injured but he was bruised and his head was bleeding too. He couldn't stand up. His left leg was stuck in between the trees he rolled upon. He struggled to pull his leg out but it was too late for them. Din watched the entire thing happen. Their car had hit a gallop and rolled into a huge tree and immediately, fire came out from that direction.Before he knew it, he couldn't hear anything anymore. No sound of help, no sound of cars, just black light, and the moment he opened his eyes, the first thing he said was a small plastic tube injected into his vein. He was at the hospital but his question was... Who brought him there?"Sir! Your coffee." A voice broke his thoughts and brought him back to the present day. The lady who always hands over his morning coffee whenever he comes to the company stood in front of him. She wouldn't dare to touch him but she noticed his mind was gone. Din stopped in front of the elevator and turned to look at her. The lady seemed to fear him as she kept her head low the entire time she stood next to him. She pushed her hand forward to him."It is cold." Din's cold voice spoke. He rejected it with a frown on his face. Memories of that night made him angry. He got to know his grandfather had brought him to the hospital and since then, he hasn't raised a question about what he and his father had argued about the night his parents died."S_should I get you another sir?" The lady asked, her head was still down.Din didn't bother to answer her questions. He pressed the elevator button and watched it open as he stepped inside. He glanced at the lady. "Throw it away. You are excused." He pressed the button that would take him to the top floor and watched the door close.His reflection came into the mirror in the elevator. He sighed as he held his briefcase firmly. He saw the door open and walked into his office."You are late!" A raspy voice said as Din turned to look at the man sitting on his chair. His legs were crossed on the table as he adjusted his glasses.Din placed his briefcase down, removed his suit then attached it to the hanger.He forced a smile on his face as he turned to look at his grandfather. "I didn't know you would be here. What brings you to the office today?" Din questioned. He wasn't expecting his granddad. Normally, his grandfather would have called it he was going to come to the office but that day he didn't.Din hated him. All these years, he had hated his grandfather and blamed him for the death of his parents but he loved his job so he had to endure until his grandfather handed the company over to him and retired."You old are you again?" His grandfather asked. Din went silent. "29?" He wasn't sure of his grandson's age. He was getting old.Din sniffed and his grandfather took that as a yes."Why is my age important?" Din asked. His hands rested on his upper hips.His grandfather sighed. "I am getting old. At least let me see my grandchildren before I die."Din scoffed. "We have talked about this before grandfather. The person I wish to marry is Beth but you don't want me to marry her and you never gave me reasons why you don't like her. As far as I know, she is responsible, beautiful, and would be a good wife to me." Din started but his grandfather ignored him.He dropped a picture on the table making a loud thud. Din glanced at the table and saw the picture."What is that?" Din questioned. His grandfather exhaled as he removed his legs from the table and stood up. He patted Din's shoulder."Her name is Jessie Walker. Make sure you get married before the end of this month. To Jessie.""What?" Din yelled. His grandfather picked the picture from the table and handed it to him. "What do you mean to marry her? What do you mean before the end of this month?" Din rashly collected the picture from him as he questioned. Confusion was all over his face as he looked down at the woman in the picture. He frowned at the sight of her."Don't let me do this the hard way. Just obey me and the company is yours." His grandfather walked to the empty couch and sat down. "I know how much you love the job and this place but if you don't do as I say, you can say goodbye to this place." his grandfather threatened as he crossed his legs on top of each other.Din scoffed. "And who could do a better job than me? Henry?""We shall find out. He is your cousin after all." his grandfather said.Din approached him. "You know how irresponsible Henry is. Granddad! You can't do this to me. Henry will ruin this place if you hand the company over to him.""Then obey me and marry her.""Before the end of this month? At least cut me some slack." Din threw his hand into the air. "I don't even know this girl!" he pointed at the picture in anger. Frustrated."But I know her and I know she would be right for you.""Even if you know her, I am not in love with her." Din pointed.His grandfather started laughing. "With time, love will come. Your father and mother weren't in love when they met. It was all arranged too but they had you and your sister and loved one another.""Then they died." Din frowned. He wanted to punch his grandfather but he kept his anger within. He sighed. "Granddad, please. Please rethink this. At least give Elizabeth a chance. I know she will make you happy."Din's grandfather stood up and placed both his hands-on Din's shoulder. They were about the same height. "I already made up my mind. I will send her home address to Khalid and he will give it to you. Trust me, I have looked into her and she is the perfect girl for you." He released his hand and walked towards the door. He turned to look at Din. "Dinner tonight. Abby and Sierra would be present and if you can't make it then you don't need to come but remember, before the end of this month!" He said those words as he opened the door, stepped out then closed the door behind him.Din stared at the closed door as he threw the picture to the ground. He began to step on it as he yelled.His grandfather was making him go crazy. He wasn't expecting a proposal or to get married to someone he doesn't know. Beth had told him he was going to have a good day but this doesn't look like a good day to him. It looked more like hell.He didn't stop stepping on the picture. His eyes began to search the room as they came across his baseball bat that rested on the cupboard. He moved to the cupboard and brought the bat down, dragged it to the picture, and began to hit it again. There was nothing he could destroy in the room except that woman's picture and if he needed the company, he had to obey his grandfather and get married to Jessie or whatever her name was.Even the sound of her name tightened his stomach. He hated her even though he hasn't met her yet. Beth was better and the only woman he would ever love so Jessie's marriage to him would only be because his grandfather wanted him to and when his grandfather handed the company over to him, he would divorce Jessie and get married to the woman of his dreams. Beth.It's been a week and a few days since the dinner breakup between Jessie and Mark. Jessie hasn't gone back to the house yet to get her things. She was still heartbroken, locked herself up in Taylor's room, and cried the whole week.Eight years of her life with him were gone.A knock was heeded on the door and Taylor's voice was reaching out to Jessie who was under the blanket crying and munching on a box of chocolates.The sound from the TV filled the entire room. Jessie sighed repeatedly as she focused on what she was watching.Taylor slammed on the door again and called out to Jessie but no reply from her. Taylor got scared. She hasn't been home in a week and anytime she called Jessie, Jessie always said she was okay.After that night she had gone to pick Jessie up at the restaurant, Jessie had refused to go back home to get her things. She said she couldn't face Mark or speak to him. She felt guilty for whatever had happened between them which made Taylor more worried about her. She
Taylor came out of the bathroom. She complimented Jessie when she saw how nice the dress looked on her. She took her dress from the bed, dried her body, and wore the black gown.Jessie had picked the five inches heels and since Taylor was working tonight, she picked two inches. Jessie helped her with her makeup and hair but the entire time, Taylor was worried about her friend.Jessie's expression couldn't be hidden no matter how she hid it from her friend. Taylor could always read them. "Your life might change tomorrow after you attend this party. No one knows." Taylor broke their silence.Jessie laughed. "When did you become the dreamer? I am always the dreamer.""I am just saying. What if your life changes tomorrow when you attend this party? what would you do then?" Taylor implored."By changing. What do you mean? Oh, like I get more gigs that pay ten times the one I always earn? That would be sick!""Not that. Maybe that, but what if you meet a man and he turns out to be the one y
Beth kept her smile on her face, but she was perplexed. She was concerned that her partner would lose interest in her and begin to adore the other woman. She doesn't want this to happen, but if the other woman moves in with him, they'll have to appear to be happy for the sake of his grandfather, and they'll eventually fall in love.Din inquired, "Are you all right?""Uh?"He said, "Your mind wasn't here anymore."Beth gave a shaky laugh. "You ought to marry her. That is something I am not opposed to. I won't be concerned about anything as long as you agree to keep visiting me after you get married."Din put his hand on her cheek and kissed her. "Sure, why not? I adore you. Even when I marry her, I'll continue to visit.""Have you had the opportunity to meet her?" Beth was the one who initiated the conversation.With a shake of his head, Din expressed his dissatisfaction with the current state of "No, I haven't," he said."You haven't seen her?""I wasn't able to accomplish that. My gr
"Marriage? Do you mean he wants you to get married?" Will asked as he opened a brand new bottle of wine that had been placed on the shelf. With two glass cups in his other hand, he approached Din."Before the end of the month," Din finished as he watched his pal approach him.Will threw the cups down and filled them. He handed one to his buddy. "That's fantastic news. Right? Beth is someone you've always wanted to marry. I'm surprised your grandfather has finally accepted her."With a shake of his head, Din expressed his discontent with the situation. "That's the issue. He wants me to marry someone else, not Beth." He took the cup of wine in his hand and downed it all at once."If not Beth, who else?" Do you have any ideas or Are you in love with someone else right now?" Din's cup was refilled by Will.Din shook his head. Disagreeing with his friend. "I told you earlier that two people would get on my nerves. Right?" Will smiled and nodded. "One of them is my granddad.""I'm aware of
"How much did my grandfather pay you?"Din inquired. "I will double the payment if you back out of this marriage."Jessie made a sneering remark. "You're a lunatic." She walked right by him and into the bedroom. "This is my personal space. This place's key was given to me by the receptionist. Perhaps there was a blunder somewhere.""Mistake?" Din approached her. He has his hands in his pockets. "You're attempting to play games with me, that's all I see. I'm afraid I won't be able to marry you. I am in love with someone."Jessie shouted, "Stop talking about marriage! We must have landed up in the same room due to a mix-up someplace. I have no idea who you are. I have no recollection of ever meeting you." She walked over to the table and took her purse. "I'll go over to reception and express my dissatisfaction. You are welcome to use the room.""I am not going to take this room. You've already visited this location. I'll just have to complain and ask for a different room. One that is larg
Both of them took six to seven shots and discussed their issues. Jessie had already become a little tipsy. The music became a little more upbeat. "Let's go dancing. This music is fantastic." As she leapt from the stool, Jessie said. She grabbed Din's hand and led him to the dance floor.Jessie felt like she was floating on cloud nine as their bodies bounced back and forth. She was in the greatest shape she'd been in years. As she approached the table, she asked, "Do you want me to show you something?" Din was perplexed."Oh no," Taylor exclaimed as she stood there watching her pal scale the table. Her pal didn't have any slacks on. Din was approached by Taylor. "You just let her go? In that condition?""She desired it. What could possibly go wrong?" he wondered.Taylor made a point. "That."Jessie took off her heels and tossed them in the crowd. She let go of her tied hair and began shaking her butt on the table."Does she always act like this when she's inebriated?" Din was the one w
Jessie spent the entire night on her stomach, her head resting on the pillow. When she opened her eyes, she saw it was already morning.She sat up and used both hands to support her head. She was in the throes of a hangover.She realized she was naked when she dragged the blanket across her chest. She gasped but didn't feel any pain underneath, indicating that she hadn't had sex with anyone, so why was she naked and how did she enter the room? She had no recollection of what occurred the night before, although she had hoped it wasn't the man she had met at the hotel. He was the obnoxious man who accused her of stalking him.Jessie started looking for her things on the bed, but something shiny caught her eye as she looked at her finger. She shaved her head to be able to see the object clearly.She let out a gasp. "Please don't be real," As she stroked the ring, she spoke in hushed tones. Her heart started to beat quicker. She examined the ring and discovered that it was made of plastic
"That's something we'll talk about later." Din extended his hand to Will, expecting him to hand over the keys to his automobile.Will grinned and returned the key to Din. "I'm curious as to what transpired last night between you and Jessie." He made fun of Din.Din shrugged and walked over to the driver's door. "I have a lot of work to do. We will not tell anyone about what happened last night, especially Beth. Are we on the same page?""All right, friend. Have a wonderful day ahead of you." Will grinned as Din drove away.Din recalled what had happened between him and Jessie the night before. She'd passed out while he was trying to make out with her. He was also relieved that he hadn't had any sexual relations with her.He grinned as he obtained a piece of paper from the drawer. He flipped the paper open. Jessie had agreed to the marriage after they had both attended a wedding down the street. They'd both gone for a walk outside the club. Even though Jessie was a little tipsy, she'd