An Arranged Forever

EpisodeThree

Samantha’s POV

I couldn’t do this anymore. No matter how much I thought about it, it was too ridiculous. All the guests had their eyes on me now and waiting for me to make a move. I was fixed there, deliberating in my mind.

“Your father’s company will run down for sure if you refuse to do my bidding, girl,” Nicholas whispered in my ear. “You have ten seconds. Don’t make me look bad. Don’t you wanna get married again?”

I stoop lower and the tip of my tongue touched his shoe. I knew Nicholas would be beaming with smiles by now. Unable to continue, I stood up, spat on his shoe and moved away.

“Grab her!” Nicholas shouted at the guards angrily. “This shoe is more than enough to buy you, slut! Do you know the price?”

I continued walking without stopping. Definitely, he would be so angry right now. The guards didn’t stop me as I thought. No matter what, Nicholas was still host to influential business people. He would be thoughtful of their presence and control himself.

It started raining and I walked in the rain. I was just a lady who wanted to live well. My father was poor from my childhood but he hit the jackpot when I was eight years old. It was a year after this that my mother died due to an airplane crash. She was going to meet my dad and I in Monaco for the holidays. I could still remember staring at her baby bump before I left ahead with my dad. Yes, she was pregnant when she died. I would have had a baby sister but then, the tragedy happened.

I lived with my father alone till then. He had no wife or mistress, none that I was aware of. He could have been doing it without me catching him. I was never against him remarrying but he never made the move to. Seeing him like that made me feel he was extremely vulnerable. I was all he had and I needed to provide emotional support for him. He had friends by name but only a few real friends. My dad was a one man army. Apart from Nicholas’s late dad, he had no one else to rely on.

I attended high school like a loner would. I made no friends and I distanced myself. I attended no parties and I was safe from peer pressure. When others were getting addicted to drugs, I was unaware since I kept no friends. All my life, I had no addiction. I even tried watching p**n but it wasn’t for me. My s*x life was zero on its own. Of course, I was good.

It all changed when I got into the university. For the first time in my life, I had a boyfriend. It wasn’t an easy decision even though I always wanted to try it out in my mind. My first boyfriend was Josh. He was an international student and I met him on a sunny day with the university basketball team. He was very talented and that caught my attention instantly. When he asked me out, I shyly agreed and we went on our first date. We stopped by his apartment on the first date and he began to kiss me hurriedly. He wanted to have s*x but I wasn’t ready.

I had never been in this situation in my life and eventually, Josh convinced me. Or rather, he made my body do the conviction. I should have seen that as a red flag but I was so inexperienced then. We had s*x and that was supposed to mark the beginning of our relationship. Yes, he deflowered me. He seemed experienced in the act and I grew more fond of him.

And we met occasionally for s*x and nothing more. We had no communication or chemistry like real lovers except for during s*x. I remember keeping a diary then. I had s*x with me eight times and the supposed ninth time turned out to be our break up. Josh initiated the break up when I complained about him wanting me for nothing but s*x.

Oh, how much I cried that day. I was so heartbroken and it took weeks to mend my broken heart. Even though it was horrific, it was safe to assume that I learned my lesson after. I believed all men were like that from that moment until my final year when I met Eric. He treated me better than Josh and apart from that, there was nothing much to talk about. We split up after our final exams. He traveled overseas while I remained in Ireland.

Basically, my life has been full of trials and tribulations. That was a fact.

I was walking inside the rain and I watched my dad’s car pass by. My dad was the driver and I assumed he saw me but he didn’t stop to allow me get in. I was heartbroken to see him like this but I didn’t sob. I let the tears flow freely without making noise. The rain washed the tears away.

Then a car stopped by me. It was my dad’s car.

“I didn’t see you, Samantha,” he told me shortly. “You should have called out for me!”

I was overjoyed. Yes, things weren’t going on well but I still had a dad.

***

“You did the right thing!” my dad told me the moment I got home. I expected him to scold me but he was supporting me instead.

“You think so?” I asked for confirmation.

“You are still the heir to Bloom Holdings. Licking Nicholas’s shoes was demeaning and I am sorry for putting you through that. I should have never taken you to him or even proposed an arranged marriage in the first place,” my dad apologized. I took a deep breath and faked a smile.

“Heir!” I heaved a sigh. “Bloom Holdings will be down faster than expected. Nicholas won’t keep mute. Even if I had licked his shoes, marriage wouldn't have been possible and the company would be trampled upon. Now, we have failed to delay the process. It is not going normally now. It will be abnormally fast.”

“It is what it is,” my father sat on the chair. I was having a headache already and I knew my dad would be no better.

***

And it happened just the way I expected. In the morning, I woke up to hear news of the company’s stock prices crashing lower. The shareholders had begun to sell their shares, leaving little revenue. My dad had lost their trust and he was even being framed by the prosecution department. One of his friends there had hinted to him.

My father was not shocked at the news so he kept calm. He was distraught but he kept on smiling at me. I knew he was weeping within and I couldn’t help but worry. I still remained the heir of the company just like my father always said. I had to find a solution.

I had to call on my father’s most trusted person, his secretary. He had stood by him so far. His name was Sean.

“How is it looking?” I asked him hurriedly.

“Not good at all,” Sean replied. “We need funds to control this but there is no place to get what we need. An investment in the company would help and it would be better if the investor is one with a good name. It will help us pull more numbers.”

“Getting an investor shouldn't be hard,” I muttered as I walked faster.

“Exactly, miss, but it's different this time,” Sean told me carefully. “Everyone is avoiding us. Our company hasn't faced a situation like this since it was founded. We were always good with our finances but this time, I am afraid we need help. We have investors willing to come over but they seem to be afraid of Nicholas.”

“What choices do we have?” I asked carefully and began to walk slower to hear him properly.

“Bringing in Nicholas is the best but it looks impossible now. Our other choice is bringing a big investor with a good name,” Sean replied. “That is impossible as well. This is Ireland, Nicholas’s territory.”

It all happened like Sean had mentioned. We got no potential investor and at the end of the day, we were about to quit. That evening, a knock on the door changed everything.

“I will get the door,” I said when I noticed my dad trying to stand up. I opened the door and my eyes almost popped out in shock.

It was Andrew, the old man from the event.