The Billionaire's Unyielding Obsession

"You know that I’ve never even wanted to be married. How can you just sell me off to be married as if I’m some sort of property? I won’t allow it!” Hazel yelled at her father, her voice cracking uncontrollably. Mr. Williams stood before her, unfazed by her words. “The day has been set Hazel, your mother and I have already agreed to it.” He responded serenely. “Daddy, I don’t care what you both have agreed to. I don’t even know the man, how can I marry someone I don’t love?!” She shouted, hot tears streaming down her lovely face. “It isn’t about you, Hazel. It's for your family. Do you know how important this marriage is to us?” Her father said, still unfazed. It seemed as though she was only ranting because he was taking no cognizance of her plea. But Hazel was over this, all her life it’d been about pleasing her family, making them proud. She had gone to law school to please them. She had worked odd jobs throughout her stay in college to support them after their business had gone completely bankrupt the first time. Now it was happening again and they wanted her to make another sacrifice, an incredulous one. She was done with this. She stomped out of the room. She paced around her bedroom, was there really nothing she could do about this? She wondered. Hazel had grown up with an expectation for her life. No husband, no kids, just her and a few friends, and now her father was about to ruin every one of those plans. She had no clue on who this man was, all she knew was what her father had told her; that he was a ruthless billionaire and wealthy enough to save their company from bankruptcy. She wondered why the man chose to marry her out of all the women in London, did he perhaps know her? She flopped unto her bed and stuffed her face into her pillow, she cried her eyes out until her head began to throb in pain. She would call her mom, only that her mom was the most selfish person Hazel knew to walk the surface of this earth. The entire thing was probably her mother’s idea. She hated everything about this situation. Did she have any other choice? She began packing her things into a small bag, only important little items and all the money she had. She climbed down her window. Her house was a bungalow and she had never been glad that it was than at that moment. She got to the bus station and took a bus to the airport. She had no idea where she was to go, she had no friends to call. She sat on a bench at the airport, watching people walk in and out. She could go anywhere in the world, the thrill, excitement, and fear of this adventure was making her heart race. She felt so proud of herself, she had never taken a stance against her parents before, she was doing it now. She wasn’t going to be trapped in a loveless marriage. She could bet he looked like an ogre anyways, all billionaires in London do. She sat there waiting for an inspiration on where to go, there were too many places to choose from. Suddenly a tall man dressed in an expensive-looking suit sat on the bench beside her. She looked at him, his gorgeous profile, he wore sunglasses which she found odd, considering the cloudy weather today. “Are you waiting for a flight?” She asked him, maybe this man will give her an idea of where to travel. She thought. He turned to her and paused before he replied “…No, I’m waiting for someone to pick me up” he said in the sexiest voice Hazel had ever heard. “Oh, okay… what’s with the shades though?” It wasn’t like her to pester a stranger, but she was anxious today. He took the sunglasses off, “Better now?” He lifted an eyebrow. “Yea”. She said with a chuckle. “Wait… you don’t know me?” He said, squinting at her in disbelief. “Who’re you?” She asked. “Never mind,” he said with a smile “so where are you off to?” “No idea” Hazel sighed “I’m kinda running away from my husband” “Oh! You’re married. What is it like?” He asked. “I’m supposed to find out tomorrow” “Same here” he chuckled lightly. “Really?!” She was shocked and relieved that she finally had someone to talk to about her dilemma. “Really. So, why’re you running away, you don’t want it?” “I’m just scared. I don’t know what to do” “You’re running away because you’re scared?” he asked with an incredulous look on his face which made Hazel look stupid. He was right, she was running away from her family and everything she knew to a place where she wasn’t even sure of, leaving her entire family to face the consequences of her actions with a ruthless man and go bankrupt and back to the streets because ‘she was scared’. “You’re right…” she said turning to the man but catching him walking away, his phone to his ear. He strode so gallantly. If only her husband-to-be was that gorgeous, would she even be running? *** When Hazel returned home, she met a mess of her parents. They had been searching for her for hours, they had even called the police. “What is wrong with you?” Her father’s voice boomed in anger. “Where the hell were you?” He was furious. “I just needed to get away for a while, father” Hazel defended. “The entire situation is already overwhelming enough. I’m tired, I’m going to bed.” “That’s the excuse you use for running away the day before your wedding?” Her mother interjected. “Do you know how worried we were?” “Like you were worried about me and not the business deal you were about to lose” Hazel murmured and headed to her room. She could hear her parents’ mumbles through the walls. She knew they were willing to do anything in order to make this marriage a success. And so was she, her father’s business was on the brink of collapsing for good, she could only imagine the kind of detrimental choices she would have to make in the future bearing the state of their finances in mind, the way she had throughout law school. How she would start living her life for them more than for herself. Besides, how horrible was it to be a billionaire’s wife? She woke up the next morning to the knock of her mother on her door. She was with a wedding dress on her arms. “From Mr. Ambrose,” She said with a broad smile. That was the name of her husband-to-be. Hazel took the dress from her and her mother left her to get prepared. She stared at the dress for what seemed like forever, doubting her decisions. This was it. She was this close to making the greatest mistake of her life, she hoped she wouldn’t regret it. She got prepared very quickly with unwarranted rage, she had chosen to do this for herself and her family, so why was she so angry now? She wondered. Soon, they were out of the house and headed to the wedding. Thousands of intrusive thoughts ran through her mind. As she walked down the aisle, her arms on her father’s, the reality of her situation started to hit her, weighing down against her chest. She was about to be married to a ruthless man, a man she knew nothing but that fact about. As she took her place on the altar, she looked at her father and mother, she was about to leave them, she was going to miss them terribly. She despised them for making such a decision against her, but they were all she had known since she was born. She shut her eyes in acceptance, there was no going back now. She opened her eyes to meet the gaze of her husband-to-be and her eyes widened in shock as her mouth gaped open…