HIS TO RUIN, HIS TO SAVE

Chapter 5: A Father's Plea

Elara's POV

Poor Elara didn't notice how much time had actually slipped by after that lock clicked when Adrian left the room. That one sound hit real loud. It felt like a gunshot in a quiet library. A heavy silence then rushed in, and the smell of Adrian's cologne still hung around.

But Elara? She'd just kept staring at the door.

FORTY EIGHT HOURS.

She only had two days to figure out if she was a real person or just something to be sold.

"Elara."

The name came out like he'd been choking. Her feet suddenly felt stuck to the shiny floor and she didn't move, because why would she?

RUN, a loud but tiny voice screamed in her mind. Do it right now. But Elara, she'd never run away. Not since her Mom's funeral when she'd silently promised herself to hold the family together, no matter the cost.

"Elara. Look at me."

She'd finally forced herself to turn around. He'd not been crying but Richard Hayes looked like a small shape on the bed now. A single tear had moved down his face and left a line through the hair on his cheek.

"Dad."

Saying that word felt sharp in her mouth. He'd lifted his hand that was already shaking a lot. The tube in his arm pulled tight against his skin. With a slow movement Elara took a step toward him and then reached for his hand. Suddenly his fingers curled around hers like a claw holding on for life.

"You heard him," Richard had said and his voice was barely louder than a whisper. His eyes were wide with fear. "You heard the…the offer."

"I heard the demand and that's not exactly a tea party invite," she replied with a shaking voice. "There is a big difference. Let's not mix things up."

"But he... he... he can save us."

"He wants to own me papa."

In a second Richard squeezed her hand harder. "You have to say yes."

It felt like all the air got stolen from the room and Elara already knew what her dad was trying to do. It was a part of him she'd and her sister both hated. It wasn't a question at all. It was as though he was giving a command.

"You can't be serious." She'd struggled to pull herself away from her father, Elara said those words but he still somehow held onto her tight. "Dad you're asking me to sell myself. To him. He just told me right to my face that he wants to marry me to get his pride back. Is that not scary?"

"I don't care if he hates me," Richard managed to say. Then he’d tried to move his body and sit up but he failed. "The banks called at six that fateful morning. I'm sorry. I should have let you guys know. They are taking the factory this Monday. The money is gone Elara. It is all gone."

"So let it go! Honestly dad, I don't care what happened. We can just tell the government we have no money."

"There is no figuring it out!" Richard snapped. For a second the old powerful businessman flashed in his eyes before he then started coughing. "I'm fifty five with a heart that is giving out. I can't start over."

"And so I should be the one to fall, right? I can't be a prisoner!"

"It's not a prison." His voice sounded like he was now begging. "It is a marriage. Just for two years." He'd held up two shaky fingers. "You are my strong baby girl. You can survive anything for two years."

A sad look covered Elara's face as she stared at those fingers.

JUST TWO YEARS.

He'd said it like it was nothing.

"Two years of being owned," she said. "Sleeping in a house that is not mine. Being touched by a man who looks at me like a chair he'd been waiting to buy."

"He said separate bedrooms," Richard argued. "You are safe."

"Safe?" A sharp laugh came out of her. "You think I'm safe locked in a house with a shark? That shark?"

"I am not trying to sound selfish baby. Not at all Elara. But I think safety is not watching two hundred families go hungry. You are the first child of the family. You have a responsibility."

There it was. He'd used guilt like a sword. Elara's whole body went stiff.

"Two hundred people Elara," he'd pushed on. "Joe. You know Joe. He'd worked on the floor for thirty years. He just had that…grandbaby."

Elara squeezed her eyes shut until she saw stars. The thought came back to her at that moment. She was able to see Joe's rough hands holding up his phone. The company insurance was the only reason his daughter didn't worry about hospital bills.

"If the company closes on Monday," Richard said, "Joe loses his retirement. He loses his insurance. That baby... well." He'd left the sentence unfinished.

"That is not fair." Tears had burned her eyes. "You can't put that on me."

"I am just telling you. Not trying to blame you. I would not dare but I promised those people they'd be okay. Are we just going tell them it is gone? Are we going to look Joe in the eye... and tell him you could have saved his pension but you didn't want to be uncomfortable?"

"Dad. Please."

"And Sophie."

Elara flinched. "Don't."

"Her school payment is due in January." Richard stared at the ceiling. "School isn't cheap. Without the company the checks will bounce. She might just have to quit."

"She can get loans. She can work."

"She wants to be a pediatrition." His voice broke. "She has the good grades. You know how hard she studies."

Elara bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood. Sophie looked up to her like a superhero…superhero, yeah right…Elara had thought, "If our places were switched she'd have already said yes... maybe? Or would she hate me for it?"

"If you say no," Richard whispered, "Sophie's future is dead. The workers lose everything. My life's work becomes dust." He'd looked at her then and in that moment his eyes were deep holes of sadness. "Your mother believed in this company. Remember how Mom baked pies for the workers kids every Christmas? Family feeds family?” he'd said softly.

Now Richard was trying to use his most powerful weapon against Elara. After hearing those words, she'd grabbed the metal bed rail to keep herself from falling down.

"Mom wouldn't want this." She'd choked on the words. "Mom wouldn't want me to sell myself."

"Your mother understood givin' things up." His voice became hard. "She understood that family comes first. Before pride."

"She would hate this." But her voice weren't strong.

"She is watching us." Richard looked toward the dark window. "Don't let her down Elara. Don't let everything she worked for go away because you were too proud. Believe me, I would not have agreed if he'd wanted to touch you but you are safe."

Pride? Her father called the death of her spirit pride.

"It's not pride." She'd replied. "I am scared Dad. He scares me. I have met him for only…just a few hours. Now tell me how would two years be?"

"He is a businessman. He wants a trophy. So give him a trophy. Smile for the cameras. Live in his penthouse for two years. Is that really so bad? Compared to what Joe will have to do? Compared to Sophie losing her degree?"

He'd made it sound so simple. It was just like another business deal. In that moment she'd started to believe what Adrian said about her dad. But then Elara also remembered the look in Adrian's eyes. That was not about business. That was hunger.

"You are asking me to destroy myself," she whispered.

Richard grabbed her wrist. His fingernails dug into her skin harder this time. The heart machine went faster and it screamed like an alarm.

Pip. Pip. Pip. Pip.

"I am just asking you to save us." He'd managed to let out. "To be the daughter I raised."

The machine beeped loud. And near the door, a nurse walked past and looked inside. She'd seen a father holding his daughter's hand. Elara tried to pull back. Richard's grip got tighter.

"I'm dying Elara." He'd played his last card. "Do you want my last thought to be that I failed? That I'd left you all with nothing?"

The guilt was heavy. It pressed the air from her lungs. She'd looked at him.

Her father…this same man had held her when she cried. Now he wants to give her to one wolf to keep another wolf from eating him. He was indeed a selfish bastard but guess what? The worst part was she knew she was going to let him.

She was Elara anyway, the first child who fixed things. Suddenly her will to fight back finally broke. It was a quiet breaking inside of her. Her shoulders went down. She stopped pulling away.

But then Richard saw it. He'd seen the surrender in her eyes so he'd not let go of her. He'd now pulled her closer until she'd to bend over him. Gripped her hand with the strength of a man who was drowning.

"Please. I can't lose everything I built. What are you gonna do baby? What…what's your decision? Tell me. Now”