Fragments of the Past

The Unexpected

Chapter 2

The Unexpected

Okoro's family was a family that placed much more premium on the importance of family and culture. A girl child born to the family did not have a sole right to marry whoever they wanted. It was the practice of the parents to marry them off to whoever they wanted. The parents were conservative and traditional in their practice.

Ruth, an educated and strong-willed young woman who was confident in herself to succeed in her career, was not ready to succumb despite being aware of the practice.

For some weeks, the whereabouts of Ruth were not known to her parents. It was a trying time for them. The case of her missing had been reported to the police with no useful trace of locating her.

Later, news came to her parents that she had jetted out of the country to further her education.

“How did she do it? To which country? When?” Mr Okoro and his wife were confused.

“She didn't tell us anything about it,” they said.

They were in this situation for a long time when they began to reminisce how much they loved Ruth and how much Ruth loved them in return.

They didn't bother to probe further the reason behind her jetting out of the country since they already knew what they were facing in their family.

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Lizzy, a one-time Ruth's old school friend who was residing abroad, had at one time advised her to jet out of the country to further her education in order to escape her parents’ dictate.

Ruth had always been in contact with Lizzy explaining what she was passing through at home and asking her to help her prepare a visa to a foreign country.

As nature would have it, the Visa was granted to further her education for a period of one year.

After an expiration of one year, Ruth finished her course and returned home, only to see that her father had become bedridden due to a partial stroke he suffered during the trying time.

They had sold all their company assets to cure the illness. The only option left was to place themselves at the mercy of the young billionaire.

However, the grandfather of the young billionaire had a demand - to go back to the arranged marriage. Only with this, would his grandson be able to foot the medical bill of her ailing father and save his company from folding up unexpectedly.

Ruth was now faced with the option of whether to save his father's life or reject the arranged marriage despite the bond of love between her and her father.

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Joseph Max, a rich young billionaire and an heir of the Max family, was a ruthless man in business. He was confident and possessive.

According to the family's norm, the heir must get married before he could fully be in charge of the family's affair.

In the past, Mr Okoro had been a business partner with the family of Max and in order to cement their relationship further, he made an arrangement with the grandfather of Joseph to marry off her daughter to his grandson.

Grandfather Max had arranged a night party inviting some guests to witness the signing of the arranged marriage between his family and Okoro's family.

Grandfather Max was a man feared by all members of the Max family. No one in the family dared move against his decision. He had been a successful business man during his youthful age, winning many business partners to form a collaboration with his company.

Joseph, a young billionaire clad in an exotic blue suit with a red tie for the night party, had given a directive to one of his bodyguards to carry out the background checks on Ruth.

“Amos, what is the result of the background I told you to check on Ruth?” Joseph asked.

"Yes, Sir. No hidden agenda. She’s intelligent, well-educated, and has kept a relatively low profile despite her family’s prominence," Amos hesitated. "But I found out that she must be connected to some powerful forces outside the country during her stay in the foreign country,” he added.

In the boardroom of the night party, Joseph had been warned by his grandfather not to do anything funny in respect of the signing of the arranged marriage.

“Joseph, you have to play this game wisely. Don't do anything funny, okay?” His grandfather said and he nodded obediently.

Before Pa Max turned around to take his seat, the doors swung open, and Ruth entered. The room seemed to hold its breath.

She was a striking young woman not just in appearance but in the way she carried herself in a graceful manner. The gown she wore hugged her figure. There was a look of confidence in the way she composed herself. Her physique was to the admiration of all the guests seated in the boardroom of the night party to witness the signing.

As music was playing in the background softly, their eyes locked into each other.

After some minutes of no conversation between them, Joseph suddenly found himself unexpectedly drawn to her. She wasn’t just beautiful; she was intelligent and quick-witted, easily holding her own against the subtle power plays of the elite.

But just as he began to consider the possibility that this arrangement might not be as unbearable as he thought, the night took a sudden turn.

A lady stumbled into the boardroom of the night party with a look of jealousy and teary face. “Joseph Max! You can’t do this to me! Remember the promise you made with me that you would always love me. How then you can't keep your promise again?”

The crowd gasped, and all eyes turned to the direction the voice was coming from.

The night party was thrown into confusion and chaos before the body guards were ordered to bundle out the lady.

Ruth, watching the drama that just took place, a look of speechlessness covered her face but the expression on her face was calm.

Diligently, Joseph studied her to know what would be her reaction. She was calm and composed, but there was a flicker of something in her eyes - confidence or anger. He couldn’t decide which.

The night party ended with the signing not conclusive.

That night, Ruth with her mother retired to the hospital where her father was receiving treatment. She promised to fullfil her parents’ expectations about the arranged marriage. At least, just to give them happiness and a hope of saving her father's life.

With Lizzy’s help, Ruth began investigating Joseph Max's past deeds.

Lizzy was an old school friend of Ruth residing abroad. She was an ICT expert.

“Hello Lizzy! I want you to help me dig deep into the past deeds of Joseph Max, especially about his affair with women,” she called on the phone.

“Okay, give me some time to do that for you. I will get back to you in some days’ time,” Lizzy assured.

After a few days, the results came out. It was shocking. Joseph Max during his school days was involved in a s****l relationship with Isabella.

Consequent upon this, he had promised her not to forsake her. He promised to take her as his wife.

But as the time passed by, the two lost contact and were separated. It was a hope overturned for Isabella.

Isabella got the news of Joseph's engagement with Ruth from a friend and took advantage of it to cause chaos at the night party.

For the first time in years, Joseph wondered what would be the aftermath of the arranged marriage.