Heirs Of Deception

CHAPTER 2

~Talia~

I lay on my bed, trying to process the conversation I had with my parents the previous evening. Irritation flickered in my chest and my head became intensively hot as if it was about to suffer an explosion.

Everything didn't make sense to me. I knew my dad could be meticulous, so I never expected him to get his company ripped off just like that.

I know he just wants what's best for the company. No one would love to see their hard work go down the drain in the blink of an eye. But putting up his daughter for his gain is the last thing I expected of him.

A bitter cocktail of shock, dread, and horror suddenly sluiced down my throat. I have been tossing on the bed for over an hour now. I just needed someone to vet to, and Liana was that person I could call at any time of the day and she would listen to me with no complaint.

“Liana, I can't believe I flew all the way from LA just to find out that I'm getting married to a total stranger without even having a say in it”. I ranted to her on the phone.

“Your parents have no right to do that”, Liana said. “That’s totally unfair”.

Liana and I have been friends for the past 7 years. I met her in college on our fresher's night. I was getting tossed by a group of people just because I couldn't hold my liquor after I puked on my body after taking a glass of vodka.

Liana stepped in as a rescue. She helped me wash up at the restroom and took me back to my dormitory. After that day, she kept checking in on me in my room, despite the fact her dormitory was 2 blocks away from mine.

We became best friends. More like a sister I never had, a friend turned sister indeed. Liana and I had a lot in common, which made it easy for us to get along. Since then we’ve been friends till date.

”They can't just sell me off like I'm some property or something,” I said as I jumped up from my bed, making my way to the window.

“Putting me in the front line of their selfish achievement is just unfair”.

At this point, my body was almost at the point of an explosion.

A brief silence Surfaced then from nowhere. I could hear the silenced sound of Liana breathing on the line. After a few seconds, Liana finally found her voice.

”Talia— I know you would be disappointed concerning what I'm about to say,” Liana said in a low tone.

“quote me— I'm not in support of your parent's actions. But listening to all you’ve said, I strongly feel you should actually take time to reconsider the offer”. She added.

“What ?” I snapped in quickly as my eyes widened in sheer surprise.

“Like you rightly said earlier— It's for the company, and his net worth will actually do your family a lot of good.” Liana bloated out.

“They should be another way out” I almost choked on my saliva. “They should come up with something else”.

“Babygirl, I know you're upset. But you need to calm down,” Liana said. “Don't get yourself worked up; try and look at this on the brighter side”.

“What really pisses me is the way my dad made it seem like I don't have the choice to counter it”. I started ranting again as I was pacing back and forth in my room.

“Fathers can be a handful at times. But in the midst of all this drama, you know deep down that your dad loves you so much”. Liana said.

I suddenly felt a cold sensation flow down my body.

For a second I became numb. I couldn't say anything, or should I say, I didn't have what to say. Liana’s words were already making waves in me.

“So how is the guy? What does he look like?” she finally broke the silence.

“We haven't actually met yet,” I said as I leaned my hip against the table. “My dad has planned a dinner for Friday night with his family at their place”

“So I’m guessing you're going, right ?” Liana asked.

“Hmm—- I don't know yet; I'm still very upset”. I shrugged.

“What if he's a narcissist considering the fact he's a billionaire” I projected “ I heard he's the son of The Bennett group of companies”

“The Bennett group of companies !”. Liana exclaimed.

“Yes—” I reluctantly responded. Wasn't expecting such excitement from her.

Liam made a silent scream.

“They are multi-billionaires”

“Okie—- It doesn't make a difference to me” I chipped in casually.

“Get off your high horse, girl” “not all of us were born with a silver spoon”. Liana said coolly. I can swear she must have rolled her eyes while saying that.

“I honestly feel you should go for the family dinner”, Liana advised. “You shouldn’t write him off when you haven't even met him yet. Plus the guy might not be as bad as you think”.

“Hmmm—- I don't know,” I said. “Have seen how arranged marriages work in the movies, they never end well”.

“This is not the movie, Talia”, Liana jumped in. “This is your own way of trying to run away”.

Just then I heard the door c***k open. I turned around and found my mum standing by the door.

“My mum is here. Let me call you back later” I said, opting to end the call. “Preferably, let's meet at Brew Haven cafe by 5pm.”

“Okie—- Don't be late, girl. I know you—.”

I chuckled.

“Say hello to Mrs Moretti for me” she quickly chipped in

“Sure” I ended the call. I walked back to my bed and took a seat.

“Breakfast is ready”. My mum said.

I made a pout on my face “I’m not hungry, mum”.

She walked towards me and took a seat beside me. She took my hands and squeezed them softly.

“Talia— ?” she called.

“Yes, mum”, I responded as I avoided her eyes.

“I know you were expecting me to stand up for you at the dinner table”, my mum began speaking “, but it's something I have put a lot of consideration into, and it feels right.

I gently released my hands from hers. “It feels right doesn't mean it is right”.

“I know,” she quickly added.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures my darling,” my mother said. “At the time, we almost lost everything. The Bennetts came in handy and helped out. Mr Adrian brought in investors and you sank billions into the company.”

A momentary silence occurred. She lifted up my face with her hands and narrowed her eyes at me.

“Let's cut a deal,” she said.

“What's that ?” I asked and I arched my eyebrow at her.

“I called my designer to get something elegant for you to wear to the dinner” she grinned a little. “If you meet with Mr Bennet’s son and you don't like him, I’ll try and talk your dad out of the marriage”.

I heaved a dire sigh. “Dad's mind is made up. There is nothing much anyone can say to convince him otherwise.”

“Allow me to work my magic”. She winked at me and gave me a kiss on the forehead.

“I love you Talia—- I really do,” she added. She stared at me with a bright smile on her face.

I felt a cold sensation rush down my spine. I took a deep breath and finally found my voice. “ I love you too mum.”

She went ahead and gave me a warm hug, a hug I hadn't felt for years due to my absence. She smiled at me as she made her way to the door.

“Come downstairs for breakfast; you wouldn't want your food getting cool”, she fired on.

“Okie mum”.

The door opened and closed again. I slumped on the bed. I felt a cold air whistle down my spine and groaned in frustration.

Can I just wake up from this crazy nightmare?