Endless pursuit

Chapter 2

The party is in full swing. Selina and her friends are having the fun of their lives. Almost everyone in school is present at the party.

Selina was enjoying the attention. She got birthday wishes and compliments from everyone, both friends and enemies.

And then he came. Her beloved prince: Aaron! They used to be neighbors when they were children before he moved. He had recently just returned, looking like a snack. They practically grew up together.

When he had first left, she had spent months writing letters she knew she would never send to him. Her brother James loved to tease her about the letters and once threatened to show them to the whole school if she didn’t do his homework for him. Selina sometimes hated him and wished he was not her brother or that she didn’t even have a brother. Perhaps if she had no brother, her father would pay more attention to her.

Selina and her father were not close. She didn’t even know whether he loved her or not. He ignored her and only spoke to her when it was essential. He did have a great relationship with his son, though he always asked him how his day at school went, what he wanted to be, and who he was falling for in school.

“Hey!”

Selina blinked at the voice. The snap of fingers in front of her eyes brought her back to reality. She looked up to see who it was and was bewildered to see the object of her thoughts in front of her.

“What are you thinking about? Your boyfriend?” Aaron said as he chuckled.

Selina smiled and blushed. She couldn’t believe her childhood crush, whom she had thought about for months after he left, was right before her. He even looked more handsome than before. His mature appearance made him look more attractive and sexy.

She opened her mouth to reply when the intrusive honking of a car just outside the building interrupted her speech. She placed her hands over her ears in response to the annoying sound. She looked around and saw that her guests were also disturbed by the noise, so she lifted her gown and marched outside to see who was making so much noise.

She saw three rather expensive-looking cars parked in front of her house.

'Who are these people?'

The doors to the cars opened, had men dressed in black suits and who had black shades on stepped out of them. They were about six, and they looked very fit.

“They must be bodyguards,“ Selina muttered to herself.

'But with whom? And what do they want?'

Selina stepped closer to them, not afraid of their daring appearance.

They ignored her, and she got angry and was about to swear at them when a handsome man with the coldest yet bluest eyes she had ever seen stepped out of the car.

She gasped in surprise when his entire body came out of the car, and he stood in front of her, looking down at her, for he was incredibly tall.

Selina looked at him, stunned. He was huge! But also gorgeous. Though he wore a suit, his huge biceps and Greek-like abs were still visible.

He walked closer to her, their eyes locking, and stared at her.

Selina stared back and thus began their staring contest, none of them willing to back down.

Their staring was only interrupted by Selina's father, Marcus, coming out of the building.

Marcus was smiling. Selina was surprised. Her father never smiled unless he talked to James, so what could make him smile so broadly?

Selina thought he was coming towards her, but he instead went to the tall man and bowed. Selina's eyes widened in surprise. What was he doing?

She looked back, and her face turned red as everyone at the party stared outside. They had seen her father bow.

'Damn, I feel so embarrassed. '

“Dad, what are you doing? Why did you bow to this man?” she asked Marcus angrily.

Marcus ignored her and shook one hand of the tall man with his two hands.

You are welcome to my abode Sir. I have been expecting you. Please come in. As you can see, she is now eighteen,” Marcus said to the man, whose eyes fell on Selina.

“Dad, what are you talking about? Who just turned eighteen?”

She was confused and felt a pang of fear. She had just turned eighteen.

Marcus turned to Selina. His smiling face had become cold again.

“Send your friends to their homes. We have an important meeting with an important guest.”

Selina could not believe her ears. Send her friends from her party, which had not even ended? Was he crazy or something?

“Dad, is this a joke? I should stop my party because of this hulk-looking human being…”

“Hey! Mind your tongue! Do you even know who you are addressing that way?!” Marcus yelled angrily at her.

Remember when Selina said her father was not the best? Well, she forgot to add that she wasn't the best daughter either. This is obvious from the way she communicates with her father.

“Even if the man is from the sky, I'm not ending any party for your visitor. If you think your meeting is too important, then take him to your study. I'm not sending my guests away! Today is my day, and no one can ruin it with their presence,” she said, turning and about to walk off when her father held her hand and dragged her back. He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear.

“Hey, if you know what's good for you, get your bloody friends out of my house immediately, or I will send the dogs to them. You don’t want that happening to your friends, do you?”

Tears filled Selina's eyes.

“Why do you hate me so much? Am I not your daughter? Why do you have to ruin one of the most special days of my life?” she asked.

Her tears did not move Marcus.

“I didn’t know the guest would be coming today. The meeting was supposed to be next week. And he doesn't like crowded and noisy places, so they have to leave.”

Selina tearfully asked everyone to leave, telling them the party was over. They were not happy, and her classmates even booed her before leaving.

Selina watched her father pour wine into the cup of the supposed billionaire; her hands clenched into fists. She was still mad they had to end their party to see this man. She knew her father never liked her, but doing this? Ruining her eighteenth birthday? So not cool. And as for the man, she noticed him staring intently at her. He had been staring at her since they came into the house. She didn’t understand why he was staring at her so intently, though. She resisted the urge to smack him across his face.

“So, let's just get straight to the point,” Marcus turned to Selina and said, “Meet your future husband, Sebastian Rafael.”

Selina burst out laughing. Her father was a hilarious man. Of all the jokes to pull in this world, was it this one he could use? And was this even the time to c***k jokes?

She laughed so hard she felt tears forming in her eyes. But then she looked at her father and saw that he was not smiling or laughing. Something was wrong.

“What’s wrong?”

She looked around the room and noticed everyone staring at her strangely.

She turned to her father.

“Wait, you’re kidding, right?”

Marcus avoided her eyes.

She held his shoulder and shook him.

“Look at me. Tell me you’re kidding. “

“Well, we made a deal with Sebastian's family fifteen years ago, and Sebastian has come to make us fulfill the end of our bargain and…”

Selina got to her feet and shouted at Marcus.

“Don’t you dare give me that! I? Betrothed to whom? Him? I don't care whatever deal you must have made with their family. I want to let you know that I won’t take this rubbish from you. What are we in the 1800s? This is the 21st century, and you can't force a girl to marry someone who she doesn’t want!”

Sebastian stared at her with narrowed eyes. Selina glared at him in return. Who did he think he was to come here and try to force marriage on her?

“This was not our agreement, Marcus. You said you had discussed it with her and that she would be docile.”

“Docile? “Selina looked from Sebastian to Marcus, “Sorry dude, but you have made a huge mistake. I am in no way docile. You can ask the man you made your stupid deals with. I am not marrying you, and that's final,” she said, and stormed out of the room, ignoring her father's yelling.

She sat outside the building of her house, by the fountain, and began to sob. She missed her mother. If she were alive, she would not allow her stupid father to treat her like this.

'I know Dad doesn’t like me. But to sell his daughter to some random guy she had never seen before?'

The visitors soon left, and Marcus came to see her. She was still sitting by the fountain when he came to see her. She shifted and looked away.

“Selina. I know this is sudden and that you are mad about this, but at least hear my side of the story, “ Marcus said calmly.

“I don’t want to hear any side of any story!” Selina said and started sobbing again, “Nothing will justify that you want to sell me to a perverted stranger. I'm still in school, Dad! Sure, I'm graduating soon from high school, but seriously?”

“You have to understand, Selina. The reason why you have to marry him is…”

After Selina heard why her father offered her to the billionaire, her heart sank. She realized with terror that there was nothing she could do. She had to marry him. The lives of her family members, as well as hers, depended on it.

“I'm so sorry things turned out this way. I hope you will one day be able to forgive me,” Marcus said as he stood up. There were tears in his eyes.

Selina had never seen her father look so sad before. So did he care about her?

But what does it matter now? She was about to be married off to some man she only knew today. If he had cared, he could have told her about it earlier.

Selina looked up at her father and said:

“I will never forgive you. It might not be your fault, but still, you failed me.”