Bound By Contract

Episode 3

Her stepmother chose to speak this time. She turned as she looked at Ethan, who gave her a nod that she should continue.

"Listen to your father, Sophia, he has something to say." She said.

"Sophia, do you remember 2 years ago when our family business started falling?" Ethan paused as he released a big sigh and swallowed saliva as he cleared his throat to continue. Sophia was still shocked by the sudden change in her father's tone. He was speaking surprisingly softly, and Sophia knew it was because he was about to ask for something, something big.

She nodded her head as she slowly recalled when their business was awful, but she didn't know what had happened, suddenly it started blossoming again. "Sophia, you have to understand that I am very sorry for doing this and for keeping it as a secret from you. We thought that we were going to make it up to Sophie. Don't be mad at us," Ethan said, he paused to rub his temples in tiredness.

"Dad, you guys are making my heart race right now; what is it that I need to know, or what is it that you want to tell me? I am all ears." Sophia said as she patiently waited for the two old humans to make their point.

Her stepmother began to speak this time. "So we went ahead to add another loan to the one that we were owing before." She paused as she released a big sigh and left the rest for Ethan to finish what she was trying to say.

"And what?" Sophia reminded them of where they were at the moment.

"The reason we called you was to tell you about the agreement we had while taking the loan to fuel our business. We borrowed the money if we were not able to pay it back." Ethan stopped as he put his face down, not looking at Sophia. He knew how she would feel about what he was about to say.

"That what? On what condition, if you don't have the money, yet you can ask for extra time to look for it. We can find a way to borrow money from somewhere else. I think I can ask for an early salary from Mr James. Is that what has been hard for you to tell me!" Sophia said, not knowing that was not what they wanted to tell her.

"No, that is not it, Sophia; if that was what we wanted to say, we would have done that. But on one condition, you will marry the son of our creditor if we are not able to pay him back." Sophia's stepmother said.

At the point of hearing that, Sophia's eyes widened, and her brows furrowed; marry who? She knew that they must be joking with her right now. "Who the hell did you borrow the money from that could not give you guys some time to get it and pay him back," Sophia asked.

"I am sure that you must know William Bellevue? He is the one we borrowed the money from and he has given us enough time from the agreement that we had with him." Ethan said.

"I know him, the patriarch of Bellevue Luxury Enterprise, where I work, so he is the one you borrowed money from. Which of his sons then? He has many of them." Sophia asked.

"His oldest son, James Bellevue," Ethan blurted out.

"What? That can't be possible, you have been keeping this from me, so you want to sell me to a man that I don't even know. I don't know his attitude. I don't know anything concerning them. All you think is that I would agree just to be sold out to any man out there. That won't work out, Dad. I am sorry to tell you that it is impossible. You act as if you didn't see that I and Rylan just broke up from our relationship and you think that you could just sell me out like that" Sophia was fighting it, not to cry as she said all those things. She ranted as tears pricked from the corners of her eyes.

"Calm down, Sophia! Your father just wants the best for you. We were dead broke and if we had not taken that loan, then you would never have finished college. If not for that loan, you would not be where you are now." Sophia's stepmother growled angrily.

"It is James Bellevue, for goodness’ sake! You should be happy." Megan spoke for the first time. She had a keen interest in James and had always daydreamed of having him for herself. That was why she was angry throughout dinner. She wished she was the one having James for herself.

"I want a guy that will love me, care for me, and protect me, not any arranged marriage," she said as she started crying and took her hands off her mother.

"Williams is a good man, and I know his son would also be as good as his father; he would care for you and love you. Please just do this for me, for us, Sophia," Ethan said.

"So that's all you think, Dad, you think I can just marry anyone that I have not been close to, and you think that you don't just want to kill me, someone that I don't love. I don't like him, and you think the marriage will last, Dad? I am done with this discussion," Sophia said, still in tears as she stood walking back to her room.

Her dad called her name several times but Sophia turned a deaf ear.

Sophia's tears fell like rain through her cheeks down to her body as she slammed the door shut behind her. Sophia was feeling betrayed because how could her parents hide this from her for so long? Her mind could not think of any reason why they should hide something like that from her.

As she collapsed onto her bed, she remembered that Maya was always there for her. She picked up her phone and called Maya.