His Revenge, My Marriage

CHAPTER 5: NO WAY OUT

Emily barely slept. Sleep seemed to have gone away from her. Every moment she shut her eyes to sleep, there was only one person's picture in her mind. Damian Blackwood. He had succeeded in planting himself in her thoughts. All she could think about was him. Not because of affection. No. It was far from it. His words to her kept on ringing in her head. He literally created a pool of suspense and let her swim in it. Now, she can't sleep. Someone lied. About everything. What truth was Damian after? Whether he was telling the truth or not, she had no idea. But she needed to figure it out. By six in the morning, she finally gave up on sleep and decided to start the day. She grabbed her phone and called the lawyer…Lawson. One ring….two rings….three rings….

“Hello, ma'am,” Lawson said as the call connected. "Good morning to you.” Emily adjusted in the bed. "Good morning to you too. Sorry for calling this early in the morning.

But I need your help right now.” "It's totally fine. I work for your family. Is anything the matter? How may I help you?” Emily cleared her throat. “There has to be a way around this clause attached to the Will. There has to be something that you have not told me yet. A loophole in the will. Something I can use.

Tell me how to get out of this. I can't marry Damian Blackwood. He's an enemy of my family." “Hmm," Lawson exhaled. “I'm sorry, ma'am. But the only price you can pay not to marry him will be your shares. You will have to forfeit everything. There's no loophole anywhere. Your grandfather was very meticulous with the whole thing." Emily got out of bed, the phone still pressed to her ear. She was desperately hoping that she would hear something that would be of use to her.

“There has to be a way. Tell me." There was a slight pause at the other end, as if he was thinking. Then, Lawson spoke again.

"There's only one way you can have what you want." On hearing that, her eyes flickered with hope. There was a way after all.

“That's good news," she said. “Go on. I'm listening." “The only way you can keep your shares while rejecting the marriage will be if he lets you have it your way." She c****d her hair. “What is that supposed to mean?" “To be clear, Mr Damian Blackwood has the sole right to let you have it your way. That is if, and only if, he chooses not to proceed with the marriage." This was not in any form good news. The hope she had disappeared in that instant. It was yet another dead end.

Emily grunted. "There has to be another way.”

"I'm sorry. But there isn't. Unless he chooses otherwise, you should consider what's best for you.” She stroked her cheek with the tree hand. "Uhm… is it possible to get background information on Damian Blackwood? I need everything about him." "I'm not allowed to do that. Sorry, ma'am. But if there's nothing more, I would love to be excused.” "Thank you. That will be all for now.” The call ended. Emily stood by the glass wall and looked out at nothing for a while. Her thoughts were in total chaos. Nothing was making sense. She didn't want to marry him. She wanted to keep her shares. And yes, she equally needed to know the secret Damian threw at her. There was only one way. She had to make Damian back off. To do that, she had to dig up things about him. For the next three hours, she went surfing through the internet in search of every possible detail about him. And the results didn't lie. …. Takeover specialist. Aggressive negotiator. Business tyrant. The list was endless. Emily heaved a sigh of frustration. There was nothing good about this man. However, when she dug deeper, the narrative began to change. … A lady that served his family described him as a fiercely loyal person. Another info had it that he at a time funded a massive scholarship for disadvantaged children. Emily hated uncertainties. Damian Blackwood was proving to be one. The rest of her day took a cycle of work at the Lancaster headquarters. She sat through a three hour meeting that was completely chaotic. She was drained and needed to think. Eventually, she strolled into the office her grandpa was occupied. Now hers, she walked to the chair behind the desk and sank in. Her eyes travelled around the elite office. Then, suddenly, her eyes caught something. The bottom drawer of the desk was slightly ajar. She curiously opened it and saw an envelope with her written on it. In that instant, she lost her comfort. Opening the envelope, there was a small note. It read, “Damian is the only one you can trust.” What the heck? Nothing was making sense to her. Her head spun so badly that she could not remain there for another minute. She slid the note into her bag and exited the office. When she swung the door open and made it into the lobby, her gaze met with those deep eyes of Damian Blackwood. He was casually standing outside the office. On seeing him there, her heart accelerated for a moment.