CLAUSE SIX

1- NICHOLAS

“Grandpa, I said no,” I said with a stern voice. He remained in his seat and brought out a document. My eyes darted to them as he slid them across the table to me, my blood ran cold as I scanned the first page of the document.

Marriage Contract

“Don’t tell me you signed this.” I whispered, he looked away from me and sighed, “Nicholas, I had no choice.”

“Bullshit, there’s always a choice Grandpa. I told you this was crazy and there was no way that I was going through with this!” My voice rising as I grabbed the document with rage and flipped through the pages to find his signature. “You had no right!” I yelled at him, he couldn’t look me in the eye, he stayed silent, but I pressed on, “You know I love Renee so much, how am I supposed to break up with her and tell her I’m getting married to a girl I’ve never met? How, Grandpa, tell me how? You can’t just wake up one day and make a life-changing decision for me and expect me to go ahead with it!”

I glared at him, waiting desperately for an answer which he never gave. He let out a short sigh and said, “I’m only doing what’s best for you, you may not know it now, but soon enough you’ll thank me later.” What he said only fuelled my rage further. Now that he had signed the contract, the marriage was set in stone, and there was nothing I could do to stop it, nothing I could do to stop the heartbreak Renee was going to pass through.

“If you want what’s best for me, why can’t I marry Renee instead?” I pressed, he looked at me with a sad expression, “All your life, I have never given you any major responsibility towards this company, I built this establishment with my blood and sweat. Your father was ready to take over, and it was so unfortunate what happened to him; now it’s your turn, Nicholas.”

I stared at him like he had two heads, “Okay, I can take over the company, what has that got to do with me marrying this girl?” I spat, “Nicholas, in this business world, certain deals are to be made to expand the company; this is one of them.” He said as he stood up to face me, I shook my head in disbelief, “Think of your parents, they worked hard to get this company to where it is today, this family has a great deal of influence in the business world and a marriage will serve as a legal binding between both our families.”

My eyes fell shut as reality dawned on me; there was no getting out of this. “If not for me, do it for your parents, for their legacy.” He finished and left the office, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Seconds felt like hours as I read through the document that he left.

This agreement serves as a formal recognition of the mutual agreement between ML and FL families regarding the union of their children for the purpose of:

Strengthening generational ties between two respected families

Presenting a unified social front for family, public, and philanthropic events

Ensuring legacy and values are preserved through future cooperation.

I pulled out my phone to find a missed call from Renee, my vision blurred as I dialled her number. My heart was racing as I waited for her to pick up, “Hey, baby.” Her sweet voice called out, I closed my eyes and whispered, “I’m sorry, Renee. I’m so sorry, I tried to work it out by myself, but I failed.” I sobbed out, “Nicky, what are you talking about? What happened?” I remained silent. “Are you coming home?” Her voice sounded panicky, “I’m coming.” I hung up.

My shoulders hung in defeat as I made my way home. I parked in the driveway and sat down for a solid minute, mentally preparing myself. I had to stay strong, even though I was hurting too. The whole situation wasn’t about how I felt any more, it was bigger than that, it was about my parents now, and I couldn’t fail them, not again.

I found Renee in the bedroom; she was putting our luggage away. I paused at the doorframe and watched her; I was going to miss her. She knew I was staring at her, so she walked towards me and pulled me into a hug, “It’s okay, baby,” she said. My eyes teared up. “I’m sorry, Renee,” I mumbled into her hair.

“It’s okay, Nicky, it’s not your fault.” She said as if she already knew what I was going to tell her. “I’m getting married.” I looked at her face, it was like she didn’t hear me, “What?” She said, “It’s…arranged.” Her face morphed into something I couldn’t register. “It’s not what you think. It’s complicated.” I added.

She turned away from me, my heart broke when I saw the tears that filled her eyes. “To whom?” She hissed, “Her name is Evelyn. It’s a…contract, between our families, business matters.” She turned back to me with amusement on her face, I didn’t miss the streaks of tears on her face. “You’re joking.”

I stayed quiet, “So you’re going to break up with me just because some old men shook hands over dinner?” “It’s not that simple, my grandfather is pulling strings that I cannot fight, and I tried fighting but failed.” My voice cracked despite how I tried to hide it, “So that’s it?” She stared at me as if trying to memorise my face. I did the same, “I don’t have a choice here anymore.” She used the back of her hand to wipe her tears. “You always have a choice; you’re just choosing them, Nicholas.” Her words stung me because it was the same thing I said to my grandfather. She made her way towards the door and paused, without turning back to look at me, “I thought I knew you; I really did. But maybe you were always going to choose legacy over love. I just never thought you’d do it so easily.”

I felt a tear drop from my eye, and then I heard the door close.