The Bride He Lured

Reputation in the mud

Sitting on a sofa, she swirled the content in her glass. She was elegantly dressed in a coffee-brown two-piece blouse and trousers.

“Welcome, my honorable son.” She greeted sarcastically, placing her glass on an elevation in front of her before she threw her hands open.

The living room, mainly themed milk and touches of gold, had the faint noise of a news channel from a large TV glued to the opaque wall.

“Mum…” Zayn’s confident and audacious voice spoke, losing all the character it had to it.

He was about to hug her when she withdrew her arms to herself, so he took a cue to sit on the nearest cushion.

“Over and over, you parade your incompetency shamelessly.” His mother stood on her feet now and spoke in a high tone.

“You were supposed to be there to officiate an important deal, Zayn!” She sat back, slightly bending her neck and softening her voice.

“My brother is not incompetent.” Zara made an entrance dressed in black with her hair in a neat low bun.

Zayn threw his head back, knowing what was about to go down.

“He built a billionaire pharmaceutical company from scratch, Mrs. Sterling!” Zara continued enraged at how their mother was quick to discredit Zayn.

“Oh, here comes evil with all her darkness! Zayn, I thought I warned you to stay away from this criminal!”

“Also the billionaire company you're talking about. Is it the same one with which the Holts currently own fifty percent of the total worth?”

“What?” Zara exclaimed before looking over at Zayn. He had some explaining to do.

“Exactly. Your brother doesn't own a billionaire pharmaceutical company, honey, and I am trying to change that!”

“But while I was busy looking for a way to expand the business, guess what you two were up to?”

“Mum, it was a fake marriage.” Zayn confessed. Sweat beaded at the back of his palm. He hated when his mother was angry with him.

“Brilliant then! Does your fiancée, Amira Holt, know about this? You're breaking a bone before you can stand, Zayn. “

“I can stand, Mother.”

“Of course you can, with your jelly bone,” Mrs. Sterling mocked.

“Novamore Productions is currently worth a billion. What will you do when half of it is gone? ” she asked, looking at both of her children, who were puzzled.

“I built this brick by brick; I can do it again. It hasn't even gotten to that, Mum.” Zayn found his voice.

His mother let out a scoff. “You underestimate the influence of the Holts in the growth of Novamore.”

“You think you did this all by yourself in five years? Oh God,” she added.

Refilling her wine before taking a little sip, she nodded her head while closing her eyes for a second. “Ridiculous,” she expressed.

“The Holts don't have to know, Amira doesn't have to know,” Zayn persuaded as he watched Zara walk toward the remnant wine on the table in front of him.

“Don’t dare drink from my glass,I said DON’T!!” The older woman in coffee brown protested heavily while Zayn let out an exhausting sigh.

“Are you afraid you'd become a lesbian after drinking from the same cup as I did, Mrs. Sterling? ” Zara mocked after taking a big gulp.

“Actually, way more horrible things than that, being a lesbian is not on the list,” her mother replied, looking away with a displeased face.

“Look, Zayn, I told you Mum is a closeted gay woman. I caught her one time staring at a maid's ass.” Zara laughed while her brother signaled her to stop by continuously blinking his eyes.

“Take this militant away from my house before the police show up at my door,I have a reputation to protect,” Mrs. Sterling spoke, feeling her blood boil.

“Come, let’s leave,” Zayn urged, and luckily Zara was easy.

“Bye, Mother,” Zara waved as they walked away.

“Oh, you'd be hot on the lesbian market mother, you can just divorce Dad,”she added, and her brother dragged her away hesitantly.

“Whatever this fake marriage is about, remember that you have a reputation to protect, you silly boy!”His mother shouted at them.

Mrs. Sterling was not going to let Zara's silly talk get to her.

“Lesbian market,” she mimicked before throwing her wine glass against the wall with its contents still in it.

*******************

He drove them to a booked ice cream shop where they began to talk.

“What do you want to know?” Zayn asked as he watched his sister.

She was an exact replica of his mother—intimidating and good-looking but physically more dangerous.

Digging into her bowl of ice cream, she replied, “Everything,” gesturing with her wooden scoop in a swift circular motion.

“Before I begin to talk, why is that girl in your room? ”

“Why is Rosa in a supermarket with your men for over twenty minutes now?” Zara asked, pulling out a tablet to his face.

“Picking up shovels perhaps,”

“What if she calls for alarm? Tell them to leave immediately.”

“I can hear them. I have a listening device on me. If she wanted to cause trouble, she'd have already.”

“Silence before the storm. To your initial question, I am just holding her hostage in my room.” Zara shrugged nonchalantly.

“In your room—” Zayn mimicked raising a brow questioningly at her.

“Doesn't Mum know? Why was she saying Novamore worth only a billion?” She interrogated, narrowing her eyes.

“You think I'd let her on the other side? We'd be in jail by now.”

Both began to laugh hysterically before Zayn continued between laughs,

“I was serious when I put you solely in control of it. No one knows.“

“So I’d be the one to get in trouble if anything ever goes south.” Zara replied in a very casual tone with melted cream on her tongue.

“Are you scared?”

Zara let out a loud laugh. “Stop looking at me like that.” She let out a pout as her brother looked at her questionably.

“Why didn't you go to sign the deal, Zayn?”

“Because after tracing it,” he began.

“It is handled for the Holts.” They both chorused.

Zayn relaxed his back before he added, "Anonymously."

Piercing his gaze at the wooden ceiling above them, he asked, “How did you know?”

“Because I sent those documents to you. They want your company, man.”

“I want their _____.” Zayn stopped halfway through his sentence and sprang up alarmed.

“Rosa, don’t! ROSA, DON'T YOU DARE!” He warned as if she was in front of him with his finger on his listening pods.

“I guess the storm is here already,” Zara giggled as her younger brother jolted away in a hurry.

“Mum is going to kill you for this.” She continued to laugh while nodding her head.

“Reputation in the mud,” Zara mocked before ordering a packed bowl of ice cream.

“I hope she likes chocolate flavor.”