Chapter.4
1544 Words
Diana lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. It was two in the morning and she couldn't sleep.
Ryan's words kept playing in her head. "Five million dollars. Divorce him and marry me."
Five million. That would save everything.
All she had to do was divorce Marcus.
Her phone buzzed. Ryan: "Tick tock, Diana. Time is running out. Choose wisely."
Diana threw her phone on the nightstand. She hated being pressured.
Downstairs, she heard the front door open. Marcus was back. He must have walked home from Ryan's house. That was over ten miles.
Then she heard her mother's voice, loud and furious.
"Where have you been?"
"I'm sorry. I walked. It took longer than expected." Marcus's quiet voice.
"You embarrassed us tonight! Sitting there like a pathetic rat!"
Diana heard a loud smack. Then another. Her mother was hitting him.
"You're worthless! Completely worthless!"
Smack. Smack. Smack.
Marcus didn't make a sound.
Diana pulled her blanket over her head. She should go down there. Should stop it.
But she never did.
Five more hits. Then Margaret's footsteps going upstairs. A door slamming.
Silence.
Diana lay there feeling sick. An hour passed. She got up and went downstairs for water.
The storage room door was cracked open. Light coming from inside.
Diana walked over quietly and looked through.
Marcus sat on the floor, back against the wall. Fresh bruise on his cheek. Blood on his lip. Torn shirt.
He was just sitting there in the dark, staring at nothing.
Diana felt something twist in her chest. She'd known he slept here, but she'd never really thought about it.
She pushed the door open. "Are you okay?"
Marcus looked up, surprised. "Diana. I didn't hear you."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." He stood up quickly.
"You're bleeding."
"It's nothing."
Diana looked around the tiny room. Boxes everywhere. Thin blanket on concrete floor. This was his life.
"Why do you stay?" The question came out before she could stop it.
Marcus looked at her. "What do you mean?"
"Why don't you leave? My family treats you like garbage. I treat you like garbage. Why stay?"
Marcus was quiet for a long moment. "I made a promise. Three years."
"To who?"
"To myself. To see something through."
Diana felt frustrated. Nothing he said made sense. "See what through?"
"It doesn't matter." Marcus sat back down. "Was there something you needed?"
Diana realized she was still holding her empty water glass. "I just wanted to check if you were okay."
"I'm okay."
"My mother shouldn't have hit you."
"It's fine."
"It's not fine!" Diana's voice rose. "None of this is fine!"
Marcus looked up at her. "Then why do you let it happen?"
The question hung in the air.
Diana had no answer. She turned and left, closing the door.
Back in her bedroom, she couldn't stop thinking. Why DO you let it happen?
Because it was easier. Because she was a coward.
Morning came. Diana got ready for work, exhausted. She hadn't slept at all.
Downstairs, Marcus was making breakfast. The bruise on his face was darker now.
"Morning," she said quietly.
"Good morning." He put eggs on the table. Not for himself. Just for the family.
Margaret came down. "Diana, have you decided about Ryan?"
"Not yet."
"What do you mean not yet? Take the money! Divorce the trash!"
Diana looked at Marcus. Standing by the counter, head down, silent.
"I have to go to work," Diana said, grabbing her purse.
"You're making a mistake!" Margaret shouted.
Diana drove to her office, her mind racing. Everything was falling apart.
She parked and walked into the building. Her assistant Amy was waiting, looking excited.
"Ms. Wilson! You have a visitor!"
"I don't have any appointments—"
"I know! But this man says it's urgent! About an investment opportunity!"
Diana's heart skipped. "Investment? Who is he?"
"He wouldn't give his name. He's waiting in your office. He seems... important."
Diana walked quickly to her office. A man in an expensive suit stood looking out her window. When he turned around, Diana saw he was about sixty, distinguished looking, silver hair.
"Ms. Wilson. Thank you for seeing me." His voice was smooth, professional.
"Who are you?"
"My name is James Chen. I represent a private investment group." He handed her a business card. "We're interested in investing in your company."
Diana looked at the card. Chen Capital Investments. "How did you know I need investment?"
"We make it our business to know about promising companies in trouble." James smiled. "We'd like to offer you five million dollars for twenty percent equity."
Diana felt dizzy. "Five million? That's exactly—"
"Exactly what you need. Yes, we know."
"This seems too convenient."
"Smart companies need smart investors, Ms. Wilson. We believe you're a smart investment." James pulled out a contract. "Simple terms. Five million, twenty percent, no strings attached."
Diana stared at the contract. This was what she needed. Right when she needed it.
"I need time to think—"
"Of course. You have twenty-four hours." James walked to the door. "Oh, and Ms. Wilson? Whatever other offers you have on the table, I'd suggest you decline them. Some deals come with hidden costs."
He left before Diana could ask what he meant.
Diana sat at her desk, staring at the contract. Five million dollars. From a stranger. The same day Ryan's deadline expires.
Her phone rang. Ryan.
"Diana! Have you decided?"
Diana looked at the contract on her desk. "Actually, Ryan, I have."
"Yes? You'll marry me?"
"No. I'm rejecting your offer. I found another investor."
Silence. Then Ryan's voice, cold and angry. "What?"
"I don't need your money. I found funding elsewhere."
"From WHO?"
"That's my business."
"Diana, you're making a huge mistake—"
"Goodbye, Ryan." She hung up.
Her hands were shaking. She'd just rejected Ryan Blackwood. The richest bachelor in the city.
But something about his offer had felt wrong. Like selling her soul.
This new offer felt clean. Professional. No marriage required.
Diana picked up the pen and signed the contract.
Her phone immediately started buzzing. Ryan calling again. And again. And again.
She turned it off.
That evening, Diana came home early. The house was quiet. Too quiet.
She heard sounds from the living room. Derek's voice.
"Get on your knees, trash."
Diana walked to the doorway. Derek had Marcus on the floor, forcing him to scrub with a toothbrush.
"Derek, what are you doing?"
"Teaching him his place. This is the grout he missed yesterday."
Diana saw Marcus scrubbing the floor with a tiny toothbrush. His hands were red and raw.
"That's enough," Diana said.
"Since when do you give orders?" Derek stood up. "Stay out of this."
"He's my husband."
"He's NOTHING!" Derek kicked the bucket of dirty water. It spilled all over Marcus. "There. Now he matches the dirty floor."
Marcus didn't react. Just knelt there, soaking wet, silent.
Diana felt anger rising. "Derek, I said enough!"
"What's going on here?" Margaret appeared. "Diana, why are you yelling at your brother?"
"He's abusing Marcus!"
"Abusing? He's just making him work!" Margaret looked at Diana suspiciously. "Did you reject Ryan's offer?"
Diana's silence was answer enough.
Margaret's face went red. "You DID! You stupid, stupid girl! Do you know what you've done?"
"I found another investor. My company is saved."
"I don't care about your company! I care about this family's future! Ryan was perfect!"
"Ryan wanted to own me, Mother!"
"So what? Rich men own things! That's how the world works!" Margaret grabbed Diana's shoulders. "Call him back. Tell him you made a mistake. Fix this!"
"No."
Margaret slapped her. Hard.
Diana's head snapped to the side. The room went silent.
Marcus stood up from the floor, dripping water.
"Go to your room," Margaret said to Diana. "And think about what you've cost this family."
Diana touched her burning cheek and walked upstairs without another word.
In her room, she sat on the bed, shaking. Her mother had slapped her. For not marrying Ryan.
A knock on the door. "Diana?"
Marcus's voice.
"Come in."
Marcus entered, still wet from the dirty water. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay? You're the one who just got humiliated downstairs!"
"I'm used to it." Marcus grabbed a tissue from her dresser and handed it to her. "Your cheek is red."
Diana took the tissue. "Why did you come up here?"
"To check on you."
"You should check on yourself! You're soaking wet and probably freezing!"
"I'm fine," Marcus said quietly. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
Diana looked at him. Really looked at him. Wet, bruised, humiliated. And he came to check on HER.
"Who are you?" she whispered.
"What?"
"Who are you really? Why do you stay here? Why do you take all of this?"
Marcus was quiet. Then he said, "I'm nobody special. Just a man keeping a promise which i took during our wedding day.
Diana sat there, confused and frustrated. Nothing about Marcus made sense.
Her phone buzzed. She'd turned it back on. Fifteen missed calls from Ryan. And one text: "You made a big mistake, Diana. I'll show you just how big."
Diana felt a chill run down her spine.
What had she done?
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