Rough Path to Bliss

Chapter 1

Michelle had just finished her work for the day and was heading home. Her house was not far from her workplace so she always strolled back home, saving the little money she would have used to transport herself home. It had been a hectic day at work. She was very tired and couldn’t wait to get home.

As she rounded a bend and was about to enter the next street, a car almost hit her. She reacted swiftly by pulling her body backwards while the car swerved a bit, narrowly missing her. She stood, arms akimbo, wondering what was wrong with the driver. An elderly man stepped out of the car apologizing, "so sorry my dear, I was lost in thought and didn’t see you on time, I am so sorry," he apologized again. "It is okay" Michelle replied, the man sounded apologetic enough, and she was pleased that a rich elderly man of such status could apologize to a young lady, most of them are quite rude and arrogant. From his looks, he should be in his early sixties, Michelle had thought, and anyone who could own a Rolls-Royce was definitely rich.

"Where are you heading to? Can I drop you off?" He went on to ask.

"Don’t worry, I am almost home, my house is just by the corner," Michelle said, pointing to her house.

"Alright then," he said. "Enjoy the rest of your evening," and as he was about to leave, he asked Michelle where he could see a karaoke bar.

"I am actually new in this town; I came for a business trip and I would be leaving tomorrow" he said, casting a long look at Michelle. Michelle loved to sing, but refused to go to karaoke bars to sing. The reason was that her mum saw it as an avenue to get her to meet rich men. Her mum constantly pressurizes her to get married to a rich man, unlike her father, so that life would be easy for them. But she, on the other hand, didn’t care about status or the financial ability of any man, she just wanted to love and to be loved in return. Moreover, most of the rich men she has met have been nothing but proud and arrogant, always looking down on anyone who was below their class.

"I think there is one at Malcom Street, at the end of the street" she replied, describing to him how he could get there.

"Okay, see you again" the man said as he drove off.

"See you again?" Michelle muttered to herself? How was the man sure that they would meet again? Didn’t he say that he was on a business trip and would be going back the next day? There was something quite strange about him, but she didn’t just know what it was. She watched as his car drove further down the streets till it was out of sight.

The cool evening air caressed her body, bringing relief to her tired body. It was a soothing gesture, as if the wind was luring her mind away to a place of peace embedded with bliss, and she followed her lead.

The sun had finished its task for the day and was slowly fading away, as though in a relay race, racing to hand the baton to its compatriot the moon, but doing so in slow amble cringe, as the moon seemed not to be ready yet to take over its shift, it was a cozy ambiance which set her mood for a music adventure.

She pictured herself performing ‘Rewrite the stars’ in front of thousands of fans screaming and cheering her, with her male co-singer making romantic gestures to her as they sang. The feeling was electrifying just as their voices were.

‘It’s up to you, it’s up to me, no one can say what we get to be. Why don’t we rewrite the stars, changing the world to be ours?’

"Michelle", her mum called out, bringing her out of her fantasy world. She was already at the entrance of her house. How she hated being brought out of her music fantasy world. She always dreamed about it. It was her panacea whenever she was troubled or in pain, but this time she wasn’t necessarily troubled or in pain, the chilly weather prompted it.

She knew she was in for a long talk or something related to it. Her mum barely calls her by her full name, she calls her Michy, and whenever she calls her Michelle, she knew she was up for a long talk. And she wondered what it could be.

She went inside the house, took a quick bath and went to meet her mum to hear what she had to say. Mabel kept a straight face, which was enough conviction for Michelle that she was really in for a serious talk with her.

"Sit down," her mum said, pointing at a seat and keeping a solemn face.

She sat on the sofa, crossing her legs, her palms on her chin, looking a bit nervous.

"I have watched you grow from a little girl into a beautiful young woman, and you know I want the best for you", her mum continued. "I suffered to raise you alone after your dad went to jail. You were barely 9 then, and I have done everything in my power to give you the best life which I never had, but now I am not in the best physical condition to continue doing that. My health is deteriorating by the day and I have to stop working completely. I wish I could do more to assist you with generating income for us, but it is not easy at all. My brother is the only person that tries to help us from the little he has, but it is still not enough."

Michelle had heard those words more than a million times, and she knew exactly where her mum was driving to.

"Mum, I know you want the best for me, and I am also trying my best to work hard to bring us out of poverty," Michelle said. "But marrying a rich man is not the only solution."

"Right now, it is," her mum countered.

"I am just 23 years old, I still have my life ahead of me, God willing, I can make it big in my music aspirations. I believe in myself Mum, just a little time and everything will be alright."

"That time is what we don’t have," Mabel said, "the time is now Michy."

Michelle could sense a change of tone in her mum’s voice, she called her Michy now, and she sounded a bit sorrowful. Watching her mum in that state always broke her.

"What is it mum?" Michelle asked, concerned.

"Remember I told you a good Samaritan helped pay for my hospital bills the other time?"

"Yes, you did," Michelle said, nodding her head in affirmation and waiting eagerly for her mum to continue.

"Well, it was Mr. Damian," her mum said, giving her daughter a long, knowing look. Michelle knew where this would lead to. Mr. Damian was a young billionaire who was making passes at her. She never took him seriously, and felt he only wanted to use her. She felt he was way above her class. Which billionaire bachelor would want anything to do with her, a common secretary?

"I will thank Mr. Damian whenever I see him next", Michelle said.

"Well, he wouldn’t be needing your thanks" Mabel said.

"Mr. Damian paid my bills on the condition that you would consent to marry him, which I consented to."

"Mum, you must be joking."

"No Michy, this is not a time for jokes, I gave him my approval that you will marry him."

"Mum, how could you?" Michelle cried out.

"I knew you could be stubborn and refuse the proposal, so I never told you, rather I told him that you consented to the marriage, now he wants to make it official. He is a really nice man, and unlike most Los Angeles billionaires, he wasn’t born into wealth. He was a son of a nobody and created wealth for himself. He is very hardworking and resilient. You will surely get to like him."

"No mum, he is proud and arrogant, he is not my kind of man."

"You young ladies sometimes mistake men for what they really are. A man should be firm and strong, but you see that as proud and arrogant."

"No mum, there’s a big difference between being firm and being arrogant."

"But you barely know him. How can you conclude he is proud and arrogant?"

"Exactly why I shouldn’t be marrying him, I barely know him, and why is he even in haste to get married to me?"

"He is a real man Michy. Real men don’t go beating about the bush, they go for what they want. He told me point-blank that he wants to marry you, he doesn’t want to waste time and do the dating thing you people do nowadays where you take years to date and know yourselves and all that. But I am not saying that you shouldn’t get to know him before you marry him. Of course, you will, and trust me, it is going to be the right decision for you."

"Mum, you want me to marry this man just because he paid your medical bills"

"Yes, and that is a lot. If he didn’t, I don’t know how I would have managed to have done that, my health would have deteriorated further. He would also take care of my subsequent bills. Michy, can’t you see that he is God sent? He came at the right time. I have been happy all this while just because of him, he has filled my soul with so much joy and happiness, Michy."

"No mum, I can’t marry him, do you even care about my happiness? I can’t marry him just to make you happy."

"You are not marrying him to make me happy, you will marry him to help us out of this condition. Would you have preferred that I had more complications as the doctors delayed operating on me because the bills weren’t paid? Would you have preferred I said no to him and my health deteriorated? I know I have always wanted you to marry a rich man, but now, it is more than that, it is about helping me live. I will have to do regular checkups at the hospital, and it will require a lot of money. You are doing this for me, your mother, to save me."

Michelle was overcome by emotions. She loved her mum dearly, but then, she didn’t like the idea of selling her off in marriage without even being told.

"Mum, there will always be other ways to raise money for your bills. You are not going for a checkup anytime soon. I will try and raise some money before then, but I am sorry to disappoint you, I am not going to marry Damian."

Those words hit her mum like a missile. "Yes, you will," Mabel shouted back.

"No, I won’t" Michelle retorted.

"Yes, you will."

"Mum stop, I can’t, and I won’t."

"Yes, you…." Just as Mabel wanted to shout back at her daughter, she seemed to have a seizure, she held her chest for some seconds and fainted.

"Mum, mum," Michelle screamed out in fear, she held her hands trying to feel a pulse, she couldn’t feel anything. "Mum, look at me, mum, mum,"

Her heart raced faster than a Formula One sports car. She feared the worst.

"Okay, okay, I will marry him, I will marry him" she cried out.

"Tell him I will marry him, I will, I will."

But those words didn’t change anything as Mabel laid on the floor helpless.

"Help, help, somebody help me" she cried out.