Her Peculiar Husband

CH 5 || List Of Enigmatic Questions

Olivia

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Aunt Alicia was serious and had a pensive mood. She was talking about the wedding, which is a bond between two for the lifetime as if it was a daily affair.

There was no way I was agreeing to get married to Noah, whom I didn’t even know. Besides, I wasn’t like her daughter who loves to snatch other’s happiness.

"I...I can't. It's Ava's right." I refused to become the replaced bride. I was not conscious of where the dauntlessness in me came from but I tried not to be suppressed.

"I am well versed in the rights of my daughter. But this is a grave situation." Desperateness in her voice was perceptible.

"I don't understand. Why would Noah even agree to marry me? He loves Ava and she too loves him. I think it's not Ava. Something might have happened to her." Even though the handwritten note seemed of Ava still, there was a possibility someone would have threatened her to take that step.

According to the sources, Noah was ten times richer than Ava, and the love Ava has for money was no secret to me. If not for love then for sure she wouldn’t ever give up on Noah because of his money.

"Yes, something did happen to her. She caught hold of the truth of the deal."Aunt Alicia gritted her teeth mentioning something about some deal. I recalled Ava's note, that too had some deal broached in it.

"What truth? What deal?" I was so perplexed that my head started spinning.

Aunt Alicia's face softened. She smiled sweetly at me and held my hands which were on my lap and squeezed them lightly. She wasn’t giving me cordial vibes. I had a hunch something appalling was coming my way. I was proved right when she started narrating the deal she mentioned,

"You know that Parker Industries is not keeping well for the last three years, right?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Do you know why?"

"Some of the investors pulled back and turned their backs on us. They were one of our oldest and highest paying investors."

Aunt Alicia took a deep breath before revealing a part of the truth that was as convoluted as a lattice. "To save our empire we needed Parkers. Noah and Ava's marriage was a getaway to the path of solutions."

“So you mean Noah and Ava weren’t in love?”

“Oh, no, no, no, of course, they were, I mean they still are but for Ava, marriage is of utmost importance, and when she got to know about the deal she eloped.”

Continuing further she said, “Our company was leaning towards bankruptcy. To save it we sought Miller’s help. They agreed but in return, they asked for Ava’s hand in marriage. We delightfully agreed but requested them to keep the deal a secret. It was Noah who approached Ava as he had fallen in love with her at the very first sight. The deal was kept hidden from her for her happiness. If I would have told her the truth things would have been better.”

At the end of the tale, Aunt Alicia’s eyes had unshed tears. But for some reason, I could not empathize with her. I didn’t believe a single word of her story except for the part where she mentioned Ava and Noah were in love.

Our company was facing losses, no doubt, but we were never close to bankruptcy. I hadn’t known if I wouldn’t have heard the head of the financial department of the company talking to his subordinate. They would always share details of the company finances at the corner table of our cafeteria. Luckily, Mia and my favourite seat were near the one they used to sit on daily.

“But why can’t you postpone the marriage?”

“Because I don’t want the world to think that Parkers don't care for values and take weddings as a joke. I don’t want the company to suffer anymore otherwise our employees would suffer as well.”

"What about when Ava would be back?" To be au courant of the clear intention of her I had to bring up the question involving Ava.

"I am not asking you to be her permanent replacement. You have to be a Miller just for a year. After that, I would break your marriage. My daughter's place would always be beside Noah. No one can ever take her place." Toxin dripped from the noxious voice of hers. The frown on my face disappeared. My face turned visibly blanched.

I was left aghast at the wicked self of not my aunt but Ava's mother. For the first time in my existence, I was able to witness Alicia's real self.

"You would save the family's empire, right? The same family who raised you, fed you, and gave you a lavish lifestyle even when you deserved nothing but a prison." A faint smile lingered on her face but the venom-laced words that were directed towards me left me agonized. The only person whom I used to presume was the one who cares for me a bit was wearing a facade all those years.

She pressed my already held hands and said, "Truth is always bitter, Olivia. We took you in when you were nothing and now you are raised as a Parker. You will have to oblige."

No was my answer. I was determined on what I had to choose. I wasn’t ready to sell myself for someone who hated me to the core, who never acknowledged me as her sister. I freed my hands from her grip and wiped my tears off my face.

“I am sorry….” I shook my head, letting her know my decision that I took for myself.

“I am sorry, but….” I was cut off in mid as she said something already prepared for me, “Mike, your best friend proposed to you six months ago, right? What do you think would have happened if I would have told this to his father?”

My face went pale. His father was a demon and Mike hated him. I would bear any consequences but I could never let anything bad happen to my friends.

“And Mia? Mia wants to leave the job and become a dancer, doesn’t she? How do you think her family will react when I will tell them about her daughter’s wish?”

She blinked her tears and smiled cynically. If Satan existed on earth I was confident it would look like Alicia.

“Think about it, Olivia. I am sure you love your friends just like I love my daughter.”

That’s it. I was doomed. I didn’t have anything more left to say.

“It’s a matter of only a year, Olivia. Just a year. You can do it.” She tried to encourage me. I was about to be sold for a year and I didn’t have any say in it.

"Can I meet Noah once? Please." She was appalled at my request but later on nodded. Maybe because she wanted to fulfill my last wish before I got sacrificed.

"Sure, but don't you dare tell him you aren't Jack and Oriana's daughter. I know you won't disappoint this aunt of yours" She got up, pecked my forehead before she left the room.

Once more I was going to sacrifice my dreams, my life, everything for the Parkers. Previously the sacrifice used to be less important but the offering I was about to give for Ava was huge.

I didn't cry. I was tired of doing that. The only thing I did was take a vow, a vow that it would be the last favour from my side to the Parkers. My plan for running away was still intact. But before that, I had to be cognizant of what kind of a human I was going to deal with for the next three months. Three months because I was planning to flee after that, the plan of which only Lia, my assistant, and I knew the truth.

The shock that Alicia gave me had abstained me from moving. With support, I was able to move my previously paralyzed body. I walked to the open balcony. The cold breeze erupted the goosebumps on my skin. My eyes wandered to the city of Amsterdam I was witnessing for the last time. The city of sins where I was born, disowned, and then handed over to the Parkers to be their slave.

After staying there for a few minutes, I felt as if I was being eyed. The eerie feeling kept on increasing. I tried to check whether it was just a feeling or my instincts were right. But before I could conclude anything I was called by Alicia.

She informed me she had asked Millers and they didn't have any problem with the settlement. Moreover, I was ordered to keep my mouth shut about the one-year deal.

Millers was only mindful of the half-truth. According to them, Ava was kidn*pped and I was to be the bride, lifetime bride for Noah. But the truth was inconspicuous to them.

They were asked to keep things secret and to their knowledge, Ava was being searched by the cops. And Noah who was in love with Ava agreed to get married to me.

The question that crossed my mind was, ‘Why?’

The story Alicia narrated to me was too good to be true. It had a lot of plot holes. Innumerous questions were wandering in my mind.

'Why would Parkers agree to the settlement?'

'How could they be insensitive to their future daughter-in-law getting abducted?'

'How could Noah Miller agree to marry me without even meeting me for once?'

‘Why was Noah normal and quiet about Ava running away when he was deeply in love with her?’

The answers to those enigmatic questions were very much needed by me to gather knowledge whether the Millers were the same as Parkers or worse than that.