Her Disabled Heir

We were being eaten alive and the bald bastard in front of me reveled in our demise. “Please, let me in, so I can see my mother. She’s old and sick. She needs her medication. Would you really want the death of an old woman on your hands?” I pleaded for the umpteenth time. My tongue was parched from how long I had stood outside begging and my fragile heavy eyes held unshed tears. The last thing I wanted to do was to have this bastard see me cry, but as time passed, I wasn’t sure that I would be able to keep up the pretense. The bald man hardly looked at me as he went through his mobile device like the tiny thing in his hand held one of the most precious treasures in the damn world! I was vexed, annoyed, and helpless. Very much helpless. “Your mother should have known that before she tried to steal from Mr. Williams. If anything, the boss is only handing out a kind punishment,” he replied, uninterested. It wasn’t long before the tears began to fall. It would be a lie if I said that I didn’t know about my mother’s stealing tendencies, but this had to be the worst of all punishments she had received. She had messed with one of the most powerful men in town, and I was afraid that this time I wouldn't be able to help her. The man took a glance at me, eyeing me carefully before releasing a long, stretched-out sigh. “If my boss discovers that I let the daughter of a thief in here, he will kill me,” he explained in a defeated voice. “I won’t let him know I received any help,” I replied, trying to convince him. Shaking his head, the man turned towards the tall silver-coated gate and typed in a passcode. “It’s your funeral, miss.” Immediately, I wiped my tears off and sang songs of praise towards him, in an attempt to express my gratitude in the best way I possibly could. However, the man gave no response and only acted like I had become invisible. But, none of that mattered. Nothing mattered except my mother. Drawing in a deep breath, I prepared myself for the worst and entered the Williams mansion. An air of dread ran through me, making me shiver when I heard the gate shut behind me. My first intuition was to run out and prepare a better plan, a wiser plan, but I had already commenced with this one, and I knew that my mother needed me. So, I put on my big girl pants and kept walking forward, fully aware of the fact that this one event could mark my end as well. Much to my surprise, the front door was left open. Maybe it was a sign from God that everything was going to work out or maybe this signified an entry into hell orchestrated by the devil himself. I chose to go with the former. Going in, the grandeur and luxury of the mansion was what first shook me. In an instant, I felt small. Minute. Intimidated. Pushing those feelings to the back of my head, I focused on the task at hand. “Mr. Williams,” I called out at first. My voice only seemed to bounce back in this wide and empty space. How else was I supposed to get a multi-billionaire’s attention, I thought to myself. At the moment when I needed my creative juices to flow the best, I got nothing. My brain was completely blank. I swallowed and then drew in another breath. “Mr. Williams, I know you have my mother!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. What better way was there to attract a man’s attention than by screaming at the top of your lungs? Still, I got nothing. Not even a warning from a bodyguard or a maid or a damn housekeeper. Looking around the huge mansion, I decided that I would have to do a lot better. So, I ran to each corner of the entrance hall and screamed Mr. Williams’ name, begging, pleading, and ordering him to meet me all at once. “Mr. Williams, face me like a damn man!” was the last order, or dare I call it, restructured plea I gave before someone held me roughly by the arm. Tilting my head upward, I saw that it was a man, and from the way he dressed so formally, I could openly guess that it was one of Mr. Williams' men. “I want to meet your boss,” I told him openly with every bit of defiance in my eyes. He scoffed. “Looks like you’ll finally be granted your wish.” Without waiting for my response, the man threw me over his shoulder, and regardless of all the protests I made, he took me up the stairs and granted me my request. After a long and uncomfortable trip, the man set me down and we both stood in front of a brown wooden door. The man knocked exactly three times and when we heard a loud “come in”, he opened the door. Inside, the madman sat comfortably at his desk with all his attention engrossed in the papers before him. The man who had carried me here cleared his throat. “Boss, I brought the thief’s daughter.” A sharp pain shot at my heart and as much as I would have loved to jump at my and my mother’s defense, I knew that I had nothing to defend. Mr. William gently raised his head and, suddenly, I felt as though my feet were glued to the ground. The man had the most enchanting shade of blue eyes I had ever seen, and they were placed on a face I was sure was specially sculpted by a Greek god himself. The saliva in my mouth dried up and, suddenly, I felt the need to drink some water. “You have a striking resemblance to your mother,” was the first thing he said, and in a case such as this one, I didn’t know if I was to say thank you, or be worried. However, the bodyguard beside me didn’t even allow me to speak. The man dragged me into what I assumed was Mr. Williams's study and shut the door behind us. Not wanting to waste any more time, I began to beg. “Please Sir, could you consider freeing my mother? She’s old and sick. She hasn’t had any of her medication in the last twenty-four hours, and I’m sure that you don’t want the death of a poor woman on your hands.” He dropped the papers in his hands. “She should have thought about that before she stole from me.” I rushed forward until I was directly in front of his table. “And tell me, Sir, is that really worth trapping her in this very house to use as your personal slave until the police come to take her and lock her up in jail for the rest of her life?” Mr. Williams shook his head. “She stole something really precious to me.” I felt like I was running mad. If Father could see any of this, he would be rolling in his grave. Frustrated, I reached up and began to remove my necklace. The moment it came off, I held it in his face. “Is this what you mean? Well, here you can have it back.” Placing the necklace in his hands, I waited for his response and when he gave none, I continued. “Can you let my mother go now? I'm sure you were waiting to get this back. So please, let her go.” The man still had his eyes glued to the necklace, and it appeared that, in the same way his eyes had enchanted me earlier, the necklace was doing the same to him. “No,” he finally said. “No?” I asked, shocked by his reply. He put the necklace down and stared at me, holding me in place with his icy gaze. “If I must let one prisoner go, then there must be someone willing to replace the old one.” I knew exactly where this was going and the air of dread I felt earlier hit me like a bag of rocks. A cold and piercing silence enveloped us both. It was me or my mother and as much as I loved my mother, sacrificing myself was something I had never imagined doing. “Well, I guess I should have my men take your mother away immediately. I don't think you like my offer,” he said, picking up his phone. Fear crippled me and all my thoughts got jumbled into one big mess. “No, I accept,” I replied in a small voice that I did not recognize. His gaze remained on me and the intensity seemed to double by the minute. “You are now bound to me, do you understand what this means?” The question ran out of his mouth and as scary as it sounded, I nodded yes. “Like I said earlier, I accept,” I answered, monotonously. If selling myself off to a cold man meant my mother could be free, then I would accept a million times and more. “You can never leave my side,” he continued. Again, I nodded yes. “I don’t plan on ever doing so.” “Good, we will be married by noon and then, your mother will be free to leave.” Every emotion I felt swarming inside of me dulled and suddenly all I could feel was a cold and consuming numbness.