5
1499 Words
"Hello, Madam. This is Jeff Brody calling. I am Damian Tucker's assistant," Jeff said, sitting on a couch in the exquisite living room of Damian's mansion.
"Yes... how may I help you?" Lady Jennifer asked nervously, her heart rate skyrocketing.
"Calm down, Madam. My boss is trying to make his payment easier and to propose an alternative solution," Jeff said, paying attention to the call.
"Alternative proposals like what?" Lady Jennifer asked.
"A contract marriage with one of your two daughters, in exchange for the debt your husband owes us," Jeff responded.
"What?! Which of my daughters? Or should I present any of them to you?" Lady Jennifer asked. Meanwhile, Alicia and Samantha looked at their mother in shock, wondering what her conversation with Damian's men was about.
"Calm down, Madam. My boss wants your younger daughter, Alicia Dawson. Kindly inform her to be available for pickup tomorrow. I will come around to take her," Jeff concluded, and Lady Jennifer was stunned.
"Alicia?" She repeated, as if she had heard wrong.
"Yes. My boss is interested in her. If she accepts his offer, you won't need to pay your husband's debt."
"Wait... You mean Alicia, or Samantha? Samantha even offered to become Damian's woman now, but I don't know if your boss would accept that in exchange for the debt my husband owes him."
"Listen carefully, Madam. I have other work to attend to tonight. Kindly inform your daughter, Alicia Dawson, to prepare herself. Unless you have the 10 million dollars to pay the debt. Otherwise, she should be ready to meet my boss tomorrow. Take care, Madam. Goodnight." The call ended, and Lady Jennifer stared into space.
"What just happened, Mom? What did Damian's men say?" Samantha asked, standing in front of her mother.
Lady Jennifer was still seated on the black couch in the living room, looking at her children. Caden, Samantha, and Alicia were all looking at her worriedly.
"Mom, what did Damian's men say to you?" Alicia finally asked, her heart beating loudly, especially after her mother mentioned her name.
Lady Jennifer took a deep breath and told Alicia, "Damian wants you."
"What? No, Mom. I cannot have anything to do with him. Didn't you tell them that I am in a serious relationship?" Alicia quickly refuted, and her mother sighed.
"I tried to explain to the man, but he cut me off and said that you should make yourself available by tomorrow morning. He will be here to pick you up," Lady Jennifer replied, looking at her youngest child worriedly.
"Mom, I cannot have anything to do with that monster. You should call them right now and tell them I am not interested," Alicia snapped.
"Alicia, calm down," Lady Jennifer tried to speak, but Alicia yelled, "No one should tell me to calm down. I told you to accept Jonathan's offer to help us, but you refused. You refused because of a mafia boss. Mom, I will not accept anything from Damian, not even for a night stand with him. Excuse me."
Alicia walked away from the living room, heading upstairs. Her mother stood up from the couch and called her back, "Come back here, Alicia. I am not done talking to you, and don't you dare walk out on me."
Alicia paused by the stairs and sighed. Her fists clenched, and her fingernails dug into her palms.
"So you think I want to have anything to do with Damian. But you should think about your father and the sacrifices he has made to give us a better life. This is just the least you can do to help him," Lady Jennifer said as she tried to walk to her youngest child.
"No way, Mom. I will not do it. I will rather wait until Jonathan raises the money," Alicia replied, not caring to look back at her mother. Tears fell from her eyes.
"I will never trade my body to a beast in exchange for Dad's freedom. Excuse me," Alicia went upstairs, not waiting to hear her mother out again.
"Why me?" Alicia asked herself as she entered her bedroom and slammed the door shut. "Why must Damian choose me? That ruthless man?!" Alicia cried aloud, and her mother and siblings could hear her agonizing sobs.
"Alicia, open this door!" Lady Jennifer pounded on the door of her youngest daughter's room, but Alicia refused to open it.
"Go away, Mom. You don't care about me, my happiness, or what I want. You only care about my father, so leave me alone," Alicia cried, and her mother sighed.
"Alicia, open up. I can go with you tomorrow to see Damian, and maybe offer myself to him," Samantha said. She thought about the good life she would have as Damian Tucker's woman. Damian's name alone was law, and most of the elite feared him. Samantha also wanted to climb the ladder of wealth and power, and Damian Tucker was the right tool to help her achieve her goals.
"All of you should leave me alone. I don't want to see any of you tonight, and I am not going to see that beast tomorrow either. Stay away from me!" Alicia went to her bed, crying. She thought about informing Jonathan, but she knew he wouldn't agree.
'A contract marriage with my boss,' Alicia recalled what the caller had said to her mother. 'My boss wants your daughter, Alicia. Not Samantha.'
Alicia remembered how Damian had looked at her when he arrived to take her father away. His deep blue eyes had held hers, locking with hers. She quickly looked away, trembling as she clutched her mother's arm, fearing she might be taken away.
"I cannot marry Damian. Never, and I am not going to see him tomorrow either," Alicia affirmed on her bed. Her phone rang, but she thought it was her mother calling and made no attempt to answer.
Alicia stepped down from her bed and went to the bathroom for a quick bath to relax her tense mood. She had a clinic duty the following morning and didn't want to appear at work with a swollen face. She hurried with her bath and finally came out of the bathroom.
Alicia stepped into her bedroom and heard her phone ringing again. She went to the drawer to pick it up and switch it off. Her heart raced when she saw seven missed calls from Jonathan.
"Oh my god! John might think I am avoiding him!" Alicia immediately called Jonathan back, assuming her mother or sister had been calling her earlier.
"Hello, babe," she said, nervously on the call.
"Babe, I called your number, and you weren't answering," Jonathan said, sighing. He was at home in his new house, and Alicia apologized to him in a soft tone. "I am so sorry."
"What happened, babe? Why is your voice so sad? Is it because of your father's debt? I promise you that I will try to raise the money to pay that bastard. Please, trust me and don't hurt yourself," Jonathan said with concern and honesty.
"I know, just that..." Alicia's voice trailed off as she didn't know whether to tell Jonathan the truth.
"What's wrong, babe?" He asked, and she hesitated to explain the problem.
"It's nothing. I will come and see you tomorrow after work," Alicia said, still finding it hard to explain the reason to him.
"It's alright. Have a sound sleep and goodnight," Jonathan told her, and she replied, "You too, my love. Goodnight."
The phone call ended, and Alicia sighed again. A knock on her bedroom door caught her attention, and she moved over to see who it was.
Pulling open her bedroom door, Alicia came face to face with her mother.
"Mom, what do you want?" Her expression was stern as she asked her mother.
"Alicia, I know you're angry with the new development. But Damian promised to let us go and not hurt your father if you agree to marry him," Lady Jennifer told her, but Alicia shook her head in rejection.
"No, Mom. I cannot do that. I have a boyfriend," she said, shaking her head firmly.
"Then you break up with him," Lady Jennifer replied, standing by her daughter's room door.
"What? Mom, how can you tell me to do that? Did you ever love someone before, or was that how you broke up with your ex-boyfriend and got married to my Dad?" Alicia's question made her mother's expression stern.
"Alicia, don't speak to me in such an insolent manner. You have no idea what I went through to give you and your siblings a better life. This is just a simple sacrifice from you, and you're beating around the bush," Lady Jennifer retorted.
"No, Mom. I cannot just agree to this tonight. Goodnight." Alicia went back into her bedroom and closed the door on her mother's face.
Lady Jennifer sighed and decided to give her younger daughter time to think about it for the night.
- Writer
