Chapter 4: An Unexpected proposal
1283 Words
Alex had gone to see his friends to discuss his decision. They all had a gathering at Caleb's house.
When he arrived, he was greeted at the door by his friends.
“Yoo, here comes the latest husband to be” Reeve said sarcastically, “so how does it feel getting out of this life of celibacy?”
“ You should get engaged too if you're so curious “ Caleb responded. “ Have a seat man.” He gestured.
Alex took a seat and, without wasting time, he said “I won't be getting married to Eleanor.”
Silence
“You what! "You know this thing has been planned since the very beginning?” Caleb asked, perplexed.
“Can you even say no to your grandpa because he's a badass. "He might cut you off..” Reeve couldn't complete his statement.
“ He can't, he knows without me the company will be doomed,” Alex said with confidence.
To be honest, I never liked Eleanor anyway. "She was too proud and often looked down on us”, Reeve admitted.
“I just want you to be happy but out of curiosity, what made you change your mind?” Caleb demanded.
Alex smiled. It was funny how he was risking everything he had for someone he didn't even know.
“It was the lady I spent that night with. Since that day, I can't seem to get her off my mind and the only information I have about her was her name”, Alex replied calmly.
He later received a call from the investigator. He had managed to find Lily's home address.
Alex looked happy when he heard that. He shared the information with his friends, and they went to the address.
Arriving at the house, they knocked but no one responded. Alex knocked for the second time when Aunt Margaret opened the door.
Alex saw a woman in her late 50s and assumed it was Lily's mother. He politely greeted her. “ Good afternoon Madam. I'm Alexander Wolf. I'm here to see your daughter, Lily Evans.”
Margaret knew this was the person that had taken her niece. He was the reason why the engagement she planned for her niece didn't push through. She knew a rich man like him would never take Lily as his wife. The best he could do was keep her as a mistress, and she wouldn't benefit anything from that relationship.
Reluctantly, she replied, “My daughter is not around. She traveled yesterday and won't be coming back.”
“May I ask where she traveled to ma'am?” Alex could see the reluctance in her eyes.
“I'm afraid I don't know where she is. She ran off. Maybe because she did something she wasn't proud of or I don't know. "I'm sorry sir, but you're too late”, Margaret said nonchalantly before slamming the door in his face.
Alex knew she wasn't honest about everything, but he had no choice but to leave with his friends.
Alex went straight to the office. He received a call from Eleanor.
“ Hello” he answered with a bored expression on his face.
“Yes honey, I just wanted to inform you that we have an interview with the press about our wedding,” she said sheepishly.
“I won't be attending”, Alex said flatly.
“Stop being stubborn Alex. You know our grandparents will be there, so you can't miss this. Goodbye honey, see you there”, Eleanor hung up.
The earlier he ends this engagement for good, the better it will be for him.
On the other side of the phone, Eleanor couldn't contain her joy. She had made sure that Lily was followed to ensure that she didn't change her mind. Everything was in place to secure her marriage.
….
Lily's eyelids fluttered open to find herself in the hospital. The light above made her wince in pain. She felt sore, and her entire body ached, but none of this compared to the pain she felt when she moved her hand to her stomach.
“Careful”, a deep voice echoed in the room.
Lily turned her head to see a tall man with broad shoulders sitting on a chair. He had ginger curly hair tied into a bun. He looked completely out of place in that plain hospital room, his stylish suit hinting wealth and influence.
“Who are you?” Lily's voice came as a whisper.
“I'm Antoine Cadeau and.” He paused, "the reason you're her.” He said with a crooked smile.
Lily tried to recall everything. The moment everything became blurry, the screeching sound.
“You hit me,” she murmured.
Antoine sighed, leaning forward.
“ It was an accident. You just popped out of nowhere. I didn't see you coming.”
Right, Lily wasn't really herself then. Everything was a mess in her head. Alexander, the marriage, her pregnancy.
Lily's breath caught “my baby.”
“Don't worry, the doctor said both of you are fine," Antoine reassured. “ If I may ask, where were you going?”
“Nowhere” Lily admitted. “ I don't have a home, nor anyone to go to.”
“What happened to the father of your child?” Antoine's gaze softened.
Lily burst out crying as she told him everything. All the emotions she had been bottling up came running out.
Antoine ran his hand through his hair. He had never heard something so touching before. He couldn't leave her here on her own. An idea suddenly crossed his mind.
He looked guilty when he said “I might have a crazy idea.”
“What did you mean?” Lily frowned, trying to get up.
“Well,” he studied Lily's expression carefully before saying,” I am a movie director… I make films, real stories not fiction and” he paused for a moment before saying “You Lily are a story.”
“Excuse me?” Lily frowned.
What I mean is, your story is so intriguing. You're pregnant, alone, abandoned by your family and the father of your child and yet you keep fighting. That is the type of movie people would die to watch.
“You want to turn my life into a movie?” Lily looked confused.
“Not just a movie but a documentary. Where you tell people about your challenges and how you overcome them. "Everything will be told from this moment till when you give birth”, Antoine said with admiration.
“ I want to take you to Paris, follow your story and give you a fresh start while you film it” he continued excitedly” I can already see it become the new big thing.”
There was a hint of doubt in Lily's eyes. “But you don't even know me.”
“I already know enough Lily. You are a strong woman fighting for her child. This will be an inspiration to a lot of women so what do you say?”
She gulped. A life in Paris, a fresh start with her baby. A chance to escape everything.
“What's the catch?” she knew these things never came easily.
“There is no catch, all I want is to know every detail of it.”
Was she ready to expose everything, the one-night stand, her baby with Alexander? Lily thought hard this was an unexpected proposal.
She had nowhere to go either way. This was probably the best option for her and her child.
She looked at Antoine skeptically before saying
“... When are we leaving?”
- Writer
