Chapter 8

I had not gone back to see dad after I walked out due to anger. I made sure Agnes, the maid in charge of dad, gave me updates about his health though. Even though I was angry, I was still scared of anything happening while I wasn’t there.

I was currently laying in my bed where I had been since I walked out of my father’s room. I was starving because I was too angry to eat anything yesterday and now I was suffering as a result of my poor decisions.

The movie I was currently watching suddenly seemed uninteresting as I remembered that I would be married to a man I had never seen. I tossed my phone to the side and rolled on my back so I could face the ceiling.

Marriage may not be one of the things that I had sorted out but it still didn’t mean I wanted to just marry anyone. In fact, I was considering being single for the rest of my life and just adopting a kid or two so I won't end up alone and sad but now that option was out the door.

I had spent all night searching for everything I could find about the man who would become my husband. One thing I couldn’t deny was that the man was all shades and handsome. He was not a very public person but the pictures and videos of him I saw had me in awe but it still wasn’t enough to make me suddenly want to marry him.

The media paints him as a business guru, conquering every sector of the business world he enters. He was a formidable partner and the worst enemy you want to make. I even saw some articles that claimed he may be involved with the mafia but they were just based on speculations so I couldn’t hold it against him but I hope he wasn’t involved with crimes.

I know that I may end up miserable because there were also some articles on him with different women and one said he may be engaged. If he accepted dad’s offer but already had a woman, I would be a mistress with a wife title and I wasn’t sure my pride would allow me to stay as such.

If the wedding happens, I am not expecting to be worshiped all of a sudden. I know it would be difficult but at the same time, I pray that I would not be treated badly because in as much as my would be husband was a billionaire, I was also the daughter of a billionaire and I would not allow myself to be treated as anything lesser

I was scared. Scared that I may be treated like trash by him and the people around him and I would not be able to do anything about it. Scared of how I would live my life as an orphan. I would be alone without anyone to turn to for help or advice. I was beginning to regret my decision to live my life without friends because I was about to be really lonely.

I let out a sigh for the hundredth time in less than ten minutes. Thinking about the whole thing was pretty exhausting to me. I wonder when i’ll get to meet him, that is if i am even going to get to do that.

There was a knock on the door and it startled me out of my thoughts.

“Come in” I told whoever was at the door. It was not surprising when everyone let me be after the incident with dad. I’m certain Duke must have told everyone to leave me be.

I was surprised to see Duke and I couldn't help but sit up in worry. With dad’s condition, Duke's presence could either mean bad or good news and I hoped it was for the latter.

“I think you have sulked enough Miss Hazel” Sulked. That was what he was going to address me worrying over getting married to a stranger. He just went from my second most liked person to the last of my nonexistent list.

“Really, Duke? Sulking? So you expect me to just happily accept the fact that dad is going to marry me off to a stranger just because he is worried?” I couldn’t believe my ears. Duke was someone who practically raised me along with dad so I was hoping he would be the one to understand me the most but it seems I was wrong.

“You are getting it all wrong. You have to see things from his point of view. If you…”

“Don’t try explaining it to me because I won't ever see it from his perspective. I already agreed to do it. Isn’t that more important than my choice or happiness?” I cast my eyes away from him and looked up to blink away the tears that were threatening to fall. I hated that I was crying a lot lately. This was not me. I could not be this gullible. How was I supposed to convince anyone that I could take care of myself if I bawled my eyes out at every single moment or every word uttered to me?

“I understand how you feel but you may thank your dad for this” I didn't even bother to reply to him anymore because I already told him not to try to make me understand things from my dad’s point of view because I would not do it. When he saw I was not going to say anything, he continued

“You should go see your dad before Atticus arrives. He has not been able to sleep properly because he is worried and he is not happy that you are angry with him. Please go to him and assure him you are fine so he can rest properly. You better than anyone should know better than to let him worry in his state” I know a warning when I hear one and I was also aware that Duke would not mind getting some of the guards to haul me to dad’s room if he thought it would make him better.

“I would go see him later before….. Did you just say Atticus was coming over?”

“Yes I did. He would be arriving in the next four hours. He has to go over the documents again and sign them in front of your dad and his lawyers.” I became dizzy immediately. It was happening so fast. Dad was in obviously a hurry and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest when I thought about why he was in such a hurry. Seeing things in motion like this was a painful reminder that I had such little time with dad.

Suddenly all my anger washed away and I felt like a fool. I can’t believe I was so angry that I was not spending my dad's last moment with him. How bad could it be to get married just because dad said so? He had done so much for me and I was acting like a bitch just because of a little thing such as marriage? Sure marriage was a big deal but dad had done bigger things.

I threw my blankets at myself and rushed down the bed.

“Oh God, I've been such a fool. I should be with dad but I am here sulking like the spoiled brat I am” as I wore my flats and hurried past Duke, he grabbed my hand pulling me to a stop before I could dash out the door.

“Hold on, Miss Hazel, you are getting it wrong once again” He pulled me back and made me sit down back on my bed. He looked at me with those sad eyes again and I hated the pity that was swirling in them.

“Duke, why are you keeping me here? I have spent too much time away from dad. I should go” i made a move to stand up but he placed his hands on my shoulders and pushed me down again

“You need to pull yourself together. Your thoughts always run wild and you always act on impulse. You can’t keep acting like this especially if you are to be married to someone like him.”

“I don’t understand what you mean? I just realized my mistakes and I want to make them right as soon as I can. How is that acting irrational?”

“You are willing to take the blame for everything because you think it would avoid trouble but that won’t solve the problem. You have to know it’s okay to be angry at your dad for marrying you out but at the same time, you are a business man’s daughter so you should also think of the reason why you have to do it. Do you want your father’s company to go under?”

“Of course not. What kind of question is that?”

“Do you think you can properly manage the company because you studied business administration?” That question felt like a slap to me. It was like he was telling me I wasted four years of my life reading business administration. He seem to have figured out what i was thinking because he let out a grunt of frustration

“This is what I am talking about. You only hear what you want and you never really listen to what others say. That is a bad thing”

“I don ‘t know what you want me to hear from a clear question, Duke”

“I asked if you thought you would be able to handle the company just because you read business? It's a yes or no question. If you think you can, i will convince your father to cancel the marriage and hand over the company to you” it was embarrassing to be sat down and told you were foolish. Duke may be quoting it in sweet words but if you remove the icing, that was basically what he was saying

“No i would not be able to manage it”

“Now why do you think you would not be able to manage it?” I was about to snap at him once again but the warning look he gave me had me checking myself. Duke can sometimes manage to look really scary

“Because even though I read business administration, I know nothing about construction, which is what the company does. I could learn but this is not the time for anyone to start teaching me anything” it seemed as though i finally got something right because Duke smiled and the man rarely smiled but it's baffling that he had to smile at me admitting my defeat

“And why do you think this is not the time to start teaching you anything?”

“Since dad is sick, the board of directors and the shareholders would be going crazy about who the next ceo will be and no shareholder would trust their money with someone like me who knows nothing about the business which would make them pull out their money., as a result of this the company will crumble before i even get to exercise my poor management skills”

“You see that I am not trying to humiliate you or anything like that. I just want you to know that as much as you want to protect your father’s legacy, you cannot do that directly now but you can do that through Atticus.” i could finally see what he and dad were trying to get me to understand but hell would freeze over before I admit I was wrong.

“But it doesn’t mean i have to be happy about getting married”

“Yes it doesn’t mean you can’t be angry. Now get in between those sheets and get some sleep. I would not let you see your father in such a terrible state. It would make him worry more”

“What do you mean? I slept good”

“Are you really going to play that game with me?”

“Okay okay..i’ll sleep””duke made sure i was tucked in as if i was a baby before leaving my room. I felt a bit better but not completely. I had no choice but to do whatever to make sure the company is safe.