Chapter 8 PARTY III

     "Excuse me all, can I have your attention?" Everyone turned in his direction. "I want to thank you all for attending this party today and welcoming my family and me back to the country."

        Everyone applauded.

       "I have an important announcement to make. My grandson, Ethan Grayson is getting married to a family friend, Mr. Antonio Welsh's daughter, Eleanor Welsh, and their engagement party is in a month."

    Applauds filled the room, as everyone stared in the direction of the engaged couple. The shock was written on some of the guest's faces, while others were excited; they knew Ethan was going to get married sooner or later.

   El was confused and the expression was written all over her face, as she stared in the direction of her father. 'What the fuck?' She screamed in her head as many questions ran through her mind. She gave him an 'I need an explanation look' and walked out of the hall, and he followed her.

      As she walked into the hallway, she hoped nothing she heard from Griffin was true. 'It had to be a lie' she told herself countless times to convince her self-doubt. She stopped walking when she got to the middle of the hallway and turned around to look at her father behind her.

   "Tell me what he said back there isn't true, tell me it's a lie, a big misunderstanding. It has to be a misunderstanding. I am not getting married to Ethan Grayson, am I?"

     He didn't say a word but stood there staring at her.

   "Answer me, dad" tears started welling in her eyes.

       "I'm sorry honey."

      Her whole body weakened. 

   "So you're telling me that I'm getting married to Ethan Grayson, is that it? Is this a joke? Is marriage a joke to you?"

      She placed her right hand on her forehead and moved her thumb and middle finger which were placed on the sides of her forehead in circles, massaging them.

   "It's no joke Anor, I couldn't let everything I worked for years to accomplish get destroyed. I'm sorry"

   "Well, I'm sorry too because I will not get married to Ethan Grayson and there's nothing you'll do that will change my decision. I can't trade my happiness for your selfish desires." She said sternly.

   "It's not like you have a choice. You already signed a contract."

       She was confused. What contract was he talking about? She doesn't remember signing any.

   "Did you read the contract Adrian gave to you a week ago about partnering up with him at his restaurant?" He asked as he saw her confused look.

        She didn't. That was because Adrian read those to her, while she lay on his legs on the couch of her room. She couldn't believe it. Adrian knew about everything happening here, not only did he know, he was an accomplice to it.

        He was the only person she trusted in the world, and he betrayed her by joining her father to sell her off to the Graysons. Tears rolled down her cheek. She had never felt this betrayed in her life.

   "So, this was the reason for the lunch earlier today." She smiled bitterly. She should have figured it out. Her father had never called or texted her since she moved out of their house, even when he was in the country, and all of a sudden he wanted to see her today.

      She was so dumb to believe all his acts earlier today. She had known her father from when she was twelve. He wasn't the kind of person to do things without personal interests.

   "Anor dear..."

   "Don't" she cut him off "don't call me that ever again. I never want to hear those words from your mouth ever again." She couldn't take it anymore. Everything felt like a dream, a nightmare that she wished she could wake up from.

       'Air!' Her mind screamed at her. She needed air. She walked out of the hallway with tears in her eyes, leaving her father behind, and got to a garden in the mansion. How she got there was unknown to her, and she didn't care. All she wanted at that point was air. She felt like dying, as many emotions filled her; anger, betrayal, sadness, pain, they came all at once.

       She still couldn't believe her father will sell her off, and what hurt her the most, was that her best friend was an accomplice to his devious act. She let herself go, and all the tears she had been holding in rolled down her cheeks. She sat on the floor in the garden and cried her heart out. Whenever she tried to stop herself from crying, the whole memory of tonight will flash in her head and she will start crying all over again.

      After crying for a while, El decided to stop crying and go back home. She dried the trails of tears from her face with the back of her hand and stood up from the floor, dusting the part of her body she sat on the floor with her palm. Confused about the way she came into the garden, she decided to take the hallway by her right.

      Four men in black suits approached her as she walked through the hallway. One in front, and the others behind him.

   "Miss Welsh, we need you to come with us" the one in front spoke.

   "Why if I may ask?" El was confused.

   "Mr. Grayson wants to have a word with you."

   "And if I refuse to go with you?"

   "Then I'm sorry, but we will have to use any means possible to bring you to him. Boss's order."