Tit for tat

"He has arranged a marriage partner for you, Irene!!!! Not a proposal but a direct marriage!!!!"

My phone slipped from my hand onto the ground, as I froze while staring into the emptiness.

________

I felt my patience slowly draining out. My jaw hurt as I greeted my teeth tightly.

"Irene! What's wrong with you?" My mind finally realized the existence of Noah beside me when he shook me while grabbing my arms. His face looked worried seeing my response.

"Ah! How caring," I thought as I clutched his wrists to remove them.

"That's enough! Better if you drop the act." He looked shocked at my sudden mood swing as I looked at him coldly.

"W-what're you saying? What happened?" I felt my hand getting held by his hand from behind. A sound of scoff slipped out of my lips as I rolled my eyes and turned towards him, slowly stepping forward.

"You acted well until now, but...You can't get back at the CEO by using me. So, fuck off."

Noah's eyes shuddered after hearing my whisper.

I started walking away and suddenly paused to look back, "Oh! And...Please inform the CEO that I won't be present for the rest of the day, Team leader."

I had enough of everyone using me for their own benefit. I needed to stop all of these, but the bad feeling inside of me wasn't going away. All the thoughts curled inside of me as I made my way inside my parents and saw my father sitting on the sofa, waiting for me to arrive.

"So? What kind of advantage did he offer you? The candidate for your daughter's husband that is." I said in my arrogant voice as I sat down in front of him.

"Irene! That's your father!" My mom's raised voice rang in my ear.

"I apologise for my rudeness, but was I wrong?" I saw my father blinking away. That meant it was really because of a deal.

"If you really want me to marry, why did you separate me from Ethan and my friends?" My heart throbbed, longing for an answer.

"You made me transfer, it was hard for me to adjust to life there. I was bullied. Did anyone reach out? Instead, everyone fought against each other at home. I had no place to shrink in. All you had was your company and position."

All of my thoughts popped out one by one. The frustration rushed inside of me.

"As if that wasn't enough, you threatened me to ruin his life if I didn't leave him. How low could you get?"

"You've become mature now. Why are you bringing these up now? The groom will come to pick you up tomorrow, and the official marriage will probably be within this week." Seeing him unaffected by the words I said, my blood boiled.

"Let her live her life, Dad. She's still supporting us in any way she can." I turned my head behind me and saw my sister speaking up for me.

"Is it not enough that I let you stay in this house after your husband ditched you? This is why I hate low lives. They're a disgrace to the family. Now look at yourself. This is the result of disobeying me." His brows narrowed, exposing his wrinkles to the light. My eyes widened as his words got to me.

"Ditch? What do you mean?" My head turned to my sister- who squeezed her lips, hiding her embarrassment. No wonder she was staying in this house continuously- I thought as I brushed my hand against my hair in despair, feeling a throb in my head.

I felt a tight tangle inside of my head as I stood up to leave, unable to think straight.

My mind kept getting blurry, ignoring their calls from behind as I made myself get inside my car.

My phone vibrated. I picked it up to see my father calling.

"I'll leave the city tomorrow. Please don't call me anymore."

_______

After spending a lamentable night, I woke up preparing myself to leave the city as I called Ethan.

"Yes, Ms Irene? Didn't expect you to reach out to me first."

His deep static voice sounded refreshing in my ear.

"Sir, I need to take some off days for one week. It's a bit urgent."

With hope, I made my request to him since I needed the job for a living.

"Hmm...Sure, why not. But I need your help with something. You can take as much as break you want after that." I ignored his suspicious tone because of my desperation.

"Yes, sir. What can I help you with?"

"I'll send you a GPS location after a while. So, follow the route, and you'll meet me there. I'll tell you what to do after we meet there."

"I understand!"

__________

All the roads and trees passed by at a flashing speed as I drove by to reach the main point as soon as possible. Some familiar tunnels and roads passed by until I reached the road to my parent's house. I pulled the brake to clear my confusion and called Ethan, "Sir, Are you sure you're not wrong about the location you sent me?"

"You're there? Then, turn your car by the left side, you'll notice my car."

My eyes caught sight of his car parked right near our main entrance, and my nerves splintered.

"What's he doing here?" I mumbled, closing the car door in a hurry and rushed inside.

"Ah! There she is. Irene, this is your fiancee- CEO of compass mortgege." My father, who was shaking hands with Ethan, didn't seem to know anything about who he was.

My lips curled into a smirk as I scoffed and turned my face away. "Is this why you brought me here?" I glared at Ethan and moved closer to my father to reveal his identity.

"Have any idea who this mighty CEO is? This is the junior lover of mine whom you separated from me ten years ago..."