Chapter 9

Whitney's POV

During the past month I noticed my parents,especially my dad had lost that glow on his face. I could only wonder 🤔 what was going on. Afterall,I was sacked from the Vista Grande empire without any tangible reason. I was still thinking of ways to pay him back because what he did wasn't fair! It was later in the evening when my dad called both my mom and I to his study room for a discussion that he dropped the bombshell of him going to jail if he doesn't come up with a huge amount his friend borrowed,and used him as a guarantor. I was angry 😠 😡 that something like this was going on and he never told me about it. I told him to use the money from the billion dollar 💵 contract to pay for the loan. But he told me the company lost that contract and that the company was not stable. Gosh! this man would be the death of me. Was he telling me this now? I was so angry 😡 but now wasn't the time to be angry. I needed to find a solution. My family and I searched for a solution but all to no avail. I decided to work in my family's company as a marketing director there and then. It was so welcoming to work there. I stabilised the company with the mindset of pooling resources to pay for the loan. I reached home later in the day and was called to my dad's study once again. Now I've come to the realisation that anytime am called here it isn't for a good cause.

I entered and found my parents seated discussing something.'Whitney come and sit', my father ushered me to a seat 🛋 ' We have found a solution', my mother said. I was so happy I couldn't contain my joy. Finally the burden had been lifted off my shoulders and the family's liveliness would return. But I stopped when I noticed their grim expressions, I realized there was more to the solution. 'What is the solution about?', I asked gently. 'The money would only be paid if your hand is given to the heir of the Vista Grande empire.....', my dad was saying. Tell me is not who I was thinking it was, Who was i kidding? 'Karris Grande',my father added the name I was dreading to hear. Was this a joke? Was the heavens playing a prank on me? Haven't I suffered enough?

Have you ever felt like a prey being cornered by a predator? Well, that's how I felt when I was told of this marriage of convenience between Karris and I. Like,how can I be having a fiancé without my knowledge and that too to my archenemy? I felt so much anger 😡 I could blow up a skyscraper. I felt the ground slipping from under my feet and I felt myself falling slowly ,then darkness...

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I woke up and felt this heaviness in my whole body. What's going on? Why am I feeling this way? Where am I? I looked around and realized I was in a hospital 🏥 with a drip attached to my arm. How did I end up here? Ooooooooww! The memories came rushing back to me. It was because of that jerk I ended up here. It didn't take long for my hospital ward to open. My mum entered looking lesser than the classic woman I had known her for. My eyes 👀 kept darting to the door 🚪 expecting my dad to also enter but he never came. Mpmh!maybe he was busy. I turned my attention back ro my mother. Her eyes were bloodshot, it looked like she hadn't slept well for days. But then it can't be possible,right?I mean I've been here for at most two days. I asked my mom how she was faring. But she didn't answer, it felt like her mind was not here with me. She looked so worried 😟 and panicked. I began to also wonder what was wrong with her. Is everything alright? I began to feel panicky myself. Was dad alright?I touched her and she flinched, a sign that her mind wasn't here. She came back to her senses and looked at me. She asked if I was okay because I had been asleep 😴 for four days . Did this issue have that much effect on me? I fainted because of that jerk and that too for four days? That wasn't even the worst. She hesitated but I encouraged her to say whatever she wanted to. And she said my dad was arrested yesterday and he was in jail as we were speaking. Was it too late to think of a solution now 🤔? This would tarnish his reputation and that of the company's. I had no choice but to tell my mom to bring in Mr. Grande. At this point my hands were tied, I had no other alternative but to accept the proposal, even though I hated it.