Chapter 3 The Encounter

• ELORA’S POV
• Elora flew out of Peter's office with lightning speed, and she couldn't seem to control the tears that were falling from her eyes. The staff around the company regarded her with weird looks as she dashed towards the elevator, wanting nothing more but to get the hell out of this place and find somewhere quiet where she could think!
• So many things were running through her mind as she walked quickly towards the elevator. She thought about running away. What if she just disappeared and started a new life somewhere? She quickly shook away the thought. It would take Peter Emmerson literally two seconds to find out where she was hiding, and even if she succeeded in running away, it would hurt granny too much. She had taken care of Elora all her life, she had loved her when she didn't have anyone else. Running away and abandoning her granny would be evil.
• Someone walked out of the elevator at the exact moment when she reached it. She slammed her face into a hard chest that threatened to launch her backwards and push her to the floor, but strong hands wrapped around her waist before her ass could meet the cold tiles. She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision as tears continued to flow down her eyes uncontrollably. She was so embarrassed that she was sure she had turned tomato red.
• "I- I'm so sorry, Sir," She said quickly, removing herself from his hold and taking a step away from him. She wiped at her eyes aggressively because she couldn't freaking see anything. When the face of the man she just bumped into came into view, her mouth hung open, almost touching the floor.
• Could this day get any worse?
• Zade Dominic stood in front of her, the billionaire her stepsister Hazel was supposed to be married to, and she just shoved her tear-stained face into his chest. His chest that she was pretty sure was made of rock!
• "You're Peter's daughter," He stated as a matter of fact, shoving his hands into the pocket of his suit and bringing out a cream white handkerchief. He pushed his hand forwards, and it took Elora a few seconds to realize that he was offering it to her. She grabbed the small cloth and brought it to her face, wiping away the tears. It smelled of lavender and fresh rain.
• "I'm not his daughter," She said, her voice coming out weaker than she would have liked. She was sure she looked pathetic and unprofessional right now, crying in front of the man who was supposed to be her brother-in-law. But then, she was supposed to marry his father, so that would make him her stepson too. This was all so messed up.
• "I'm just a bastard," She said, not waiting for him to say anything else. She walked past him and into the elevator, her mind attacking her with the only solution she had to the dilemma she was currently in. The only way she could protect her parents and herself from Peter's wrath was if she did what he asked and married Ambrose Dominic, Zade's father.
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• ZADE’S POV
• It's not every day one bumps into crying women, especially not here at Emmersons Co. Zade remembered the face of the girl who had just bumped into him quite perfectly. He had seen her a few times on some of his meetings with the Emmersons. She was Peter Emmerson's adoptive daughter.
• He did not know why she was crying, but he was pretty sure it had something to do with his father. Zade was to be married to Hazel Emmerson, Peter's biological daughter, and he did not particularly care about it. In the world he lived in, families merged through contract marriages all the time, and he did not necessarily have to love the girl.
• According to his father, he just needed a wife with whom he could have children, to ensure the longevity of their bloodline. What he did not understand was why his father wanted to take Peter's adoptive daughter, Elora Emmerson, as a wife, but then his father had always been somewhat of a creep.
• It was pretty clear from what he had just seen that the girl would rather die than marry an old man like his father, but he doubted there was anything she could do about it where Peter was concerned.
• He walked into Peter's office with a serious look on his face. The man reminded him too much of his father - power hungry and greedy. He could not stand him or his father, but now that he would be marrying his daughter, he would be seeing his face more frequently than he would like.
• "Ah Zade. You're here. Please take a seat. We have much to talk about," The old man said with a proud smile on his face. Zade fought the urge to roll his eyes as he gave him a cold look.
• "My father is growing impatient. He's not sure you will deliver your end of the bargain, and he doesn't want to waste any more time. He thinks announcing a marriage between our two families will be good for business since it will be the talk of the nation. There will be new investors, new opportunities. However, all that will only be possible if he gets what he wants."
• Peter shook his head with an arrogant smile. "Tell your father he has nothing to worry about. I am a man of my word. He will have Elora."
• The words coming out of his mouth almost made Zade sick. Maybe it was due to the fact that he had just seen the girl run out of his office with tears running down her cheeks. He was not even sure why he cared. She was not his problem.
• Peter had a confident look on his face. It was normal for business people like Peter and his father to get what they wanted by threatening others. Zade would not be surprised if the reason Elora was crying was because Peter had threatened her. He furrowed his brows and discarded all thoughts about her. He had to repeat over and over to himself that Elora Emmerson was not his problem. He did not even know her.
• He leaned back into his seat and focused on the man in front of him. For the rest of the day, they talked about business and money, and Zade was so bored that he could jump off a cliff. weddings