Chapter 5

• ERICA'S POV
• “Erica," he said, still smiling.
• Swallowing the fear I had in me, I decided to know why I was here.
• "What do you want from me? Why am I here? How do you know my name?" I said. My voice sounded foreign in my ears as I tried to make it sound brave.
• I saw a ghost smile on the old man's face. He was trying to suppress his laugh.
• "How I knew your name is not important now. You are here because you owe me" he said smugly.
• "How? The last I checked, today was the first day I set my eyes on you" I said as confusion married my face.
• He laughed quietly.
• "Your father borrowed 100 million Dollars from me."
• My eyes almost popped out of it's place.
• "Yes your father's little wealth was thanks to me" he said as he sat on a chair I didn't know was there.
• I stared at him. I was hoping that he would tell me that it was a lie, but from the looks of things, it didn't Iook like the old man was going to do any of that. It rang in my head.
• “My father had borrowed money from the Mafia. How could he?”, wondered.
• So rather than dwell on the past or cry over spilled milk, I decided that I would make things better.
• "Okay. I have heard what you have to say. I'll work and will start paying you" I said.
• Well l got the shock of my life, when the old man bursted into fits of laughter. I looked down at my clothes and they weren't clown costumes nor did I recall pursuing a career in a stand up comedy. I let him have his laugh.
• "Oh Erica, forgive my outburst. I admire your courage in trying to make things right, but don't you think that is too late?" he asked.
• "Late?" I said.
• "Yes, late. Your father was meant to begin payment the year you were born, but suddenly he disappeared without a trace. I got to find out about his death a week ago and when I found out he had a daughter. I couldn't be any more glad" he said.
• I sighed deeply
• “Okay I know my father owes you, but I am not my father. I will do my best to pay back even to a single dollar"
• "You know I can wipe out the money" he said.
• "Really? That would be so kind of you sir" I said smiling broadly.
• "But you have to do one thing," he said.
• That was when my heart began to race.
• "And what would that be?" I asked.
• "You have to marry my son" he said.
• "What?!" that was the only word that made it out of my mouth.
• My heart stopped beating, but somehow I was breathing. It felt like I had just been handed my life sentence. For the next 30 seconds, I sat immobile, but the moment I got myself, I realized what the old man was asking of me. Marriage was no child's play.
• "Nah, I will not marry your son!. It can't happen! I can't just wake up one morning and marry your son. I mean, who still does arranged marriage in this era? Heck, I can't marry someone I just met not to talk of your son. He is literally a stranger." I ranted.
• This man must be high on something.
• He chuckled.
• "I am 80% sure that you would fall in love with my son"
• "No sir. That is not happening" I said boldly.
• "You know, you are bound by contract to Marry my son," he said.
• "What!?" I said.
• So he brought a paper. It was like a contract. He showed me the last clause which stated that failure to pay up the debt would have the debtor's daughter marry a relative of the creditor. I couldn't even doubt him because I could clearly see my father's complicated signature right under the clause.
• How could my father, my loving and ever Caring father put me in such a precarious situation.
• Right now my hands and legs were tied.
• "I mean if you don't want to marry my son and I decided to harvest”, he paused
• “Do you have good kidneys?". He took the horrified state of my face as an answer and continued talking.
• "If l decided to sell them.. your organs I mean.. it still won't fetch me all my money”, he said.
• "So the best thing to do is to marry my son" He finished.
• I didn't get the opportunity to answer him when his phone rang and he went off to answer it. By then all my body was shaking. How much bad news was I going to get in a day. Suddenly he came back.
• "l just got off the phone with my men. He said your grandpa had a heart attack. Though he is stable, he urgently needs a transplant. Now Erica, I can provide for him. I'll buy a donor and he will do the surgery. He will be good, but you have to say yes" he said, staring at me.
• As he mentioned my grandpa, my world came crumbling. If I don't say yes, I might have my only family to bury. I looked up at him. At that point I felt utterly helpless.
• "Erica, remember you don't have to worry about the debt, or the hospital bills for your grandpa. I will have that settled. All you need to do is marry my son and convince him to be the heir to my
• empire." He said.
• "How will I do that?" l asked.
• "Don't worry. Firstly, say yes to marrying my son" he said.
• I sighed deeply and squeezed my eyes shut. On opening them, a tear slipped from my eyes.
• "Okay. I'll do it" I said in a small voice.
• "Good, because the wedding is tomorrow at 9am. Don't be late" and with that he left the room.
• ***********Flashback off************