Chapter 2 2. Someone Who Can Help

Chapter 2:

A contract marriage.

The thought sparked quickly through his mind. It was a desperate measure, but desperate situations called for desperate action.

A contract marriage was therefore the action he had to take.

Turning to Harry, Bryan flashed a faint, cold grin. "What do you think about a contract marriage?"

Harry rubbed his chin.

"Sir, that would be a perfect idea. You can just pay a lady to act as your wife, and after you've gotten control of the company, you both can go your separate ways."

Bryan's eyes glinted with a dark, amused edge. He reached out and gave Harry a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"You and I are kind of linked together. We think in the same direction."

Harry's face turned to one of shock. Just when he thought Bryan had finally praised him, he heard him continue.

"It's just that I think faster than you."

All the pride that welled within Harry melted away like ice cream. He gave a nervous cough.

That's right, Bryan could never really praise anyone.

Ring, ring.

The sound of Harry's phone ringing broke the awkwardness in the air.

"Did you forget the company's rules?" Bryan asked coldly.

"No... no, I forgot to turn off the notification," Harry replied nervously. "I will do just that."

He continued as he took the phone out of his pants pocket.

"Sir..."

"What?"

"It's your uncle, Paul."

Bryan felt a familiar knot tighten in his gut. He furrowed his brows.

"Answer it," he said in a low voice.

Harry answered the call and put it on speaker, and a manly voice boomed out.

"Harry, tell your boss to get down to the meeting room as quickly as he can."

"What for...?" Harry asked, but the call was cut abruptly.

Harry may not have been able to detect the underlying excitement in Paul's voice, but Bryan did. He knew that Paul already knew about what his grandfather had told him, and that gave Paul the audacity to quickly summon him to the meeting room.

He needed to do something about this situation, and he needed to act fast.

"Let's go," Bryan finally said, standing up and walking out of the office.

Harry quickly picked up Bryan's iPad from the table and hurriedly followed him out.

. . . . . .

Meeting room.

The room was broad, filled with chairs and tables made of cedar wood. The interior decorations were appealing and didn't fail to depict opulence and wealth.

A group of men were talking in low voices. Some were old, while some were relatively young. These were the shareholders of Bell's Company.

Amongst the men were Bryan's uncles, Paul and Donald.

The sound of the door clicking open was enough to silence everyone who was talking. If it had been someone else, no one would have paid attention, but this was Bryan Bell, a man known for his coldness and ruthlessness.

Everyone sat upright as Bryan elegantly walked to his seat with Harry trailing after him.

Bryan gave the fellas a cold stare that sent shivers down their spines as he sat down. Seeing that stare, you would think the room had dropped ten degrees.

No one breathed.

Harry, still standing behind Bryan's chair like a loyal shadow, swallowed hard. He knew that look spelt trouble.

Bryan leaned forward slowly, his fingers interlaced on the cedar table. His voice was calm, dangerously calm.

"So," he said. "Why call an urgent meeting when the scheduled time of the meeting was 11:00 a.m.?"

The old and young fellas exchanged glances. Most of them didn't even know why they were there at that time. They had just received an urgent call from Paul and rushed down. Those who were oblivious turned to face Paul. After all, he was the one who called them.

Paul gritted his teeth and looked at them with disdain, as though they were all foolish and clueless.

"Well... Bryan," he started with a smug expression plastered across his face. "I got to know that Jake, my father, your grandfather, gave you four months to marry, or the shares go to the board."

"What!"

"Oh my God!"

"Mehn! Never expected that."

Whispers and stunned expressions erupted from the members of the board. A cold stare from Bryan was enough to silence them all. But this only deepened the smug expression on Paul's face.

"You know," Paul continued with mock sympathy. "Jake believes in a stable family man. He always says that if a man can have a stable family, then he can effortlessly handle the company's affairs. I know you won't be able to marry in four months' time, so I just want to ask, what are you going to do?" he asked with fake concern.

Bryan clenched his jaw. "What I'm going to do is none of your business."

"Oh, it is," Paul replied. "Because we, the shareholders, need to know what the future holds for us."

"Yes, Paul is right," Donald said. He was Bryan's uncle, the third son of Jake.

Bryan turned to face Donald. Unlike Paul, Donald was sharp and calculating, and his motives were hard to detect. Bryan knew he was like a slow person, very silent but dangerous.

"What do you think I should do?" Bryan asked Donald deliberately.

"Well, I don't know," Donald said, shrugging his shoulders casually.

"Okay, my dear nephew," Paul said, standing up. "Since you've got no idea what to do about this issue, we'll take our leave."

"You wanted to tell me this, so you packed all the shareholders here," Bryan said coldly.

"Well, I just brought them as witnesses," Paul replied casually and walked towards the door. "Remember," he continued, "you don't have much time left."

Bryan stared coldly at him. If looks could kill, Paul would have been six feet under.

Unbothered by Bryan's cold stare, Paul opened the door and left, leaving Bryan and the rest of the shareholders, who dared not leave until Bryan left the room.

After what felt like an eternity, Bryan finally stood up and walked out of the meeting room.

Four months. He had only four months to find a wife, and he could not afford to waste a single day.

. . . . . .

Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, someone else was also running out of time. Celine hurried into the hospital premises and quickly went to the room her mother was staying in.

She stood in front of the door for what felt like ages. Her hand hovered over the handle, trembling slightly. She didn't want to open the door, and at the same time she wanted to open it.

She couldn't bear seeing her mother lying on the bed like a log of wood, and at the same time she couldn't bear not seeing her mum.

Click.

The door opened in front of her, and the sound jolted her back to reality. She hadn't realized how long she had been standing there.

A woman in her late forties stepped out. It was Celine's aunt, Mara, the only sister of Celine's mother.

"Oh, Celine," Mara said warmly. "It's been so long since you came here. How are you?"

"Not fine," Celine replied softly.

Aunt Mara looked at Celine and saw how terrible she looked. She knew that Celine had been going through a lot lately, and it hurt her that she couldn't help out. She was a petty trader but had stopped after her sister had an accident and became unconscious.

"I was on my way to get some apples," she said after some time. "Go in and see your mom, I'll be back shortly."

Aunt Mara said and left.

Celine forced herself to enter the room. On the bed lay her mother, who had been lying there for three months. Her face was pale and still, and the soft beep of the machine beside her was the only sign that she was still here.

Celine's emotions overwhelmed her, and hot tears streamed down her cheeks. Her shoulders shook as she pressed her lips together to keep from sobbing aloud. Oh, how she wished she had enough money. If only she did, she could have sent her mom to a better hospital.

But life had been unbearably cruel to her.

Suddenly, a surge of determination rose within her. She couldn't protect her mother from the accident, but she would not allow her to die.

She would do anything to make sure her mother survived.

She wiped away her tears and sat beside the hospital bed. Gently, she held her mother's hand and caressed it.

Some minutes later, the door clicked open and her aunt entered the room, carrying a small polythene bag filled with apples. She looked at Celine's face and saw traces of tears.

Aunt Mara sighed heavily and sat down.

"Things have gone wrong, right?" she said. It was more of a statement than a question.

Celine looked at Aunt Mara and fresh tears threatened to slip down her face.

"Well...," Mara said, hesitation in her voice. "I know two people who can help."