Chapter 2 THE ENGAGEMENT

GWEN

Stumbling into the house in my short, red glittery dress, I crashed to the floor but was caught just in the nick of time by Hazel, one of the helpers.

“Young Miss, did you drink again?” Hazel asks me but I just let out a long laugh.

Grabbing Hazel’s cheeks into my palms, I squish it. “You have such chubby sheets”

“Do you mean ‘chubby cheeks’?” Hazel questioned.

A wide smile plastered across my lips as Hazel’s words made more sense than mine. “Yes! That!”

“Do you still have time to stand there and correct her grammar?” A loud male voice boomed by the end of the hallway; it belonged to Father.

He had this angry expression all over his face but I didn’t care. Not one bit. I was equally angry at the man my father was that I needed booze so badly and ended up drunk; again.

“Hurry up and take her to her room and help sober her up!” He ordered sternly, giving Hazel a jump scare.

“Y—Y-es, s—ir” Poor Hazel stuttered, helping me up to my room. But as we bypassed Father, I halted in front of him.

Staring at him with heavy eyelids, I questioned. “Why are you so rotten? Why can’t you just like a good life? Why must you make everything difficult for everyone?!. Everyone in this house walks on eggshells around you!”

Father’s gaze shifted from mine to Hazel’s. “Why are you still standing there?” He questioned, surprisingly calm but his facade didn't last for long as he roared.”Would you hurry up and take her to her room!”

“Y—Yes sir!. Let’s go Young Miss” Hazel says leading me up the spiral staircase to my to but I wasn’t done with Father just yet.

I kept on cursing him, mentioning how he grossed everyone out and said some bunch of other shit that I was sure to regret later when I was sober.

When we finally got to my room, Hazel placed me gently on top of my bed before moving away to get me my pills and a glass of water.

Handing them over to me, she says. “Take this, Young Miss” I did as she’d said and slowly, I was starting to sober up.”Have you come through?”

I nod my head, slowly. Looking around and seeing myself in a familiar environment---called my room, I questioned. “How did I get home?”

Hazel shook her head. “I don’t know. You stumbled in from the front door”

I winced, feeling a sharp pain in my head as parts and fragments of what happened at the club slowly started to resurface.

“So?” Hazel questioned, slowly. “Did you make a mistake”

Scowling—but not because of her, I respond. “You know me. I’m always making a mistake”

Hazel exhaled deeply. “This is bad. Your father would be furious”

“I did it to make Father furious” I corrected. “He might be one of the well-known conglomerates there is, but I get to live my own life too”

“No, you don’t,” Came a strong voice by my room door. Taking my gaze off Hazel, it was then I noticed Father’s presence.

Turning to face Hazel, Father orders. “Leave us”

“Hazel, stay” I say strongly but rather it was more of a beseech; I didn’t want to be alone in this room with my father.

Hazel, knowing clearly who her boss is, bowed her head down to me. “I’m sorry, Young Miss” she quivered before making her exit.

Immediately she was out through the door, Father closed the door; turning its lock. Scared, I slowly started to back away from the bed as Father approached me just as equally.

He rolled up his sleeves above his elbow, questioning. “Are you scared? If you’re scared why did you do something like this?” he questioned harshly shoving his phone into my face as I see an article of me in the club already released with headlines like ‘The Darwin’s daughter strikes again, ‘Another conglomerate daughter gone haywire’, ‘Victor Darwin’s precious daughter shows off panties in the club’

Now that one caught my attention, taking me off guard. “What?”

Father grabs me roughly by my hair. “I didn’t ask much from you. Hell, I didn’t even ask anything at all but you just had to go make this mess”

I cried in pain, trying to release his grip on my hair. “Father, you’re hurting me”

“And you just hurt my company. My sweat and blood” He growled. “What are you going to do about this?”

“I’m sorry, Father,” I begged. “I’ll do anything—”

He cuts me off, releasing his grip from my hair. “Now, that’s what I want to hear”

Confusion washed over me. Now, what did Father have planned in his rotten mind? Before I could question Father further, he made his intentions known to me.

“You are going to marry Xavier Anthony” I stayed still for a short while trying to recall who Xavier Anthony was.

After adding two and two together, I shook my head; brushing off my father’s idea. “I refuse”

It made sense to me. How on earth did Father expect me to marry the son of the man he’d once betrayed? Over. My. Dead. Body.

Father chuckled deeply before wearing a serious expression once more. “I wasn’t giving you a choice, Darling. It’s already been agreed on by Xavier and me”

My eyes widened. Why would Xavier agree to this when I knew just how much he hated my father and his hatred ran down to the entire Darwin family? Did Father perhaps have something on him? That had to be the only way.

“Your engagement would be underway—”

I cut my father off. “You don’t get to choose my suitors and neither would I be marrying Xavier”

Father grabbed my neck firmly, choking me. “Where’s that daughter of mine who said she was willing to do anything”

“Alright, I’ll marry Xavier” I rasped against father’s chokehold as he instinctively let go of me. “Besides, I’m not sending you under his wings to play the good wife but rather as a spy”

So that was my father’s messed up plan. I scoffed. “When would you stop father? You already took Xavier’s father away from him by your betrayal and now you want to marry off your daughter to him just to be your spy. Do you have intentions to suck him dry?”

“Yes,” Father growled. “That’s exactly it so just play your role without questions”

“No matter what happens, my company has to be better than Xavier’s; especially when it comes to its products so I always have to be one step ahead of him”

“Using me as a spy is not being ‘One step ahead of him, it’s cheating”

“Just do as I tell you” Father growled, unlocking my room door and taking his exit.

No sooner had he left than Hazel rushed back into my room. “Young Miss, are you alright?” Her eyes moved to the red mark on my neck as she placed her hands over her mouth, trying to swallow her gasp.

Throwing herself at my feet; she sobbed. “Forgive me for leaving you behind, Young Miss. It’s all my fault”

Helping Hazel up to her feet, I assured her. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine for having him as my father. Hush, now”

There and then, I promised myself that I wouldn’t allow my father to use me this way. I was going to tell Xavier all about my father’s plan and hopefully, we would avoid this unnecessary marriage.

The next morning, I made my way to Xavier’s company.

“Do you have an appointment with—” Richard, Xavier’s PA says trying to stop me from barging into his office.

Annoyed, I halted in my steps. “I don’t need an appointment to see my husband now, do I?”

“Hus..” Richard trailed confused but I’d walked away from him, forcing my way into Xavier’s office.

Xavier didn’t look up from the pile of files in front of him; which showed that he had been expecting me. “Didn’t your father teach you how to knock?”

“He didn’t. If you didn’t notice, my father and I aren’t exactly bffs”

“Oh, I noticed, alright” Now he looked up from his documents. “If you were BFFs, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now, would we?”

I threw myself down onto the chair in front of Xavier. “What’s your plan? I assume you didn’t just accept this marriage without a plan”

“I don’t recall telling you to sit down”

“And I don’t recall asking for your permission”

Xavier slammed his documents shut, boiling with rage. “You are hard to communicate with”

“Exactly. So are you sure you want to spend the rest of your life with me?” I brought out my phone, shoving the articles I read last night into his face. “See, I’m only going to do your company more harm than good”

Xavier looked down at my phone; reading the article. When he was done, he pointed at the red bruises on my neck. “I’m sure your father already taught you a lesson”

“And” He continued. “You are aware of just how much I despise your family, aren’t you?”

“So?”

“So, if you bring any harm to my company whatsoever—I swear by my dead father’s grave; I. WILL. Kill. You, are we clear?”

I gulped; scared. How could Father… never mind, the deal has been done. It was up to me to find a way to survive this hellhole.

“Then, since you are being so adamant. Let’s make a deal”

Xavier rolled his eyes in annoyance. “What is up with you Darwin and ‘making a deal’?”

“Are you going to hear me out?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“These are going to be the rules of our marriage. One, we sleep in separate rooms—”

He cut me off. “That’s a given”

“Two, we don’t pry into each other’s lives and personal business”

Xavier groaned. “Must we have this conversation right now? I have other important things that need my—”

I continued nonetheless. “Three, the use of nicknames or sweet names in public is strictly prohibited—”

“Can you please leave!?” Xavier shouted, giving me a jump scare. “This ‘marriage’ might be a big deal to you, but to me; it’s the least of all my problems, trust me. Whatever your rules are, fine; I accept them all so how can you get lost?”

Narrowing my gaze at him, I say. “I dislike your stuck-up attitude”

“And I equally dislike your existence, are we even now?”

Taken aback by his counterattack, I just glare at him. It was the first time hearing someone say they disliked my existence.

“Aren’t you leaving?” Xavier questioned harshly. Groaning, he calls out for his PA. “Richard, are you out there?”

Richard rushes in. “Sir, I’m afraid we have a situation”

Xavier grumbled as if his day couldn’t get any worse.”What is it now?”

“P—Paparazzi’s” Richard stuttered. “They are reporters outside the company”

“What?” Xavier shrieked, staring outside his window to confirm this news. Turning to face me, he questioned. “Did you call them here?”

Quirking my brow, I questioned. “Why would I do that?”

Xavier throws his hands up in the air. “I don’t know, woman. You Darwin’s are hard to predict”

Springing up from the chair, I questioned. “Then why agree to marry me if you don’t trust me?”

Our argument was cut short by my phone blaring. Checking the caller ID; I saw that it was father.