Chapter 2 Meeting with the Attorney

At exactly 10:00 AM, my father and I are seated in the office of Attorney Luis Davis.

“Good morning Miss Anna and Mr.Smith.Glad to have you two here and thank you for honouring Mr William Donovan's invitation” Mr.Luis said.

“You're welcome, Mr. Luis. May we get to the reason why for this meeting?”My father asks.

“Alright let's start then. Mr.Williams Donovan instructed me before his death to meet up with you and your daughter before going ahead to read out his last will.”

My father looks as confused as I am but nods to whatever the attorney says. He pulls out a brown envelope and begins to read out what would be the greatest shock of my life.

“I, Mr.Williams Donovan, being of sound mind and memory, do hereby humbly request Miss Anna Smith, the daughter of my beloved driver Mr Smith, to do me the honour of marrying Damien Donovanmy son and heir to the Donovan Legacy. This is to have my son stop his promiscuous lifestyle and be a family man. I believe you are the only young lady who can help me achieve this wish. As I have instructed my attorney, you will have a share in my properties and your father will retire. Everything will be well stipulated in the final will that will be read later by my attorney Luis. Thank you, Anna, I believe you will help me change the way my son views the world. Regards William Donovan”

“This is what Mr Donovan asks of you, Miss Anna.": Mr Luis says briefly after reading out the greatest shock of my life to me. I look at my father he looks as shocked and confused as I am. I try to speak but I can not seem to find the right words. One minute I am struggling to secure a decent job and the next minute I am being asked to marry Damien Donovan the famous playboy of Seattle.

I look at my father but he gives me a reassuring smile before he proceeds to speak, “Mr.Luis, does Mr.Damien Donovan know about this?”

“He doesn't know. Mr.Williams clearly instructed me to let you two know about this before he does."

“Alright, but my daughter has to decide if this is what she wants because we both know how Damien Donovan is very well. He does not look like someone willing to get married anytime soon.”My father says in a low tone.

Mr Luis gives my father and me a little smile and says, “We all know how stubborn Damien Donovan is but his father is much more stubborn. Mr.Williams Donovan has ensured that he put in measures that will not leave Damien any choice but to get married to Anna. The only thing needed is Anna's approval to get married to him.”

Mr.Luis looks at me and asks, "Anna can you do this?" I turn to look at my father and then back at Mr.Luis and still can't express how I am feeling. The office falls into deep silence for a while as everyone waits for me to speak up.

“Please can I have some time to think this through? This is a lot to take in, marriage is a huge decision and I do not want to just jump into it.”I finally say.

“That's fine but I will advise you to agree to marry Damien Donovan, to Mr William Donovan to fulfil his last wish .”Mr.Luis says. With that being said my father and I say our goodbyes to Attorney.

The ride back home is filled with a lot of silence. I look at my father and I know what's on his mind. “Dad, I know you have a lot to say, go ahead and say it. “Alright, I know this is a lot to take in but the little I want to say is that kindly consider this and help Mr. Williams's wish to come true.”

“Dad but ….”

“But what Anna? This is the best we can do for Mr.Donovan. You know how he has been of great help to us. He helped with your studies and assisted us when your mom was in dying need of chemotherapy. This is very difficult to come to terms with but I am pleading with you.”

“Hmmm.. Dad, we are talking about marriage and you think I should accept it because of Mr. Donovan's generosity to us? I know that Mr.Williams was very good to us and he's even willing to give me a part of his shares and retire you if I agree to marry Damien. But Dad, I do not know if I will be able to marry someone I know nothing about. What if he never accepts me?What if I end up being his wife on paper but not the woman he loves and cherishes?"

“ You're right on all you're saying but I want you to do this to honour Mr.Williams. I am pleading with you to please accept this for the seek of Mr.Williams.”

“Dad, I am not sure I will be able to do this. I can't marry Damien Donovan he's way out of my league. I want to build a career for myself and have a life of my own….”

“Anna I know that very well but that is the last wish of Mr. Williams Donovan who has been of great help to us. The least you can do is to make his wish of marrying his son come true.” my father said.

“But why me?"I silently question myself.

I wonder how Damien will take in all this after losing his father and being obliged to marry a girl he knows nothing about.

I called Mr.Luis later that evening to let him know about my final decision. “Good even Attorney Luis, this is Anna. I am calling to give you feedback .”

“Alright Anna,” he says

“I have agreed to marry Damien Donovan. What's next now?”

“That's good to know. All you have to do now is to visit my office next week on Wednesday for an official meeting with Damien for further decisions about the wedding,” he replies.

“Are you still there?”Mr.Luis asks.

“Oh! Sorry yes, I am still with you.”I quickly reply.

“ As I was saying will have a meeting with Damien next week on Wednesday to know the way forward concerning your wedding preparation.”

“Wedding preparation?”I ask. “Yes, Mr.William wants the wedding to be well publicized so that everyone would know that Damien is officially married.”

I feel like vanishing from the surface of the earth right now. I thought we were just going to sign the marriage documents and that's all. However, from what Mr Luis is saying, it seems like there is going to be a whole big wedding.

“Anna are you still there?.”Mr. Luis asks again.

“Yes, I am just overwhelmed and quite unsure if I am ready for this.”

“I understand you. I advise you to take it easy and one step at a time. As for Damien do not worry, he has no choice but to make you his wife in the next two weeks." “Two weeks?”I ask with all the air in my lungs leaving my body.