Chapter 2 : You Must Marry Riley

"You selfish bastard!

How are you even my daughter?

You only think about yourself, you don't consider the rest of the family. You may have finished school, but what about your sister, how do we pay for her tuition when the bank takes everything?

Your father has a heart condition that needs a constant check-up. We need to monitor his heart condition or he dies. How do we pay for all that, how do we pay for his surgeries, Mia? How do you expect us to survive this, how do we pay the bills?" she roared in anger as the tears slid down her cheeks. My hands instinctively came to curb my cheeks that stung from the pain of her slap and I hung my head low, refusing to look at her face.

The truth is, I get her. I mean, I totally understand why she is being so persistent. The banks are coming to take our house and our last cargo ship. The Osbornes are our only hope to save my father's company and protect his legacy. We are going to lose everything if I don't marry Riley, everything my father worked so hard to achieve will be taken away from us. We will be shamefully kicked out to the street with nothing. My father's reputation, our family name, will be dragged into the mud. I never wanted this to happen, and that was why I agreed to be with Riley in the first place.

You see,

We are used to living as elites, we had it all, and we had everything we ever needed to live a comfortable life. Dad learned about this shipping business from my grandpops, and with that knowledge he expanded the family business, acquiring a fleet of ten cargo ships. We had it all and our business was perfect, everything was going well for everyone. Then all of a sudden, we lost everything. All our cargo ships got lost at sea, my father took loans from the banks to pay for damages and freight claims. In the twinkling of an eye, we lost nine cargo ships and we incurred a high debt that couldn't be cleared up even after selling our port. All we have now is a ship, and dad is so scared to resume business because he thinks we would lose this one as well.

He had no other choice but to seek help from his business partner, Evans Osborne. From his reaction to this whole ordeal, I can tell that something was up. I can't shake off the feeling that something was up, it felt like he has something to hide and I can't help but wonder if he knows who is responsible for our misfortunes. He claims that the Osborne's were our only hope to have the company, and when they proposed a marriage deal to unite both families before doing business with us, he gladly accepted the deal and he served me to Riley on a platter of gold.

"The Osborne's are our only chance of survival, they can save our business and protect us from danger, you have to marry Riley to seal this deal." He persuaded me. I almost went mad with rage, I was like,

"Protect us from what exactly?"

I mean, It's our business we are fighting for and not our lives. But he makes it sound as if our lives were in danger, and they gave me no choice, I couldn't say no to my family. I was friends with Riley, we attended the same business school and we hung around the same circle of friends. When the deal was proposed to us by his parents, he convinced me to accept the deal, he said we could make it work and he confessed to having feelings for me. So I agreed to this sham of a marriage. And he turned out to be a dickhead, a fucking cheater.

I can't believe that my mom would hit me because of Riley. It's obvious that she cares more about our family's status. She cares about our elite status and prestige. It sure looks like my happiness doesn't matter to her and it hurts to see that she values wealth and privilege more than her daughter's happiness. Well, too bad she trained me to make my own decisions and stick to what I believe. I'm not a pushover and I'm not going to let her ruin my life by forcing me to marry Riley.

"We would find a way to survive mom. We can find a little apartment downtown, I'll get a job, and I'll work very hard to support our family. I'll get two jobs, if that is what it takes, I'll do anything to support our family, but I won't marry Riley Osborne. You can hit me as many times as you wish, but it won't make me change my mind. I'm not getting tied to that cheating bastard for the rest of my life. I would rather die!" I spat out angrily and turned around once more, making my way up the stairs in annoyance. I was close to the top of the stairs when I heard the sound of a door swinging open, I looked up and saw my father glaring daggers at me, his face void of emotion. He looks tired and grim. I've never seen him looking so stressed in my entire life and it hurts me to know that I am causing him so much stress.

"You will marry him, Mia. You will forgive Riley Osborne and you will marry him. This deal is our only chance and I will not let you ruin our lives. One day, you will come to understand why I am doing this, but until then, you cannot say No to the Osbornes, I won't accept that." He said indifferently, giving me no chance to argue. I have no idea what is happening to our family, my parents love us dearly, and they adore my sister and I. But ever since the beginning of our misfortune, they have been acting so weird. I don't know what is going on, but I won't let him use me as an asset to make business deals.

"No, dad. I won't... I can't marry Riley and you can't make me." I snickered.

"Mind your language, young lady!" he yelled at me furiously, causing me to gasp in shock. I could hear mom and Carrie's worried chatter as they both ran up the stairs in a hurry. Dad has a heart condition, called Coronary heart disease. It is vital that he stays calm always. Screaming this hard would raise his blood pressure and that is not good for him.

"I am your father, Mia. You have no idea how difficult it is to give you away to that scumbag. Do you know what we are up against?" He scolded me angrily, yelling at the top of his voice, glaring daggers at me.

"Dad, please...

You have to stop..." Carrie let out in a panic as she went to his side, trying to get him to stay calm.

"Connor, please remember your heart condition." My mom reminded him as he kept glaring furiously at me.

But it was too late...

His hand flew to his chest as he scrunched his face in pain.

"Mia, quick!

Get the driver!" Carrie called out to me as I stood there like a statue. I snapped out of my shock and ran down the stairs in a frenzy, calling out to the driver.

"Look what you have done, you stubborn child. Why can't you just listen to us?" my mom let out in agony as my father was moved into the car.

"Stop it already, mom. Any sane person would react the same way. It's not her fault. I wouldn't marry that guy if I were in her shoes." My sister scolded her immediately, speaking up for me for the first time since all this began. At least she got mom to keep quiet and I'm grateful for the silence because my head is swirling with different thoughts.

I was lost in my own thoughts, I can't believe that I just caused my father to have a heart attack. If he does in the hospital, it's going to be my fault.