Chapter 4 The earlier the better

"so you two are getting married!??? wow...Ciara did you hear that??" Clare asked me.

"please cut the crap...no one is getting married...Mr.Carlton can you please get out of my room this very minute." i pointed at the door and he stared at me but i didn't care.

"Ciara...be nice." Clare said.

"i said get out...am not getting married to you not now,not later so if that's the only plan you had to save my dad's company then thank you so much for your help then i will handle it myself." i angrily told him.

"Miss Ciara if only you could think through this carefully,this is the best option at hand and i have no hidden intentions towards you whatsoever...anyways incase you change your mind am just one call away and we save your dad's legacy." he said while standing up and after taking a close look at me,he stepped outside my room and i banged the door behind him.

"Ciara what's with the attitude!??" Clare stood up and came near the door where i was standing.

"i can't put up with such nonsense...where does he get the guts to come here and tell me such stupid proposal!!? it's not going to happen...and am going to do everything in my power and prove him wrong that i can make my dad's company stay without his fucking help." I sat down on bed in much anger.

"but there's something am not getting straight here...all along you have been saying that you had a crush on Mr.Carlton and i thought if he ever proposed to you nomatter the circumstance,you would be on cloud nine but i don't get why you are so mad and yet you found him so charming?!?" Clare asked me.

"girl,yes i had a crush on him but marriage is something big...i can't get married to someone i hardly know and i need to get married out of love not because of this current issue....hope you get my point??" I asked her .

"yah i definitely get it but think about it cause like he said,this is the only way to save the company and since he has been doing business with your dad,he definitely knows what's best for both you and your dad's company." Clare said while slightly touching on my shoulder.

"i really wish to be kidnapped and taken away from all this cause it's really too much for me....now what should i do??" I asked for her opinion.

"well if you are asking for my opinion,you should put Mr.Carlton's proposal into consideration cause he seems to be a good man and besides he has everything one could look for in a partner especially his physical features...i won't go into details am sure you agree with me on that right (winks)" she teased me.

"(smiles) yah he is really good looking...i totally agree...but Clare i don't have feelings towards him,remember it's just a mere crush nothing much." i tried to explain to him.

"yah yah but you guys can slowly fall in love with time...don't push away such an opportunity please....let him help you out and am sure you guys will make a perfect couple." she said with a big smile.

"okay sweetie thanks for being here...I don't know how many times i have thanked you today but you deserve it...am going to think about it." I told her as she pulled me in a hug and rubbed my back to calm me down.

"but make it fast cause those guys on the board won't be waiting for your decision to withdraw their shares...so the earlier the better sweetie." Clare said.

After pulling myself together we went downstairs to meet others and in the next hour my parents bodies were going to arrive from the hospital so we all had to be present.

Carlton was looking at me the entire time and Clare couldn't stop making fun of me each time she found us looking at each other.

The bodies arrived and the funeral service placed the bodies in the middle of the sitting room and then my heart started aching again....after looking at their caskets,i now accepted reality that they're permanently gone and tears couldn't stop from flowing from my eyes.

Mom and dad really treated me like their little princess and i don't know how am going to survive without them but it is what it is now...so help me God.

They started giving speeches and whoever came to talk was saying good stuff about the two souls and this broke me more cause it was more confirmation that they are now dead.

I wish i knew that this moment would come so soon so that i prepare myself well but unfortunately God doesn't give us a pre-plan for his actions and we have nothing to do about it.

Speeches were ongoing but then my mind diverted to Carlton's proposal and i wondered what i was going to do about it cause am really puzzled but the good thing is that he can be trusted cause he has been working with my dad for long and he is the only one my dad has ever brought here at home which shows that dad also trusted him cause dad never brought his business associates at home....so for that reason,maybe i can trust him and put his proposal into consideration cause to be honest i have no plan right now to save dad's company cause i even have no idea about business...I always kept myself away from dad's work and company cause i wanted to build a different lifestyle...i wanted a different life cause i never wanted to walk in his footsteps cause i hated being compared with him all the time so i chose to run my own race but here we are now...fate has dragged me back to this life i was trying to avoid all my life but regardless i have to pull this off cause I just can't let Dad's legacy to drown on my watch.