Chapter 4 A Dangerous Preposition

"You must marry me, Axel. I am the only woman you should be with," Flora said, breaking down.

"If you spend ten more seconds on that chair, your death will be worse than that of the governor," Axel said casually. Flora stood up, crying and cursing, grabbing her bag and leaving his office. She knew how ruthless and deadly Jakes was and wouldn't dare step on his toes.

Axel smiled dryly and told his secretary, "If she comes into my space again, your job will be the atoning sacrifice."

"Okay, sir," the secretary shuddered and left hastily, afraid that spending another minute in his office would make her lose her job.

****

"He asked you to marry him through your father?" Danielle asked, looking pitifully at the young woman shedding tears before her. She couldn't imagine the turmoil Lila was going through, having to pay for her father's debt with her whole life.

"He gave my dad the ultimatum of one month, Danielle. One month!" Lila started crying. Just when she thought winning the cooking competition two weeks ago would reshape her life, it took a U-turn.

Danielle felt her heart tighten. Lila was a young, jovial, kind, and promising individual. She didn't deserve to be in a forced marriage.

"But look at it from a brighter side. The guy is also young. You might grow to love him. Or what do you think?" Danielle suggested, trying to ease the tension. Lila had been crying for days since coming to her house, refusing to eat or drink, and Danielle was worried. "Besides, he's immensely rich!"

"And you think I'm gluttonous enough to forget who I am and jump into the marriage?" Lila pouted. She never thought her best friend would think so lowly of her.

"Wow, I'm so sorry. I only wanted to brighten your mood," Danielle said, scared that Lila would take offense.

"I'm sorry too, but I can't marry someone as deadly as President Axel. What if I make a single mistake, and he decides to kill me or even make me handicapped?" Lila said, her fears pouring out. Danielle sighed in frustration.

"He won't do that. You would be his beloved wife," Danielle said, trying to make Lila smile.

"This is going to be an arranged marriage. He won't hesitate to serve my head to vultures once I make a silly mistake," Lila said as fresh tears rolled down her face.

"Maybe he saw you at the cooking competition and fell deeply in love. He had to go through your father to get your attention. What do you think?" Danielle rationalized, hoping it would calm Lila down.

"No, people like President Axel don't have hearts. He probably needs a marriage certificate for a business deal and chose me because I won a cooking competition," Xavier wailed louder. Danielle feared she might develop a fever from all the crying.

"I wish Dad never got into drinking and gambling. He could have avoided this mess with President Axel, " Lila said.

"Your father is a good man. This happened because your mother's death left a big hole in his heart, and he couldn't overcome the depression," Danielle reminded her.

"I don't even know how the media will take all this. My father is already in trouble, and I'm clueless about what to do," Lila cried again.

"You should take some painkillers," Danielle suggested, wanting Lila to sleep and worry less.

"Not yet," Lila retorted coldly.

"No wonder President Roberts chose you," Danielle said angrily.

"What did you say?" Lila looked at Danielle, annoyed.

"You're so stubborn. Do you want to implicate me by committing suicide? You haven't been eating for days and keep crying. Do you want to catch a fever?" Danielle protested.

"I'm sorry," Lila apologized.

Danielle hugged her, knowing she had to be there for her best friend in this tough time.

****

Worried about losing Axel, Flora called Kelly to meet at their usual coffee shop. Kelly arrived, clueless about what was going on, smiling sheepishly at Flora.

"What's making you happy?" Flora sneered. Kelly realized Flora wasn't in high spirits.

"Sister-in-law, you're getting married to my brother, the biggest guy in Texas. Cheer up and have some coffee," Kelly said, taking a sip.

Flora felt disgusted and snorted, "Are you mocking me?"

"Talk to me," Kelly demanded.

"Your brother isn't planning to marry me," Flora said, tears welling up.

"He didn't tell me anything about marriage. I thought you were the one," Kelly explained.

"Your brother plans to marry another woman while I'm still alive," Flora said, on the verge of tears.

"That's impossible. I haven't seen any woman but you around him for the past two years," Kelly said, surprised.

"He said I don't deserve to be a wife and that anyone who marries me would be unlucky," Flora said, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Kelly felt Flora's pain and hugged her. "Don't worry. We'll unravel this, and Jakes will marry only you," she comforted her.

****

Axel went to the ancestral mansion to retrieve some books, timing his visit for when his father would be at a medical check-up. He was about to leave when his father returned.

"Have you found her?" his father asked coldly.

"Good morning to you too, Dad," Axel said, trying to change the topic. He sat lazily on the couch.

"Don't play around with me! Have you found the girl I asked you to find?" the old man fumed.

"She's too stubborn, Dad. Can I... kidnap her?" Axel stammered.

"You want to apply mafia tactics to marriage too?" the old man chuckled. "Get Lila to marry you in a normal way. Remember the ultimatum, or you know what happens to your assets," he laughed wickedly.

"But Dad, why must it be Lila?" Axel asked, frustrated.

"That's between me and the young woman," the old man said, ignoring Axel.

"I don't even know Lila personally. I had to go through her father. I can't chase someone I know nothing about! Besides, she's not interested in me..." Lila rattled on.

"Then make her interested," his dad said without looking up.

Axel looked at his father, frustrated. Only this man could keep him on his toes. Axel sat there, deep in thought, when he suddenly had an idea. He picked up his books and car keys and strode out without saying goodbye.

"I love you too, son," the old man said, adjusting his reading glasses. He only wanted the best for his son, and that best could only come from Axel.

The old man reminisced about meeting Axel. He had encountered robbers on his way to a party, and Axel helped him into her house, fed him, and gave him money to get back. Lila was an innocent teenager then, with a kind heart like her mother, Elizabeth. John vowed his son Axel would marry someone as perfect as Lila.

****

Lila went home to find her usually drunk father sober. She saw the plea in his eyes and was about to leave when her father grabbed her hand.

"Dad, what do you want now?" Lila asked weakly.

"Lila, you're my only child. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you or put you in a difficult situation," Henry said, pushing Lila towards a chair. "I hope you can forgive me for my mistakes."

"Dad, there's nothing to be sorry about. You could have managed your depression better. I love you, and I don't want to lose you," Lila said. "It's days like this I miss Mom. She always found a way out of every situation."

"I miss her too," Henry said.

"Dad, we'll figure this out. Just give me time to think it over," Lila said. "Marrying President Axel means giving up my dreams of owning a restaurant."

"I understand, my princess. I'll leave you to think it through," Henry said.

Lila checked her phone and saw a message from Danielle.

Danielle: Have you checked your Instagram or Twitter today?

Lila: No, I've not been active on social media.

Danielle: You're trending. You're on the hot searches all over.

Lila: Isn't that normal? I just won a championship.

Danielle: No, it's about you and your fiancé.

Lila: Fiancé??

Danielle: Check your Instagram. Bet your followers have skyrocketed.

Lila: Okay.

Lila saw her followers had jumped from six hundred thousand to over two million. She found a picture of her and Axel, captioned 'together forever babe, thanks for accepting to be my spouse.'

Lila felt overwhelmed. She had never taken a picture with Axel. The dress in the photo was from her last birthday. It dawned on her that Axel had manipulated everything!

The phone rang, and Lila saw Axel's name on the screen. Reluctantly, she answered.

"Meet me at the café on Fifth Avenue in thirty minutes," Axel said curtly.

"Why should I?" Lila retorted, anger boiling within her.

"Because if you don't, I'll make your father's life a living hell," Axel replied harshly before hanging up.

Axel's heart raced. She knew she had no choice. She grabbed her coat and headed out, dreading the confrontation but determined to face Axel head-on.