Chapter 1 The Condition

Rebecca sighed as she sat down on a wooden chair. It wasn't even steady enough, but what could she do anyway? She was the only daughter of her mother, and her step-father abandoned them, saying they were nothing but a curse. She's starting to believe it, because why not? She finished college early due to her high level of intelligence, but sadly she couldn't find a job. She decided to do menial work to try and make ends meet, but nothing was working. "What do I do?", She asked no one in particular, staring into space as she ran her finger through her dry, disheveled hair.

She finally remembered her dad's words. "If you need something, you have to use what you have to get what you want." Those words always echoed in her mind every day, but what could she do? She had nothing except her body and she didn't want to be anyone's temptress. Rebecca stood up, her head pounding as she walked to the kitchen. It was small and uncomfortable, but it prepared meals and whatnot, so she just had to deal with it. She poured herself a glass of water as she swallowed a pain-relieving pill and pushed it down with the water. She rinsed the glass and put it back in place as she headed to her mother's room. Milan has stage two brain cancer, and she needs to be operated on fast. Her health keeps failing as the day goes by. Rebecca walked into the dark room and felt chills run up her spine. She quickly went to open the blinds as the sunlight illuminated the whole room, her mother was on the bed, her face was pale, her hair kept falling out at any slight movement, she couldn't move at times, and she was very weak, she looked as if the wind could blow her away. "What have I done to deserve all this?", Rebecca asked herself inwardly as she sniffed. Her mother was suffering pain, but her father was there doing well in business, and he had abandoned them. She couldn't blame her mother, her mother was blinded by love and this was the consequence of it all. Rebecca left the room after a while, as she walked into her own room, she couldn't help but think about something. She should probably go ask her father for some money to treat her mother, because he is responsible for her even though she isn't his biological child, he still needs to take care of his wife. She quickly freshened up, put on one of her shabby but nice dresses, she combed her hair and rolled it in a cute bun, carrying her purse and phone, she wrote a quick note placing it beside her mom before she ran out of the house. The Nixon Mansion was owned by her father. He wasn't particularly rich, but he sure knew how to throw money around. His best quote is "you only live once", and Rebecca believes that he might die due to his ignorant lifestyle, but she couldn't care less about him. As she paid for the cab by stepping out of it, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. She was the only odd one here, even the maids and guards' clothes were better than hers. "Miss Becca, what a surprise, what are you doing here if I may ask?", the gatekeeper who had always been nice to Rebecca said as she approached the door. Rebecca smiled as she gave the man a slight hug. "Sir Charles, how have you been? I'm actually here to see my father, is he in?" Rebecca asked as Charles smiled slightly. "Well, Sir Phillip is in. You may come in. I believe you know your way around?", Charles said as Rebecca smiled, nodding, Charles opened the gate as she walked into her former home. She remembered how she stayed there and had to bear with her father bringing different women home, but she couldn't do anything but cry. She had always been weak but this time she really needed the money. As she stepped into the living room, nothing in particular had changed except the one black couch, which was now light blue, which seemed kind of cute. "What brings you here Becca?", a familiar voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Turning, she saw her father seated on one of the couches as a lady was snuggled up in his arms. It wasn't an odd thing for Rebecca, but it all felt totally embarrassing. "I need to talk to you", she said, she wanted to add dad, but Philip had warned her not to call him that word since he didn't have a daughter, or at least, a filial one at that. "Ohh she's serious", Philip mocked with a small laugh as she waved at the girl snuggling close to him. She pouted as she glared at Rebecca before walking away. "Take a seat", Philip said as he lit a cigarette, he took a drag as he let it out through his nose. He sipped his glass of whiskey as he stared at Rebecca. His gaze was cold and cunning and Rebecca knew not to provoke him. "I'm here concerning mom's case, her health is deteriorating fast, and I don't have any money on me to treat her or for the operation. I just paid off my student loan, please we need it", Rebecca said, trying to sound as pitiful as she could. "You could've just said you needed money, what is all the story for?", Philip said, glaring at Rebecca with nothing but disgust. He didn't like her from the start. He just loved Milan because of her beauty and brains, but he got tired of all her smartness. "Yes, I need money", Rebecca said with her voice laced with disgust. She was not only disgusted by her words but also by the man seated in front of her. "Okay, I'll give you the money as much as you want", Philip said as Rebecca's eyes went wide open. "Thank you sir", Rebecca said, but it was too early to rejoice. "But on one condition", Philip said as Rebecca squinted in confusion. "What is it?", Rebecca asked as Philip laughed, his laughter was sinister and dangerous. "Your step-sister Cecelia, is supposed to get married to one of my business partner's son, but she's too special and calm to marry such a man of no status, so I want you to marry Kilian Edward", Philip said as he looked at Rebecca, her eyes went wide like saucers as she stared at her father. Kilian was the son of a rich billionaire, but on his own, he was a poor and almost useless man in their society. How would Rebecca marry such a man? She who is poor cannot marry a man that is also poor.