Dangerous Matrimony: The Innocent Devil

Jessica

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Tonight would definitely be one of the best nights for me. Well, not like it was something new for every fourteen year old. But yes, it was new for me. Finally, my dad had agreed to the fact that it was high time I started dating. It took a whole lot of effort to make him understand that I wanted a boyfriend already. I had to take a mini-exam, had to do an IQ test, and even had to sign a childish contract with him. Wasn't that crazy? Definitely. Anyway, it was a normal thing for a billionaire to be protective of his precious little girl.

"Gosh!" My best friend, Jojo, squealed over the phone.

I chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. I'm also very excited. Don't worry, I'll tell you about it once it happens. And, by all means, I'm gonna make sure he kisses me."

"You're silly, chipmunk." As usual, she sounded like a defaulted machine as she laughed.

I sighed, leaping from the L-shaped, leather sofa I was seated on. Grabbing an apple from the small basket on the glass table in front of me, I walked to the rail on the balcony, leaning my elbow against it. "Anyway, I'll talk to you later. Gotta get ready for my date."

"Bye."

Hanging up, like the excited chic I presently was, I spun around, hopping into the corridor. I slid my blackberry torch phone into the pocket of my peacoat jacket, heading straight to dad's office. I needed him to tell the driver to drive me to his private boat, close to the sea, which was where I would be having my dinner date.

About taking a turn to the next hallway, I halted when I spotted some men walking into Eduardo's office. They were dressed in casual, wretched-looking denim jean pants, and some old shirts. I squinted my eyes in confusion, wondering why such huge and ugly looking men would be walking into his office. That was pretty suspicious. No one dressed like that would ever dare to come into the company, speaking of walking into dad's friends' office. Were they here to attack Eduardo or something?

The thought of that made me gasp. Only last week, one of dad's workers had been attacked by some unknown men. What if those dudes had come to attack Eduardo? That wouldn't be good at all.

Though I knew I needed to call for help, I only decided to take a glance at what was going on in there. I was ever confident, so spying on them shouldn't be such a big deal. After all, I just needed to be sure everything was okay.

I peeked in through the tiny opening of the door, making sure I was as silent as possible. My body was clinged to the wall, only my head poked forward so I would hear them properly.

"You guys got here at the right time," Eduardo stated. To my surprise, they were standing a few feets away from his desk, and even more surprisingly, he was exchanging handshakes with them.

"Our pleasure," a bronze haired man said to him. The man cleared his throat, putting his hands behind him. "Should we assassinate him? Cause, tampering with his car brakes isn't possible at all. Heard he's got so many men to guard him."

Eduardo nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Larry is quite smart and rich. Before getting to the airport, he might discover that something is wrong with his brakes. In that case, our plan won't work out. So yeah, assassinating him is the best option."

Shocked, my jaw dropped. I quivered like a frozen turkey, my heart racing fast as if a rock was being grounded in a crusher. Being shocked was an understatement to what I felt right now. My dad's best friend was planning to assassinate him? But, why?

"No one must find out about this,"Eduardo added.

Noticing that they were still discussing their dangerous plan, it knocked my senses that I could save my dad. Eduardo was a man of his word, which meant that if he was actually planning to kill dad, he would achieve it.

Drenched in fear, I ran past his office door, running towards dad's office. Tears dunked in my eyes, my fingers balling up in a really hard fist. I was shaken, bitter, perplexed, furious, and broken. These mixed feelings were making me weak, but keeping Dad safe was the priority. I had to be strong.

With so much force, I barged into dad's office.

"Dad!" I cried.

He stood beside the tall window that was almost the size of a door, his mouth widely open as he spoke to someone over the phone. "What?!" He cried at the top of his voice. For some reason, his voice was shaky, holding some fear. "Wh-What're you saying? Eduardo wants to-"

"Dad!" I hurried over to him, gripped his hands, and stood in front of him. "Dad..." Tears left my eyes. "Let's leave here right now! I know you might think I'm naive and little, but I can swear that I heard Eduardo telling some men to assassinate you."

Tears welled his eyes. "Wh-What?" His voice sounded faint. "You also heard that? Your mom just called, saying-"

"There's no time to speak," I cut him off, tightening his hand in mine. "Let's get you out of here, please! I can't bear to see that happen. Please, let's leave. Please!"

He nodded swiftly.

For the first time in forever, he paid attention to my words. We ran out of his office, dashed into the corridor, and made our way into the elevator. Getting to the last floor, we began running out of the company building like maniacs. Since it was past seven already, there were hardly any workers around.

As soon as we stepped out, mom rushed over to us. She had been standing behind the door, but seeing us, she motioned in our direction. As if all of this had been planned, my elder sister, Nora, ran out of the company as well.

"Saw you guys running crazily." She squeezed her face, keeping her phone in her pocket. She was obviously confused. 'What's up?"

I grabbed her hand, panting quite hard. "No time to speak. Let's leave." I turned to dad. "Dad, please call your men over. They'd all gone for a break, so I guess that's the reason Eduardo decided to make use of the opportunity. There's literally no one to guard us."

Dad turned to mom. "Honey, do you have enough strength to walk to the car? The doctor said you should only be in bed. You're too heavy for this stress. I knew I shouldn't have let you come here."

Seeing dad sounding this weak, and mom feeling so scared, I sniffled. Eduardo had really planned this well. He had known that dad's car wasn't in the building, and had also known that all of dad's men had taken a break. This felt so unbelievable, but we would deal with this impromptu betrayal later. First, we had to save ourselves.

Mom swallowed, obviously trying to put on a confident look. "It's fine, Larry. I might be pregnant, but that doesn't make me any weaker. Let's go to your car."

With that, we all began to run towards the parking lot. Dad didn't like seeing cars in the company, so he had decided to make sure that the parking lot was a bit far from the building. And now, that was what was causing a problem here.

"There he is!" Hearing someone hurl that out, I shivered even more. For a moment, my heart jumped to my throat. Had they seen us?

"Honey, we have to hurry up," Mom whimpered. "I think they've seen us!"

"Oh my gosh! I don't wanna die!" Nora cried.

Soon, luckily for us, we managed to reach the car. We hopped in as fast as we could, and dad started to drive. He drove into the silent road, driving so fast. Mom gasped for air, weeping so hard. I felt very bad for her, knowing that it wasn't good for her health. She was eight months pregnant.

"Oh, Lord, help us!" She burst out crying, leaning her head into her seat.

"Honey, please, calm down, okay? We'll be fine," Dad said.

I turned to Nora who sat beside me, raised my hands to pat her back, and gave her a curt nod. "Let's be positive," I said.

She sobbed. "I can't."

"Oh, gosh. Seems like someone's following us," Dad announced. He glanced at the side mirror, violently hitting the accelerator, and changing the speed gear. There was no doubt that he was so tense.

Again, I sniffled. This wasn't something a fourteen year old or a pregnant woman should be experiencing. It was so traumatizing.

"Dad, please, try to drive a little bit faster," Nora pleaded.

"I'll take-"

And, that was it. A jeep appeared in front of dad's car, which made him hit the brake rapidly. We all bulged our eyes open, my fear exacerbating. Things became even worse when a bunch of men began jogging out of the jeep. What were they planning to do now?

"Pull the car over! Fast!" Mom panicked.

Immediately, without thinking twice, dad maneuvered the car with so much force. So hard that the car's tyre made a screeching sound. My body jerked forward, but I tried to maintain my balance.

At this point, I was losing so much hope. Dad was driving recklessly, as if he was planning to get us killed. He was too scared. And, worst of all, I could do nothing.

"They're getting closer! Goodness! Take a turn to the right. Quickly! Oh, gosh, I knew there was always something fishy about Eduardo! I knew it! But why-" Mom lamented. She burst out in tears, probably feeling hopeless.

"Let's be hopeful, honey. We can still-"

"Ah!" Nora hollered at the top of her voice.

Hearing the loud honk of a truck, my eyes widened even more, gently moving to the direction of the sound. Abruptly, the headlight of the truck overshadowed my sight, which forced me to cling my eyes shut. I leaned into my seat. Despair was all that ran through me.

"Ah!" Once again, Nora cried. She wasn't the only one. Mom also cried.

Before I could fathom all that was going on, everywhere began to shake sporadically. I opened my eyes, and that was when I realized that the clashes I had heard, had been the sound of the truck hitting our car. I couldn't even tell if the car was undergoing a stunt or a somersault. Everything felt very confusing.

I whimpered.

Something caught my breath, literally blocking my pharynx. Overly weak, my eyes slowly closed. Darkness was starting to dominate my sight, but I was struggling to live. Even if I would die, I had to save my family first. Being without them was as good as being dead.

I tried. I tried so much. But, in the end, I passed out.

***

The faint, beeping sound around me slowly grabbed my attention. It made me open my eyes, though I couldn't see or hear properly. Although the ventilators were connected to my nostrils, I didn't feel like I was breathing anymore. My body felt tight, seeming as if I was soaked in pain. Blinking a little, being a bit observant, I realized that I was at a hospital. I was in bed.

"Sir, what's going to happen to her?" I glanced at the middle aged woman who stood beside me, a bunch of files tugged to her chest. She looked up at the man beside her, who was dressed in a police uniform.

The man sighed out loud. "Unfortunately, she was the only one who survived the accident." Hearing that, my heart stopped for a moment. No. This had to be a nightmare. A crazy one. He cleared his throat, and continued, "She was able to hop out of the vehicle, we assume. But, the rest of her family burned to death. We're so hurt to know that the person who sat in the passenger's seat was pregnant."

I froze. I was completely speechless.

The woman, who I guessed was the nurse, pulled her hand over her mouth. "My goodness. Does this mean she's alone? What's gonna happen to her?"

"Once she recovers fully, she'll be taken to an orphanage. At least, for the meantime," he declared.

I shut my eyes. There was no reaction that could explain my emotions. I was only fourteen. The billionaire's daughter would now become an orphan? So unreal.

A tear rolled from the corner of my eyes, down to the helix of my ear. I just wanted to die as well. And, hopefully, that would happen soon.

If only there was no Eduardo in our lives, none of these would have happened. I would probably be enjoying my date by now.

I felt unconscious. Was I... dead already?

***

(Phew! A new book! Let the story begin! And, don't forget the comments/reviews!)

Ivan

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"How do we deal with them?" Being quite reluctant to this long conversation, I leaned into my seat, crossed my legs over each other, and stared at the dude who sat by the table in front of me. Taking a pen from the table, I narrowed my eyes a bit, trying to concentrate on what he had to say.

His fingers moved to the table, gently drumming against the furniture. For some reason, a smirk grew on his lips. He twitched an eyebrow, then fixed his gaze at the paper which was on the table. "You're sure you wanna know that? I mean, you don't mind listening to the bad part of my plan?"

I scoffed. Grabbing the cup of cappuccino in front of me, I sipped from it, then cleared my throat. "Antonio, they're my competitors. Not my enemies. If the plan's to harm them, forget it. You're my business advisor, not a murderer."

He sniggered. "Chill, man." Being indifferent to the fact that we were both having a meeting, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his leather jacket, grabbed one of them, and clashed his thumb finger against the sparkwheel of his lighter.

"Dude, you can't smoke now. Keep that thing. We're at work." I scrunched my nose in irritation.

He snorted. Surprisingly, he obeyed my order. I was the boss of course, but he just never seemed to listen to anyone. Not even his own mother. Goodness knew why I hired him.

He cleared his throat, and resumed drumming his fingers against the table. "So..." He set his gaze at me. "I think we should try to make some improvements in the products we sell at our stores. Basically, our competitors have made it seem like the grocery section of our mall in South Dantry is poor. We should spend more money on buying quality products, so we can attract more customers."

"Hm." I nodded in agreement. "Our store literally has everything you can think of. Um, you think we should make some improvements in the cafe section in South Dantry too?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. But, first, we'll have to ensure it's compulsory. I'll be seeing a chic around there on Tuesday. Will use that opportunity to visit the mall."

"Good," I remarked.

Heaving, he leaped from his seat, grabbed his keys, and gave me a curt salute. "See you later, bro. Gotta get ready for my woman."

I scuffed, and mumbled, "Woman, woman, woman. Such a playboy."

He smirked, and just made his way out of the room.

As soon as he stepped out, I leaned toward the table, and took a glance at my wristwatch. It was a few minutes to seven o'clock, which meant it was time to prepare to leave work. Such a relief. I had been so busy all day, so I guessed it was time to relax.

Standing up, I stepped out of the room. My men, Drake and Pablo, walked behind me as I made my way to my office. As usual, the workers in the corridor bowed their heads to show some respect, as I walked past them. One of the female workers who stood by a door was smiling weirdly at me, as if she was blushing. It made me sneer and shake my head. It seemed like the female workers were always flirting.

After stepping out of the elevator, I walked straight into the office. Pablo and Drake wanted to walk in with me, but I asked them to wait outside. I just wanted to be alone for a while. I stepped in, and shut the door behind me.

Digging my hands into the pocket of my chino pants, I sauntered toward the huge glass window behind my seat. Anytime I stared out at the view of the city, it always brought serenity to my heart. But, this time around, I was fearful or maybe nervous. Everything in my life seemed so frustrating. I was only learning to deal with the heartbreak I had recently faced. It hurt a lot. The woman I trusted the most had recently cheated on me. It was terrifying and disturbing. In that case, who in the world could I trust? Why were people so heartless?

The thought of those made me curl up my hands in a fist, my jaw clenching, and my eyebrows creasing into a frown.

I sighed out loud, only walking to my table. That was when my eyes caught the picture of the woman I was going to meet soon. I grabbed it, smirked at it, wondering why life was treating me like a rag. I could buy anything in the world, but the love I needed wasn't just available. It hurt.

About sitting down, ready to think about how to deal with my life, the door of my office barged open. It made me flinch and widen my eyes. To my surprise, it was my secretary.

"You dick!" She cried at the top of her voice. Her nostrils flared as if someone was puffing air into it, her eyebrows curling in a deep frown. She let out a snort, balling her hands up in a fist. Before I could say anything, she began storming toward me. "I'm gonna kill you today! I swear! How dare you fire me?!"

Frightened, I stepped backwards. And, unexpectedly, she tugged off the five inch wedge shoe she was wearing, and threw it in my direction. Fortunately, I dodged the attack. My jaw dropped to the floor, my eyebrows flying all the way to the ceiling. Did she really want to kill me? Only because I had fired her?

She grunted, stormed toward me like a maniac, and reaching me, she grabbed the collar of my shirt. Her eyes were swollen, which was evidence that she had been crying a lot.

"How. Dare. You." She spoke amidst clenched teeth, pulling me close to her. I just gulped. "How dare you think of firing me? Have you forgotten that I'm a lunatic who doesn't take shit? Huh?!"

Instead of feeling threatened by her words, I only chortled. "Great. That's why I want you to leave. This instant, let go of my shirt. You know what's gonna happen if I get you arrested. Leave me. Now."

"This is so-"

"Drake! Pablo!" I called. Immediately, they ran into my office. I glanced at them past her head, then gestured to them to come closer. "Get her out of here immediately. She's crazy. And, ensure she never returns."

"Sure, sir," they said.

She attempted to hit me on the chest, but they pulled her arms, and began pulling her out. As they did so, she kept screaming, "You won't get away with this, Ivan! I'm gonna make you miserable for sacking me! Leave me, you idiots! Y'all are evil! Ah!"

As soon as they shut the door behind them, I sighed in relief. Goodness knew what made me hire such a person. This wasn't the first time she'd try to attack me. Was she a witch? How could she not respect her boss? I guessed I had been too soft on my workers while dating Tanya. Now, that was all over. I was back to being the man I ought to be.

Once again, about taking a seat, the door opened up. This time around, it opened gently. Confused, I narrowed my eyes at it, wondering who was behind it. I hadn't ordered anyone to come into the office, so who could that be?

Still confused, I decided to walk to the other side of the table, so I'd see who it was. Doing that, someone took a step in. It was a lady. No, not a typical lady. This one was an angel.

Stepping in, she flipped her brown hair past her shoulder, her long, natural eyelashes blinking slowly. Even if I decided to give her all the money I had in life, I was sure they couldn't purchase the angelic, attractive, and praiseworthy smile on her lips. The blueness and serenity in those eyes literally made me smile. As she walked in my direction, my eyes scanned her curvy figure, but immediately, I pulled my senses off that.

"Good evening, sir." At the sound of her voice, my butt involuntarily leaned over the table behind me, and I huffed. She was British.

My arms linked on my chest, and I was forced to sneer. "Hey, beautiful. Who sent you to me?" Damn, flirting with her was uncontrollable.

She giggled. "I'm Monique."

"Great name," I remarked.

"Thanks, sir."

And so, I kept staring at her, admiring her. About uttering another word, something snapped in front of me, which made me flinch. Blinking like a lost idiot, I moved my eyes sideways, only for me to see my bud, Jason Allan. He had a sinister smile on his lips.

He snorted. "Snap out of it, dude. That's your new secretary."

I widened my eyes in shock. Gosh, this was embarrassing. The angel was my secretary? But, why? So unfortunate.

---

I ran my palm through my face. How could I have been so lost that I hadn't even noticed Jason walking into my office? That was crazy. What would she think of me now? But, woah, she was one pretty angel.

I cleared my throat, putting on a stern look. That was the only way to cover up my craziness. "Oh, hi." I threw a glare at Jason as if he was the reason for my predicament. "Didn't know you'd be coming over today. And, umh, you should've knocked before walking in."

She grinned. "Noted. That'd be for next time."

This was crazy, but the truth was, it hurt to know that she was my new secretary. Why was life this unfair? The rules in this organization was that no boss was allowed to date or woo his secretary. I created that rule, but now, I felt the urge to break it.

I swallowed. "Good. Go and check out your office." I pointed at the glass demarcation between my office and my old secretary's. It was by the left side of the room.

She nodded. "Sure, sir." With that, she walked away.

Quite upset and still very embarrassed, I wrapped my arms around my chest, shooting scowls at Jason. "Did you do that on purpose? Is that a way of getting your revenge on me?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. And, hang on there. Don't blame me for it. You were the one who was drooling for a random lady. Not like I forced that to happen."

I rolled my eyes, squeezed my face, and walked to the other side of my table. "Whatever. Anyway, why's she here tonight? It's late already. You should've postponed it till tomorrow."

"Hm..." He placed his index finger into the keychain ring of his car keys, smirking as he jingled them. "Is that a problem? You know you need a new secretary as soon as possible?"

I just sat down, packing up, so I'd take my leave. "Alright. Well, I'm on my way home. Will catch up with you later."

For some reason, his smirk widened. He wiggled an eyebrow at me, and playfully hit his palm against the table. "Home, huh? Okay, so, what's up with the girl you're meeting? Are you gonna taste her body before taking the next step?"

I glared. I just never appreciated it when someone spoke about the fact that I was planning to have a meet up with an unknown woman. It was gross.

I snorted. "I'd appreciate it if you kept quiet."

"Dude." He rolled his eyes. "We've spoken about this, right? We both know that your cold and quiet nature won't make you find someone you like. Just go with the meet up."

I sighed in frustration, stood up, and held my bag up. "Leave that for another day. And, I haven't decided on whether or not I'll meet her. I just wanna get home first, take a shower, and relax."

He shrugged. "Kk. Not my problem. Let's see if that'll happen. Remember that Rhonda's definitely not gonna give up on you."

I scoffed. "Don't use that against me. And, I said we shouldn't talk about it. I wanna go home. That's all."

He grabbed the picture frame of the lady I was going to meet. He widened his eyes as if he was shocked, then chuckled. "Damn. She's muah!" He turned to me, his eyes squinted at me. "Ivan, if you don't want her, please, give her to me. Will happily accept this pie. Damn, she's pretty. What else do you want?"

"Yeah, take her. Don't care at all," I said.

Not wanting to prolong this conversation, I made my way toward the door. Opening it, I gasped, and almost squealed like a woman when I saw my old secretary. What was this woman's problem, and how in the world had she gotten back here?

"Y-You?" I swallowed. I couldn't believe I was actually frightened to see her. What a shame.

She grunted like an angry dog. "Yeah. Me. Shocked?"

Again, I swallowed. "What do you want from me?"

She scorned. "From you? What a joke. I'm here to take my shoe, moron. Leave my sight before I pierce your brain."

I shook my head, my eyes narrowed at her. She never stopped surprising me. "What the...? What's your problem?"

"Move. Away." Her words sounded more like a threat, than an order.

I frowned. "If you ever come back here, you'll definitely rot in jail. Don't make me despise you more than I already do."

Saying that, I walked away. Everything and everyone was making me sick. I just needed some space.

Walking in the corridor, Drake and Pablo walked behind him. I didn't even question them for letting my old secretary come back to my office. I was already too exhausted and frustrated. There was no point in stressing myself further.

Reaching the last floor, I headed straight to my car, heading home immediately.

***

My driver drove into the driveway of my huge compound, and parked in front of the mansion. He was waiting patiently for me to step out of the car, but all I did was stare at the picture of the lady, via my phone. All through the journey home I had only been scrolling through her pictures, wondering if I should go on with the decision of creating a relationship between us.

"Sir, do you need something?" The driver asked.

I glimpsed at the rear view mirror of the car, and just shook my head. "Wait a little longer. I'll hop out soon."

"Okay, sir," he said.

I resumed staring at the photos.

Yes, she was pretty. Very pretty. But first, who was she? Second, being pretty wasn't enough for me to like her. And, third, presently, there was only one woman in my heart. Tanya Edward. I would admit that I was severely hurt to know that she had cheated on me. But, could I just forget about her like that? I still loved her very much. She was all that still mattered in my heart. In that case, how could I think of letting go of her?

After a while of thinking about this, I stepped out. Drake and Pablo jogged toward me, but I asked them to leave. I walked up the stoop, heading into the mansion. Getting to the door, I inserted its pin code, and made my way in.

"Ivan! You're back!" My cousin, Peggy, hurried over to me the moment she spotted me standing by the door. Like always, she was beaming, seeming excited as if she had just won a lottery. Yeah, she was quite dramatic.

I gave her a small smile. "Sup? How was your day?"

"Good, I guess." She shrugged. She gripped my hands, squeezed them, and winked at me. "Hope you're ready for your date?"

I gulped. Why did I have to hear that again?

"Oh, my boy. You're back." With a deep smile on my aunt's lips, she sauntered toward me.

I nodded, feigning a smile to make her think I was okay. "Hi," I greeted.

She took my hand as well. Her smile widened, nothing but happiness glinting through her. She turned to Peggy, and tapped her arm. "Come on, Peggy. Go and get his suit jacket. And, um, make sure his cologne is a strong one. It must be of a high quality, 'kay?"

Again, and again, and again, I gulped. Was I sure I could go on with this?

"Wait!" Peggy exclaimed. She gasped, and with widened eyes, she turned to me. "Ivan, I have a better idea! Why don't you take her to your beach house? The restaurant might not be so appealing, you know?"

"Or..." My aunt smirked. "...his boat?"

"No, the beach house is a better choice!" Peggy rebuked.

"Shut up, silly thing." Aunt slapped her on the arm. "I wouldn't even let him take her there for a billion dollars. That's lame."

"It's not!"

And so, they began to argue.

I clenched my hands in a fist. I was furious. Not with them, but with everything going on in my life. If Tanya hadn't betrayed me, none of these would be happening to me.

Abruptly, their arguments sounded like a disturbing siren in my ears. It made me feel the need to flare up, but I was holding back by wrath. After all, they weren't responsible for my problems. They didn't make Tanya lay with another man.

Feeling even more enraged, I clenched my jaw. And, that was it. I couldn't hold back the rage that was lingering in my heart.

"Enough!" I cried out loud. I glared with so much intensity, my nostrils flared, blood probably seeping from my palm, due to how hard my fist were.

They snapped their necks in my direction, Peggy's eyes jutted out of their sockets. They were both startled.

I breathed out loud and hard, and declared, "I'm not meeting anyone. And, you know what? This date is cancelled. Not just the date. The future matrimony is now a topic in the past." I turned to my aunt. "Cause, I'm no longer moving on. I'm going to remain in this cage. This bandage. I'm not getting married to anyone, and it's final."

Her jaw dropped. That wasn't all that dropped. A tear also dropped from her eye.

__