His Rejected Bride

"Have you heard? Frederick will be flying into the country soon" Mrs Caroline said, placing the pot on fire.

"No, I have not heard about it. Tell me mum, who told you about this? Ashely asked

"Frederick's grandpa, of course. Happy, right?

"I'll go set the table". Ashley kissed her mum's hand and rushed out of the kitchen.

She came to a halt and leaned on the wall, placing her hand on her chest. Her heart beat had increased, she could hear her heart beat as fast as a drum. She smiled softly.

"Frederick is coming back. It's been years. I wonder if he would like me or not."

"Ashley! Her father called out to her

"That scared the light out of me, dad. Call me in a soft tone, because I'm soft as an angel"

"Indeed. And what are you doing there?

"Oh! I'm going to set the table for breakfast, dad. Want to join me?

"Get me a cup of coffee. I'll be at the garden"

"Yes dad. Right away dad"

Ashley returned to the kitchen and quickly prepared her dad's coffee and left for the garden with the coffee.

She gently placed the coffee on the table and waited patiently for her dad to taste the coffee.

Her dad grabbed the coffee mug and took a sip of the coffee and smiled.

"You would definitely make a good barista "

"Thank you dad"

"Frederick will be coming in soon. I'll send some money to you, go shopping and get lovely things for you. You can't afford to not entice him to like you"

"But dad... I've got a very good and nice personality that would entice a lot of good men".

"Yes, but then...we still have to play safe. "

"Okay dad"

"Ashley...serve my breakfast here, you guys are welcome to join me here."

"Yes dad"

Ashley turned to leave. She was pretty confused about what her dad meant by affording not to entice Frederick.

Ashley had always believed that Frederick would definitely love her for who she is and fall head over heels in love with her the moment he saw her beautiful and simple nature and natural beauty. Why go extra miles to entice him? Her mum had always taught her that men entice women to love them and not the other way round.

The Owens and the Stevens have been in a close relationship since the 1990s. Mr Owen and Mr Steven had made a pact to get married to strengthen their relationship and also their business relationship. However, they ended up separating as Owen moved out of the country. Upon relocating back to the country, Steven's son, Donald, meets up with Mr Owen, who informs him about the promise he made to Donald's father. Mr Owen offers to get his grandson Frederick married to Donald's daughter, Ashley.

Ashley was convinced to marry Frederick after meeting with Fredrick's family and was loved especially by Mr Owen. Kyla concludes that Frederick would be nice to her and would love her.

After the day's breakfast, Ashley and her friend, Mara, left to shop for new clothes. Ashely ended up telling Mara the reason behind the shopping. Mara, who felt uncomfortable with the entire situation, tried to get kyla to reason with her and cancel everything as she felt that Frederick might end up rejecting Ashley.

Ashley laughed it off and continued her shopping.

Mara and Kyla returned to Ashley's home after a long day at the mall shopping for clothes. Ashley and Mara hurriedly left for Ashley's room. They placed the shopping bags on the couch and fell on the bed facing upwards.

Ashley let out a heavy sigh.

"Do you think he'll like me? Am I really his type? Why do I feel scared? Ashley sighed again.

"I don't know. Unless he's a dumbass not to love you. Ashley, you're really perfect. Only fools would be blind to notice your perfection", Mara said, touching Ashley's hand.

"You think? Ashley turned to Mara

"Yes. Just don't put so much effort as not to get disappointed and hurt in the end " Mara sat up and immediately stretched out.

"Why not? Dad said I should do everything possible to make sure he gets to like me".

"And in doing that," Mara held Ashley's hands. "Don't lose yourself. I've seen a lot of women losing themselves to others to impress some silly man. Don't do that. Besides, you're still a young and energetic beautiful lady. You're yet to hit twenty-five. How old are you? Yes, twenty-three. Young and fresh" Mara touched, Ashley's cheeks "and soft " both giggled.

"Let's go have something to eat" Ashley dragged Mara along.

Mr Marcus's feet are beginning to hurt from standing for a long time. He continuously glanced at his wristwatch and he would scratch his head.

"Maybe I should go grab a seat. I'm exhausted" he pulled out his phone to check for Mr Owen's message, when he carelessly met the eyes of a handsome young guy in black trousers, short-sleeved shirt and black brogue shoes. "Familiar face? Perhaps young master Frederick Owen? Let me check. " He quickly checked the picture on his phone and looked up. His jaw dropped on realizing who was coming his way.

Frederick came to a halt and checked to see if anyone was waiting for him. He glanced at his wristwatch and quickly pulled out his phone. He was startled by a scream which sounded like his name.

His eyes searched for who made such a scream.

"Young master Frederick Owen!!! Over here! Mr Marcus yelled at top of his voice and rushed over to Frederick. Mr Marcus immediately hugged Frederick and sniffed him.

"Nice cologne" Mr Marcus mumbled.

"Let me go, old man". Frederick stepped on Mr Marcus's foot and pushed him away. "Who are you?

"Me? I'm Mr Marcus. I'm going to pick you up and take you home."

"Oh! A chauffeur?

"Not really. I'm Sir Owen's personal assistant"

"Oh. I see. Sorry that I stepped on your foot. Hey! Don't ever try to touch me. I hate people touching me. Where is grandpa, and how is he?

"He's at home, and he's doing well."

"Nice. I wonder how it is here. The house here, how is it?

"Really perfect and the people of this country are really nice and loving."

"I wonder why I have to fly into this country. I do not know why mum and dad decided to move back here five years ago. Crazy. Take me home "

"Yes sir. This way "

"You can bring my luggage along." Frederick patted Mr Marcus's shoulder and walked away.

"Me? So mean. How do I carry this?

"Hey old man, what's keeping you?

"I'm coming young master! Mr Marcus quickly dragged the luggage and followed Frederick to the car.

Moments later Frederick arrived at Mr Owen's house and was given a warm reception by everyone. His luggage was taken to his room. After spending a few minutes with his family, he retired to his bedroom to get some rest. Frederick was pretty impressed by his bedroom while he checked it out.

He fell face flat on the bed, with his legs hanging out. A knock came at the door twice and the door opened. His mum walked in.

"Fred? His mum called out.

Frederick immediately sat up, adjusting his shirt.

"Here mum"

"Yes son" she rushed over to him and sat beside him. "Dear, you look exhausted. I really missed you. Why didn't you come back with us?

"Who said I'm back?

"What?

"I'm not back at all. I just came into response to grandpa's call. Didn't want to act disobedient. I'm such a good son, right? He winked at his mum.

"Well, I do not know. Fred, why don't you freshen up and come down for dinner? Dinner will be served soon"

"Mum, where are my siblings? Where are Chris and Matilda?

"Out with their friends. They'll be back soon. I already informed them of your arrival."

"Okay. I can't wait to see them"

"Of course you can wait. I'll leave you to freshen up dear", she patted his shoulder and walked away.

"Why do I feel quite strange about grandpa's call? Strange indeed"

Frederick finished up with his bath and got ready for dinner. He changed into a pair of black joggers and a blue polo shirt and flipflops, grabbed his phone and went downstairs to the dining room. He was surprised to find no one at the dining room.

"Where is everyone? Ain't we supposed to have dinner? Dinners are eaten in the dining room, unless they've got another dining room in this house, because this house is magnificent, quite a palace grandpa has here. But then, where are they?

Frederick pulled out his phone and dialed his mum's number, who picked him up immediately.

"Tell me mum, where did you guys disappear from?

"Why? What happened?

"I'm standing in an empty dining room. No food, no humans. Are you guys pranking me right now?

"No. Come over to the garden."

"Garden? Mum please. I'm not in the mood to see grandpa's flowers. I'm starving. Where are you guys? At a hotel? Send me the location, I'll find you"

"Excuse me sir? A maid interrupted his discussion with his mum on the phone

"What? Are you lost too?

"No. Sir Owen asked me to take you over to where they are for dinner. They are waiting for you"

"Really? Where are they?

"In Sir Owen's garden."

"Let's go then. Hello mum, I'll join you soon" Frederick hung up and followed the maid to the garden. He was amazed by the setting.

Matilda and Chris rushed over to him, giving him a hug. Frederick spread out his long arms and wrapped his siblings in them.

"Missed you guys."

"Missed you too" Matilda said.

"Okay, that's enough hug. Right now, I'm so, so hungry. So, if you guys don't mind, may I have dinner? "

"Yes. Bro, you look so different. "

"You too, Chris. Chris is a man". Frederick chuckled and then joined the rest of the family at the table. "Greetings to everyone "

"Matilda serve him some food" asked Fredrick's mum.

"Yes mum"

"I missed you guys."

"Then stay with us" Matilda said, smiling at him.

"Of course he will. He has come to stay. "

"Really grandpa? Matilda asked in excitement.

"Really grandpa? I do not think so. I've not come to stay. Besides, I can't just abandon everything and move down here. No way. The company"

"The company was founded here. The company headquarters is here, and over there is a subsidiary. Listen Frederick"

"Ferdinand let him be. This is dinner time, so let him eat" Mr Owen said, cutting Mr Ferdinand short.

"Yes dad"

"Yes grandpa", Frederick forced out a smile.

After dinner, Mr Owen requested Frederick to walk with him down the path while they do some catching up. Frederick stopped walking when his grandpa mentioned the relationship.

"Grandpa, tell me, why did you bring me down here? You said relationship. What are you planning?

"I'm not planning anything, my dear grandson."

"Yes you are. Be honest with me grandpa, what are you hiding from me?

"Absolutely nothing. Freddy, I'm hiding nothing from you. But then" he paused and continued walking.

"But then what grandpa? Frederick followed up.

"But then, I'll tell you something very important, and that is the reason I asked you to come down here."

"Okay. Tell me right now. I'm all ears"

"Frederick Ferdinand Owen"

"Yes grandpa ".

"We'll discuss it tomorrow or next. Tonight is beautiful. Look at the sky, how lovely the stars are and how beautiful the half moon is. Perfect. The stars are absolutely nothing without the moon. The stars can't be seen without the presence of the moon. Though the presence of the moon is noticeable because of its bright light, the stars are the reason people pause and stare at the moon. And the moon and the stars beautify the sky at night, the sky is nothing and empty, plain without them. Our family is the sky, you're the moon, but you do not have any stars to make people look up to in admiration "

"Parables. Grandpa, I do not like them"

"When you go to bed, ponder over them, the words of an aged man" Mr Owen smiled at him and continued.

"Grandpa has his ways with words just to confuse someone, just as he has confused me right now. Ponder over some strange parable. What does he mean?

"Frederick Ferdinand Owen!

"Coming grandpa"

Ashley's hope of meeting Frederick is high as she believes Frederick will definitely like her, just as her hope is high, so is her fear of being rejected by him. Frederick is, however, confused by what Mr Owen had said to him, making him uneasy and quite difficult for him to fall asleep as he wonders the connection between the moon-star story .

Ashley woke up pretty late as she had slept late last night because of thinking about Frederick and how he would react upon seeing her. Her fear of being rejected clouded her mind. Her alarm had gone off for over thirty minutes.

Ashley got out of her bed and dressed it. She laid her mat on the floor and did some stretching out and yoga to clear her mind.

A knock came at the door and her mum walked in.

"Sorry for interrupting your yoga time dear"

"No, it's okay mum. Come in"

"Okay dear", her mum said, sitting on her bed. "Dear, I have news for you. "

"News? What news?

"About Frederick?

Ashley's heart skipped a beat. She could feel her heart race. Was she excited or was she scared?

"Okay, go on" she stuttered.

"Well, Mr Ferdinand Owen, Frederick's father had put a call across to us to inform us about Fredrick's arrival. Your meeting with him will be fixed tonight and the date and time will be relayed to us"

"Oh! That's nice mum. I'm, you know, excited about it " Ashley tittered.

"Okay. I thought it wise to give you this news about your betrothed. I'll be in the kitchen. Care to join me and prepare breakfast for everyone?

"Yes mum. In a bit, I'll be with you"

"Okay darling", her mum patted her back gently and went her way.

After Owen's morning breakfast, Mr Owen invited Frederick and Mr Ferdinand to his office. Frederick was the last to arrive at his office. Mr Owen asked the maid to serve tea, which she did, and excused herself from their meeting.

Mr Owen calmly narrated his relationship with Mr Steven and the promise they had made to each other. Frederick, confused about what Mr Owen said, tried to figure out how it was linked to him, since his dad never married Mr Steven's child.

"Grandpa. I'm sorry, but your story is quite confusing. How does it relate to me? I mean, since the promise wasn't kept because of circumstances, what do you want from me?

"His granddaughter is your betrothed."

"His what is my what? Frederick scoffed. "Grandpa, I believe age is actually catching up with you. How can you say that? Betrothed to whom? This is crazy. Who in this modern world betroths his child to another? This is sick grandpa "

"Well, we did in our world. "

"You guys promised to have your kids get married. I'm not your child. I'm your grandson, therefore I'm not bound by such a silly pact or promise. Grandpa, can't you see? Fate doesn't want you two to be in-laws. You guys are better off as friends, that's why your kids never married their kids. Try to reason with me. Dad, back me up here please. "

"I can't Fred. Dad is right. Yes, circumstances happened, but promises are made to be kept ".

"Dad! But not all promises are meant to be kept. Some are to be broken and one of them is this silly promise "

"You'll meet with her tomorrow at the restaurant where I have already made reservations. You will be nice to her, and you have to get her to like you. Understood?

"No. Not at all. I do not understand anything, grandpa. Grandpa, if this is why you pulled me down here, I'm sorry, I won't grant your request. By tomorrow I'll leave this place and go back to where I came from."

"Frederick Ferdinand Owen! I've said it and it's final."

"I've said it also, grandpa, and it's final. "

"Ferdinand, talk to your son."

"Dad, talk to your father. You can not get me entangled with some silly family, some stranger, some girl from some family all because of a stupid promise. I refuse to be forced to do that. "

"Frederick! Don't speak to your grandpa in such a tone. Do not disrespect him!

"Yes father. My apologies, grandpa, but I won't do that."

"Just one date with her son, do it. Go meet her, please, meet her, just this once, son."Mr Ferdinand requested.

"I can't. I'm sorry . I would love to retire to my bedroom."

"Fred"

"Ferdinand, let him be. I do not expect him to accept our request so easily or jump in excitement. I mean, he's a full-fledged handsome young man who can find a woman for himself. This is pretty much for him and I understand his anger and feeling of betrayal. Do not force him. Let him be, he will definitely come around. "

"Yes father. I'll take your leave then."

"Good"

Frederick recalled he had seen a black power bike. He requested for the key to be brought to him. One of the maids rushed to Chris's bedroom and grabbed the key and returned immediately to Frederick, handing over the key to him.

Frederick left immediately for the garage. He mounted the power bike and wore the helmet and zoomed off. Mr Owen watched him from his office drive off.

"Kids and silly anger issues" Mr Owen said, sipping his tea from his cup.

Frederick drove down the nice nature-designed road. He let the nice wind grace his body.

His phone began to ring, and he immediately parked his bike to pick up his call. His girlfriend, Eloise, was calling.

"Frederick speaking", Frederick said while he balanced his bike.

"Eloise baby speaking to her prince charming." Eloise said

"Okay. What do you want? Some money? I'll send some money to your account."

"Hold on, not that. Where are you?

"Me? I'm with my family in Italy. Any problem Eloise?

"You traveled down to Italy without informing your woman? How rude and ungentlemanly, Frederick."

"My apologies, Eloise. It was urgent, I had to come down to respond to grandpa's call."

"What sort of call dragged my man down to Italy? Tell me."

"Eloise, do not worry. It's nothing I can't handle."

"You're definitely hiding something from me. Tell me, Fredrick, what is it?

"Turns out a lady was betrothed to me even before the birth of my father. Grandpa and her grandpa made a promise to each other that their kids would get married. Unfortunately, circumstances happened, and now I'm going to fulfill that promise with her. They betrothed her to me, before we were born."

"What? That's absurd. What rubbish! Frederick, didn't you tell them about us? That you've got a woman in your life? Fred do not agree to this silly arrangement. Do something. I bet that lady must be reeking of so much debt."

"What do you mean by that? Reek of debt? How?

"Come on, Frederick. Isn't it obvious? I mean why would they still hold onto such stupid promise if they are not neck deep in debt? Of course they are, and they have realized how wealthy not just your family is, but you are also. Look, trust me when I tell you, they are after your family's wealth, and you need to be careful and act fast."

"What do I do then? I'm really out of options."

"Simple. Agree to go on a date with her."

"Hell no! No way am I doing such a stupid thing! I'm not going to go on a date with some silly stranger girl."

"Fred baby, listen to me. I've got an awesome plan. Accept the proposal of date. Show up there either early or late."

"Continue."

"All you have to do is to embarrass the demon out of her. Show her where she belongs to. Insult her and reject her. Tell her that you can't get entangled with some low-life cheap girl like her, and you've got a perfect woman for you, and you're going to go back to your woman. Warn her to stay away from you and your family. Make her feel less of herself. Make her cry, make her feel dejected, that she would have no other option but to plead with her parents to call off the entire thing and break the stupid promise. Tell me, how do you see my idea? Great, right? I knew it."

"Not really. Hurt her feelings, make her feel dejected? Wow, sounds quite." Frederick paused and took a sharp breath and exhaled immediately. "Quite fun to do. I'll do it. I'm going to make sure she swears never to have anything to do with me."

"That's my love."

"I'll hang up now and drive back home. I'm out on a power bike, trying to clear up my head. Thanks for calling and for the brilliant plan."

"You do not have to thank me. I'm your woman and I can't stand by and watch my in-laws take my man from me, never."

"Funny Eloise. Okay then. Take care. I'm hanging up now. Bye." Frederick hung up and quickly put on his helmet. "Eloise is right, let's do this. I'm coming for you, miss whoever you are."