MADE TO BE YOURS

CHAPTER 1

Cathy sighed as she walked into the office, she had attended one conference meeting to another and she needed a break from all the meetings but she knew better than to take one. Her phone rang and it was Carlos calling, thinking her day couldn't get any worse.

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Five years ago, Cathy had just started college. She was nineteen, persistent, and goal-oriented. She had a rough childhood growing up with a single dad, she lost her mum at a very tender age of ten to a fire incident, a fire incident that still haunts her till date. The death of her mum broke her dad to pieces, He was no longer the shadow of the man he used to be. He started drinking heavily and kept late nights, gambled the little money he made and ran into trouble many times. He was arrested most of the time and was literally absent in their lives. It was a hopeless situation; he would promise to change and sober up for a few days but renegade on his promises.

"Give me time Cathy, I will do right by you and your brother," He would say in his usual slurry voice whenever he sees her distraught expression. "I told your mum I would take care of you both." Cathy had to learn not to expect much from him or anyone. It was the first lesson she learned as a child. She expected nothing from anyone and learned to be independent quite early.

Her father never kept to his promises. Cathy's mum was the glue that kept the family together; her elder brother Jamie followed their father's footsteps in the rough street; he would shoplift with his friends, sometimes sell hard drugs and got into some fights with rival gangs. He got killed in the hood. He was just 16 when he died, Cathy at 13 had faced so much loss and found herself being moved from one foster home to the other. When her father got out of prison, social services deemed him incapable of taking care of her. Cathy had to study so hard to get a scholarship to college because she knew the foster parents she was attached to had no plans of college for her.

When she got into college at the age of 18 on a scholarship, she knew it was a miracle and she needed to study more to hit her goals. She had mapped out her plans for the future; get a good job in a prestigious company after college, scale her career and then get married to a good guy, all in that particular order, she had reckoned that to achieve that, she needed to study very well. Her freshman year was smooth, she spent most of the time in the dorm, lecture room, or library. She didn't attend any party, the only friend she had or the closest person she had to a friend was her roommate Jesse.

Jesse was a high-class party girl, the total opposite of Cathy but this unlikely pair clicked and became friends. Jesse respected the fact that Cathy wasn't into the whole party and getting high stuff and Cathy appreciated her for that. Jesse would tease Cathy for choosing the good girl path and they would laugh at the joke.

"Girl, with a body like yours, I would wrap every son of Adam around my little finger. I would wear the skimpiest dress and show my assets and those kimono dresses you wear around like you are practicing to become a nun." Jesse would say and shake her head ruefully when Cathy wears her usual kimono the next day.

At the end of her freshman year, she had a 4.0 GPA, and as business was her major, she was certain she would be getting a good job if she continued at that pace. Sophomore year, she continued with the same energy she started with until that fateful day when she met Carlos. He had just transferred into the business major from administration, and he was a hottie. Cathy had heard about him from Jesse before but paid no attention, he was a guy all the girls in school drooled over and tried hard to get. Carlos is the son of one of the wealthiest businessmen in the country and had a unique way of flaunting his father's wealth that made other feel inferior to him in college. On his first day in class, he had tried to strike a conversation with her.

"Hey," he had said as he sat close to her.

Cathy ignored him and hated his guts for being so bold and carefree. She hesitated to respond to him. "Hey," she had answered dully.

Carlos tried to get her into a conversation with him but she had acted like he was bothering her. Carlos was piqued. He studied her as she bent her head, eyes fixed on her book. She was a beauty; long eyelash, smooth arch and a petite nose that perfectly matched her small rounded lips. Her ravine wavy hair made him want to run his hands into the thick mass of her hair. When she stared briefly at him with disinterest in her eyes, he noticed the warm brownish hue in them. He found himself filled with the thoughts of her each day as he watched her come in and leave the classroom. She had the body of a model, with a voluptuous shape, an attractive round butt and an hourglass figure. Carlos became enamored by the thoughts of her, he looked forward to seeing her in class each day and this made him attend class frequently.

On one rainy day, Cathy slightly drenched in the rain speculated how she would go catch the bus in such a nasty weather with a crucial test awaiting her in school. She had not expected the rain to fall and she wasn't with an umbrella. Her sophomore year dorm was a bit far from the bus station and she couldn't afford to call a cab, she was stuck. She was still thinking how to handle the situation when a car stopped beside her. At first, she didn't even notice him so he honked and she stopped.

"Hey," came the familiar drawl of his voice

Cathy would have ignored him but she was relieved he was there with his car.

"Hey," she replied, her eyes warm and grateful.

Carlos unlocked the car door, "Come in so you don't get soaked in the rain."

Cathy entered and shut the door, she turned to him with a warm smile, "Thank you so much for the ride."

Carlos waved her gratitude aside and focused on the road. Silence ensured between them. Cathy was mildly surprised, she had expected he would be chatty and flirtatious, after all, that was what he had been doing these past weeks. Cathy became disturbed when noticed he took a different turn.

"Where the hell are you taking me to?" she asked, alarmed

Carlos grinned, amused, Cathy noticed he had a charming smile. He didn't answer her and kept on driving. He stopped at a clothing shop and turned to stare at her, his piercing blue eyes fixed on her wet body.

"Would you like to go to school looking wet and drenched like this?"

Cathy felt the flush of embarrassment run up to her cheek. She could feel his eyes on her wet clothes bore into her naked flesh which was obviously revealing in the damp clothes. Carlos laughed softly when he noticed how embarrassed she looked.

"Come in, let me get you some dry clothes to wear." He spoke.

They entered the boutique and she first picked a top that seemed rather simple but when she saw the price tag attached to it, she dropped it. Carlos noticed it, chuckled, and picked it up again. Cathy got dressed in a black jean, and a beautiful crop top. It was only when she wore the top, she realized it was a cropped top, she tried to pull it down but it still revealed her navel and she had already removed the tag. There was no way she could return it, Carlos paid for it and they left.

They arrived in school and as they walked through the school hallway together, Cathy noticed all eyes were on them. She wasn't sure if it was because of her exposed navel or the fact she was walking with Carlos. After the test, she tried to avoid Carlos but as soon as she finished and submitted, he dropped his paper with the invigilator too and caught up with her.

" Hey," She heard the familiar drawl of his voice. "Where are you going?" He asked with a charming smile.

" Well, I am supposed to go back home, I have a few things to do" Cathy replied

He smiled and stared at her outfit; his eyes rested on her bare belly button. Cathy covered her tummy unconsciously. She found it disconcerting that his eyes made her skin tingle.

" Let's go somewhere."

"Where?" She asked

He winked his eye and ran his hand through his auburn hair, his eyes shiny with mischief. " You will see"

Those three words

Those three words he had said were the beginning of her ruin.

CHAPTER 2

Carlos has never had a stable sense of security ever since he was a kid. He always got into one trouble or the other. His mum was a mistress to the rich billionaire Mr. Cruise and had Carlos for him. The legitimate wife of Mr. Cruise, Jasmine had no child for him and that made Mr. Cruise take more interest in the mistress Emma, well mostly because he wanted a child. He asked her to move into the house.

Mr. Cruise was strict on Carlos; he knew he was going to hand over all his wealth to him and wouldn't want him to throw away all that he toiled to build. Later on, Carlos's mum had another child, a daughter about 4 years younger than Carlos.

Carlos had a complicated life growing up; he was used to getting all he wanted but his dad was always been hard on him. When he grew up, he became rebellious, he loved his mum and sister Harley. They were the two most important people in his life. He rebelliously chose to study political administration as his major but his dad made him transfer back to business, he wanted him to be a remarkably business-oriented man, both educationally and practically.

"You will do as I say and that is not open for discussion." His father bellowed when Carlos tried to argue about his decision to have him change his course of study.

Lately, Mr. Cruise had considered transferring Carlos to another school outside the country where there was more knowledge on how the business World works so he could manage some of their companies outside the country and gain more experience. Carlos was not keen on the idea of leaving the country especially leaving his mom alone in the mercy of Mrs. Jasmine. He wanted to protect her at all costs, Mrs. Jasmine treated his mom as a servant and it extremely annoyed him, more especially because his dad acted like it was nothing.

"It's for the best Carlos," his mother would insist whenever he reacted to the older woman's icy demeanor to his mom. "It's a sacrifice I am happy to take for you and your sister's sake."

Emma was way younger than Mrs. Jasmine, she had Carlos when she was sixteen, she was young and naive when she got entangled with a rich billionaire who coerced her to have a child for him with promises to leave his wife for her. She had two kids for him but he never left Jasmine, in fact, he and Jasmine planned to have her bear kids for them.

"You are such a naïve fool to think he would leave me for you." Jasmine had mocked her when she threatened to leave after she realized they had fooled her. "You are just the machine we need to preserve the continuity of our prestigious family. If you must leave, you must leave alone without the kids, they belong here."

When Emma realized what was going on, she decided she needed to endure for her children so they could have the best of the life they deserved and not leave them alone with a heartless woman like Jasmine.There was no other way than to remain in the mansion and endure. Mr. Cruise was even ready then to take the children from her.

"You should be grateful Jasmine let you stay here," He countered one evening when Emma protested and threatened to leave. "If you must leave, you will go alone. My kids belong here, they are mine."

Emma knew the only way she could stay in the picture and remain relevant to her kids was to endure whatever suffering and humiliation that came to her.

On-campus Carlos had always been the guy who got the girls, most were ready to strip at the snap of his fingers. They all wanted to be associated with him and he had always taken advantage of his fame to get all the girls he wanted. He realized Cathy wasn't like the rest of the girls when he met her. At first, it infuriated him, how could a simpleton like her ignore him, then later on she became an addiction to him, he would stalk her all day, follow her to the restaurant she worked, and stay nearby to observe her. He got to realize she was single and she didn't have any friends apart from her roommate Jesse. He was surprised she wasn't the social type; she didn't go out to parties and stayed up pretty late at night. She had no social media account so he couldn't stalk her online which would have been much simpler for him. He found himself falling for her as he observed her every day. Her innocence appealed to him and he became fascinated by her, for the first time in his life he wanted to know more about the lady that caught his heart skip, he wanted to partake in her life, not just to have sex with with her, he wanted to get to know everything about her.

That day when he invited her to go out with him, he took her to a garden. They walked to a garden with a beautiful view of the city; it was more like a valley with beautiful flowers and grasses. They sat down and Carlos stared at Cathy, for all he cared, she was the beautiful scenery because he could not take his eyes off her.

"This place is fascinating," Cathy declared, fascinated

"Yes, it is, I discovered this place when I was a kid, and ever since then it had always been my favorite spot" he responded. He hesitated, he wanted her to say something but the way she seemed relaxed and at peace held me back.

"Why do you hate me, Cathy?" He asked instead, curious to know why she had avoided him like a plague.

Cathy looked at him, surprised by the question, her eyes wrinkled with laughter and she laughed. It was the first time he had seen her laugh in such a manner, the way the wind blew her ravine dark hair across her face made him want to tuck her hair behind her ear. Carlos felt his heart yearn for her love.

"I don't hate you, why do you think I hate you?" Cathy asked

"Well, the first time I talked to you, you were rude and indifferent to me." Carlos explained.

Cathy shook her head, "I don't hate you, well I knew exactly who you are and I would rather keep my distance from you" she replied honestly

"Interesting," he said and reclined his back to rest on the floor, "have you heard the saying, don't judge a book by its cover?"

"Well for my safety, I would rather not find out if it were true or not " she answered with a shrug.

He knew she had said the truth but something in him wanted to prove her wrong, he wanted to let her know that there was more to him than what she has heard.

"Cathy, I know I don't have a good reputation, I am far from perfect, but that isn't completely true, there is more to me than what you have heard." Carlos said after some silence.

Cathy said nothing and stared into space; her face expressionless. Carlos wished he could read her thoughts.

"There is more?" She asked, still staring at nothing

"Yes Cathy, there is more" he answered, his eyes shut.

If only she had known that there was more indeed and it came with a lot of pain.

CHAPTER 3

Cathy's relationship with Carlos took off beautifully. They became an inseparable pair, always together; kept each other company, they would go on movie dates, to the park, to their favorite garden. Cathy at first was cautious but loosened up soon enough, Carlos was an interesting company, it didn't take long to fall in love with him. They spent most of the time together in school, at her dorm. It didn't take long before everyone on campus knew they were a couple.

A lot of girls soon became envious, they started with threats and warned Cathy to stay away from Carlos but Carlos made sure he reassured her that he would always be there to protect her. Cathy also helped Carlos in his study and his grades improved noticeably, his old man could not help but notice. One day after a test, they went to their favorite cafeteria.

"What time will you be going to work," he asked

"I have an evening shift today so by 4 pm" she replied

He sipped his cup of coffee, he frowned slightly and observed her, "You know you don't have to work; you are my girl and I can give you all you want."

She smiled, "Carlos, we have been through this, frankly I appreciate you wanting to help me but I don't feel relaxed taking things from you." Cathy explained.

Carlos sighed and looked away; Cathy was too independent and would not let him fuss over her. "For God's sake Cathy, why do you have to be this stubborn?" he asked in exasperation.

"I'm not stubborn." She replied and feigned to be angry.

Carlos held her hands, his voice soft with a plea, "My love, you and I have been dating for a little less than 4 months ago, the only thing you let me do is pick you up in the morning and drop you off at school," he mumbled

Cathy smiled and squeezed his hand, "That's fine for me, you are being more than helpful to me." She reassured him.

He squeezed her hand and kissed it. "I feel like I'm not doing enough because you wouldn't let me. I fear you would reject my gifts because they are expensive," he caressed her face and continued, "I want to be able to walk into a clothing store, see an elegant dress and get it for you, I want to be able to buy you all the things you need"

She saw the sincerity in his eyes, his hands still wrapped in hers and her hands looked so fragile in his. "I don't need all that, all I need is you," Cathy maintained. Cathy wished she could make Carlos see she had become accustomed to taking care of her needs alone. It scared her to expect anything from anyone.

"Cathy, I know that, but I want you to let be the man in your life," he said

Cathy glanced at him; she hadn't had any man wanting to be the man in her life. She wondered how Carlos can be the man for her. Hell, she doesn't really know what a man in her life is supposed to do or be.

"How do you want to be the man in my life?" Cathy asked, intrigued

"Well, for starters, the way you dress," he said with a grin, "as the man in your life, I would love to have you dress like my woman."

"What's wrong with the way I dress? " She replied, surprised

"Nothing," Carlos answered with his arms up, "you look beautiful with whatever you put on but I love my lady dressing a bit more elegant with style and class."

Cathy stared at him, then glanced at her dress. Cathy had worn a polka dotted blue gown with black flat sandals which she had gotten recently, wasn't this stylish enough? She wondered. "You know I'm not into all that stuff."

"Yes, I know that, but soon enough I would want you to meet my family." He said, his tone serious, Cathy's heart fluttered a bit. Carlos leaned closer to her and continued, "I have told you about the kind of family I belong to, they would want a girl with more class. If it was up to me, I am perfectly fine with who you are." He told her

Cathy understood him perfectly; his father was one of the wealthiest men in the country and she knew she fits nowhere near his social standards. She loved Carlos and would do anything to please him.

"Okay," she said in a flat tone, "let's do it."

"So would you give it a try? the new clothes and shoes?" Carlos asked with a smile

"Yes" she answered reluctantly

He hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

Carlos came to pick her by 9pm after her work shift and told her he had booked a date for her at the mall, salon, and spa. Since the next day was Saturday, he would pick her up by 10am. Cathy got to her room and was surprised to see Jesse. Jesse never spent a night on Fridays in the room, she was always at one party or the other.

"Miracle on a Friday night? " Cathy teased

Jesse smirked " I just decided to seat this night out and besides I have a report I need to turn in tomorrow."

"On a Saturday?" Cathy asked

"Yes, I don't know what's wrong with some lecturers." Jesse complained

"Well, at least it kept you in tonight and I can eventually see how you sleep without being drunk on a Friday night" Cathy teased again

"Haha, funny" Jesse sniggered. She stared at Cathy, "How is Carlos?" She asked, cautiously.

"He is fine, he dropped me off" Cathy answered with a smile

"Nice. How's it going with you and him?" Jesse asked with concern

"It's been awesome." Cathy said, her eyes warm, "he booked a spa day for me tomorrow and we are going shopping."

Jesse widened her eyes in feigned surprise, "I thought you weren't into all that," she teased.

"Well, I'm not but..." Cathy stuttered

"But what?" Jesse asked, laughing

"Carlos said he would want me to meet his family soon and he said I need to make an impression, you know, those high-class social stuff"

"Yes, so he doesn't think his family would like you the way you are?" Jesse asked

"Well, not so" Cathy replied, "I think Carlos had butted head with his father on many occasions and he doesn't want a repeat of that in our relationship."

"Well, I think he should be delighted to introduce you to his family. You don't need to change the way you dress or look, just to impress them" Jesse replied

Cathy mulled over what she said. She understood Jesse's point but this wasn't the case here. "Well, I am not changing how I look wholly, just a few adjustments." She found herself explaining.

Jesse looked up and studied her briefly. "Cathy, I just don't want you to get hurt. Carlos is way more complex than you think," Jesse said, her eyes soft with concern

"You don't know him as I do, he is different around me, when we are together, he is gentle, comforting, sweet, protective, and remarkably caring," Cathy said, her eyes filled with love.

"Well, just be careful, I see you are already so much in love with him." Jesse cautioned her

"Yes, I love him." Cathy admitted shyly

"It's written all over you, I don't want him to hurt you so please be careful," Jesse told her

"I don't think Carlos will ever hurt me; he loves me"

"Okay, just don't dive down deep, you might drown," Jesse said with a note of finality.

"Where are you going?" Cathy asked, surprised

"I'm so bored, I am going out" she announced.

Cathy watched her wear her sneakers and laughed. Jesse gave the peace sign, opened the door and left.

Cathy laid down on her bed and thought about Jesse's warning. She tossed and turned on her bed and fell into a fitful sleep.