The Marriage Deal with a Billionaire

"What are you doing here, Abigail? Don't you know you have to knock at the door before coming in?" Liam, her boyfriend, was a fireball.

Her eyes were on stalks, unable to believe the scene running before her. Earth shook under the feet of Abigail when she discovered her cousin Zoey cheating on her with her boyfriend.

Abby took a long wavered breath trying her best not to present herself shaken. "Until a moment ago, I thought I did not have to practice formality around you. But I was wrong."

"Psst! Shattered is what I would describe seeing the dilation in your eyes." Zoey mocked pity. Liam immediately covered himself with the duvet and got up from the bed before throwing a jacket on Zoey to cover herself. Guilt was evident in his eyes.

"Abby, I love you. Please do not misunderstand me. I'm sorry that I hurt you. It's a mistake that accidentally happened, carried away by the moment." Liam pleaded.

"What? Is this a mistake Liam? We have been sleeping together for the past six months, throwing dust in her eyes. You promised me that you will marry me and now you call it a mistake?" Zoey took over Liam about to blow the roof away with her anger before Abigail even had a chance to react.

So he had been cheating on her for the past six months. She was too stupid to trust him on everything. Abigail's heart broke to several pieces with dismay after learning the news from Zoey.

She learnt a new lesson on that day. The worst hits are from the person's own kith and kin. Liam was still an outsider. But what happened to her blood relation? Abigail always saw Zoey like her own sister though the latter never had reciprocated it. Today's scene was a devastating eye opener for understanding the true color of Zoey.

The tears which till then were locked in her eyes began a free flow like a river. "Do not pay heed to her nonsense. I'm yours and you are mine. She is just a pastime." Liam requested taking a step forward to hold her hand.

But Abigail took two behind, still under the shock. She blinked her eyes twice...thrice to restrict her tears. There was no use of crying over spilt milk. Liam was not worth her tears. He is a taken man and she is not dying for a guy in her life. Abby gathered her last ounce of energy to speak though she was in a sea of sorrow. "A pastime? Love implies sacrifice, Liam. Just because I couldn't sleep with you in the last six months you wanted another woman. Though I am not as rich as you, I do not use second hand stuff. We are done." She spat the words with venom while looking at Zoey giving her an indirect message about her self esteem.

Zoey could easily read her and stamped the door on her face, throwing a deaf ear to Liam's pleas from behind.

***

"Where were you all this while?" William yells at Abigail once she returns home.

"Uncle William, I went to meet Grace after my college. She had a blood transfusion today." Abigail answered meekly, fearing a slap from him.

William knotted her brows in indignation.

"And you thought you could wind up all the household work here to babysit your sister? That ugly crow is not going to stay on this earth for too long." He was about to blow her face but was immediately stopped by Nora. An unsaid conversation went between them through their eyes.

If Abigail could have a wish from God at that moment, she would have already asked him to take away William in place of her sister. William is a miser and a very selfish man. The only reason he agreed to take custody of both the sisters is to get rights on the millions his brother left behind for them. But Nora is a smart woman. Though her intentions are equally wicked she would never let them surface. Abigail could guess something going fishy between the husband and wife. In the corner room was Zoey in soft sobs. "Uncle William, I did all the household work including cooking, cleaning and washing clothes before I went to check up on my sister at the hospital." Abigail replied timidly.

"These days your mouth works sharper than a knife. You started giving back answers to me. How dare you do that. Do not forget you are a charity case here. Your parents died in the plane crash. You and your sister were hardly 5 and 3 when I gave shelter to both of you. I do not have a money minting press here. You both need to work to have your three meals in my house. And since your sister cannot work, you have to do her part too." William's voice rose an octave startling the three women present in the house.

Abigail wanted to shout and say, the house still works on the savings her dad once upon a time pooled for them. But did she have a voice? Abigail will not get rights on her dad's property until she turns twenty one. Nora and William are making absolute use of that. "Why did dad get such a will framed for us which has so many loopholes, Abby?" Grace once asked Abigail in soft sobs.

"Uncle William was loving and very caring towards us when we were small and our parents were alive. Dad wouldn't have thought even in his dreams that he would turn out to be such a miser and selfish man." Abby replied Grace thoughtfully. It was because of Nora that everything changed in William. She is a cunning fox.

Nora came forward and patted the back of Abby in consolation who was still in stupor by the words of William. "William!" She called him in warning and the man fell silent as if he had been hit by a hammer.

'What is this new plot she was going to play on her?'

"Do not mind your uncle's words darling. Every dog has its day. Your good days are around the corner. The little earnings you make as a waitress in the night club is hardly sufficient to treat the growing cancer in Grace. But I have an offer which could bring you out of all your problems." Nora smartly suggested locking her bright blue eyes with Abby.

"What is it?" Abigail asked, wiping her tears and enthusiasm in her eyes.

"Marry Nelson Benedict in place of Zoey."

Abigail looked at Nora flabbergasted, not able to solve this new puzzle which was in front of her. She knew from the beginning, the woman was not as green as grass. Something was cooking up in her brain. And now she gets it. From the corner of her optics she could see a slight smile racing up on Zoey's features.

"Isn't the marriage of Zoey arranged with Nelson? Why am I pulled into her shit?" Abigail retorted.

Before Nora could reply wittily to Abigail, Zoey fumed from the bedroom. "Dad is right. Your mouth works sharper than a knife these days. I do not want to marry a handicapped guy. Addedly he is ugly and old, thirty five years old. Whereas I'm not even half of his age. I am young, smart and beautiful and I'm also pregnant with Liam's child." She spat her words on Abigail with vengeance.

The last sentence of Zoey turned the faces of the other three adults in the room into a clean sheet of paper. Many long seconds passed when Nora balanced herself and asked her daughter again, unable to believe her own ears. "You're pregnant with Liam's child while you are supposed to marry Nelson?"

"I already told you, I do not like him and I will not marry that disproportionate cow." Zoey shouted at the top of her lungs.

Richardson Firm owes Benedict Enterprises ten millions. Since they couldn't pay them back, in lieu of money Nora promised to marry her daughter Zoey to Nelson. But on a fateful day Nelson met with an accident and got attached to a wheelchair permanently. Thereby Zoey did not want to marry Nelly. Also she had been in love and secretly sleeping with Abigail's boyfriend.

Nora looked at Zoey with a temper and her ears literally fuming out. She then looked at Abigail with a spark nobody could decipher until she opened her mouth. "Nelson's father Emerson is a long time friend of William. When we had not even a penny to start our business, Emerson helped William with ten thousand dollars as capital to start our first textile shop with zero interest. His only wish to William is to marry Zoey to Nelson so that their friendship can change to a relationship. Thankfully neither Emerson nor Nelson had seen Zoey. So you...."

Abigail did not allow Nora to speak further. She was already a sun ball. "So to save your face for the sake of friendship and discharge your old time debt towards your family friend you want me to marry the desolate paralyzed man in place of Zoey. I know he had been sleeping for ages. It is all over the papers and I don't know how many kinds of STDs he got affected by now. And he is thirty six years old. Why are you doing this amount of injustice to me? What loss did I bring upon you that you're discharging your anger upon me like this?" She asked her pleadingly while crying.

Nora rose up her hands in surrender. No matter what the circumstances are, the woman doesn't lose her balance which is her biggest asset. "Darling, this is a fair exchange with no robbery. You marry Nelson and in return I save the life of your sister by helping with all her medical expenses. With your sacrifice your sister's life will be saved. There is no force. This is only an offer." Nora chose a clever way rather than openly blackmailing Abby and projecting herself as a materialistic and selfish woman. She knew undoubtedly she was holding an offer Abigail could never deny.

Her mind went in circles. Abigail thought for long minutes. Though it was purely an unfair offer to her she had no choice if she wanted to save her dying sister. Regretfully but cleaning the tears from her eyes she forces out her decision. "I agree to this marriage. But on one condition."

What is it?" Zoey and her parents were more than happy that Abigail had fallen into the pit designed by them so easily.

"This will be the marriage only on paper. I will not have any physical relationship with that guy. And I want ten million dollars towards the treatment of Grace no sooner I get the alien's ring on my finger."

This time it was not Nora's smart reply but of William's foolishness. "Agreed. By the way Nelson is an impotent now because of the accident. He has no interest in sex. That is why Emerson wanted this marriage deal. You need to get a baby for the Benedicts through artificial insemination and this is a secret which stays between the families. Nobody should know Nelson turned a gay with the accident." William's earth shattering diction felt like an awakening to Abigail.

"If Nelson is an impotent then I have no problem marrying him." In a way Abby was happy. But Nora was distilled red with the end result. She did not want Abigail to know the secret of Nelson before marriage.

A week later she arrives at the church for her arranged marriage with Nelson Benedict. The church had hardly any guests except her cousin Zoey with her boyfriend Liam who was sitting in the first row with a sly grin. "See, how hopeless is your marriage with not even a trace of any human. It is like you are getting married on another planet." Zoey snickered looking at the gloomy face of Abigail.

"I have not seen a selfish and characterless girl like you in my whole life. Actually I feel pity for you. You don't realize you should be grateful to me for hiding your sorry self behind the curtain while I come forward to save you and our family from the defame of Benedicts. I accepted this unholy matrimony to save you and it is high time you start behaving with maturity." Abby's words were like pelting stones on Zoey's face.

Why were there no guests for the wedding? What happened to Emerson? Neither the groom, nor any of his family members were present at the church. Is she getting cheated in some way?

"You bloody bitch...dad is right, you are talking too much these days." She raised her hand to slap her. Abigail closed her eyes to brace the hit but it never came. When she opened her eyes she saw Liam holding Zoey's hand.

"Keep your hands in your control, Zoey. I agree with Abigail. You should be thankful to your sister instead of going hostile. She not only saved your family from facing disrespect of Benedicts but also you from becoming a disloyal girl." Before Zoey could speak further, he caught her arm and dragged her out of Abby's room.

Zoey's words though were harsh made Abigail realize the reality. She looked around the church through the window of her room dubiously. Her only thought at the moment was, if the wedding didn't happen, how would she save her sister?

From the other corner she heard whispers that the groom is unemployed, extremely poor and idle, sorting for as small as daily wages to earn a livelihood. If he was Emerson's son who could render her uncle a ten thousand dollars interest free loan he must be leading a decent living. Then how could he be unemployed seeking even for a three course meal?

There were so many questions clogging the mind of Abigail. Amidst the gossip she recalled the heart breaking words of the oncologist. "Grace urgently needs a bone marrow transplant to restrain the growing cancer in her body. The cost of the surgery including medication will cost you around ten million dollars. And the operation is to be performed as soon as possible. The earlier the surgery, the greater are the chances of her recovery."

A soft sob was about to come out of Abigail but she immediately gulped it away. Abby knew she was taking up to the cross. But to save Grace, she would even challenge Hades, marriage with an old ugly misshapen man is nothing. "Are you ready, my child." The overly sweet voice of Nora was heard from the entrance.

Abigail could only manage to nod because if she would speak she would break into a cry and Nora doesn't deserve to see her tears. Just then she heard from someone outside "The groom arrived." Her pensive heartbeat relaxed.

Soon William walked to her in the customary style to walk her to the aisle. But there was something wrong with her uncle. His features looked torn and withered. What happened to him? It is not like he loves her and shortly is going to part with his loving little princess. There is something that stinks here. "Are you okay, Uncle William?" Abigail asked him doubtfully.

William did not reply, took her hand which was colder than hers. What's happening? Hopefully Nora and William are not sacrificing her to their dead forefathers. Abigail kept looking at William trying to search for her answers through his face but got none.

The music started playing and like coming out of the dead Abigail walked out of her room in a simple white gown and a veil, least interested in the wedlock but for money.

When she neared the dias William placed her soft arm in the calloused big hand which held her firmly and pulled her up. "She is now yours." He said to the groom.

"I will." The voice beside her spoke firmly. It was like an awakening to Abigail. Damn it! Who is this man? He is not misshapen with a bald head and seven months belly sitting on a wheelchair but a young and very handsome tall and lean man. "Who...." Abigail discreetly bent her head to talk to William but before she could speak, he growled low. "Shut up and get married without any questions if you want the money."

Abigail resisted the urge to look at the guy through the veil. His hand was so warm which unexpectedly held comfort against her cold ones. The swirl of his musk and hue cologne had her swooning in the aisles which felt much familiar. It was bringing her to an unacquainted feeling of sweet thrill. Who is this guy who feels familiar with his touch and scent yet unknown to her?

Abigail did not want to raise her head and look at the groom till then but the skin to skin entanglement brought an unknown delectation in her body. Her legs shivered with the impact of the tempting touch and to balance herself she flattened her palms on his chest.

In a shot, hot waves of electricity passed through her cells as if she experienced a shock. His robust chest encapsulated her in a gleam of delight and a vigor of youthfulness. She had no idea of sexual awareness in her till the moment but for his embrace.

She went stiff relishing the goose pimples by his unparalleled charisma. He was not old and grumpy with a huge stomach and bald head. The superfine fabric of his black tuxedo screamed richness and power. "Are you okay?" His very masculine gravelly voice struck a chord in her throat which possessed the latest leonine power. Was this guy really an impotent? Dissatisfaction loomed in her stance, she had no idea why.

"I am fine." Abigail slowly raised her head to look at him. The Patek Philippe watch which adorned his left wrist spoke volumes about the billions he possessed in his bank account contradicting the claims that he is poor. Why did Zoey give her wrong information about this groom? Why is she framed into this un-respected wedlock?

The cunning handsome quickly covered her surprise with his frame so that people couldn't see her reaction. He could easily guess the several queries clogging Abigail's mind. But was he going to be so easy on her? Never.

Abigail was innocent. She hadn't seen the man yet. Her eyes crawled from his long and thin fingers to his slim waist passing through his muscled sternum reaching the basalt shoulders and finally culminating into his eyes. And that's it! The world stopped moving around her. And she received the shock of the millennium.

"You?"