‘How old are you Ivan’? He began
‘Excuse me? What’s this about’? Ivan quickly rose to his feet.
‘Always impulsive, you’ve not learned boy’ Turquoise dropped an envelope before him.
‘I need you to sign these papers, part of my will. Hurry, I need to give them to my lawyers’ Turquoise fetched the documents from it.
‘Okay…’ Ivan signed where the space for signature was provided.
‘You know why I asked your age’? A mischievous smile colored hi dad’s aging face.
‘Why’? Ivan pushed the papers away.
‘Well, that’s because you’re old enough to get married and start your own family’ he replied his son. He prayed this worked out, if it failed, Ivan’s hatred for him would totally vanish.
‘I don’t ever plan to get married, told you that severally. Apparently, you haven’t been listening, I have to go now. See ya’ he rose to his feet and left for the door.
‘Ah, but you just signed an agreement that you’ll get married before your thirty-third birthday’ his dad’s smile was crooked.
‘I don’t understand, what you are talking about’ he paused and faced his father.
‘Well, your angry nature clouded your sense of judgment and you signed these documents without reading through. You just signed, that you’ll get married before you’re thirty-three else you’ll be disinherited’ Turquoise read from the document.
‘No, you cannot do this; you cannot ruin my life, what sort of monster are you’? Ivan felt defeated. How could his father do this to him?
‘I am not a monster Ivan, all I want is your happiness’ the man rose to his feet.
‘Well, I am not getting married. Period’ he banged the door loudly and stormed out of the study.
******
The clouds had gathered again, it was evening and a heavy rain would fall. Jane tugged herself neatly underneath her duvet and two pillows; she had a light dinner, a sweet tooth she was. Who ate muffins and drank milk to bed?
‘A new day’s coming, gotta be prepared for it’ she yawned and closed her eyes, but sleep seemed to wander off.
She went through the day’s events, from the guards that had humiliated her, to her being offered a job at Roseau Soft Wares, that was a miracle.
‘God works miracles’ her mother would say. The woman had been very pious and had this unmovable faith in the divine.
She slid off bed reluctantly and moved to the table close to her little bed; she caressed the picture frame, it housed her mother’s picture while she was still healthy.
What would her mother say now that she got such a big job at Roseau?
‘I’ll make you proud Ma’ a tear slipped down her cheeks.
Her thoughts moved to her handsome boss, Ivan Roseau, never had she seen a man like that; she imagined him kissing her and blushed immediately at her own folly.
Her lips gave way into a smile and she jumped into bed; she couldn’t wait for the next day!
******
He had not had much sleep at night; his father had tricked him into signing some papers that would ruin his whole life, how could one sleep at the thought of that?
He stepped into the shower, turned it on and let the coldness of the water soothe his anger.
He had sacrificed his dreams just to serve that of his father; all he wanted as a young man was to be a painter, leave a mark on the earth surface like Leornado Da Vinci; he’d worked hard for it, before his father dumped him at Harvard, he’d been enrolling in online painting classes. But he gave up all that to please the old man, and now he had grown to love his job as a computer engineer, as a boss, he’d fallen in love with dominion, how would he give that up?
He paused as his reflection spoke to him; it was all over him, the distress he felt; knowing his father too well, he would carry out his threats if he refused to comply.
He had grown up without the love of a mother and that was a very painful experience on its own. How could she abandon him for a man? Her own child? It closed up all possibilities of him ever loving somebody or trusting his heart with them. One of the reasons he vowed never to get married, but now he had signed the papers, that could change his life forever.
He needed to do something, speaking with his siblings would do the magic, he decided to forgive Kira for hiring the scarecrow of a personal assistant; he needed her help for now.
‘I am ready guys’ Ivan appeared in the dining room. All suited up, hair well brushed, no strand was out of place, he looked magnificent.
‘No breakfast’? Pamela asked with a disappointed look on her face.
‘Thanks, Pam, I’ll pass’ he replied.
His siblings weren’t there, neither was his devil of a father, they must have been waiting in the car for him, so he trotted out.
‘Bye Ivan’ his stepmother waved at him.
‘Darling? I made him sign the papers, are you sure this would work’ her husband later showed up.
‘I am confident Ivan would find love, I believe so’ she pecked him sweetly.
****
The car seemed like a graveyard, it was obvious he wasn’t happy about something; and whenever he was that his siblings would keep off of him.
‘Is it cold in here or is it just me’? Kira whistled. She had tried getting words from Ryan concerning Ivan’s plan to sack her but he had refused to comply. She needed to be on the good side of her elder brother, she needed to pacify him in some kind of way.
‘Shut up Kira, silence is golden’ replied.
‘I don’t like golden, I love it when it’s hot in here’ she gaped at Ivan hoping to get his attention.
‘Dad wants me to get married before my next birthday else he would disinherit me’ Ivan blurted out, he was tired of keeping it all in.
‘What’? Ryan and Kira exchanged glares.
‘He tricked me into signing some papers, I need your help guys, now more than ever’ he explained what had transpired between him and their father.
‘That’s insane, why would dad do such a thing? Marriage is by choice’ Ryan wasn’t too happy with the news.
‘Yea, he should respect Ivan’s wishes’ Kira chipped in, though she enjoyed this little game, she didn’t dare show it.
‘So what’s your plan big bro? Are you going through with the marriage thing? Should I start bride searching’? Kira asked.
He didn’t answer, he looked at her sternly, was she enjoying this?
‘Okay, honestly, I want you to get married; don’t look at me that way. it’s going to be a great celebration’ Kira grinned.
‘Really?’ Ivan snorted.
‘What’s your plan, Ivan’? He turned to his brother.
‘I don’t know, I don’t have a plan, maybe I would ignore father…’ Ivan realized the best way to get the old man pissed off was to ignore him.
to be continued
