BETROTHED TO THE BILLIONAIRE

Ryan’s POV

My gaze darts outside the car window, watching the rain pattering and the droplets sliding down the window as I ignore the fear consuming my insides.

I left the office before the rain began so I could come back to my parent’s mansion to see mom or dad.

But on second thought, I decided to see Anita instead. Mom will never tell me what it is. Dad must have sworn to secrecy never to tell me either and it’s breaking me.

Curiosity is killing me.

My mother is dying and I didn’t even notice a strange thing? Is this how much I have distanced myself from my family?

What exactly is happening? Where exactly is it hurting? Why did Anita use the word “dying” instead of sick? Is it something incurable?

Mother doesn’t even look sick. She looks as healthy as always. She even looks more beautiful recently and the thought of it almost makes me tear up.

My mother can’t die. No.

I will do everything in my power to see to it that she survives this but first I need to know the source of the ailment and then I am going to contact my doctor.

Tonight.

Everything will be sorted out tonight.

I am jolted alert when a knock comes on the car window and I snap my head to see Anita standing in the rain with an umbrella.

I kept asking her what she meant by dying earlier this morning but she wouldn’t say a word no matter how much I insisted. She cried and left me alone in the living room.

I went back to work feeling empty and full of grief and fear of what is to come.

I open the door quickly before my driver can allow her in. As soon as I shift to the other side, she gets in beside me, dropping the umbrella at the back of the car.

She closes the door and we sit in silence for a while, watching the rain.

Rainfall is something I always look forward to. I love the sight of it and the smell which brings a sort of comfort to me whenever I am stressed out and frustrated.

But today, I am not receiving any comfort from this rain. The silence between Anita and me suddenly becomes awkward.

Something is wrong.

Anita is always full of life and laughter. If she was trying to play a prank on me, she would have called me at the office to tell me.

I turn to her eventually.

“Anita, what is happening?” I can’t hold on any longer. The earlier she tells me, the better. I will find a solution.

She snorts. “You acted like you didn’t care earlier.”

“What?!” I exclaim in disbelief. “Of course, I care.”

“If you do, then you will stick to your marriage and stop rambling on about nothing.”

“You have no idea what I am going through with that crazy woman”, I grit my teeth, the anger from earlier back in full force. I didn’t even have time to think about her until now. She is the least of my problems. “That is not the reason why I am here.”

“Of course it is. You got married to her because our mother is dying…”

“Mother is not dying. Tell me what it is already”, I cut her short sharply.

She falls silent again. “I am disappointed, you know?”

I want to know what it is.

“You have always been the apple of her eye, Ryan. I am disappointed that you are doing this.”

I knew this would come one day.

“She loved us both, equally.”

She smiles and nods. “Yes, she does.”

“Can you tell me already?” I ask her again, desperately waiting for her to spill the beans. “How is any of this related to my marriage with that woman? Isn’t it obvious that it is because her parents need our financial help and also because they want me to be married before giving me Grandpa’s company?”

She shakes her head.

“Then what is it?”

“Your wife is doing you a big favor, Ryan. She didn’t want to agree to the whole thing until she met our mother. Mother convinced her to marry you.”

“So what?”

What if they met? Why didn’t she even tell me she met with my Mother? Are they plotting against me?

Why is Anita deviating?

I am beginning to think that Anita is doing this on purpose, probably because she doesn’t want to tell me what it is. She doesn’t want to tell me what is wrong with Mother and why is she saying that Mother is dying.

Should I give Father a call? Will he tell me? Should I go and apologize to Mother and ask her to tell me what it is?

How long has this been going on?

How did Anita know and I didn’t even suspect a thing?

“Anita”, I call with a tone of desperation. I want to try my luck once more and see if I will succeed in getting it out of her mouth.

“Mother was diagnosed with cancer”, she finally reveals and my jaws drop, a gasp escaping from my mouth.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Myeloma. We can’t save her. That is why she begged Valerie to marry you. She wants to see your child before her time is up. Mother has just a few months to live according to the doctors. Telling you that marrying her will give you the license to get the construction company is all but a lie. You can get company whenever you want it but Mother chose her because you were betrothed when you were little. Her mother and ours are friends. Valerie seemed to be the only option. Giving you a chance to bring in another woman will break the betrothal vows and also give room for gold diggers. We do not need them. What we need is for you to make our mother happy by allowing her to see your kids before…” She trails off

Her eyes lock onto mine and I know instantly that this is not a joke. Her eyes begin to water as I let everything sink in.

I didn’t get married to Valerie simply because we need each other’s help. I got married to her not only for the company but also because I need to have kids before my Mother is gone.

Anita starts to cry, jerking me out of my reverie. Grabbing a hold of the seat, I sink deeper into it, with weariness and grief.