Chapter 6

The next day Aylin's father, Brendon, comes back home. Surprisingly, he doesn't say anything to her about what happened last night. He neither questioned her nor got angry at her. This surprised Aylin. Rather than feeling relieved, she was starting to feel even more scared and nervous. Until the afternoon, her father called her into his study.

When she reached there, she found Sam was also standing next to him as they both were drinking scotch.

"You called for me, dad?"

"Yes, come and help me put this data into the computer. I need you to double-check these files as well to see if there are any mistakes or not. Hurry up."

He hands her a stack of papers as Aylin sits on the chair next to the desktop computer.

This sort of thing is what she was used to ever since she was 9 years old. Since she is the heir, her father made sure that she would know how to deal with every single thing. It was to such an extent that even if she begged to go out and play, he would give her more work to deal with. As a result, she would stay up all night working.

Silence spreads through the room as Brendon seems to be deep in thoughts.

'Looks like he is in a bad mood.'

Aylin thought averting her gaze and focusing on her work.

"Sir, what are you thinking?"

Sam, the one who would literally lick her father's shoe just to gain his favor, spoke, breaking the silence.

Brendon instead of answering threw the scotch-filled glass on the floor as it shattered everywhere. This made Aylin flinch but she still continued her work.

"That god damn *sshole. He thinks he can manipulate those damn bastards into making them agree to this f*cking treaty. I will kill him before I let this happen!"

"So what do we do now? They are all on his side and are pressuring us to make a decision."

"Tell those f*cking bastards if they dare anger me anymore, I'll cut them off."

"Sir, Adam told me that they have no choice but to agree because apparently he has some serious dirt on them and has threatened to expose them if they don't agree with this."

"If they continue to pester me, then I will expose those damn b*tches."

"But sir, I don't think they will back down. They are quite adamant on getting Aylin and that bastard married."

Sam's comment makes Aylin stop typing. She realizes that they are referring to what Axel told her last night. This explains her father's bad mood. She is about to go back to typing but Brendon stops her,

"Aylin."

"Yes, dad."

She replies, looking at him.

"What do you think about this?"

'Is he asking me for an opinion? Why? Does he know about me and Axel?'

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Why would that bas-....I mean Axel propose this marriage in the first place?"

"I don't know."

"Something isn't right. I know his father and his dirty tricks. They just want to hurt me through my one 'weakness'."

Brendon gazes directly at Aylin when he presses on the word 'weakness'.

"Aylin, are you my weakness?"

"...no, dad. I would like to be your strength instead."

Aylin's hand started slightly shivering upon her father's gaze.

"But you aren't really. Even to this day, you are still a f*cking weakness. Just what will I do with you?"

He sighed.

"I am sorry, dad. It's my fault. I will do better."

Aylin answered as if these words had to automatically come out of her like a record. Her expression barely changed when saying these words.

"Forget it. I will have to do something myself. Sam."

"Yes, Sir."

"Are there any pictures of Aylin and Romero having dinner together?"

"Yes, we have some."

"Perfect. Leak them to the press with a title they are going out. This will get those bastards off our back."

Aylin upon hearing this, her eyes went round and blurted out,

"What?"

"Do you have any problem with it?"

"Dad...that guy is a total creep. He wouldn't stop leering at me!"

"Is that so? Well, it's good for you. At least he won't cheat on you in the future if he's interested in you."

"Are you for real?!"

Aylin was starting to get angry. Her father, who was already in a bad mood, didn't like how Aylin was talking back to her.

"It's all for you. I just want the best for my daughter."

"And your best is that damn pervert? Seriously?"

"He has class, money and his family is influential. His mother is a congresswoman."

"I don't care! But not him! No way."

"Stop acting childish."

"I am not! I swear you will regret this if you go through with this."

Aylin, who was always this bubbly soft spoken person, glared and threatened her father in such a serious tone that he was surprised but not that shocked. She didn't even care about her father's reaction.

"Fine then. What about Tobias?"

"No."

"What is wrong with him?"

"He is after our status and money."

"So? Aren't they all?"

"I thought you had better standards than him."

"If you're talking about standards then the only one equal to us is.....no wait, they are not equal. They are just slightly closer to us. The Duncan family."

"Then fine. Let's go with that."

"Are you f*cking crazy?!"

Her father stood up with anger and bellowed. Aylin took a deep breath and then tried to calmly convince her father with something she knows he will agree to.

"Think about it this way....they are obviously hiding something. They need something. But what if we double-cross their plans? In the end, we will come out as respectable people who were even willing to put behind all their past and come to peace while they would be declared as the wrong ones."

"You do say some interesting things but I really don't want those f*ckers to be my relatives. I can't stand being in the same room as them!"

"You don't have to. It's just for the wedding. Besides, don't you want people to address you as a man with a very big heart and praise your glory?"

"....I'm listening. Go on."

"I'll tell you what their plans are and then you can expose them. A precious daughter that suffered at the hands of the Duncan family. A father who cherishes his daughter and only wants to put the past behind them is hurt by them. All of this will help gain you more reputation and sympathy votes. And you know how important it is more than ever to gain more and more people's attention if you want to carry out your plan."

Aylin explained. Silence once again filled the room. Both Sam and Aylin look at Brendon waiting for his response. Unexpectedly, Brendon starts laughing out loud.

"You little pathetic brat, you are of use after all. Nice. I like this. Let's destroy them. Good job."

Brendon pats Aylin's head. This gesture made her eyes go round. Her eyes became damp. It was the first ever that Brendon patted her head or even touched her like this. It was also the first time ever when he told her she was of use and that she did a good job. Even though this is something she had always dreamed of ever since she was little. Why is it that when the moment has finally come, she doesn't feel good?

Aylin who was on the verge of breaking down grabbed her files and added,

"Thank you. I am glad I am of use. I will take these and then work in my room. After I finish, I will bring them to you."

"Yeah sure. Go ahead. Meanwhile, I'll discuss this with my partners. You can go now."

Brendon then picks up his phone and calls someone. Meanwhile, Sam, who is suspicious of Aylin, follows her.

"What do you want?"

Aylin asked.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You....you are trying to get on Sir's good side, aren't you? Why would you suggest this, just for that? Or will you betray us? I don't trust you."

"I don't care if you trust me as long as my dad trusts me."

"What do you think you will gain with this?"

"I don't need to gain anything as long as dad is happy."

Sam came close to her and then whispered in her ear,

"Yeah right. Did you forget? 5 years ago, that day when you tried to run away."

"Like it was explained that day, I did not run away. I was just late when coming back home."

"Say what you want to say but we all know the truth. You. Can. Never. Escape."

The last words were mouthed as a faint whisper. Aylin tightens her fist as Sam backs away from her.

"Hey. Did you forget your place?"

"What?"

Sam retorted angrily.

"I am the heir. Your boss's only daughter. And soon, your future boss. You should be nice to me before it's too late."

Sam started laughing out loud, but seeing her glaring eyes stare directly at him in the eyes made him feel intimidated and he started to nervously chuckle.

"If I didn't know any better, I would think you are a bit too eager to become the head, so much so that you can even revolt against Sir."

"I just reminded you of the facts and reality which you should be aware of."

"Well, why don't you tell me the reality of where you were last night? Our men and Romero's statements are a bit suspicious."

"Why should I tell you?"

"Think of it as an investigation from your father."

"But you aren't really my father, are you? Don't get too ahead of yourself. Remember your place. One of these days you're really going to end up in trouble."

"Says the one that's nothing but a puppet."

"At least I am a precious irreplaceable puppet. You on the other hand are nothing but just a 'guy'. Even a street dog has more importance than you."

"You!"

Sam exclaimed in anger. He scoffs and then adds,

"I know you are planning something. And I will get to the bottom of it soon. Then you will beg me not to tell Brendon."

Aylin turns around and starts walking away while saying,

"We will see who is the one begging in the end."

After the marriage was privately discussed, it was then announced publicly.

To say that people were shocked was an understatement. Everyone wanted to know what was the real reason behind this wedding. Did two enemies fall in love? Or was it just a publicity stunt?

The truth. No one knows what it was. Everyone knew that this wedding was going to be the biggest wedding for decades. People were dying to be on the guest list. Every person waited for their invitation. But more importantly, one question was on everyone's mind. What was the bride's wedding dress going to be like?

This was something even Aylin didn't know about. Her father had decided everything. From the seating arrangements to even almost everything. The preparations went on for about three months because, at the end of the year, her father had something to do.

While Aylin was glad her father had been convinced by her. The bad thing was that she was locked up in her house. Designers would come to her house to get her measurements. Therefore, it was very hard to meet up with Axel. Moreover, Axel had gone overseas to deal with some business. Because of the time difference, it was difficult to stay in contact. Aylin understood that he must be busy but she couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious. Especially when he would leave her on read for a few hours and then reply back. But maybe he really was busy because there were times, he would message her first as well. In any case, if anything was wrong, she can't back down now. It's too late. Besides, she was also busy with preparations that she would also leave him to read for a while.

It was a week before the wedding and they both hadn't talked to each other properly for two weeks now. Their messages were only limited to just saying 'hi'.

One night around 3 a.m., Aylin got a message from Axel.

"I have something to tell you."

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What do you Axel has to say? Any guesses? 👀 Comment to let me know!
Thanks a lot for reading! Hope you enjoy ❤️