Contract Marriage; Fated Love

“Noah… he knows about my … son. He will soon find him and I too,” Emily sobbed.

“Why will you be thinking like a child, Emily?” Gu Yanxi chided.

“How? But it’s true. They are friends, what if he looks for him? And finds out I am his mother? Or what if he comes and…” Emily rambled on.

“Hey! What is wrong with you? Did you leave your brains behind somewhere? What do you mean by he will find his mother and all the nonsense coming from your mouth? He doesn’t know Liam is your son, Emily. Put yourself together and get your act together. Behave maturedly please. I don’t want to hear any of these words from you. There are a lot of kids out there. He will not come looking for one and seeing your son alone won’t make him remember you. Okay? Moreover, your last name is now Muxin. Liam bears the name Liam Muxin and not Liam Grant. Go and have dinner Emily and don’t say this anymore. Your son will not meet your ex husband anywhere. And possibly, Noah might not have searched for you. Stop being paranoid,” Gu Yanxi rebuked. She gave her a handkerchief saying,

“Here, Emily. Wipe your tears. Have dinner and continue with the new design you are working on.”

Night fell and Emily thought she wasn’t going to sleep. She held her son closely and stayed wide awake. But nature took its course and she slept off soon after.

Noah was holding Liam and they were chatting happily. Liam turned and saw his mum, Emily.

“Mummy!” he called out in joy dragging Noah with him towards Emily. Noah facial expression changed and turned sour the moment he sighted her. He charged towards her and she turned and fled. He followed in hot pursuit. He stooped after some time and grabbed Liam.

“I will take away your son then. You must pay for the bridge of contract,” he threatened. Liam was frightened. He began to cry. He gave a heart piercing scream that struck Emily right in her heart. She stopped running immediately and turned.

“Let go of my son, Noah,” she yelled, her own courage surprising her. She didn’t know where she got such guts from. Noah looked at her and sneered.

“What? How dare you? Let go of your son? Why did you stop running? Even if you run, or stop running, your little thing is gone,” he finished and went off with Liam on his shoulder. Emily ran after them to take back her son. Noah gave her a kick that sent her flying in the air. He was soon out if sight with Liam.

“Give me back my son. My son!” Emily screamed but Noah and her son were no where to be found.

“Nooooo!” Emily screamed from her sleep. She was shaking vigorously and sweating profusely. It was just a dream. Thank goodness, it was just a dream. But it was not a good dream. She looked and saw her son still sleeping peacefully. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep but she couldn’t. She sat up and went back to her design till day break.

Few days went past and she had no more of such dreams. She began to relax. One week, two weeks, three weeks, nothing. No sign of Noah and nothing out of ordinary happened. She put it all behind her and lived her life normally.

“Meaning? What exactly do you mean right now?” Olivia asked her husband, Williams.

“All the shares have finally been bought. The shareholders have given their verdict,” he explained with a broken heart.

“Does that mean the company is no longer ours?” Olivia asked.

“Yes. In a matter of hours. By tomorrow, the rights will be handed over to the greatest shareholder. And all we be lost,” he wailed.

“And who could that anonymous shareholder be? Who? We have to find him,” Olivia suggested.

“Find him for what? What are you going to do? Stop him?” Williams sneered.

“Of course, he has to be stopped.”

“Well then, stop him if you can,” Williams answered.

“Williams! Why are you so nonchalant? Do you want to watch that company slip from your fingers? We were not able to get the five million dollars promised us by the Mason family because of your daughter, Emily. We could have paid off our debts and stood on our feet.”

“The debts you incurred. When you were busy spending recklessly, hoping for millions of dollars from heaven knows where,” Williams replied angrily.

“That is my daughter’s inheritance. She deserves the best. I will divorce you once that company goes down. You better be silent and let’s ressurect the company. That company must be handed over to Rose and in its full glory. Now tell me, who is this greatest shareholder?” Olivia questioned.

“President Noah,” Williams simply stated.

“What? You mean, Noah Harper?,” Olivia asked in surprise.

“Yes. That is him. He is the one buying the shares,” Williams repeated.

“That must be Emily’s handiwork. She has compelled him to buy it over. That must be it,” Olivia assumed.

“I don’t think so. Noah is gay. Emily must have wronged him and now he wants to get back at us,” Williams stated.

“Maybe. But either ways, Emily is still at fault. That girl is something else. Some bad luck. That’s definitely what she is. Why does she always have to let things go wrong. If she had kept quiet like a sensible girl and behaved well, she would have married Jayden and we will all live happy lives. I wish I can just lay my hands on her. I will definitely tear her to pieces,” Olivia fumed with indignation.

“Master Noah had warned that we should steer clear from her,” Williams reminded her.

“Damn!” Olivia swore and slammed her fists on the table.

“There must be a way out.”

Rose walked in at the moment beaming with smiles. She had just returned from one of her numerous romantic outings. She looked around and noticed the tensed atmosphere.

“What is going on here?” she asked

“Everything. Emily’s stupidity has cost us your father’s company,” her mother explained.

“Excuse me? What company?” Rose queried.

“The family company,” came the reply

“What role did Emily play?” she pressed further

“She has compelled Noah to buy the company so that we can be rendered bankrupt,” her mum responded.

“Or she has done something wrong and Noah decided to make us pay,” Williams chipped in.

“Either ways, she is to blame. Emily is to blame. If only she had married Jayden. She is to blame and that’s final,” Olivia added spitefully.

“You mean the greatest shareholder who is about to take over our company is Noah Harper?” Rose asked again. She wanted to be sure she heard right.

“Yes. That’s him,” Williams clarified her.

Rose thought for a while. A smile appeared in her face.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“I know what to do.”