Chapter 25
Dylan had just finished a meeting with an overseas ambassador when Sebastian hurried into his office.
“Boss”
“What?”
“Well…. I…” He didn’t know how to break the news to him. He had received a report from the person tasked with watching over her that Old Smith paid her a visit.
“Are you speaking or do you want to leave?” Dylan was getting angry.
“Boss, it’s… it’s your grandfather” he said.
“What about him?”
“He went to visit Miss Cornell at….”
“What?!” Sebastian flinched. He stood up and made his way towards the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To where he is, of course. Give me the address”
“He already left” Dylan froze. He gritted his teeth. He stormed out towards his private elevator. He entered his car.
“To the Old mansion” he ordered.
************
“Young master, you need to calm down. Master is taking a nap” the old butler tried to keep up with his paced.
He stood before his master’s room, his arms spread wide.
“I suggest you don’t disturb him”
“Out of my way!” he thundered. All the servants who saw him were surprised. He never lost his temper, but now, he was red in the face and all his veins were popping out. Even the butler winced.
“Don’t force me” Dylan warned.
“Let him in” a voice said from inside. The butler finally moved to the side. Dylan yanked the door open, not bothering to close it. The butler helped him with that.
Old Smith stood by the window, looking out.
“What did you do?” He asked.
“What do you mean?” His grandfather feigned ignorance.
“You know exactly what I mean. Why did you visit Sandy?”
“Is that a crime? Visiting my potential grandfather-in-law” he said, sarcastically.
Dylan scoffed.
“We both know that you’re up to something, grandfather. So tell me, why were you with her?” He demanded.
Old Smith sighed.
“I told her to leave you alone in exchange for money” he came clean but didn’t talk about him asking her to surrender the baby. Dylan was going to find out anyway.
“What! How…how could you do that?” Dylan gritted his teeth in utter annoyance.
Old Smith shook is head.
“You are not even married yet, but you’re getting distracted. She will shift your goal”
“Keep your advice to yourself, grandfather” he bit out and walked towards the door.
“Dylan” Old Smith called. He stopped, but didn’t turn to look at him. “Love is the most useless thing in the world. It will destroy you” Dylan turned the knob and stormed out.
He dialed Sandy’s twice number, but she was not picking. Of course, it was right for her to be angry.
“Should we go back to the office, boss?” Dylan stared outside the window, his eyes narrowing.
“To Elgar city” he ordered. Sebastian’s eyes widened. He was really going to see her at this time. They had a lot of work lined up in the office. He immediately started the engine when he saw his boss give him a stink eye.
************
Sandy sat on her bed, looking very upset. She wiped away a tear that fell on her cheek. Before Old Smith, she felt so cheap and began to question if agreeing to marry his grandson was the right thing to do. He, without any doubt, wasn’t in support of her being with his grandson. She was nowhere near close to their status, but he didn’t have to humiliate her like that. Even she doubted she could take on the responsibilities of a first lady. She shouldn’t have agreed in the first place. It would have been easy to refuse, but he already paid her father’s hospital bill, and she doubted she would be able to pay back in the next ten years. She considered running away, but who were they? They would find her in no time, her parents would be implicated too. She wiped a second tear. She heard a knock and went to get it, but her mum, who had woken up and had no idea she had gone out, opened it before her.
She wondered who it was when she saw her mum smile pleasantly.
“Please come in” her smile widened flatteringly.
“Hello Mrs Cornell” Dylan stepped in and locked eyes with Sandy.
“I asked of you from Sandy. She said you were busy. I wanted to thank-”
“It’s okay, Mrs Cornell. You don’t have to thank me”
“Have a seat, please” she directed him to a love seat. “What would you like me to offer you?”
“Nothing. I’m fine”
“Really? Even a cup of water?”
“I’ll have that”
“What are you standing there for? Get him a cup of water” her mother scolded. Sandy almost rolled her eyes as she went to get it. Leah Cornell’s eyes were trained on Dylan the whole time, making him a little uncomfortable. Sandy aware of this, but was not ready to bail him out. He cleared his throat.
“Ma’am, I would like to have a conversation with Sandy” he said finally. “Alone” he added.
She looked from Dylan to Sandy, to Dylan then to Sandy again.NôvelDrama.Org owns all content.
“Oh, of course. Why not? I’ll excuse you”
She stood up and left, as silence descended in the living room.
“What do you want?” She asked, when she realized he didn’t know what to say.
“Actually, I came here for two things” She waited for him to continue. She sensed he already knew what happened. Why else will he be here out of the blue?
“I know what happened, and I came to apologize”
“What do you mean? Dylan knew what she was trying to do. Make things difficult for him.
“I knew grandfather came to see you”
“Oh, right. He came to order me to leave you alone. I’m not fit to marry you, so why don’t we just call this thing off? Do you think the whole country will be happy when you announce me as your fiancée? A poor girl from a no-name family. You’re going to be a joke” she tried to discourage him.
“I get to decide who I want as my spouse. Not the country, not my grandfather”
“I can’t get married to a man without his family’s consent”
“My parents have no problem with you”
Sandy sighed. His mum was a wonderful woman and truly, she had no issue with her.
“Your grandfather is dangerous. He even wanted me to give up the baby-”
“He said that?”
“Yes. He did. I’m scared that he will do something to my family if I don’t do what he wants”
“He will do nothing” Dylan asserted. “As long as I’m here, you and your family are safe”
Sandy didn’t know what to say anymore.
“The other reason I came here was to inform you that…..” He paused. He didn’t know what her reaction will be.
Sandy waited patiently.
“I want us to get married next month” Sandy laughed out loud.
“Amidst all this?”
“Yes. In the upcoming months, the pregnancy will begin to show and that will have tongues wagging”
Instinctively, her hand went to her belly.
“What do you say?”
“I need to think about this” Her friends knew nothing about this yet, even her mum. She was still thinking of how to break the news to them. Thinking of their reaction alone was enough to make her stomach churn.
************
Valerie took in three deep, long breaths as she entered the elevator. Her heart, beating wildly that she feared the person next to her will hear.
The machine dinged and she got out. She thought she was imagining it, but there were a bit more people on that floor today. They were all faces she had seen in the karaoke bar. They clustered around Kathy.
She settled down, and watched Kathy dismiss them, with a conniving smile.
“Hey girl” said the bubbly Kathy.
“Good morning”
“Boss is in already”
“What?!”
“Just kidding” Kathy laughed. “So, what’s the deal between you and him” she wiggled her brows.
“What do you mean?”
“Boss took you home personally from the KTV when you were drunk. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought I was dreaming, but others saw it too”
“There’s nothing, Kathy”
“Maybe he likes you”
“Kathy!”
“What? I was just stating a fact”
“That is not a fact. He doesn’t like me” Valerie bit her lower lip. This was the third time someone talked about her boss liking her. Was that even possible?
She looked up in time to see Jared and Will enter his office. Her heart thumped in fear.
After a few minutes, Will came out and walked up to her.
“Boss would like to see you in his office”