*Jake*

"Please don't do this , please " Malory my soon to be ex girlfriend pleaded.

"It's over , get that into your dumb skull " I half yelled at her placing emphasis on *over*

"But...." She started

"Out of my office "

" Jake , I still love you , please don't do this to us " she pleaded

I picked up the telephone to call the security.

" Sir " the person at the other end said.

"I have an intruder in my office, come get her out " I said and hung up

"Please Jake " she pleaded

I ignored her and focused on my laptop. The door opened and two men in uniforms cane in.

"Take her out " I said to them

The walked to Malory and began to drag her out.

"You would regret this Jake , you would regret leaving me " she yelled as she struggled to free herself from the securities hold

"Get your hands off me " she snapped and stormed away.

I smiled . one trash taken out.

Cruel right ? , that's just me being me. , my dad's late but my mom relocated to Singapore. So being the only child I inherited my dad's property at age twenty one , lucky me.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in "

The door opened and Daniel , my personal assistant walked in .

"Sir , someone wants to speak with you "

"Who ?, speak to the person , I'm busy " I replied with slight annoyance

"It's Michael West sir and he refuses to speak to me , he says he really needs to speak with you personally " Daniel explained

After thinking it through I decided to take the call.

"Okay "

He handed the phone to me and walked out.

"Hello "

" I would like to talk to you about my debt"

"Oh , your deadline is the day after tomorrow , are you ready to pay now "

" Yes but not as money " he replied

I arched my brows

What does he mean by not as money.

"Then as what? , our agreement was money or you go to jail"

" I don't have that amount of money yet... so ,I was thinking if you could accept something different "

"Go straight to the point Mister , you're pissing me off " I replied annoyed

"If you could accept my daughter instead " he said rather whispered

" Why would you think I'll accept your daughter?" I asked not knowing the reason why a father would easily want to give out his daughter as a payment for his debt.

"She's pretty ,and she's turning twenty soon " he added

"So what are you trying to say " I asked slightly annoyed

Does he think I'm some cheap person who'll jump at such offer immediately

"Maybe you could take her instead or marry her or do anything with her instead of money " he asked in a low tone.

"Like an arranged marriage, huh " I asked

"Anything you want " he replied

"If I'm in interested I'll be at your house early tomorrow with the contract papers " I replied

"Thank you so much " he said

"Keep your appreciation, we see tomorrow " I said and hung up immediately.

I stopped my phone on the table thinking about the offer

Maybe she'll be a goid replacement for Malory , good idea. I picked up my phone and called Daniel

"My office right away"...

*Ella*

I woke up after sleeping for as long as I could .

'this feels more refreshing than ever ' .

I got down from the bed and walked to the bathroom to wash my face . I felt a little weird , I was having the feeling to go to my parents room all of a sudden , I wanted to ignore it but it kept on persisting , I slipped into my slippers and walked out of my room.

I decided to talk to my dad about something . When I got to their room , the door was slightly opened , my dad was making a call , I turned to leave but stopped when his conversation caught my attention.

"She's pretty and is turning twenty soon " he said to the person on the phone

*Pauses*

"Maybe you could take her instead or marry her or do anything with her instead of money "

He paused again probably listening to what the person at the other end was saying.

" Anything you want " he replied

"Thank you so much" he added and hung up.

'Who was he talking about?' I couldn't help but wonder.

"Are you sure you want to marry her off " I heard mom ask.

"Of course , Ella's no use for us " my dad replied with a shrug.

Wait! What!!!! Mary me off , why?? for what ??, to who??? , why would they even want to marry me to a total stranger.

These questions raced through my head as I struggled to stand steady.

"We can't afford a hundred thousand dollars right now and the deadline is the day after tomorrow , at least ,he's twenty five and Ella would be twenty soon , you won't even notice their age difference, he's coming tomorrow to sign the contract " my dad said

"Okay " my mom replied. I broke down in tears at that word

'okay?'

That was all she was going to say

'marry me off" that was how easy it was for dad?

I know they hate me but I didn't realize they did to this extent, I mean which parent who love their child will just send her to get married to a stranger just cause of some freaking debts???

I cupped my mouth to avoid them from hearing my sobs and walked away silently to my room .

'How could they do this to me?' I asked no one in particular

I locked the door immediately I ran in.

Marrying me off , I thought that only happened in movies and novels . I need to do something , I can't let them ruin my life. I paced my room thinking of what best to do , maybe I should report to the cops? , no!!, that's not gonna work.

There is only one thing to do

" Run away for real , finally to a very far place, where no one can find me "

That were Lisa's words in my novel said

Well let them sign a contract when there is no bride .....