It was another of such days,Xinya woke to the sounds of the housekeeper bustling around. She tuned around and looked at the time it was exactly 6:30 am so she got up,freshened up and changed into another outfit and went to accompany her in the kitchen.
Mrs. Bricks, an elderly woman in her 40's was preparing breakfast when Xinya walked in.
"Good morning Annie", She greeted lightly. Annie turned around as she responded with a smile. It was obvious how much love the elder woman had for Xinya as she had a huge smile on her face.
"Your father is in the dining room and it seems like he has something to tell you. Why don't you go and meet him now and come over later to see me? I'll have something for you by the time you come over" Annie said as she stirred her pot. Xinya took a deep breath, She would love to ignore her father if she had the ability especially now that the man was so irritable as he was facing issues with his company.
She walked calmly to the Dining and silently watched the man who was reading the daily newspaper. Mr. James Lu, a 45- year-old CEO of a huge conglomerate which was ranked 24th in the country. He was a tall,buff,muscular man with a face which could still be called handsome, being one of the most influential men in his country he possessed an aura of power and could easily frighten people with his stare.
"Good morning Dad" She finally greeted after dilly-dallying for some time.
"Good morning" came the voice of the man who never looked up for once as she walked around the dining table to sit in her position at the other side of the table. The maid Ella, served her a cup of coffee with milk instantly and she took a sip finally feeling awake that morning. The man on the other side of the table finally looked up and asked her what her plans for the day were. Xinya had just finished her entrance examination and was waiting for her admission letter into College and was expected to resume in about a month so she had some free time on her hand however, she was doubling as a part-timer in her father's company. She had been very good in Maths and Accounting so her Father had sent her to the accounts department as an intern. Not many knew that she was actually the heiress to the company as she had hidden her identity. She calmly reported her activities for the day which involved nothing but company activities. The man nodded and as an after thought included "Come back earlier for dinner" Xinya sat stunned for some seconds wondering why he suddenly included that clause. The man took a glance at her and finally added "We'd be having guests over for dinner". Xinya simply replied with a yes sir and waited for breakfast to get served.
As they began eating breakfast her father suddenly said "Xinya, I took out a loan from the bank and it's due now however the company cannot afford to pay back now so the only option is to borrow more funds from other sources". She nodded silently wondering why the man suddenly said those words. Finally she asked "Have you contacted anyone yet?" "Yes, quite a few" her father answered gruffly" But only the Mu's are willing to help" She released a breath she didn't know she was holding "That's good" Her heart tightened for no reason as she heard " But on one condition"
"What" She shakily asked, dreading the reply "That you marry their only son" She looked up in shock wondering if the man in front of her was still her father. "But Father..." She murmured, hoping slightly for a chance to change his mind even though she knew it was impossible but she was cut off rather impatiently before she could complete her statement " I don't have a choice, it's either you marry him or I lose the company and I definitely cannot lose the company I worked my whole life to build. It will kill me, that much you know". Her silently tried to recall stuff she'd heard about the Mu's. The number one family in the country with ties spanning around the country. It was said that her mother and Mrs Mu had been best friends and that the woman had loved and pampered her as a child before her mother died. After her mother's death the other woman had tried to contact her but had slowly lost contact as her Father became busier and they finally moved to another city. She hadn't seen the older woman in more than 10 years but she remembered her son Mu Feng, an arrogant boy who had hated her for no reason and had always found ways to be cruel to her. She had always avoided him as she had an innate fear for him. She would do anything to avoid him. "The Mu's will be coming over for dinner tonight" Her father spoke again "You should make appropriate plans for it" She had wanted to retort bitterly when her father spoke up again "Oh and this marriage was arranged by your mother and Mrs. Mu, so you should understand how important it was to her" Her mother, a sweet lady who had died when she was only six was someone who she would never reject and that much her father knew, conveniently using it to suppress her. She had silently finished her meal which is tasted like wax to her before getting up and clearing the plates away. Something she'd only do when she was alone. She'd been distracted even as she dressed up and got ready for work that day. She had even forgotten that she'd intended to see Annie before leaving and that Annie had promised her a treat. All on her mind was the thoughts of an unhappy marriage with a man she neither knew, understood nor loved. She had dreamt of a happy married life but at that moment those words seemed a big joke to her.
Xinya stumbled out of the house, into her car and to work on that day on autopilot mode. It wasn't until she got to the company park that she got a grip on her emotions, and entered the office with the usual smile, promising to keep her personal life on hold till she got back home.