Taking Over The Dynasty

Chapter 1

"Why do you not trust me?" I tried reasoning with my fuming father.

"I can never trust you the business!" He yelled back. 

My eyes were already filled with tears, still holding them back. I looked at my mother, but she was only looking down at her feet. As if she was scared to face my father.

"Since I was young, you educated me; you sent countless teachers to teach me to be excellent in everything, in every subject. And now you telling me that you don't... believe in me?" I questioned him, and his expression didn't change at all.

"You need a man, by hook or by crook. This is why I am telling you to marry Everdeen's oldest son in their family. He is excellent in everything, and he can help you and our business" My father tried reasoning with me with his last bits of patience.

"But I am still young! I don't want to get married and be a stuck-up wife in a house!-"

Slappy

A complex and solid slap landed on my left cheeks, and I could feel half of my face was starting to swell. I bit down my tongue for lashing out at him and remembered that he was not a kind-hearted father like my friends. A tear fell on my cheek as I instantly ran to my bedroom. 

I closed the door of my room and locked it so that no one could come in. I threw myself onto the bed and wailed into my pillow. I cried my heart out until my nose was runny. My mother just stood there. She was looking at me while my father slapped me. I thought now that I was 21, my father wouldn't lay a hand on me anymore. But I was wrong. An abuser will always be an abuser.

I buried my face into the pillow and cried non-stop for a good 30 minutes, and slowly calmed down. I flipped my body and faced the ceiling in my room. This thing is eating me from inside out, hurting me. 

A sudden thought came to me, and I wanted to vent things to my best friend. Her name is Lily, and she is the friendliest and most genuine friend I have had for a long time. I dialed her number and pressed the call button. The call rang for 10 seconds before Lily answered the call.

"Hello?" Lily's voice came out from the speaker of my phone.

At the sound of her voice, I instantly cried my heart out, and Lily realized I was having my episode of sadness again.

"Shush, you are okay now, Carol. Tell me what happened?" Lily replied, trying to calm me down.

"It's my dad. He is forcing me to marry a man I don't know. Of course, I don't want it. I don't want to be tied to someone or something or a title even. I want to be free, Lily. I barely have any childhood memories because it is filled with classes back to back. I have exactly no life, Lily!" I sobbed in between my words.

"Well, that is not good... That is quite dangerous even. You cannot marry someone you barely know. Marriage isn't just about combining family businesses. And also, this is why I don't even want to be included in my family's business affairs. It is always full of crap, and I pity you, Carol. You are an only child, yet you were not given a choice.

"I know! That is the main point, Lily. What should I do now..." I sobbed into my pillow while still putting my phone to my ear.

"Alright, you need to calm down first. We have a class tomorrow in the early morning. I will try to find some solutions for you and give it a thoughtful thought. Right now, you need to chill and take a deep breath and go to sleep. We will meet tomorrow morning," Lily said, calming me down with her wise words.

I nodded to her suggestion and said, "Hmm, alright then. See you tomorrow. Thank you for hearing me out, Lily."

"You are most welcome, goodnight Carol."

"Goodnight, Lily," and with that, I pressed the end call button and put aside my phone in the small drawer beside my bed. Without washing my face, I just turned off the lights and turned on the bedside lamp as I fell into a deep slumber.

As usual, the following day, I took a shower around seven the morning and wore a set of casual outfits with a pair of black jeans. I made my way down the stairs to the dining table. Upon reaching there, I saw my father's body as his back was facing me. I bit my lip softly and sat down at the table with him. I took two slices of bread, a spoon, and a jar of strawberry jam. Quietly, I spread the jam on my bread as I could feel the stare from my father.

"So? Is it a yes or a no?" My father said, breaking the awkward silence on the table with my mother about to sit at the table to have breakfast with us.

"You won't take no for an answer, so I don't have a choice," I said lowly, audible enough for him to hear.

My father was about to reply in anger but stopped by my mother.

"Stop with the fight. It's too early in the morning, and please have your breakfast," My mother said to my dad and me.

My mouth stayed shut until I put a last tiny piece of bread into my mouth. I washed my hands at the sink and made my way towards the main door of my house. I got into my car and quickly drove out of my house's central porch, driving to my first class in university.

The drive took about 20 minutes as I finally arrived in my university's compounds. I parked my car in front of my faculty's building with students swarming the area, making their way into the building. Suddenly a knock at the window of my car startled me. It was Lily who was already waiting for my presence. A smile grew on my face as I got out of the vehicle. I almost jumped hugging her because I missed her so much, although we get to see each other every day.

"I miss you!" Lily exclaimed in excitement.

"Me too! Ahhhh, and thank you so much for being there for me last night."

"It is no biggie, Carol. You know I love you, right? And I would do anything to help my best friend in need!" Lily said as she tightened the hug between us.

"So I guess we will have to meet up after class?" I said, smiling at her.

"As usual, definitely," She squealed in excitement.

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A/N: Hello there! Thank you so much for giving my book a chance for you to read it, and honestly, it would help me a lot if you would give a like and comment to my book and give me your most honest thoughts.