Heartless

Strong

Fiore was walking to her father's office in the Armstrong industries headquarters in New York. Her father had called her half an hour ago and had asked her to come to his office to discuss somethings.

When she entered the office, she was surprised to see her mother as well as her father, Mr and Mrs. Zubin and their son Allister.

She quickly composed herself.

"Good afternoon everyone." She greeted them scanning everyone's faces for a trace of any emotion that might give her a clue what this was all about.

"Well Fiore, Allister and here and his parents have some...requirements for the engagement that is too take place between you two." Her mother chose her words carefully. Just like always.

"Allister wants you to be a stay at home wife after the marriage and therefore wants you to quit your profession." Her father was blunter and direct. Fiore recoiled from his words as if she were actually slapped.

"You...you want me to quit my profession and become his trophy wife in other words?" she spit out but her mother just shook her head. She knees were shaking and she felt any love for her parents leaving her body. She was not going to regret walking away from them one bit.

"No need for such vulgar language dear. Your husband wants you to be able to spend your time with him." Her mother was beautiful, Fiore knew, but in that moment she looked very ugly to Fiore. Her condensing manner of speaking, her French manicured nails, her crisp blue suit, her hair pulled up in a tight bun. She had never looked uglier to Fiore. Her father, who had been content to watch her mother spit venom was equally hateful so Fiore smiled. She was going to enjoy this.

It was a smile she had seen her mother give people so many times before destroying their lives.

"Mr and Mrs. Zubin, why exactly do you want your son to marry me?" she asked them sweetly and saw her mother stiffen.

"Well you are a successful woman and we think you will have a positive impact on him and his activities and of course a merging of both the companies will be a bonus." Mrs. Zubin, like her mother knew how to phrase her words well.

So Fiore smiled at them all and saw Allister look at her carefully, as if he expected her to do something rash.

"Allister, who was that delightful woman we meet yesterday? You know the one who kissed you on the lips in front of everyone to see?" She asked his and enjoyed how his father's face went red with anger and his mother's face went pale. Allister himself was barely controlling himself.

"No one important." He replied.

"Oh but you seemed to be so fond of her last night." Fiore smirked. "After all you left me at the ball to leave with her." Allister stiffened and his father looked at him sharply.

"I don't think I want to marry you Allister, after all I can't a husband who kisses random and unimportant women during social gatherings. Along with that I can't quit my profession. I am pretty sure I make more money per day then you do in an entire month and I don't think I'm willing to give that up." She told him in the coldest voice she could muster. She sounded equally condensing and humiliating.

Allister's face went red with rage and his parents looked equally furious. Fiore turned to her own parents and saw that their reactions were pretty similar.

"Fiore, if you do not go through with this engagement we will disown you." Her father told her in his clipped business tone.

"Oh don't worry Mr. Armstrong. I think you disowned me the day I was born when you decided not to give me your family name, or when you left me alone at home while you travelled around the world for business or maybe when you were never home for any occasion that was minutely even important to me. I don't think this will change things much but I will have legal documents sent to you for my divorce of you two. Oh and the shares I bought in Armstrong industries, I am going to start selling them tonight, probably all of them." She told him and saw his face go red with fury and then white with worry.