Walls of heart

Chapter 1 - The meeting

Beneath the sunny weather of Cheshire, a big industrial city in the heart of England, the head of two wealthy families waited as their children decided their fates. Fingers intertwined and eyes full of anticipation, Terry Fouller was not as patient today as he would've been at other times.

As a head of the wealthiest family in all of Cheshire and probably in all of north England, Terry had travelled entirety of England and spent many exhausting days to keep the business going. His father, Ronald Fouller had travelled all the way from United states to Britain in search of better future. He had established Fouller pvt. Ltd which was now the largest producer of textiles and garments in north England.

Terry's  counterpart in the room was a slender but an agile man whose hair had receded to the back of his head. Only a few of them stuck out on his otherwise clean  head. Peter Cooper was known to be a man of words himself. Even though he was famous for his short temper and short height, he was renowned for his forecastic and opportunistic attitude in the industry.

Peter Cooper was the owner and founder of CP corporations which produced and deported plastic and plastic products to the most part of England. He was wealthy no doubt, but as compared  to Fouller's, his wealth was no match. Even if he sold all of his shares, all of his property, he was a no match to Terry Fouller. So, what made Terry Fouller consider his daughter as a wedding match for his son was beyond his imagination, but he was more than happy to grab opportunity.

Outside the mansion,waiting under the harsh sunlight of  full summer bloom, Robert Fouller sat patiently while stealing seldom glances at his watch. If it hadn't been for the thin cloth of canopy above his head, his body would've been drenched in litres of sweat by now. Occasionally blowing summer breeze was not proving to be helpful either. How many hours have passed since he sat there? Was anyone even coming to address him? He finally loosened his tie and took off the waistcoat in anticipation of some comfort. To his further relief , he saw a human figure approaching towards him.

After a minute or so, a petite woman in a yellow floral dress came and sat alongside him, carefully leaving a spot between him and her.

 Cautiously lifting his eyes and observing her, he took in her features. She was a little short in height- five and a half feet, probably took after her father and her skin was milkish white. Her face was different too. She was probably a mix of British and some other ethnicity.  Her face was round and sharp around the chin, eyes were deep brown and lips were red like a plum. Her skin... her skin was flawless and smooth. She was beautiful.

A low growl caught his attention and he lowered his eyes to where they were before he started observing her.

'Umm... I'm sorry to have kept you waiting.' The girl spoke. Her voice was soft and low.

'It's all right.'

It's now that he noticed her eyes were  fixed on the ground. Was she feeling shy?

'You know why we are here?' He asked her.

'Yes.' she replied.

He opened his mouth to say further but was interrupted in the process.

'I cannot marry you.'