Chapter Nine
"I I didn't get you," she stammered. Did he just ask her to marry him?
"Will you marry me?" He repeated. She just stared at him.
When she came to her senses, she asked, "Why would you want to marry me?"
"If you marry me, I will fight your case against Farrell Corps., free of cost. You can continue to work at my company and live with me at my house. So, will you?" He asked, scared that she might reject him without hearing him out.
She thought for a minute. It was a very interesting proposition but how would he benefit from it? "But how would it help you?" She asked.
Jayson stared at the waterfall, deep in thought. Finally, he spoke,"When dad handed me over his law firm, it was just a one man show. He would take up cases, and take payment. I have worked hard and developed the company to what it is today, in the last seven years."
Karen listened to him patiently. She wanted to know the pain that he hid in his chest, she knew it was there.
"Dad is stubborn, very stubborn and conservative. The last five years he has been after me to settle down and start a family. He wants an heir to this empire that I've built. He even matched me with his friend James Barkley's daughter, Janet. She's a pain and has been pursuing me for the last few years like a leech. She's not wife material at all, if anything, she's a bitch who's just after my money. Dad doesn't realise it. He has declared that if I don't marry and produce an heir for him within six months, he would give the company over to my younger brother, Jaden. He has no interest in it, believe me," he said, his eyes held a faraway look, with pain and sadness etched in them.
"This month, the six month period will be over. I can't hand over my hard work to someone else who has no interest in it. Dad has broken all ties with me. For the last six years, he hasn't allowed me to go home. My mom died when I was eighteen. Dad has changed so much after that. He has become emotionless and hard. His word is now law. If I don't marry by the end of this month, I will lose my company as well as my family," he said, turning to look at her.
She looked at his eyes shining with hope. He must have suffered so much all alone with no one to confide in. "Why me?" She whispered.
"I like you. You're the only one in the whole world with whom I want to have a baby," he said and her eyes widened at what he was implying. Her cheeks coloured. That meant he would have to do it with her. He wanted to do it with her?
"How long do we have to stay married?" She asked.
"I want it to last forever but if you don't want me after the baby is born, you can leave me if that's what you want, " he said, looking into her eyes with an emotion that she couldn't decipher.
She looked down at her hands. He really needed her. She didn't have the heart to say no but why did he want to stay married to her forever? What if he loved someone else after marriage?
"Will we be true to each other?" She asked. She had to know whether he would bring other women to the house or would have extramarital affairs.
"Yes, till I die," he said, honesty and sincerity was all she could see there.
She sighed heavily. "I need to think about it Jayson. Please give me a little time," she said as his face fell with disappointment. He knew that the more she thought the less chances he had with her. How could he tell her that he loved her? He wanted to tell her that he would never love another woman in this life like he loved her.
He nodded and she left to go to her room to think about it. Jayson sat there staring at the waterfall thinking about whether she would accept him or reject him. If she rejected him, he would die. He would lose everything in life then.
It was already dinner time when he came out of his reverie, back to reality. He dragged himself up to go to the main house.
"You're still here? Everyone's finished dinner and left, Jayson," said Karen. She waited for two hours for him, checking whether he was having dinner or not at the dining hall. When he didn't put up an appearance she came here in search of him.
"Why do you care Karen?" He said, pulling her into his arms. "Tell me you'll marry me," he asked her. "Please put an end to my misery," he whispered, staring at her pink lips.
"What if you fell in love with someone else?" She said as he traced her lips with his thumb.
"I can't, " he said. How could he when he already fell in love with her?
"You could hire a surrogate mother and have a baby. No ties, no marriage hassles, " she said.
He looked hurt. "I want you, only you. I want to marry you, " he said vehemently. Why was she arguing? Couldn't she feel the love that he felt for her?
"What if we don't like one another any more?" She asked, confused.
He just wanted to quieten her and make her feel how his heart was beating only for her. He lowered his head and smashed his lips to hers, deepening the kiss slowly. The lingeringly passionate kiss was meant to make her feel how much she meant to him. Karen couldn't help but kiss him back.
She liked him. She wanted to believe him but was scared. What if he got his company and when the baby was born, kicked her out of his life? Forever was a very big word. You never know what the future holds.
