Marry or Else

Present Day

Kieran’s POV

“Ladies, and gentlemen! Welcome to the first-ever Grand Gala of Hayes Corporation. We will be introducing the new CEO to you, shortly. In the meantime, everyone, have fun!”

The humming sound coming from the speakers filled the room one more time as the lady speaking dropped her mic and stepped down from the podium. Several people took to the dance floor, women swaying their hips in rhythm to the melodious Rnb music playing in the hall, men flipping their women around and catching them back in their arms. The circulating servers moved gracefully through the crowd, offering a selection of hors d'oeuvres to the guests.

Everyone seemed to be in a party mood. Everyone, except me. I held my champagne glass tightly in my hand afraid at some point it might break. For whatever reason I couldn’t fathom, this night made me apprehensive. The last time I was in a gathering like this, things had ended badly. Too badly, for me to delve into right now. Or ever. That night flashed in a haze, cutting through the darkest parts of my mind where I tried to keep the hurt locked away. It was willpower that stopped me from doubling over as the pain washed over me afresh. It still hurt. Every moment, every struggle I made and failed was still like an old wound refusing to heal. I winced inaudibly, gulping down my champagne. I placed the empty glass on the tray of a moving server grabbing another filled glass before he could walk by.“Is everything okay?” Riele tugged at my arm.

Again, I downed the contents of my glass, before turning to face her. Riele’s image shifted form and another face appeared before me. Her wide, but subtle smile always left my heart flip-flopping endlessly. The last time we had been together at an event like this, was the last time I ever saw her. It has been six years, but the pain has not diminished for a second.

So many regrets… so many words unsaid.

“Hey, hey, Kieran…?” the persistent voice dragged me back to focus. “You have had enough drink for tonight, and the night hasn’t even started yet.” Riele carefully snatched the glass from my hand.

She was right, the night hadn’t started yet and I was making a mess. I had to pull myself together and get through this night. The publicity would put J&K back in the positive limelight. Good publicity. Gatherings like this were what I needed to show the people how much I was working to reform the empire my father left behind.

Since Dad’s passing, I have been saddled with the responsibility of reshaping and ensuring J&K operates differently. I always wanted to handle things differently from how my father did. I never wanted to be a part of his callousness, his vicious and ruthless way of handling business, doing despicable things to get whatever he wanted. His death gave me a chance to do things differently, and I took it. Just like he took from me the one thing I cherished most. I let Riele talk me into coming for the gala. Riele tried her best. She did everything to get me to snap out of my self-inflicted suffering for a love I was never going to get back. The thought of NEVER made it even more difficult. As good as Riele’s intentions, they weren't enough. My soul screamed for someone else, my body craved her touch, and my heart wanted to leap again in excitement at her soothing smile. I wish I had done more to help her. I wish I had protected her like a husband was supposed to protect his wife. If only I had not made that deal with my father... if only I had told her how I felt about her. Told her how much I loved her.

If only…

“Do you want us to leave? We can go if that’s what you want.” Riele sounded testy now.

“No, it’s fine. I am fine.” I signaled for another drink and took my fourth glass for the night.

“You’re going to get drunk at this rate.” Riele continued her complaints. “Maybe we should just go home.”

“What part of I am fine, don’t you understand?” My voice raised a notch in anger. But it was enough to draw the attention of the people around us.

Her cheeks flustered in embarrassment as several eyes turned on us. “Must you always make me look foolish…?”

The tears were absolutely unnecessary, I screamed in my head. Riele had a way of spilling tears so easily. At some point recently, I envied her ability to blink and emit water from her eyes. But tonight, I was in no mood for any drama.

“Excuse me, sir,” Thiago appeared behind Riele.

I emptied the glass in my hand before raising my head to meet his eyes.

“What is it, Thiago?” Riele snapped at him. She was upset and took it out on Thiago.

“There’s a commotion outside. Someone is insisting we repark the cars.” I noticed the anxiousness in Thiago’s voice.

I raised a brow at his words, what could be so worrying about reparking cars if they had been parked wrongly? “Then repark the cars,” I replied flippantly. “Is that the reason you have come here because someone asked you to repark the cars? Are we parked wrongly?”

“No, sir?”

“Then explain that to whoever it is.” I flung a finger at him dismissively. But instead of leaving, Thiago still stood there, looking like someone who just got robbed. “Is there another problem, Thiago?”

“Uhm, the thing is… the driver of the car Mike hit insists he must meet you.” Thiago stammered.

“You hit someone’s car?” I thundered, in a low measured voice.

“Not me, sir. Mike.”

“Fools. Both of you.” I scratched my head thoughtfully. “How bad is it?”

“I think, it is bad.”

“You think?” Thiago nodded like the fool I thought he was. I felt anger bristling rapidly in me. With measured control, I exhaled deeply, deciding to go take a look at the situation, myself.

“I should come,” Riele offered.

“No, stay,” I ordered.

Taking two long strides, I was outside in no time with Thiago tailing behind me. The garage was a long walk from where my cars were parked. Riele and I rode the black Tesla Roadster with Thiago and Mike, while the other guys drove the gray McLaren F1. As I drew closer to where several people were gathered, I noticed someone had tried to leave with the McLaren F1; it wasn’t long before I noticed the car Mike hit—a Range RoverAstronaut Edition. One of my guys saw me approaching and quickly doubled his steps to meet me.

“Boss.” He gestured with a slight bow.

“What the hell is going on out here?” I fumed through my nostrils. Before he could answer, the Range Rover drove past us, and it was as if time slowed as I turned my head, trying to get a peek at whoever was in the back seat. Through the car's tinted glass, I could feel a pair of eyes burning through my soul. And though I knew it was impossible to see anything, I still strained. My eyes followed the car until it found a space to park, seconds later the lady who had made a speech earlier, opened the door for someone else to step out.

I couldn’t see who it was because the tall lady shielded the person. They both walked side by side toward the hall. If the moderator was here, this has to be the CEO we have all been waiting for. But there was no way the CEO of Hayes Corporation was a woman. The driver of the Range Rover approached us and handed me a card. He didn’t say anything as I took the card from him, and watched him walk away. I turned the card sideways, staring carefully at it; this card belonged to the director of Hayes Corporation: Celine Hayes.

So, it was a woman who was head, I mused. At the back, a written note caught my attention: “2000 dollars for damages, find attached to this

card my details.”

My face reddened with anger, two thousand dollars for an invisible scratch I had barely noticed. This was outrageous and laughable.

“Boss, this is all my fault. I’m sorry,” I hadn’t noticed when Mike came up behind me. The fury in my eyes was enough to make even the toughest man cower.

“You’re damned right, it is. I will deal with y’all later.” I slammed the card in his chest and stormed off. I didn’t want to miss the introduction part, I wanted to see for myself, what woman was bold enough to pitch herself as my rival. In the last few months, Hayes Corporation had been a major thorn in J&K’s flesh. It was like they were on a mission to deliberately run us out of business. And all this while, it had been a woman calling the shots?

A bloody woman?

No woman was powerful enough to control such a high-stake business. Let alone rise to the level of being a major competition to J&K. There has to be some sort of explanation. I got inside the hall in time to hear the last line of introduction.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, Hayes Corporation CEO… Celine Hayes!”

The tall lady’s words were accompanied by a resounding applause from everyone, as she stepped aside and let the CEO take the podium.

Nothing prepared me for the shock that I experienced as my gaze hit the woman on stage. Yes, woman. Not a girl, or a lady.

But a perfectly trimmed, shapely woman. My breath caught in my throat, and I was sure the loud thumping of my heart could be heard by everyone else.

For a moment, her gaze traced to me and our eyes locked. She seemed pleased to see the shock on my face, that subtle smile that I was very familiar with played on her lips. Her hair now short framed her angular face, giving her a different yet more refined appearance. But it didn’t matter what disguise she wore; I’d recognize that face even if it were shrouded in the darkest shadow. My mouth involuntarily opened as I muttered the name of my dead wife.

“Andrea…?”