03

Holding on her to harness, she jumped off of the side of the mountain. With sweat dripping down her face, she pushed the stray pieces of her caramel hair out of her face, the sweat lingering on her climbing gloves. Her athletic, navy blue tank top clung to her, while her trousers were a bit baggier, allowing her to move more. Even through the scorching sun, she still had a passion for climbing.

Breaking her concentration, her phone rang in her back pocket. "Hello?" She answered, still trying to catch her breath.

"Caden? Where are you? We need to talk." called the muffled voice of her father.

"Dad. I'm busy. Can it wait?" Caden sighed, her father seemed to call her about every little thing that happens.

"No Caden, this is important. How fast can you get to my office?" he asked, his voice sounding quite unusual.

"Dad, I'm in the..." Caden started trying to quote her location but stopped on recalling that her parents would flip if they found out she was back to doing what they said no to.

"Um... I can't get there right now!" Caden redirected her statement heightening her voice as well so he could hear her properly.

"I need you here as soon as possible. it's important... very important Caden." He told her in vague words which left her confused. What could possibly be so important that they couldn't talk about it over the phone?

***

Caden

Walking into the office building, my straight hair was flying behind me. My blue jeans were clinging to my legs while my white chiffon top and stiletto heels gave off a look of business casual. I chest out a little, letting my shoulders hang and not sag in other to give myself a small boost of confidence before speaking with my father.

"Good morning Miss Caden." Greeted Jenny, my dad's secretary.

"Morning Jenny, please inform my father of my arrival." I requested. She smiled with a nod and headed back into his office, leaving me alone in the waiting space.

Not too long later, she came out. "He's ready for you Miss Caden," She told me with a bright smile.

"Thank you Jenny." I murmured as I gave her a light pat on the arm with a smile on my face before walking into my dad's office.

"Good morning dad." I greeted with a smile just as I walked in. I walked over to him and gave him tight warm hug. Sitting down on the other side of the table, I decided it was time he let out what was troubling him.

"Caden, I needed you here a day ago. Where were you?"

"Dad, I had to drive to the airport and then take a jet. The flight itself took a few hours and by the time I got home, it was late. What is so important that we couldn't talk about it on the phone?" I asked just after I was done with my explanation. My brows squinted as I noticed a strange wave of despair wash over his face.

"Dad, what's wrong?" I asked with as worry filled me. Dad was rarely a serious person around me. Something was very bad about this situation.

As he got some papers together, he stood up and made his way over towards me. Cupping his face with my hands, I told him, "Dad, I love you so very much. What is wrong? How can I fix it?" I asked truly ready to fulfil his heart's desire. Anything to make sure the smile on his face returns. He exhaled quite loudly as his face paled.

"C, when you were younger, this company suffered a lot of financial troubles. I took a loan from a friend of mine, then President of the Norman Enterprises. After some time, I simply couldn't pay back yet. We've been reinvesting our money so we can grow further and Mr. Norman was a very good friend of mine so he understood. After Norman passed away, his son took over. Unfortunately, he's not nearly as compassionate as his father. He now demands we return every single cent or he's going to take away everything. Your grandfather worked so hard to own this, he put in his blood, sweat, and tears into this. Our family cherishes this company too much to let go of it without a fight."

"Dad, we don't have to give up the company, we'll find an alternate solution. There are multiple ways to fix everything. I know what this company means to you, and I know all of the jobs at stake if this doesn't work out. I'll help you fix this dad in whatsoever way I can. I mean it." I assured him as I put up a warm smile and squeezed both of his hands in mine but the sad look in his eyes remained. It was devastating to see him look this devastated. I understood this was a huge problem. Our family as well as a lot of employees' bread and butter was resting on his shoulders.

"If we are unable to pay him back soon, he's going to take our company but C... It does not have to be so only if you could... agree to his condition." Dad stated and I furrowed my brows for a minute trying to analyse what all this might be about. Nevertheless, I was ready to pay heed and work my ass off to help him.

"What is it?" I asked still holding his hands in mine.

I watch him hesitate for a while, lurking his eyes left and right. Contemplation filled his every move. I could see something was really troubling him. If only he could understand how willing I was to help him.

"Dad, what is the problem?" I asked as I placed a hand on his cheek so he could lift his eyes back to me. I made sure to look into his eyes in order for him to see that it was okay to speak up and that I was really willing to help out.

"He says... He asked for your hand in marriage as a sacrifice for all the debt we owe him."

What!?

"Come again? I'm sorry dad. I...I think I misheard you," I stumbled out after giving him about a minute of blank stare.

The sad look he gave me was enough to know this was real, all too real. This isn't possible! This isn't the 1500s were people barter their children! I slowly withdrew my hands away from his. I stared at him for a second with squinted brows quite in disbelief of what was turning to reality. Eventually, I stood up and walked away from him then suddenly stopped then paced to and fro for quite a while trying to understand the implication of such an absurd request but I just couldn't. This was preposterous. I suddenly stopped then turned to him and rested both my hands on my hips, while I shook my head.

"Let me get this right... This very same man wants to... he's ready to forget everything, all we owe him if only I accept his marriage proposal?" I asked a little dried out about the entire situation.

I watched dad nod his head in accordance. My brows slightly furrowed as I took my hands off my hips and folded them across my chest.

"And? What did you say... Did you... accept his proposal?" I asked suddenly needing to know if my father was in on this. Was he ready to truly give me up in such a manner? Dad's eyes widened for a second before he shook his head as he got up from his seat and walked up to me.

"C, Of course not. I told him that I couldn't give up my baby girl to the devil himself. I...I initially refused but then... Caden, I thought a lot about it and..." He explained as he looked right into my eyes but then he suddenly looked away.

"C, this company is both yours and your sister's inheritance. It would be an utter disgrace to your grandfather if everything is ruined in just a moment." He stated but I remained calm, watching and trying to understand where he was driving to. He shifted his eyes back to me.

"A lot of employees such as Jenny will become jobless. They won't be able to feed their families like they used to... A lot is riding on this." He added and all I did was stare at him. His conclusion slowly hit me.

"You want me to marry a man I know completely nothing about!? A total stranger!?" I asked quite taken aback by his strange decision to give me up instead. He placed both his hands on my shoulder.

"C...I'm not...I'm not ordering you to marry him. I'm just asking you to think about the lives that'll be in lost if you... if you do refuse this proposal." He tried to explain but the more he spoke, the more I shook my head in disbelief. I shrugged my shoulders as I took a step back so his hands were off me.

I shook my head at him in disbelief while staring at the man I've called father for years. The man I believed to protect me more than any other person in this world. It was this same man that was ready to throw me into the lake of burning fire just so everyone else can be better. The truth was that... I didn't even know if I could make sure a huge sacrifice. I mean, I'm not prepared for this at all.

"I can't believe you." I told him as I kept shaking my head. Refusing to hear or give him a chance more to speak up, I walked past him, picked up my handbag from where I left it then stormed right out of his office without looking back.

I sat in my car and rethought everything in my life. Anger boiled from within, my dad and I never had any problems. We had never asked too much of one another. I understood he was desperate and it was his desperate self speaking back in his office. I was just too overwhelmed with emotions to let him try to reason with me. Truthfully, I hated seeing him so helpless, knocked down and beaten but then again, this was my life we were talking about. Marriage isn't a child's play. It's not something that can be decided overnight. It takes two to tango and in this case, we're so not in tango. I gulped down hard, hating this very stage of my life. I couldn't let this end this way. I needed to do something. Perhaps, a little talk with this strange man will put everything back on the right track. I'll have to reason with him and let him know that I wasn't a pushover, someone to just say yes to his order because of his threats. I put my car in drive then drove off while preparing my mind for the unpredictable future.