ENTANGLED FOREVER

CHAPTER ONE 

The living room was filled with tension. The words that were spoken by Mr. Walter, her dad's creditor, gave hope to their hearts.

It was as if Manna was thrown from above and Mr. Walter was an angel sent from God. As he kept on talking, Ashley moved closer to the last stairs, which were nearer to the living room, hid from their sight, and continued eavesdropping.

"I'm going to forget about the 10 million dollars you are owing me, and I'm even going to help your company get back on its feet." Mr. Walter said, and she could see her dad smiling.

"If..." He summoned his lawyer to bring out a file. "Read it out," he commanded the lawyer.

"Mr. Walter is going to forget about the 10 million dollars you're owing him, and he's even going to help your company get back on its feet and offer you another five million dollars if you allow your daughter to get married to Mr. Walter."

Her smile grew broader and broader until it turned into a quick frown when she heard the word after the 'if' statement. That conditional word alone turned the whole conversation into something unpleasant, something that shouldn't be spoken aloud. She couldn't hear the rest, only the fact that she would get married to Mr. Walter.

“What?!” Mr. Peter, her dad, exclaimed loudly, which shook the whole mansion, clearly showing his disapproval of the whole ‘if’ statement.

“No... No... Not my daughter, please. Not my daughter. Whatever you're saying, please don't involve my daughter; don't involve her." Her mom panicked, shaking her head vehemently.

"Think about it. Think about what you're going to gain. Anyways, I'm going to give you folks some time to think about it. Let's say for about two weeks and three days, because that's the time I have left. If after that period you haven't come to a conclusion, there won't be any deal between us." He coughed uncontrollably, which made his bodyguard, who was on standby by the side, rush to his side, giving him some pats and some pills.

"Anyways," he continued with a strained voice, "I'll be back in two weeks. I hope you make a good choice." With that last statement, he left, leaving no trace behind—only his voice—for them to ponder on what was said. Ashley ran to her room shivering, not from the cold but from what she heard.

All this wouldn't have happened if her father hadn't been so greedy for more money. All these wouldn't have happened if her dad had continued with his business and had expanded it when he had the money instead of borrowing.

Her father had borrowed ten million dollars from Mr. Walter to expand his business a year ago, and the loan was a one-year Ultimum. The business expansion failed because the goods they were importing from overseas got lost in the sea. The loan had expired three months ago, but her dad couldn't pay off the money, so Mr. Walter gave her dad a one-month grace and threatened to increase the interest by three million dollars if her dad couldn't pay by that time. Her dad had wanted to sell their only property, which was the house they were currently living in. He had gotten buyers that were ready to buy the house for seven million dollars, but her mother had pestered him to stop because if they did sell their house, they would become homeless. Then miraculously, this morning, Mr. Walter came to give her parents an offer. An absurd offer. An offer that sounded so good until he mentioned it. He had offered to forget about his money and even offer them another five million dollars if they agreed to his offer. Marriage.

A knock erupted in her thoughts; the individual who turned out to be her mom didn't even wait for permission before opening her room door. Her mom came in, wiping her eyes off, then smiled at her—the smile not reaching her eyes. She could see on her face that something was wrong. She rose from her bed, shifting to a corner, thereby creating space for her mom to sit. Her mom sat but didn't utter a word.

"Mom?" She called but got no response from her mother. She looked at her and realized her eyes were empty and void. "Mom!" This time she shouted her name forcefully, making her mom forcefully come out of her reverie.