Chapter 5 The Proposal

• I stroke her hair gently as I observe her pale face, deep dark circles under her eyes, and then my eyes drift down to her body, which day by day loses more of its curves. I kiss her forehead, and we say goodbye.
• As I close the door behind me, tears roll down my face, a mix of happiness, relief, and a hint of worry. Although I know what I did was risky, wrong, and only worsened my desperation, I feel no trace of regret. My mother now has a huge chance of surviving her illness.
• With part of my problems solved, I fulfilled my first obligation at the company and make up an excuse to leave. I stare at my car for a few minutes before driving to a car agency, once again determined to try to sell it to recover the watch. However, the absurdly low offer made again, lower than the first proposal, makes me give up on the idea.
• On the way back to the company, Noah calls me, once again pressuring me to meet him.
• "Miss Hampton," Noah greets me as I sit at the table, and I give a sheepish smile. "Where is my watch?"
• "Mr. Ewing, I need more time, please. I'm trying to recover the money I received for it so I can give it back."
• "No, I've given you enough time, believe me."
• "I can't come up with $100,000 just like that. I really acted on impulse, and I can't resolve this so easily," I reply in a low tone, looking away and staring at my fingers. "Please give me a deadline. In two days, I can do it."
• "Two days? I'm not the type to have as much patience as I've been having. But I forgot that you're stupid, so I'll explain the obvious to you: in two days the store could sell my watch. If you can't get the money on your own, ask your father. I'm sure $100,000 is nothing to him."
• "No, not that!" I exclaim, in a frightened tone, and he gives a sarcastic smile.
• "Your daddy has no idea what his little princess has done, does he? I wonder how he'll react when he finds out what you've become, Ava. So, don't test my patience, or not only he but everyone will know about your hobby of going around looking for defenseless men to rob them!"
• "You are far from defenseless, Noah."
• "Mr. Ewing, Ava. Although I've taken you to bed, you don't have the intimacy to call me by my name," Noah says sharply, forcing me to roll my eyes discreetly. "Ava, I'm not defenseless, but what about the others?"
• "For you, it's Miss Hampton!"
• "Ava," he continues, sarcastically, ignoring my comment. "I'm in a great mood today, so I'll make you a proposal."
• "What?"
• "I want you to be my wife."
• "What?" I ask, confused, almost falling off the chair from the shock of the proposal. "Don't tell me you've fallen in love with me because of a night I barely remember."
• "Don't be presumptuous, Ava, I don't even remember how that night went. It will all be a facade relationship, a contractual marriage with very well-established clauses, so you don't even think about scamming me again."
• "This is absurd! I won't accept this."
• "As I said, I'm in a good mood," Noah replies after looking at a message on his phone and then gets up. "So, you have until tomorrow morning to return the watch to me, or accept my proposal. Otherwise, I will have the immense pleasure of filing a complaint against you and disclosing it to the press. Excuse me, Ava."
• Noah stares at me as he opens his wallet and throws some notes on the table before leaving. I remain seated for a few minutes, trying to digest the proposal he made to me, and I find myself increasingly being backed into a corner.
• Once again, desperate situations call for desperate measures, and before I knew it, even against my will, I was going to my father's house.
• "My girl!" Dorothy, the family governess for years, hugs and kisses me affectionately. "How long, my love! How are you?"
• "Honestly, Aunt Dory? I can't define how I am. Physically I'm fine, but I'm psychologically destroyed. Is my father here? He didn't work today, so I had no choice but to come here."
• "He's in the office, Ava, with Miss demanding Smith." Dorothy rolls her eyes.
• "God help me, Aunt Dory!"
• We laughed together, and she accompanied me to my father's office, announcing my arrival and leaving shortly after. My father looks at me startled by my visit, as I haven't been here since he separated from my mother, while his new girlfriend discreetly rolls her eyes.
• "Ava?" He extends his hand for me to sit and smiles. "What a surprise to see you here, daughter!"
• "You didn't go to the company today, so I had to come here, Dad."
• "Aren't you going to greet Amy?"
• "I need to talk to you." I ignore his question. In provocation, Amy sits on his lap. "In private, dad."
• "Your father and I have nothing to hide, Ava; I don't see the need for me to leave."
• "I agree, my little sweetie." My father caresses her thigh and looks at me. "You can speak, Ava."
• "Dad, please..."
• "If you prefer, you can wait to talk when I return to the company next week."
• "Speak, my little girl!"
• "Amy, don't push it! You're almost my age!" I roll my eyes and take a deep breath before speaking, "I need $100,000, Dad."
• "This story again, Ava? I've told you I won't help with your mother's treatment anymore. I've done enough for her and wasted a lot of time too."
• "You also abandoned her when she needed you and your support the most, didn't you?"
• "Ava, your father needs to enjoy life, right, my little love?" Amy kisses my father and gives me an ironic smile.
• "Exactly, sweetie. Ava, is that all? We were planning our next trip, Amy wants to go to the Caribbean, and I promised to take her, but you're getting in the way!"
• "It's not for my mother's treatment, Dad." I sigh and run my hands over my face before facing him again. "I got the money for her surgery yesterday. But I ended up getting into a huge problem because of it."
• "What did you do, Ava?" He looks at me seriously and takes Amy off his lap to stand up. "I hope you didn't do anything to tarnish our family name, Ava!"
• "Ava" My father runs his hands over his face and looks at me seriously. "Took? You mean steal, right? I can't believe you..."
• "Ava, dear. I can't believe you're so upset with your father to the point of stealing and tarnishing his image out there! " Amy approaches me and caresses my arm. "You need to understand that marriages come to an end. You can't get back at your father for..."
• "Get back at him for what, Amy?" I cut her off and stood up abruptly, staring her in the eyes with a mix of indignation and disbelief. "For being a coward and abandoning a sick wife and a 25-year marriage? Or for getting involved with just anyone? Because that's what you are! Just any woman, an opportunistic whore who...
• "Don't repeat that!" My father demands with a shout, followed by a harsh slap on my face. I feel the burning on my skin and give up holding back the tears of disappointment, as I witness him embracing Amy, who pretends to be offended. "Apologize to Amy, Ava!"
• "What? Never!"
• "It's okay, my love... She's upset because you love me and chose to stay with me."
• "I demand that she does!"
• "No, I won't apologize for telling the truth." I wipe my tears and shake my head negatively, "How far you've come, Dad, I really don't recognize you anymore."
• "I'm sorry you think that way," my father asserts, still embracing her. She gives me a disguised smile as she looks at me. "As soon as the divorce is finalized, I will marry her. So, I hope you come to terms with it and learn to respect her. I'll say it again: until you learn to respect Amy, you will only have your salary and your college, and you better be satisfied with that.
• "This was all a mistake; I shouldn't have come here."
• "I agree! Lately, all you do is challenge me, Ava." My father takes Amy's hand and sits down, placing her on his lap once more. "As for your problem, take responsibility and solve it on your own. Sell yourself if necessary! I don't want to know how you'll fix it. But be aware, Ava, if you dare to tarnish our family name, I swear to God I'll forget I'm your father and I'll destroy you! Now leave! We have a trip to finish organizing, and I've wasted enough time with you."