Game Of Love

After Davion left, a shocked Ava Blakesley turned to her husband. "Thank God he didn't slap a lawsuit against us. I still can't believe that he settled for Sofia instead. I'm very worried. Would he ruin her life?" Asked Sofia's mom. 

"I don't think so. If he wanted to ruin her life, he wouldn't have offered to marry her. Where do you think he met her?" Asked a curious Mr Blakesley. 

"I have no clue. I feel he just decided on the spur of the moment when Sofi called me," shrugged Ava Blakesley. 

"Maybe. He's a lonely guy after all. He doesn't have anyone, no parents, no siblings," shrugged back Sofia's dad.

"Oh is it? Well then, that answers everything why he wants her instead of a partnership and refund," said Sofia's mom.

"Yes but I'm worried about breaking this news to Sofi. She'd never agree," said Mr Blakesley. Ava Blakesley looked worried too and she nodded in agreement. Getting Sofia to agree and accompany them to the hotel tomorrow for her wedding would be an almost impossible task. 

"We need to tell her the truth," said Ava Blakesley. Her husband nodded. Of course that was the only way to make her agree. She needed to know the grimness of the situation. 

They drove home to break the news to their daughter. Parking the car, they walked inside with grim and worried faces, looking for Sofia. She wasn't at home yet, having gone out to her friends house for group study. Her mom started packing her stuff for her since there was hardly any time at hand. She was sure that Davion would marry her tomorrow and whisk her away to his house in Reno tomorrow itself. 

Afterwards, it was nearly dinnertime when Sofia returned home. She saw the tensed faces of her parents and instantly knew that something was up. The way they were staring at her made her wary and finally she couldn't control her curiosity anymore. 

"Is anything wrong, mom?" She asked worriedly. 

"Yes, after dinner we would like to speak to you. Sofi," said her mom, looking more stressed than ever. 

"Tell me now please before I go upstairs to freshen up," said Sofia. 

Ava Blakesley glanced at her husband for help. She knew that if Sofia went upstairs to her room, she would be shocked to see that all her stuff was packed up. 

Sofia's dad cleared his throat. "Sofi, you need to hear us out first before reacting. This is a very serious issue and our future's in your hands," said her dad. Sofia was instantly on alert and sat down looking a little worried about what her parents were about to throw her way. "We had an  emergency at the firm a few days back when we lost a case due to our own negligence. The client in question is a very powerful figure and he threatened to slap a lawsuit against us," said her dad. 

"Why are we discussing this, dad? How am I even related to this?" Asked Sofia restlessly. 

"Hear me out first, young lady. If it wouldn't have involved you, we wouldn't be talking about it in the first place, right?" Said her dad. Sofia nodded and waited patiently to hear him out but deep in her heart she was apprehensive   about what her dad was about to say. 

"So as I was saying, our main client was furious when he lost a huge sum of money due to our negligence. He was determined to sue us but it would completely finish our firm, our goodwill, our business, everything. We tried ways to dissuade him. We offered him a partnership, and refund of our fees, everything but he declined everything. He only wanted to finish us and that was all!" Sighed her dad, looking at his wife for help. He just couldn't break the rest of the news to Sofia.  

Sofia glanced at her mom, looking at her with a grave expression on her face. "That was the time you called me, dear. Immediately after I mentioned your name to your dad, Mr. Torres, our client wanted to know about you. He then proposed that he wouldn't slap a lawsuit against us only if we agree to his proposal," said her mom, her face strained yet hopeful. 

Sofia was on high alert by now. "What proposal?" She whispered, getting a negative vibe out of all this. Her heart was sinking the more she heard about the mess her parents were discussing with her. 

"Mr. Torres wants to marry you, Sofi. It's either we agree to this or get sued. There's no other option left for us," said her mom, flailing her arms helplessly. 

"Is this a joke, mom? Hope you haven't agreed to this absurd proposal?" Asked Sofia, standing up in a frenzy, pacing the floor, furiously. She just couldn't believe that her parents wanted her to marry an old, boring, cunning and weird client of theirs just to save their own business. 

"This isn't a joke, Sofi. There was no other option left for us than to agree," said her dad. Sofia stopped and gaped at her parents.

"How could you do this to me? How could you sell me? Does your business mean more to you than I do? How could you agree?" She said with tears of helplessness filling her eyes and choking her throat. 

"It's not what you're thinking, Sofi. Why should we sell you? Of course your happiness means more to us than everything else. Mr Torres has everything in the world. He's extremely rich and he'll keep you happy," said her dad, trying to convince her. Sofia shook her head agitatedly.

"How can I be happy marrying a stranger whom I've never met? I'm just eighteen, mom and dad. Please let me live my life my way. Let me fall in love and marry whom I want to. You can't do this to me," she protested, with more tears falling from her eyes. 

"There's no other way, Sofi. If Mr Torres doesn't get to marry you, he'll finish us. That would make us go bankrupt in just a few months, leaving only one way out for both of us. Suicide. Do you want to force your parents to commit suicide?" Asked her mom, getting up. She was annoyed with her daughter. Marrying Davion wasn't that bad an idea and any other girl in her shoes would have jumped at the chance and here she was throwing tantrums. She could have saved their situation but she was only thinking about herself. 

Sofia sat like a statue hearing her mom's words. Of course she didn't want her parents to commit suicide. But how could she sacrifice all her dreams and marry a rich old man? Seeing her confusion, her dad picked up her hand on his own.

"If I wasn't sure about Mr. Torres, I wouldn't have agreed to this Sofi. Trust me. Please say yes. If the marriage doesn't work out, I promise that I'll get you a divorce but currently, our hands are tied. I'm not in a position to argue with Mr Torres," said her dad, literally begging her to agree. Sofia had never seen her dad this helpless in her entire eighteen years of life. She released a painful sigh and knew that there was no other option for her too. 

"Okay, I'll marry him," she said in a whisper, her eyes filling up with fresh tears that were threatening to fall. She knew that she was doomed. All her dreams were shattered and she had no hopes of leading a normal life after this. "When do I need to marry him?" She asked, as all the fight left her body. Her mom entered the room and stood shocked hearing her question. She hadn't actually expected her to give in so easily. 

"Tomorrow at noon," said her dad with a deep sigh and closing his eyes. He didn't like this one bit but he didn't have any say in this situation. He had no idea why Davion Torres was in such a rush to get married. He could have given them a month to prepare for the wedding. Who gets married on a day's notice? Sofia looked dumbfounded hearing what her dad just told her.

She blinked with confusion. Her wedding was tomorrow at noon? So early? How could she be ready so early? "That's absurd, dad! I don't even have a dress, bouquet. Damn! I'm not at all mentally prepared to marry tomorrow. I can't believe that this is really happening to me," she wailed, feeling so upset that she really wanted to escape to some place far far away. 

"Mr. Torres has sent everything that you might require, Sofi. Do you wish to take a look?" Asked her mom gently with tears in her eyes. She was hating it as much as Sofia was but what choice did they have?

"No, I'm not interested. I'll just wear anything, a sack, a barrel, anything your Mr Torres wants me to and end my life with him tomorrow. Happy?" She said, getting up and walking off to her room. 

She locked her door and fell onto the bed and wept till there were no more tears left in her eyes.