Chapter 3 The Unexpected Message

She was carried away by the word 'contract', which sent a good sensory message to her brain, and she didn't even wish to know which type of contract it was. Instead, she told her father she was now a real graduate because she passed all her examinations.

He was so glad to hear such great news from her that he almost forgot to tell her what the contents of the contract was all about. He raised the cup in front of him, and they cheered for more success in their family.

As a man he was hiding the fact within him, there was a long silence after the cheers, which she was suspicious of before she asked him.

Why are you moody dad? Aren't you happy for me? Maria asked.

He breathed in and out before he could talk.

"Maria, the contract was about you and Marvin," Mr George said.

"Marvin John!" Maria asked

He pushed his food plate to the front side of the table gently and held onto his daughter's hand and said to her,

"I signed an initial contract with Mr Patrick on my first day at the company. The contract says I must work for his company till you graduate from university and I agreed to the terms and conditions of the contract."

As she heard what her father had said, she gently unlocked her hand from her father's hand and stood up from where she was sitting with a sad look, then she snapped out of it when she got the hunch that if the contract was all about making sure she was a graduate, then it's completed and over which makes her father free from it.

But Mr George continued with the discussion.

"Maria, now there is a new contract attached to it which I have to abide by. If I want you to live long, Marvin requested your hand in marriage and his father made me sign a contract agreement that you would marry him immediately after you graduate from university and if you refuse him you might die, and I don't wish to risk your life for mine." Mr George said,

Maria was so furious at her father, her mood changed, and she angrily left the dining hall, crying all the way to her room. She collapsed on her body on the bed like a log of wood, she lay flat with her face down on the soft bed, tears kept on gushing out like a flowing river soaking the spot her two eyes were facing.

"Oh great, what a good idea. How could he have done that to his only daughter? Was he trying to sell me out because of money, or was I a burden to him?

Various questions kept on ringing like a bell in her active brain for a month. It got to her physically and emotionally on the day of her graduation. She behaved so sad and slow as she was announced by the MC on the occasion to come forth for her certificate as the best student in the department of Micro Biology.

Maria, in her long blue gown and her shining black shoes which were complementing her silver wristwatch, sat down beside her father and Peter and his parents were next in line.

She could see Marvin and his father sitting next to each other in the front seat gazing at her. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she walked up to the stage to receive her gifts. Peter and his parents, Mr Kelvin and Mrs Kelvin, were clapping and cheering for her like a superstar trying to receive an award.

The MC presented the certificate and the best student award to Maria, who stretched her left hand to receive both, and she was asked to give a speech, but she wasn't in a good mood, her whole body ached, and her heart had been stabbed.

"I say a very big thank you to the entire management of this great institution. I appreciate this a lot. The achievement is dedicated to my mother, who didn't give me up for a billionaire. I am just sad she has passed away, and she's not here to celebrate with me." Maria said.

After a brief speech, she angrily dropped the microphone on the stage.

Everyone was so shocked to have witnessed that. Her father quickly went to her, but she ran out of the hall without saying goodbye to even Peter, her only best friend.

Mr George and Peter searched everywhere for her on that day, but they couldn't find her, until she came out of nowhere with her eyes and face red and swollen. She has been crying since they've been searching for her.

"Maria, we've been searching everywhere for you. Where have you been?" Peter asked.

But she just stood tall in front of him for a few seconds watching his upper and lower lips dancing without hearing anything that was coming out of them. She hugged him before he even finished saying whatever he was saying and left without saying goodbye.

She didn't say anything else. Instead, she went straight into her father's car and slammed the door, then her father left Peter standing alone as he entered his car before he spoke to Peter.

"Boy, don't bother yourself, she will be okay." Mr George said.

Today, 20th of November 2019, makes it a year I graduated as a microbiologist, and it's also a year of my imprisonment in this villa. I had to comply with the contract immediately after my graduation to save my life and that of my father from the wicked billionaire Patrick and his arrogant son Marvin, who had threatened to kill me and my father if we didn't sign the contract.

Apart from the manufacturing of cars, Mr Patrick also owns a drug cartel in London, and they are known for their mysterious ways of dealing with whomever goes against their decisions or request.

He had visited his father in his office on one cool afternoon while he was arranging files. He was a tall and broad-chested man at the age of 50, he strolled into the office in his black suit and white, matching the white shoes he was putting on.

"George, I want to believe you and your daughter have signed the contract, because if you don't, I can't promise you what I can't give." Mr Patrick said.

He had witnessed his boss's anger once an employee was fired just because he was trying to correct him in a meeting with a business associate, he allowed him to finish the meeting before he invited him to his office and he relieved him of his duty without given him his entitlement.

Mr Carl sued him in court, but he bribed his way to the top. No judge in London could prosecute him, he had great connections all over the country.

Mr George was so scared to reply that he stood up from his chair and moved his head downward facing the floor of his office. He was so scared to look him in the eyes.