Claimed By the Billionaire

10 He's coming to dinner

“Silly, girl” her mother said in a knowing tone. “Anyway,” her mother blushed. “You clean yourself up and start acting like the strong woman I know you are, because you’re going to need that strength before end of the night today,” her mother said shifting away from her. Okafu dreaded the bad news she could see written on her face.

She internally groaned. Wasn’t this day ever going to end.  

“What is it?” Okafu asked turning back to the mirror.  She stared at her herself seeing the circles beneath her eyes. She was getting tired already, and she wasn’t even married to the man.

“We have an honoured guest tonight for dinner.”

“Of course we do.” Okafu walked to the shower and turned the taps. She didn’t even have to ask who was coming. She knew. Maybe this was a good this he was coming. She could give the beast a peace of her mind, and tell him she thought of his stupid plan to force her into some stupid marriage.

Okafu stepped into the shower and ignored everything that around her. She was good at that, shutting the world out and exiting in a bubble. She’d hated that before, but now it felt like it could be the only thing that could help her escape this. She didn’t even notice when her mother left the bathroom. Okafu finished bathing and took her time putting her favourite lotion on her skin. She wore her lazing around clothes and returned to bed. She couldn’t go to school, not the way she felt. She tried to study though, to while away the hours, but her mind kept wondering and she couldn’t concentrate. Ren Amatapa was in her every thought. He was literally taking over her life in every way. To distract herself, Okafu got up and went to her closet. She rummaged in there until she found a box she kept her personal things in. The box was mostly empty, but there were a few items in there that meant the world to her.

She sat on the floor next to the bed and opened the box.

On the top was the baby picture her mother had manage to save from the fire. She had been a cute baby. In the picture she was lying on some large bed with expensive looking sheets.

She’d always imagined her parents must have had a lot of money before the fire. Why else would she be lying on such a bed and own her bracelet?

Okafu pulled the bracelet out from inside the dairy she had kept after her kidnapping.  It was precious and delicate to the touch. Touching the bracelet always calmed her, but today it was not working, just staring at it caused a seething rage to start in the pit of her stomach, and as the hours crawled by, taking their time, Okafu became a steaming mess of rage and she was ready to unload every smelly word on Ren’s head. When dinner time came Okafu rushed downstairs to meet her tormenter. Her mother and father gave her a once over, their eyes lingering on her clothes, but they said nothing as if they could sense the volcano that was about to erupt.

The table was set perfectly in the dining room and the food her mother was arranging on the side table smelled delicious. Everything seemed so normal, but it wasn’t.

“Shouldn’t you have waited a bit, maybe you know give her a few days to get used to the idea of marrying a stranger,” Paul said staring at him in the rear view mirror, while navigating the traffic to Okafu’s house.

“I’m not a stranger to her.” Ren clenched his jaw, swallowing more words that wanted to spew out of his mouth. f**k, he was tired of Paul questioning he’s every move. “You need to trust me.”

“I trust you. But I think you’re forgetting the most important thing. She doesn’t remember you Ren. In her mind you’re a stranger, and not the man she was promised to since she was a young girl.”

“I think you’re forgetting that she was not just promised to me, she was mine, until her family was attacked and she was taken from me.” Ren said through clenched teeth. His nose flared as he remembered how he was forced to live without her after he rescued her from the kidnappers, until the danger to her family was eliminated. He’d hunted them down one by one, leaving no one alive so that he could bring her home. “I’ve waited long enough. Its time.”  

“You need to tread carefully or you’ll lose her in your quest to acquire her,” Paul said with concern.

“That will never happen.” Ren declared. 

“I hope so. I feel like you’re not thinking clearly when it comes to this girl, Ren.” Paul commented. Ren turned toward him clearly hearing the unspoken words in the air.

“I’m not going to repeat my past mistakes Paul. You can believe that. Her father should never have screwed Marco over. And I should have foreseen that Marco was going to go for her to punish her remaining family and force my hand. But…I was stubborn…” Ren slammed his fist on the back of the front seat. Okafu had paid dearly for his stubbornness. “I made them pay though, slow and painful.”

“I know, boss. I was there, remember?”

“Yeah,” Ren said. Of course he remembered, Paul had been a police officer back then and he been investigating Okafu’s family murders and kidnapping. Instead of arresting Ren, he’d cleaned up his bloody revenge mess and found a safe place for Okafu. Ren stared out the car window wondering how Paul had managed all that without getting caught. Damn, it felt like a long time ago, but it has only been four years.

Four years too long, Ren sighed. His stomach tightened with an anxious feeling he’d been ignoring since he left home. Paul’s insistence that he was making a mistake made the feeling worse and hard to ignore.

Shit, he couldn’t lose her again. That last time had nearly broke him. His only saving grace was torturing those who dared touch what was his, and knowing that she was safe somehow made the days bearable. But he was done living a half-life. It was time he brought his queen back home.

They literally grew up together being that their families were one of the top families in town. From the moment he met her at the age of 16 he was smitten, and he just knew that she was going to be his wife. Being with her was heaven and she was perfect.

Ren wanted that back. And no one was going to stand in his way.

 Paul pulled the car to the kerb. The lights of the car behind them illuminated the interior. He’d brought extra men with him. Ren knew it was too much, but he wanted to feel secure and show his power.

“You ready?” Paul turned to him.

“I’m here to take what’s mine. And no one is going to stop me.” Ren pushed the door open and got out. Paul followed and handed him the flowers he’d brought with him.

“Okay, good luck.”

“Don’t need it.”