Noah's POV
"Is...is ... it...it time yet? Has Kincade a-a-arrived?" I asked my best friend as soon as she walked inside the room.
Eva Belle didn't answer my question immediately.
"Shall we proceed with the engagement, now. M-may I meet my future husband?" I asked her again.
She came closer and she hugged me. It was supposed to be a short hug, just enough to comfort me but not long enough to break down my walls but Eva Belle refused to let go.
"Engagement has been called off, Noah" she whispered.
I pushed her away. "I'm sorry, w-what?!"
"The Essex Group just informed your father that they are calling off the engagement. They will be here soon enough to tell you, I just wanted you to be prepared" Eva Belle told me.
I felt a squeeze in my stomach.
"Why?" I asked Eva Belle, my voice shaking.
She came closer and tried to hug me again but I took a step back. I didn't need hugs, I needed answers.
"S-speak already, B-belly! Why?" I asked her.
Eva Belle was quiet for a few seconds, like she was trying to come to terms with the ramifications of her words…like she needed a minute before she could drop the bomb.
"Eva B-belle!" I screamed her name. Not knowing was killing me. I would rather know than not know.
"They think they can find a better match for their CEO Kincade, Noah. They are pulling out because the marriage contract that was made Twenty-one years ago is no longer favorable to them. They think they can do better with a richer company and a richer girl. And therefore, they are"
I knew Eva Belle was dancing around the main subject.
"I-is it-it because of my st-stutter?" I asked her. "A s-stuttering girl is...is no good as his wife, is that...that right?"
"Noah, Kincade is just an asshole who doesn't know a good thing even though it has been staring him in the face for two years. Mother fucking maggot that's what he is!"
Of course, it was the stutter.
"I c-can't h-help it!" I screamed in frustration, tempted to do something as outrageous as pulling out my hairs with my bare hands.
"Noah…"
Eva Belle came closer to me. Her eyes dimmed in concern and her arms tightly clasped together to prevent herself from touching me because she knew I didn't want to be touched.
"I'm sorry, sweetie. It's not your fault, a marriage contract between a huge company heir like the Essex group and a struggling company like ours was bound to fail despite your little quirk, sweetie" She forced me to look at her. "It's not your fault-"
Eva Belle barely finished her statement when the door of my bedroom burst open and my parents barged inside without knocking.
Eva Belle warned me that they were coming but it was just reflex when I took a couple of steps back in fear, afraid that my father might just keep the promise that he had made several times in the past and throw me out the three storey building.
"N-not my f-fault, Dad" I yelled out loud even before they said anything to me. "N-not m-my fault. Please"
My father's face was purple with rage. If I thought he was angry yesterday over my inability to be a perfect docile daughter, I was grossly mistaken.
This was anger in an undiluted form.
"You foolish…foolish girl! I send you to the best school to prepare for your role as his wife. I bring in tutors, spend a little fortune on dresses and nutritionists...and you turn out to be a bloody defective product!"
He took a step closer and I took one back, afraid that trying to speak would anger him more.
"Answer me!" He yelled.
"S-sorry" I quickly murmured and took another step back.
It was weird. But when I think of monsters out to get me, he was always the first face I see…my step mother was the second. "Sorry, D-daddy" I murmured again.
I was so afraid. My stomach was in knots and my heart was so out of control, I was so sure he would reach out and today would finally be the day he would physically hurt me.
Charles Hackett wasn't so much sympathetic as he was ready to commit murder.
"Do you have any idea of the ramifications of this action? Our company's alliance with Kincade's Essex group was everything!. Our trade agreements, our military contracts... everything is at risk because of your plainness and your defectiveness!"
I felt a cold dread creep up my spine. "N-not defective!" I screamed at him, tears running down my face. "J-just different"
My father's voice dropped to a menacing whisper. "Defective" he said "And you've not only ruined your own life, Nicolette but You've disappointed your dead grandmother who decided it was a good idea to leave her billionaire dollar company to someone like you. You've put our entire company and about 1009 employees at risk. Do you know what will happen to our people if this alliance falls apart? What will happen to our very way of life?"
"N-not my fault you made bad business decisions. N-not my fault she spends like m-money grows on the tree."
He surprised me when he grabbed me by the throat. "What did you just say?"
I felt a wave of fear wash over me. "S-sorry, D-daddy" I choked out. "I w-will f-fix it"
My father's eyes bored into mine, filled with anger and disappointment. "Fixed this. Beg…grovel, whore yourself out to Kincade, hell, his father too…fixed this or we are done. This company would be done. Do you understand me?"
I was too afraid to speak. So, I nodded.
They stormed out and my shaky legs gave out.