Marian
“I can not believe she would do that to me! Markian you said she wasn’t planning on coming- you made me give up on asking her for her help. This is all your fault!” Heather ranted uncontrollably.
I know she is angry and upset, and feels betrayed by Olivia but, that gives her no right whatsoever to blame me for her losses.
“How am I to be blamed, huh? Was I the one Olivia told she wasn’t going to vote but stay on the sidelines? No! Did she say I convinced her to vote for Daniel? No! So why are you blaming me for something that isn’t remotely my fault?” I asked agitated.
“How about the reason why Daniel did all these in the first place, huh? If you had just cherished and treated your wife kindly with respect and not be such a mean asshole, none of these would have happened! He’s in love with her but was ready to give up on her after you both got married, until he found out how horribly you planned to treat her!” Heather yelled rudely in annoyance.
Ok. I think this is enough. Why everyone seems to blame me for their problems, I don’t understand. First it was Judy accusing me for not understanding Olivia’s ‘feelings for me’, and now Heather is accusing for Daniel’s decision to start chasing after my own wife. As if there is a criteria for my cousin to want to woo my wife.
And to make matters worse, I myself have been in a dark place since Livy and I returned from our vacation.
The guilt I feel have been tearing me apart and lately, I can’t bare to look her straight in the eye anymore.
If I had known or had even the slightest idea that Livy’s feelings for me were genuine, I may have been a bit nicer to her- maybe.
“Heather, your brother is the asshole for getting involved with an engaged lady in the first place. It was his decision to pursue her despite knowing she was going to be my wife. And as for my attitude towards Olivia, she was very much aware of what she was getting into when she decided to get married me. I clearly told her I can’t and will not give her a place in my heart or by my side because…” I stated, but was rudely interrupted,
“… because you ‘lost the love of your life, and not finding love again was a promise you made to her grave?’ Boohoo…! she’s dead Markian, get a life. The truth is that you had a perfectly good woman but you tossed her away for a ghost of your dead wife! So, congratulations on keeping your promise to the dead… ha. Because now, Daniel is one step closer to taking your beloved Castlehill away too!” she rudely stated before storming out of my office.
As she banged the door behind her, I rubbed my temples with my fingers, frustratingly.
Today was not going well for me at all. First it was the call I got from the judge that Olivia is trying to file for a divorce, and now Heather lost her position as CEO to her brother, my cousin Daniel, who wants to get his hands on my Castlehill.
We had everything under control, enough members of the board were ok with Heather staying up, until this morning.
Why they changed sides so quickly, I had no idea. Was this all Olivia’s doing? But how did she manage to do all that in just hours?
I’m feeling at loss here and I don’t even know were to go to from here. Why was she doing all these?
These past weeks have been unbearable and sickening. Not only was I incredibly ignored by her, I was also starting to feel very lonely even when she’s with me.
In Jeffery’s presence, she would be so nice and friendly, but the moment he’s gone, she would completely freeze me out.
I’ve tried asking her several times why her change of attitude, but all she would say if she decides to speak to me was, ‘I woke up’.
Woke up from what exactly? She knew very well that I would fight against her in court for the divorce and she might end up losing everything if she had no concrete evidence to support her reasons for divorcing me, but she went ahead and filed for it anyway.
I would give anything to know what is going on in that head of hers these days, and I really don’t want to lose her.
Maybe it’s because I’ve grown fond of her, or maybe I’m starting to lose my marbles, I don’t know. But all I know is that, I don’t want her to leave my side and go to another’s.
I know now, I was wrong for suggesting otherwise, I was wrong for hurting her feelings, I was wrong for everything I’ve ever done to her.
As I was in my deep thought reminiscing how differently I could have done things, I heard a knock on my door.
“Hey man, I’m so sorry about today. I really tried to help out, you know?” Jeffery apologized.
“It wasn’t your fault. You did your best, and I can’t thank you enough. I know how much you hate sibling rivalry, yet you had to put down your principles to help us today, thank you.” I sincerely appreciated his efforts.
“Really? Because I just saw Ms. Winfrey on my way here and she looked pissed. It’s sad but I think it’s all for the best anyway.” He said nonchalantly.
Jeffery had always been known to be blunt and without filter in speech, which is one of the reasons I like him. But I doubt Heather would be happy hearing him say this.
“Why do you say so? She is hardworking, dedicated, and quite ambitious. You should know, you’ve worked with her, haven’t you?” I asked wanting some clarity.
“Yes I have, which is why I’m saying it’s a good thing. She is hardworking and very dedicated, but S. Group has been all she’s known, nothing else. Yes, she may think she’s happy cocooned at the office all day with little or no social life, but we both know she can’t be truly happy until she steps out of the office. I’ve heard her story, and if I were her, I’ld take this time to find out what makes life truly worth living.” He answered completely ajar as though he was in a daydream.
Maybe he was right, but losing her position as CEO now leaves her vulnerable.
“Well, I don’t think she would feel that way because, losing her position as CEO not only discredits her but it also means that Daniel could buy off her shares in S. Group at anytime, especially if he sees her as a future threat.” I told him and he felt disheartened completely.
Jeffery had a 5-7%share of S. Group due to the contract he signed with the company and as such was eligible to vote in this matter.
Heather with her 25% shares and my 10% together with Daniel’s 15% and additional 10% from his father and Jeffery’s 7%, makes a total of 67% . From my 10% Olivia has half of the shares which meant I could only use 5% to vote which wasn’t even close to the vote of the major share holders.
So Daniel had to get the vote of 2 other major share holders both with 10% and 15% shares respectively, major share holders that were suppose to vote for Heather, but all of a sudden had a change of heart.
Since he already had 25% shares and Livy’s 5% at his disposal, it means he is now the major share holder with 25-30%shares in his name.
“Oh poor Heather, that would crush her beyond recovery,” Jeffery sympathized unconsciously.
“Yes it would, but not if something can be done about it.” I stated, catching Jeffery’s attention immediately.
I didn’t realize he and Heather had become friends, but I guess that was bound to happen. She does have a way of catching the eyes of businessmen with her enchanting charisma and independent attitude.
“Well, is there anything that can be done to protect her?” Jeffery asked wild eyed and expectant.
“Of course there is. A marriage contract- between you 2 would grant her immunity.” I answered not amiss.