“Okay Domenic, remember… if anyone is to ask you about last night, don’t say a word about it. Just tell them that we arrived at the airport this morning and if they want to know more about the details, they should meet me.” Stephen instructed as they arrived at the Gray mansion.

“Sure Boss.” Domenic replied.

They were at the back of 2018 model Range rover sports, a professional driver sitting in the front. They arrived in front of the massive mansion and the driver stopped the car. Stephen could hear her screams as he stepped out of the car, she was heading straight to him in excitement.

Jenny Bricks, daughter of a female influencer and single mother. Jenny, who was looking to take after her mother by becoming a model, had met Stephen in one of the elite parties and had fallen in love shortly after. Now they were engaged and planning to get married in a short time.

“Steve!!” she called fondly as a shorter version of his name and then she jumped into his arms like an over excited teenager.

“Hey sweetie,” he smiled and hugged her back. “I have missed you,” he added.

“Liar!” she yelled and pulled away from him, then she hit him on the chest playfully. “I know you didn’t miss me one bit,” she insisted.

“Of course I did, why wouldn’t I miss the love of my life?” he teased.

“And what about us, did you miss us as well?” Mrs. Grey’s voice sounded from the entrance of the hallway.

“Mom!” Stephen’s face brightened up as he hurried towards his mother, leaving Jenny behind. “Of course I missed my adorable parents!!” he added and then hugged his mom.

“Oh my baby boy, mommy missed you more. Why did you have to grow up so fast? Now you travel all on your own and leave us worried,” she whined.

Jenny stood in by the flowers and frowned her face, she was jealous that he put his parents over her. No matter how much he loved her, he would always choose his parents first and she disliked it. She was going to be his wife and yet he gave his parents more attention than herself.

She scoffed and walked towards them slowly, her chest burning in jealousy. She couldn’t wait to get married to him, take him away from here to a new house and have him all to herself.

“So how was your flight, son?” Mr. Grey queried.

“It was good Pa, just a little delayed due to the weather.” Stephen lied. He hoped that his parents hadn’t done any research after his disappearance or they might learn that he was lying and then he would be forced to admit that he had spent the night in a hotel.

Now, staying at a hotel wasn’t the problem, he was an adult and could sleep wherever he wanted, but his family, especially his fiancée would be angry to know that he chose privacy over them. If she even felt unwanted at the slightest, she would make a fuse over it. But how would he explain to them that at times, a person just needs their personal privacy and peace of mind?

“Zach!! Please take the young master’s luggage to his room.” Mr. Gray instructed the neatly dressed butler who wasn’t standing too far away.

“Sure, Sir.” The butler replied and then pointed to two of the servants to come with him.

“Please come inside Son, I will ask the maids to send your food to your room because we already had breakfast.” Mrs. Gray informed him.

“Okay Mom, thanks a lot… I am not only very hungry but I have missed the dishes made by your beautiful hands.” He teased me.

“I hope that is not a bribe for me to forget what you promised me before you left for Asia?” she frowned immediately.

Stephen chuckled and shook his head sideways. “No mom, of course I got your present for you, I will send it to your room personally later in the day.” He replied.

“Okay my boy, that’s very nice of you.”

To cut the drama short, Stephen Grey received a warm welcome from his family which consisted of his father, his mother and his fiancée at the moment. Of course there were other members of the family but they were not present at the moment. He had a brother and a sister, the brother was not in the country and his sister must be at some party or birthday or wherever rich girls love to hangout.

Stephen retired to his room and as soon as he sat on his bed, he got enveloped by the thought of everything that had happened last night. The wealthy son and heir to the Gray dynasty was worried, he was deep in thought with his conversation with Ana. Her words had really stung deep into his soul and her tears were hurting him.

He knew that she was in pain but he also didn’t approve of what she thought of him, she didn't know him so she had no right to judge him or point fingers at him. She saw him as a bad man; truly, he wasn’t always a responsible gentleman but that was all in the past, and he hated to be identified by something he had given up on. What intrigued him the most about her was the fact that she had rejected his offer to get her a job or give her money.

Most ladies were willing to offer their body in exchange for those things, but she cared more about her dignity. Did such women still exist? A woman who values virtuousness over ill-made wealth and influence? She could have easily accepted the money and forgotten that everything happened but she would rather remain unfortunate and hold up to her self-esteem and dignity.

Now that was what bothered him the most, the fact that he couldn’t influence or bribe her with his money. Yeah, she didn’t threaten to file charges of assault against him which she certainly could if she wanted, even though that it could be at her own loss due to their financial statuses, but regardless he was troubled by her words, her tears and her character.

Could a person be that good? Or was it all an act? But for what reason would she put on such an act? It doesn’t benefit her in any way, unless she has other plans that he wasn’t aware of, and the thought of that left him more curious.

Stephen’s thoughts were disturbed by a kiss on the neck; it was of course his fiancée. She sat on the bed behind him and began to kiss him continuously on the neck while hugging him from behind. Stephen sighed and closed his eyes, he hadn’t seen her come in.

He was trying to concentrate, but not on her show of affection, he was troubled by the middle class girl whose virginity he had taken away and yet she threw his money in his face, promising to hate him forever.

“Babe, what is wrong?” Jenny asked as she noticed he wasn’t reciprocating her show of affection, he had even stopped her from unbuttoning his shirt.

“I am sorry, I am not in the mood right now.” He replied bluntly.

“Huh? What do you mean you are not in the mood? You have been away from home for a whole week; a week where I have been all by myself, missing you and waiting patiently for you to return, and now that you are here, you say you are not in the mood? Why?” she queried.

“It is nothing serious, I am just worried about some issues at work.” Stephen lied to save his head.

“Liar! You have had a whole week for work and now that you are back to me, you are still thinking about work? You won't even touch me or look me in the eyes. Tell me the truth Steve, are you cheating on me? You were with some other girl back there, weren’t you?” she fired.

“What? Of course not,” Stephen retorted and turned back to face her. “You know I would never cheat on you, I would be crazy to do that.” He denied.

“So you haven’t had sex since you left a week ago?” she asked.

“No I haven’t, I promise I am not that person anymore, ever since I put a ring on your finger, I haven’t been with any other woman. You are the only one I want to make love to, there is no woman prettier than you in the world, so why would I cheat?” he queried.

Jenny blushed immediately and looked down shyly. “Really? Awn… I love you so much,” she screamed and kissed him on the cheek.

Stephen smiled. “I love you more, Hun. Now, let me show you what I got for you during my travels,” he said, quickly changing the topic as he felt guilty lying to her. Of course, he had been loyal to her, up till last night when he slept with Ana.

“Great… What is it? I can’t wait!!” she uttered in excitement.

Stephen brought out a small box from his breast pocket and opened it, then he brought out a diamond necklace. “Here, this is for being a good girl,” he announced.

“!!!” she squealed in excitement and took it off his hands. “It is so beautiful, I need to show my friends ASAP.” She announced and ran off immediately.

“You didn’t even say thank you!!” Stephen uttered but she was gone already. He sighed and slumped down on the bed. This Ana issue was eating him up!!

“Just to be clear, Mr. Singh… You speak English, right?” Stephen asked after exchanging handshakes with the Indian man who had just arrived at their house.

“Yes Sir, I am bilingual,” the man replied in a funny accent and Stephen chuckled.

“Well, that is fair enough,” he replied, ignoring the fact that the man had missed “am”. As long as he could pass the message correctly, Stephen had no problem with his English.

Come to think of it, weren’t the Indians colonized by the British? Doesn’t that automatically make English an official language in their country, or so the billionaire CEO thought.

“Please come with me, Mr. Singh. You are here at the right time, my family is waiting to meet you.” he announced as he turned back towards the house.

“It will be my pleasure, Mr. Gay.” He replied.

Stephen coughed immediately. “Um… sorry, but it is Mr. Gray.” He turned back and corrected immediately.

“Yeah, that’s what I said.” The man replied with a smile.

Stephen scratched his head and turned awkwardly. Okay, maybe he should also overlook this one, but he was certain he heard the word gay, and not like he was homophobic or something, but he would prefer his last name to be called appropriately.

“Okay, you know what? Just call me Stephen; that should do just fine,” he instructed and Mr. Singh nodded with a smile.

“Sure, I will call you whatever you want, Mr. Gay.” He said.

“Oh shit! Never mind, just come with me,” Stephen said hurriedly and then headed towards the building, the man followed him immediately.

Domenic better be sure that this man here was the professional he claims to be, because how does he not know how to pronounce the word Gray? If all Indians sounded that way, then Stephen knew for a fact that he would ever be stepping foot in that country. Maybe it was just something with the man’s tongue. If it was a disability, then maybe it should be ignored.

Stephen walked into the family’s major sitting room and met everyone there, his mother, his father and his fiancée, as well as his little sister who had chosen to join the crew; surprisingly, she was sober today.

“Alright everyone, this is Mr. Singh Maharaja or something like that, I am not familiar with the last name. Just call him Mr. Singh for short, he is going to be the event planner for the upcoming wedding.”

“What wedding?” Laura asked immediately and furrowed her eyebrows.

“Huh?” My Singh gasped with wide eyes. “There is no wedding? I thought you said there was a wedding? I flew all the way from New York city down to this place.”

Stephen sighed and rubbed his forehead; these two were going to give him a fucking migraine. “Yes, Mr. Singh, there is a wedding. Don’t mind my sister, her memory works best when she is drunk.” He replied.

“Oh… Okay, I am glad that there is one, because if there is no wedding, then I will just have to make one happen anyway,” he uttered in that hilarious accent and the family burst into laughter.

“Oh, I like this one,” Laura said immediately with a smile.

“Yeah, whatever… just don’t distract him, he is here to work… you know how important this wedding is to me,” Stephen warned her.

“Well, it isn’t to me. I don’t even like her.” Laura announced.

“Hey, I am right here!!” Jenny yelled.

“Oh, sorry your highness, I didn’t see you there.” Laura taunted in mockery.

“Okay, enough you two. Laura, you either behave or leave us alone.” Mrs. Gray warned.

“Oh, I was going to grab a bottle anyway. Apparently, I am only useful when I am drunk,” Laura said and scoffed at Stephen. She walked towards Jenny and flung her hair at Jenny’s face before going up the stairs.

Stephen sighed and turned back to the wedding planner. “Um, I am sorry you had to see that, Mr. Singh”

“Huh? What are you sorry about? I love family drama? This is just perfect, I will choose it over a boring wedding any day and any time,” he replied and laughed childishly.

Stephen growled softly and clenched his fist. Where did Domenic find this man? If he was wrong about Mr. Singh here being the best of the best, then he might have his Mexican ass kicked back to Sicily.

“Anyway, meet my family. This queen over here is my mother, the quiet old man beside her is my father, and this princess is my soon to be Queen. She is the bride, so please work with them to achieve the best results ever. I want this wedding to be talked about for decades, okay?” he instructed.

“Wow, what a beautiful family you have got here.” Mr. Singh said jovially and blew a kiss at them.

Jenny blushed. “Okay, I might have to agree with you sister on this one, he is cute, I like him!”

“Good, then I guess things are going in the right direction.” Stephen uttered.

Mr. Grey senior sighed and stood up, he walked to Mr. Singh and extended his hand for a handshake. “Welcome to our home, Mr. Singh, and forgive my son’s manners. He only knows how to do business, but is very terrible at treating guests. Please have a seat while I ask the servants to get you some juice or alcohol if you prefer.” He said with a smile and pointed to a cushion after the handshake.

Stephen sighed and rolled his eyes. How would he remember to offer a seat when there is so much drama in the family? He had other things to think about; that was his defense but of course he kept it all to himself.

“Thank you so much, Mr. Gay… it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Jenny burst into laughter immediately and Stephen sighed. “Just ignore that father, I already had that conversation, nothing is going to change.” Stephen said immediately as he knew his father intended to correct that last name.

Mr. Gray senior smiled and then nodded. “Sure, please have a seat Mr. Singh,” he offered again and the wedding planner did as instructed.

Stephen also found himself a seat to avoid being the only one standing, his father signaled the butler who wasn’t standing far away to serve them drinks and off he went without hesitating.

“So, like I was saying… I want this wedding to be the talk of the town, so mom and Jenny, please work hand in hand with Mr. Singh and his team, which I believe will be arriving soon, will provide everything that is required. Do not hesitate to inform me or Domenic of whatever that is needed, because as you know, I won't always be around in the following weeks. Mr. Singh here has assured me that his team will take care of everything, starting from the venue to the food and drinks and entertainment, all we need to do is provide the finance which thankfully is not a problem.” Stephen announced.

“I know that Son, you don’t have to worry; this wedding will be a blast! Also, you should begin to reduce your responsibility in the office, you are getting married now and so you would need to cut off your workload and concentrate more on family building so your wife wouldn’t feel neglected. You are the CEO, so you can assign some of your duties to other staff members or higher new people to do them. I must warn you, things are going to change after you get married, you better be prepared for the baggage of trouble that awaits you because that is exactly what marriage is all about.” Mr. Gray senior instructed.

“Huh? Are you saying that women are bags of trouble?” Mrs. Gray queried immediately, feigning anger.

“Come on honey, you can't pretend like your gender isn’t the reason for all the drama in marriage.” Mr. Gray replied with a smirk.

“Oh, so we are in trouble, huh? It is fine, just know that you are sleeping in the Dog house today,” Mrs. Gray fired.

Jenny burst into laughter immediately while Stephen smiled. He was glad that his parents still shared this bond ever since their marriage three decades ago. He began to imagine if his own would be like theirs, he very much wanted it to, but was Jenny really the right girl? Was he making the right choice?

Slowly, his mind drifted off to a place of imagination that he was completely lost and unconscious of his environment. He then began to think of the last two weeks, the scene with Ana was still fresh in his mind and it hasn’t stopped bothering him. He was getting married like he hadn’t just raped a girl two weeks ago. What if word about his actions spread out before his marriage day and ruin it, forget about his marriage, what about the girl herself?

According to her, he had ruined her life and that bothered him. Just three days ago, he had checked in with the hotel to know if she resumed work but the manager says differently, she never returned to that place ever since. A part of him was eager to know how she was doing, he couldn’t stop thinking about her, he couldn’t get that blurry night out of his head, nor the morning that followed. Her screams, her pleads to not be raped, her tears, it kept getting clearer with every new day, or maybe it was just his imaginative abilities adding more color to the scene, making it seem more realistic. In summary, he was being troubled by his actions and feared what the reactions might be.

“Stephen!!” he suddenly heard his father scream his name, jotting him back to consciousness.

“Yes Father.”

“Wow, you seemed really lost back there, what is going on? I know I said marriage was a baggage of trouble but it is not that bad,” his father teased.

Stephen smiled as a cover up and then he chuckled and nodded his head. “Sure father, I will try not to think much about it.” He replied.

“You are eating a lot these days, Ana. Ever since you quit your job, you tend to eat a lot, forgetting that you don’t do any jobs all day long.” Mrs. McCurry grumbled.

Ana sighed and looked down, cutting the piece of bread slowly; as much as she felt bad about her mother’s words, she knew her mom was right. She was eating a lot these days and growing fat as well. It has been a month since she quit her job and all she did all day was eat and sleep. Now she was growing so lazy that she could barely get up in the morning without persuasion.

“Mom, I am going to find a job, you don’t have to remind me of that all the time,” she replied softly.

“How do you expect me not to complain when you left the job that you had for no valid reason, you asked me to trust you but it has been a month already and all you do is eat and sleep while your father is toiling out there. You know you are over twenty years old, you shouldn’t even be in my husband’s house at this time. You should either be in your house or your husband’s house but since you do not want to find a good man but rather stick with that lowlife kid who can hardly take care of himself, this is what you will get from me all day, nagging!!” she said.

Anastasia sighed and decided to ignore her, she took a spoon and tried to scoop the hot soup but the moment the scent hit her nose, she felt sick in the stomach and put it down, and then she felt nauseous and ran off to the bathroom.

“Ana, are you okay?” her mother asked as she was running off but she ignored the lady completely and ran into the bathroom.

Ana got into the bathroom just in time to throw up, she was vomiting yellow liquid and felt pain in her abdomen. This was the second time today, and fifth time this week. What could be wrong with her? Was she sick or something? Maybe it is because she wasn’t used to staying at home.

After spending minutes in the bathroom, Anastasia opened the door to meet her mother standing outside with a long face. “What is wrong with you, Ana?” she asked softly with a very suspicious look on her face.

Ana sighed and shook her head. “It is nothing mom, I am fine.” She replied.

“What do you mean you are fine? I saw you throwing up in the backyard last night, and now again today. What is wrong with you? Are you sick?” Mrs. McCurry queried.

Ana wiped the saliva off her lips and took a deep breath in for relaxation of her body, and then she looked up to her mom. “I don’t know, Ma. I have been feeling a bit feverish, very weak and nauseous these past days.” She announced.

“Days? And you never mentioned it to me? What other symptoms have you noticed, let's see if I can go get you some drugs at the nearby pharmacy.” She asked.

Ana once again sighed, “Um… I think fatigue and increased urination. Also, hot food seems to make me throw up, just like right now.” She answered innocently.

Her mother’s face dropped and a look of worry was etched on it, she carefully examined Ana from head to toe and back up to her chest. “Did you say hot food makes you throw up?” she asked, like she hadn’t heard it the first time.

Ana was hesitant at first, trying to understand the look on her mother’s face, she knew it wasn’t a good one, something had gone wrong. “Um… Yeah… yes mom, I think so.” She replied.

“Oh no, Anastasia has killed me,” she muttered and took a few steps backwards.

“What are you talking about, mom?” Ana asked and took a step forward.

Mrs. McCurry touched her breasts and gently squeezed it, Ana groaned softly in pleasurable pain. Once again, the middle aged woman shook her head and stepped back. “Did you see your menstrual cycle last month?” she asked softly.

“Um…No, but it is just four days late, there is nothing to be worried about.” Ana uttered immediately as she realized where her mother’s thoughts were going. She didn’t think it was the case; No! How can she be pregnant? It was just one time and she doubted he poured his seed in her. Also, this was not her first time of experiencing delayed period flow.

“Dress up, we are going to the hospital for a lab test immediately.” Her mother instructed.

“What? No mom, I will just get some drugs in the pharmacy and I will be fine,” Ana replied immediately as fear gripped her, she didn’t even want to think of the possibility that she was pregnant, it can’t be possible.

“I am not asking, Anastasia… I said "get dressed and follow me to the hospital right now, that is an instruction.” Mrs. McCurry half-yelled with a terrorizing look on her face.

Ana doubted she had ever seen her mother that scared before, but she understood why she was reacting that way. Mrs. McCurry had given up on her job in order to be a full housewife and focus on child raising. She wanted her daughter to make the family proud and be the breadwinner someday since she didn’t have a male son.

All she wanted was for Ana to attend all levels of education, get a good job and find a rich lovely husband. When Ana began to date Jake a few months back, she didn’t approve of it but Ana convinced her that she would do nothing to ruin the family name or bring disgrace to them. Mrs. McCurry trusted her upbringing, so she let her hang with him.

If it turns out that Ana was really pregnant, then it meant that all of her sacrifices had been in vain, not only had her daughter’s dignity been lost but her future too might be on its way down the drain. Everything the poor woman had worked hard to fight against; this wasn’t the life she wanted for her child.

Anastasia nodded and headed to her room to get dressed, her heart was beating vehemently in fear of the unknown. She hoped the lab test casts away her fear, because if it proved her mom right, then her life was ruined.