"If you choose him, you choose to walk away from me, from this family, from everything I've given you." His words were cold, final.
Tears welled up in my eyes. I turned to Louis, hoping for reassurance, but his expression was filled with pain.
"Medley…" he whispered.
I swallowed hard. "I love you, Louis."
"I love you too," he said, but there was hesitation in his voice.
My father stood up. "Leave, Medley. And don't come back."
I wanted to fight, to argue, but Louis reached for my hand and squeezed it gently.
"Let's go," he said softly.
And so I did. I left my family, my wealth, and everything I had ever known… for love.
I blinked as the memory faded, I opened my eyes with tears in them and discovered that I was laying on my bed instead, I didn't care, I just cried and shook my head
"Where has love gotten me?"
"Five years later, I had nothing. No family, no money, and now, no Louis." Tears kept rolling down my cheeks as I whispered, "I lost everything… for nothing."
"You don't always get everything you want in life," his deep voice cut through my words "and things happen for a reason" Kyle said standing close to the window, I just stared at him, wondering how he got in.
"I lost everything because of that jerk" I said sniffing
"I don't know what happened between you two but if you must be my wife, then you must learn to be strong, you must learn to always use the privilege given to you to your own advantage, you must learn to rise when you fall, you must learn to cry less and strike back harder" he said walking towards me with his eyes locked with mine, I swallowed hard and adjusted on the bed
"Will you help me?" I asked him
"Only if you're willing" he replied and I nodded
"The question is, will you stand by my side no matter what happens because I'm not having a contract marriage with you but a real one, I will make you my wife and help you take back what is yours," he said "what do you say to that?" he asked and sat beside me, I was surprised, although he is cold but he spoke softly.
"Why not a contract marriage?" I asked looking at him
"In this life, I'm only permitted to have only one wife and that's what I'm doing" he replied with a hint of emotions in his voice
I swallowed hard my breath almost caught up in my throat and I took in a deep breath and replied "What choice do I have? if not to stand by you no matter what happens," I replied trying to get a hint of what he meant by only one wife
"That's good, in the next three days we will go together to Saint Mark's Catholic Church to get married but remember you cannot change your mind of marrying me in the future" he said and got to his feet
I gave him a light nod and watched him make his way through the door and out of the room
****
Mr.Stuart sat in his office sipping on his cup of coffee when the door opened and Mathew walked in
"Sir there's been a development" he said with a file in his hand
"What development is beyond your handling Mathew?" Stuart asked
"Sir it's about Miss Baron" he said swallowing hard
"And what about her?" He asked taking off his glasses
"She was kicked out of her house by Louis" he said placing the file on the table while revealing the photos that were taken by the security team
"I knew this would happen" he murmured
"Where is she now?" He asked
"Sir we lost track of her in the bustling city this morning"
"You did what?" Stuart asked glaring at him through the corner of his eyes
"I'm sorry sir, my team and I are still doing everything possible to get hold of her" Mathew replied
"Find her and bring her back home, if any harm comes to her, I will make sure you pay for it," He said, his voice cold and filled with longing and disappointment
"Yes boss!" Matthew replied and walked out
"It's been five years since Medley, where are you?" Stuart murmured to himself.
Matthew is one of the best security officers in Los Angeles and he has worked with the Baron's family for more than thirty years and if there's anything he knows well about this family is that they secretly look out for each other despite the situation but Medley's case was different, it was like she was being taught a lesson, and all he could do was watch over her from a distance.
"Hey listen up guys" Matthew said as soon as he approached his team
"Miss Baron has gone missing and the Baron's are pissed about it, so we're gonna do anything that we can to find her and bring her home no matter what, understood?" he ordered
"Yes sir!!" they answered and hopped into the security van and drove off
****
*Medley's POV*
The next morning, I woke up feeling drained, my body aching from the emotional weight of the past few days. The reality of my impending marriage to Kyle was beginning to sink in, and no matter how much I tried to wrap my head around it, it still felt surreal.
I dragged myself out of bed and walked to the window. The view of the city stretched before me, a stark contrast to the emptiness I felt inside. Was this really my new life? Married to a man I barely knew, all for the sake of survival? I asked myself with a faint smile on my face and the cool morning breeze brushing on my skin
A soft knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Come in," I called, my voice hoarse from sleeping deeply the night before.
Maria, the kind housekeeper who had been tending to me since my arrival, entered with a tray of breakfast.
"Good morning, Miss Baron," she greeted with a gentle smile.
"Medley," I corrected. "Just Medley."
She nodded. "Mr. Wade asked me to make sure you eat something. You hardly touched your dinner last night."
I sighed, knowing she was only doing her job. "Thank you, Maria. I'll try."