Time to think
1494 Words
After office hours, she returned home with a heavy heart.
Her head was full of thoughts on how she was going to pay the loan while keeping the thought of the CEO’s proposal.
She dropped off the bus and reached her house in a while.
When she rang the doorbell, her dad was supposed to open the door.
But no one answered.
“Strange, is he asleep or something?”.
She rang the doorbell again.
“Dad.” She called, knocking on the door.
All of a sudden, the door flung open, and three men walked out of there, glaring at Rachel.
She became stunned and backed away.
“W-who are you all?” she stuttered.
“And what are you doing in my house?”.
One of the men with a hat on his face stepped forward and replied, “Your dad was supposed to hand over the first $50,000 today, then pay the rest of the money within one week.”
“But, he didn’t keep his word.”
“So, we came to give him a threat and take something valuable in the meantime.”
“Valuable?”.
“Please, don’t take my wife’s ring!” a voice came yelling through the door.
It was Rachel’s dad.
He came up to the man with the hat and pleaded.
“Please, give it back to me.”
“Dad!” Rachel called.
“What’s happening in here? What are they taking away?”.
“Your mom’s ring! The diamond ring is worth 2 million.”
Rachel’s eyes widened in shock. “What?”.
She turned to the man and noticed the box of rings which he carried in his left hand.
“Give it back to me!” she yelled, trying to snatch it away. But he pulled away.
“Oops, can’t do that here.” He fretted.
“Boss told us to bring back at least the $50,000 or something equal to that.”
“We couldn’t find anything valuable than this ring. So, we will be taking this back with us.”
“You can’t take this!” Rachel yelled, fisting her hands in anger. Tears were starting to overflow her eyes.
“That belongs to my mom. Give it back!”.
He smiled.
“You can get it back. I never said you can’t get it back.”
“Only after paying the money, you can get it back.”
“Though, it depends on our boss’s mood whether he would like to give it back or not.” He chuckled. “Guess, this will fetch in some good money.”
“No! My mom’s ring. Give it back!” Rachel yelled.
“Then, pay the $50,000. We will take the money and leave.”
She stared down at her hands.
“I…don’t have that much money on me now. You can take the $2000, that I have with me.”
“I’m not taking that $2000, you have to pay me the rest of the money, or else I’m taking this ring,” he said, showing her the box.
“I’ll try to pay up the money within one week. Please, don’t take my wife’s ring!” her dad also pleaded.
“How many times did I tell you, that our boss told us to bring the first fifty thousand?” the man with the hat retorted.
“If you can’t pay it we have to take the ring!”.
“Stop arguing. It’s irritating.”
“You shouldn’t have taken the money in the first place if you couldn’t pay, should you?”.
Rachel fisted her hands in anger.
She raised her eyes and turned to the man with the hat.
“Give me some time. I’ll pay up the $10 million by tomorrow!” she stated, looking proudly.
The man with a hat looked at her all surprised.
“Oh? Can you do that?”.
She nods. “Yes, I can.”
“And what if you can’t keep your word?”.
She glanced at her dad, then turned to the man with a hat.
A strong resolve resided within her eyes.
“If I’m unable to keep my word, you can take that ring, and take over our house altogether.”
“Is that alright?”.
The man smiled delightfully. “Very well.”
Her dad’s face becomes pale. “Rachel! What are you saying? If you hand over this house, where will we go?”.
“You could at least ask for some more time.”
“You don’t have to worry,” she assured, smiling at her dad.
“We won’t be needing to go anywhere. This house will be here, and the ring will be ours as well. And their money will be paid as well.”
“Yeah, I’m hoping for that as well, “ added the man with the hat, “I’m calling the boss. Let’s see what he has to say about this.”
He talked over and ended the call.
“It’s your lucky day today,” he remarks with a smile.
“Boss agreed. You two can keep this ring to yourself. We are leaving.”
“Come on, boys.”
He threw the ring in Rachel’s direction, and she managed to catch it.
After they left, she fell onto her knees, sitting in the doorway.
She held the box of the ring tightly to her heart.
“We even had to see this day Mom. I can’t believe it.”
“Forgive me.”
“Rachel, how will you pay them 10 million by tomorrow?” her dad yelled in a frantic tone.
“You should’ve let them take the ring.”
She raised her eyes, meeting his face.
“Everything will be alright, I assure you.”
“take it easy.”
“Let’s go inside, I’ll explain everything to you.”
He nods and they go inside.
They sat in the living room and talked over things.
She explained about her boss’s proposal and the money altogether.
After hearing everything, he heaved a deep sigh, as he lowered his head, staring down at his feet.
“I can’t believe that you have to go to such extents for my sake.”
“Are you eager to marry him? Or are you doing this for the money only?”.
She went silent.
He raised his eyes, and looked into her face, observing it closely.
“You look pressured to do it.”
“You don’t have to do anything unless you want to.”
“You and I can work something out together. Forget about his proposal.”
“After all, this is related to your life and future. You can’t decide this for the mere sake of money only.”
“If your mother was alive, she would never let you do something because of debt.”
Rachel bites her lips, as her face becomes saddened, and she stares down at her hands helplessly.
Seeing her go silent, her father gets up on his feet.
“You don’t have to marry him because of my fault.”
“We will manage something.”
“No,” Rachel stated, clenching her fists tightly as she raised her eyes to look at her dad.
“I’m doing this marriage!”.
“We can’t afford to lose this house and Mom’s ring! These are the only things I have since she left.” Her eyes filled with rage and determination.
Her dad’s eyes narrowed.
“Are you sure about this?”.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“And, it’s not like we will be married forever. It’ll be for a year or something, or a few months. Then, we are both free to do whatever we want.”
“Most importantly!” she puts on a forced smile.
“I won’t have to pay back the 10 million dollars by working 3-4 years.”
“It’s killing two birds with one stone.”
“And the price is your happiness.” Her dad’s statement made the smile vanish from her face, making her face the cruel reality that stands in front of her.
“I’m such a bad father, watching everything hopelessly unable to help you out.”
Rachel got up on her feet, noticing her dad’s saddened expression.
She went over to his side and hugged him from behind.
“You are wrong. You aren’t a bad father at all.” She whispered.
“When I was little, you supported me. And, now the time has come for me to support you. That’s all.”
“We’ll be fine Dad. Don’t worry.”
“I hope so,” he said in a gruff voice.
“I wish you happiness in whatever that you do.”
"Happiness? Where can I find it? In stores? Or in a place? I'm unsure about it."
- Writer
