Just Seven Days


    The boss’s eyes narrowed at me, and I knew that he was far from satisfied with my half-baked answer.


    For a moment, I began wondering if he had a simr conversation with Hayden before and then I


    realized that he probably had and probably more than just once. Perhaps pressuring Hayden didn’t


    seem to have any effect, so the old man had changed his approach to pressure me directly instead. I


    Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.


    had to say that his methods were working. I was truly pressured and scared.


    I could still recall our past interactions and his desperate longing for Hayden to have a child to continue


    the family’s legacy and the family business. Hayden wasn’t thrilled about taking over and he didn’t


    seem excited about pumping out an heir to fulfill his old man’s wishes either as far as I could tell.


    The boss stood up before he threw something onto the bed. My eyes immediately went to the small


    object that was nowying on the bed close to me and quickly saw that they were the contraceptive


    pills that I used. My body shivered as I started to develop a very bad feeling about all this.


    “If you keep using this, when are you going to get pregnant?” the boss asked rhetorically.


    “Well…” I whispered before I became absolutely speechless.


    Did he ever consider that perhaps I was on the pills because I didn’t want to get pregnant? Hayden and


    I are not married. The biggest problem wasn’t that, but we haven’t really talked about our future either. I


    didn’t feel like we were ready to bring a life into this world and I bet Hayden didn’t want to have a baby


    just yet. If he did, he never consulted me about it.


    “Do you want to marry my son or not?” the boss demanded to know.


    “Well…I…” I mumbled hesitantly.


    “Do you or do you not?” the boss asked, raising his voice loudly.


    “I…” I whispered before I trailed off.


    I wasn’t sure. I guess I do but I wasn’t sure if he wanted to marry me.


    “Listen, Malissa. I need you to give me an answer within a week. Either yes, you will marry my son or


    no, you won’t. It’s that simple,” the boss sneered at me.


    I could see his face starting to change into a deep shade of red as he got angrier by the second. It


    scared me but I still found his demands unreasonable.


    “That soon?” I asked in shock.


    “Don’t you think that I’ve given you two enough time already? You’ve moved into his mansion, and


    you’ve been living with him like a proper couple for a while now,” the boss readily pointed out.


    “That’s only because he wanted to keep me here…” I replied softly.


    “Then should I bail you out of your dear little prison?” the boss asked sarcastically.


    “That’s not what I meant…” I mumbled in reply.


    “I’ll be back here in a week for my answer. If you decide not to marry my son then I’ll remove you and


    find him another woman who is more than ready to bear his child,” the boss basically screamed in my


    face.


    “But…that’s not really for me to decide on my own…” I protested softly as my lower lip shook.


    What about Hayden? What about what he wants?


    “I chose you because I thought you could change his damned stubborn mind. If you can’t convince him


    to marry you, then you can go back to wherever you came from. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?”


    the boss spat as he started swinging his hands around in the air in his frustration and anger.


    Without another word to me, the boss turned on his heels and began walking away from me towards


    the door of Hayden’s bedroom. He can’t just leave like this. I can’t agree to his conditions. A week is


    not enough time…


    “Wait!” I called after him.


    “What is it?” the boss asked as he turned his head around to take a look at me.


    I bit my lower lip when I realized that I didn’t have anything to say nor any excuse for myself and my


    selfish hesitation.


    “It’s nothing…” I mumbled in defeat.


    “I’ll be back to hear some good news in a week,” the boss said as he narrowed his eyes at me.


    Just like that, the boss was gone. I closed my eyes as depression and stress washed over me in


    waves. My entire body trembled, and I could feel a migraine developing on the side of my brain. The


    boss had decided to give me a week to decide and sort everything out with Hayden. A week, 7 days,


    that’s like nothing at all. I opened my eyes and had to squeeze them shut again as pain shot through


    my head. My head hit the pillow as I threw myself back down on the bed. Suddenly, life seemed so


    much harder and getting out of bed just seemed like a huge challenge.


    Where is Hayden right now? I need to talk to him but how do I talk to him about this?


    Even if I wanted to marry Hayden, how am I supposed to get him to agree to marry me in the 7 days


    that I’ve been given?


    The boss mentioned something about chasing me away and recing me with another woman.


    Unfortunately, I knew that he was beingpletely serious. Although I hated the fact that he treated


    me like an object that could be easily tossed away and conveniently reced, I could see that really


    happening. He brought me here and offered me to his son, so of course, he could take me away.


    What should I do now? How do I talk to Hayden? What if he doesn’t want to marry me? What if he


    doesn’t want children…?


    I rolled onto my belly and buried my face into my pillow before screaming loudly into it in my frustration.


    I need help…someone…please help me!


    --To be continued…