CHAPTER 9- MAKE THE SACRIFICE
Kylie’s POV
I eyed the ticket in his hand, I did not know that he was already selected for the state’s team. But then again, I was not surprised, he was an excellent player.
I looked at him and smiled, “Congratulations on getting selected but I can’t accept these.”
“Why not? I am not gonna charge you for these tickets.” Elijah said, his hand still hanging mid–air with the ticket.
“That’s not it.” I shook my head and said, “Me being at your game would stir unnecessary conflicts. I don’t want that.”
Elijah grunted and withdrew his hand, “I understand.” He picked up a napkin and quickly wrote something on it. He gave it to me and said, “Keep this, just in case you change your mind.”
I took the napkin and took a look inside, and it turned out he had given me his number. I stared at the string of digits in amusement, I was one of the very few people who had his official number. It was so rare that I could sell this napkin and make a fortune.
I shoved the napkin inside my pocket and said, “Sure. Thank you.”
Elijah left the restaurant and I went back to my counter. By assisting Elijah I had lost all of my energy, thankfully my shift was almost over.
I went back to the changing room where Jessica was already waiting for me. She seemed deep
in her own thoughts, so I asked, “Is everything alright?”
“Great, you are here!” Jessica dragged me and made me sit down on the bench. She asked, “You have to tell me the truth, what is going on?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Elijah! I know something is up, tell me what it is?”
The smile on my face stiffened, what was I gonna say now? I did not want Jessica to find out that I had a one–night stand with him, I did not know how she would react to it. So, I tried to dismiss her, “Nothing is going on. You are overthinking it.”
“No, I am not.” She squinted her eyes and said, “Elijah has taken a sudden interest in you, he did not even know that we existed until two days ago. And now, there is a rumor going around about you two and he is visiting you at work. What happened all of a sudden?”
I bit down o
my lower lip and tri successfully unlocked! C, “It is not how it looks like. This is all just mere coincidence, trust me.
“It’s too much for a coincidence… Jessica started before stopping abruptly. She looked at me as if she had realized something, “Wait… Could it be…”
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CHAPTER 9 MAKE THE SACRIFICE
I clenched the hem of my shirt, did she figure it out? What was I going to do now?
She said, “Is he in love with you?”
“What?” The chaos within me went silent when I heard her words. I did not know what she was thinking.
Jessica’s face lit up when she connected all the dots, “It makes so much sense, Elijah is in love with you. Since you broke up with Justin, he has started courting you and this has made his girl toys so jealous that they started that nasty rumor.”
I was rendered speechless by the way her mind worked, she was very wrong and far from the truth but that was what I wanted. I pretended to be shocked and said, “How did you figure it out?”
“It’s easy.
Men get desperate when you keep rejecting their advances. And with all the attention Elijah gets, I am sure his ego is bloated to the point he won’t take no for an answer.”
I remembered the interaction we had in the corridor today and nodded my head painfully, “That is true.”
Jessica dropped me back home after my shift ended; it was a long and exhausting day so all I could think of was to get to my room and get a good night’s rest.
Little did I know that a storm was waiting for me in the drawing room.
“Kylie, you are back?” Anthony Wade, my adoptive father, greeted me as soon as I entered the house. I looked at him and smiled, “Father, you are back? How was your business trip?”
“It was good.” He kept the newspaper aside and said, “Are you heading to your room?”
“Yes, I already ate dinner.” I replied.
“I need to talk to you. Can you sit down for a moment?” He intoned.
I furrowed my eyebrows as I watched Hannah come out of the kitchen as well. The atmosphere of the room was dull and I instantly got the feeling that something bad was about to go down.
I nodded before occupying the single–seater opposite to him, “Tell me, father.”
“Hannah told me about what happened when I was away. I apologize to you for Lisa’s behavior, she will be punished for it.” He said.
“It’s ok, father. I have long forgotten about it.” I said.
The middle–aged man grunted and said, “Hannah also told me that you are dating some poor boy from your school. What was his name again?”
“Elijah Crawford…”
Elijah, yes. I looked into him, he didn’t even seem to have a proper goal in life. Is he the right choice?”
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My eyes went back and forth between my parents before I said, “He will sort something out, he is already in the state’s football team.”
“Sports is only a temporary hobby, child. It won’t feed you! I and your mom want what is best for you, we have always dreamt about getting you married in a rich household.”
I pursed my lips and did not say anything. Elijah and I were a fake couple, I didn’t have to stress too much about it.
My father saw me silent and continued, “You must know Tony, the one your sister was supposed to marry. Since your sister is pregnant but could not marry, he is still single.”
I raised my head and asked, “What do you mean?”
very upset
He exchanged glances with Hannah and said, “We spoke to Tony and he is very u about our family calling off the wedding. He is willing to forgive us if you get married to him instead.”
My whole world felt to have come crumbling down at my feet. I struggled hard to maintain my composure and said, “But, Dad, you can’t do that. I already have a boyfriend.”
“Oh, it’s just puppy love. You will forget him once you get married.” He waved his hand and said, “Besides, we can’t afford to piss Tony. A wedding needs to happen.”
I shook my head and said, “No, I am not going to marry him. Why should I be the one getting punished for something Lisa did.”
My father was about to say something but Hannah interrupted him, she said, “I told you she is stubborn and selfish, she won’t listen to you.” She looked at me and said, ” You don’t get to make a choice. You are getting married, end of discussion.”
“You can’t force me into this!” I stood up from my seat and berated them, “If you dare make me marry him against my will, I will press charges.”
“Kylie! Watch what you say.” My father glared at me.
I said, “This is unfair! I did not ask you to send an alliance to Tony neither am I reason he is pissed. Why are you pulling me into this mess.”
nl the
“That is because you are the daughter of the Wade family.” Hannah said, “Remember who picked you up from the street and made you capable of standing here. You are indebted to the Wade family,
“Kindness?” I chuckled sarcastically, “Your daughter stole my boyfriend and spread rumors in the school that lam a slut. She is ruining my life and here you are coddling her and throwing me in the line of fire.”
“You ungrateful child! Is this how you repay the years we showered on you?”
of kindness
“I did not ask you to adopt me and raise me. You did it on your own.” I glared into her eyes and said, “And kindness is shown without expecting anything in return. What you are doing is not kindness, it is sabotage.”
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“You…” Hannah lifted her hand to slap me. Luckily, I reacted fast and caught her hand.
She started to tremble in anger at this point and grabbed my hand, “Since you can’t do this much for this family, you don’t deserve to live here.”
“Hannah, stop this.” My father kept repeating in the background as she dragged me towards the door and threw me out of the house.
“Get out of our house.”
I was about to crash on the floor when a pair of strong arms caught me. My mind was alerted by the familiar scent of cologne mixed with tobacco. I lifted my head to see Elijah looking down at me, a mask of anger on his face.
