CHAPTER 3

David took a deep breath. In difficult conditions like this, attracting even one investor is difficult, while the company's finances must continue to run.

In the last few years, the business that he built with his late brother has actually declined drastically because most of them will only want to invest with a clear and promising developer.

"Damn it!" he grumbled.

He reached for a cigar from his work drawer. Instantly, cigar smoke billowed in the air, making his study fill with a thin layer of smoke from the cigar he was smoking.

Back then, when the company was under the control of his late brother—Steve Johnson, everything ran smoothly without control, even growing rapidly.

However, since it was under his control, it has declined and even nearly went bankrupt several times. Luckily, there are still assets belonging to his sister that he can sell, even if he has to use dirty methods, because actually, all of that belongs to his niece—Janeth Johnson.

Thinking about it all, he became irritated. "Damn it!" he cursed.

Knock knock'

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in."

A beautiful and sexy woman entered the room. The woman was his secretary as well as his mistress. She walked over and placed some documents on David's desk.

"How, sir?"

"Failed, Mia."

The woman took a deep breath, then walked over to David's chair and sat right in his lap. "Be patient, Master ... there must be a way out of every problem."

"How can I calm down? Employee salaries and debts to be paid, not to mention operating costs. Gosh … it's going to be crazy."

The woman wrapped her arms around David's body, clinging to her master to comfort her. "Sir, calm yourself down. Instead, I have some good news to share with you."

"What's that?"

"I heard that the grandson of Mr. Robert Hudgson is looking for a mate. Isn't that great? Establish a cooperative relationship through business marriage ties."

"Robert Hudgson? Isn't that the granddaughter, daughter of William Hudgson?"

Mia nodded slowly. "No, this is not the son of Mr. William, but of his son who passed away about 17 years ago. Apparently, the only son of the late Jonathan is still alive and growing up overseas."

The Hodgson family is a fairly secretive family, it's only natural that information about them is so difficult to dig up.

"You mean I have to give up one of my daughters for him?"

"Yes sir. Don't we have to sacrifice a little to get something big?" Mia whispered while biting the tip of David's ear, making the man immediately feel a soft swish on his body.

"Y-you … stop it," he stammered.

Seeing that, Mia chuckled a little. "I just wanted to make you much calmer, sir. Relax … don't be too tense."

David smiled faintly, then he kissed Mia gently. "You really are the best at entertaining me, unlike Marisa who can only babble."

"Don't compare me to madam, sir ... of course it's very different."

David hugged the woman tightly in his lap. "So explain to me why you believe they will choose my daughter? They're a big family, it must be easy to propose to one of the daughters of another big family."

"Of course that makes sense, sir. I also thought that way and tried to find out why the girls turned him down."

"What's that?"

"He is blind, sir."

David choked. Even if the plan was successful and he made a profit, of course, his instincts as a father could not be resisted.

"How could I let one of my daughters marry a cripple, huh?!"

Mia already knew there would be a reaction like that. She rose from David's lap and sat on the sofa in the corner of the room. "Then you just think of another way to end this difficult time. If you keep reducing my rations, I'd better go find another man," she threatened.

Mia knows there is no other way but to do this marriage, because all assets have been sold out to cover the losses that occurred earlier. Sure enough, David got up from his chair, then approached Mia who was playing, sulking at him.

"Don't be like this, I already love you," he coaxed.

Mia smiled triumphantly. "In that case, immediately make a decision so that this difficult time ends. I've been longing to go abroad alone with you, to enjoy the day without having to be afraid of Mrs. Marisa comes."

"Okay, let me think about it first—"

***

"If you keep putting it off, what if someone else accepts the proposal?" cut it. "This rare opportunity won't happen twice and people who are going through the same thing as you will definitely take advantage of this situation. After all, even though he was blind, his wealth was abundant. It's actually good, we can use it later."

David nodded slowly, what Mia said to him made sense to him. "Yeah, but—"

"So how?"

"Alright, make an appointment with the blind man."

Hearing that, Mia very happy. She kissed David, leaving a mark of pink lipstick on the man's cheek. "I'll do it right away, sir."

Just as Mia was about to get up, the man pulled her back in his arms. "Shouldn't you pay more for this?" he teased.

Mia knew what she had to do, she kissed him again gently. "For now, I think a kiss will suffice, sir. But ..." she leaned closer to David's ear, then whispered something "Not now, how about this afternoon?"

David smiled widely. "Yeah, I'll be waiting for him."

"Then I'll go back to the room first."

The woman walked away, leaving David, who was now thinking about the pleasure he would get later. After the last few days, Mia had always refused him.

David was helped by Mia, immediately tidying up his studies. Unexpectedly, Roy Hodgson agreed to the invitation to meet them, even willing to come to David's small company.

Wanting to leave a good impression, David asked Mia and some of the cleaners to make the room as clean as possible to be impeccable.

"How much longer do you think he will come?" he asked nervously.

"About 10 more minutes, I think, sir."

"Is everything really in order?"

"Of course, sir. I will prepare a drink and a snack to welcome him."

"Damn it! Why all of a sudden, anyway?" cursed David.

"It seems that he is in a hurry to find a mate, sir."

"Don't be fooled by that, because of him, we have to be prepared like this."

Mia's cell phone vibrates, an incoming call from one of her subordinates assigned to wait for Robert's arrival at the company page. "Sir! Stop grumbling. Looks like the man has arrived, quickly prepare to greet him."

"Okay."

Helped by Mia, the man returned to his suit, then smoothed his slightly messy hair. Once ready, they immediately ran outside.

Sure enough, Roy and a subordinate had just arrived. Escorted by several aides, he walked over to David, who still couldn't believe he had met the real heir of the Alvaro family.

"W-welcome, young master Roy—" he greeted.

"Good afternoon, Mr David. Can we not linger? I have to pick up my grandpa this afternoon."

"A-ah… of course, Master. Follow me." David led the blind man to his study, the only comfortable place in his small building. "Please have a seat, sir."

With the help of the assistant, Roy sat comfortably looking straight at David. In the man's small heart, he chuckled with amusement because it was the first time he had seen someone with special needs who was so confident as Roy.

"As you know, I came here because I wanted to talk about my matchmaking," he said matter-of-factly, even then David wasn't fully seated.

"S-master, can we talk about that over a cup of tea?"

"I told you, my grandfather is coming this afternoon and I have to get ready to pick him up. I really don't have much time, so decide quickly. Do you want to accept this matchmaking invitation or not?"

David glanced at Mia, then the woman nodded slowly. "Okay, I'm sorry for wasting Master's precious time. I agree to try to match one of my daughters with you."

"You have 2 daughters?"

"That's right sir."

"Then, which princess do you want to marry me?"

"What if you came to choose it yourself? My two daughters are very beautiful and smart, so you don't—"

"Later tonight."

"W-what?"

"Tonight I will come," he said again.

David was getting more and more speechless, the old man was too hasty in making a decision. "S-master, we should first clarify about this cooperation—"

"Jody, give it to him," Roy said to his waiting assistant.

The tall man approached David and handed him a file that they had prepared for each family they wanted to work with.

David's eyes widened when he saw the row of numbers. Of course, the amount could not only be used to save his business, but it could also be used for other purposes, including traveling abroad with his mistress—Mia.

"Is this for real?"

"Yes, of course. But, all of that applies after the marriage is successfully implemented. But don't worry, we can give you half if you need to, as long as there's an agreement that the marriage should happen no matter what."

Without much thought, David immediately agreed with that statement. "I agree."

Roy rose from his place. "Then I'll say goodbye first."

"Yes sir."

Roy and his aides walked away, while David was overjoyed, imagining the sizable sum of money in his pocket. About man's blindness, no longer a problem as long as he is rich and can be used—David thought.

"Where are you going, sir?" Mia asked when she saw David about to leave.

"I have to get ready for tonight, Mia."

With a jog, David went to his car. Can't wait for her race to pass this good news on to her two daughters, future Hodgson Grandmothers.

***

Olivie tried to keep her head down, trying to keep the sunlight from hitting her too much. Her hands and feet were bound to a support post, leaving her unable to move freely to protect herself.

Her body was getting weaker because it had been more than 4 hours drying in the sun with her hands and feet tied. She hoped that there would be help for her, or maybe it would be better if the angel of death would come and end her suffering now. Life was meaningless, she couldn't take it anymore.

Her eyes grew darker and darker, until finally she couldn't take them anymore and fell unconscious. Seeing that, instead of helping Janeth, the two demon-hearted humans threw water so that the woman regained consciousness.

SPLASSH!

"Get up!" they snapped, kicking Janeth's unconscious legs and arms with envy. But suddenly ...

"Joana! Tyna!" someone came up to them with an angry look.

"Daddy!"