Chapter 77: Chapter 77

Henry’s announcement left Amy dumbfounded.

What does her dad mean by engagement?

What is all this about?

When did he come up with such an absurd idea?

This is seriously not happening.

Amy was wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice her mom and dad leaving the dinning room. She glanced at Sean and noticed he was wearing a surprised yet happy expression.

Is he being serious right now?

Is he actually happy about the both of them getting married?

She finally found the courage to look at Bryan, who was already staring at her. For a moment, she thought she saw guilt in his eyes, but she was wrong. He showed no emotion whatsoever, causing her to feel extremely hurt and betrayed. She still couldn’t believe that Bryan didn’t object to the engagement.

After almost three years of dating, he is okay with her getting married to his son?

Does she really have no place in his heart?

At that realization, Amy pushed back her chair and stood up. She stared at Bryan long and hard, trying her hardest not to show how disappointed she was in him. She then left the dinning room in tears. This bothered Sean, so he went after her.

Meanwhile, Henry and Paula were arguing in the living room.

“I can’t believe you, Henry. What were you thinking?!”

“I was thinking about our daughter’s future. Her happiness!”

“Really? Is that so?... If that were the case, you shouldn’t have made such a decision without consulting her first”

“So, now I need my daughter’s permission concerning what’s best for her?”

“Yes, you do!” Paula yelled, extremely angry at her insensitive ex-husband.

“Our daughter is still too young to get married… She needs to have a life besides the one you decide for her”

“A life I know nothing about”

“Oh please!” She scoffed, giving him a hostile stare.

“You may not realize it, but you’re hurting our daughter” Paula said in a calm voice, as she was tired of yelling.

“Why are you always against my decisions? Do you enjoy arguing with me this much?”

There was an edge to Henry’s voice. He couldn’t quite get why Paula always disagrees with him when it comes to their daughter.

“You’re getting it wrong, Henry-“

“Then why are we having this discussion?!” He angrily asked, interrupting her.

“Because I don’t want Amy ending up like us!” Paula yelled back, finally pouring out her fears.

The room fell silent after that.

Bryan walked into the living room and noticed the tension in the room.

“I’ll be leaving… Henry, I think Amy needs you” he quietly said.

“Is that all you have to say, Bryan?” Paula asked in disbelief.

Paula’s question made Bryan nervous. She’s putting him in a difficult situation right now. Henry’s decision has nothing to do with him.

According to Henry, Sean asked for his help since he was too scared to tell Amy about his feelings, and he also thinks there’s a good chemistry going on between them, so he decided to seize the opportunity.

What was he supposed to say in such situation? It was like everything has already been planned out, so what could he possibly do?

He knew why Paula was angry at him, he was also angry with himself, but there was nothing he could do.

Henry is Amy’s father. He could never go against the father of the woman he loves, even if he was his best friend.

“Paula, this isn’t the right time… Amy needs the both of you” he calmly replied with pleading eyes, but Paula won’t have any of that.

“If you cared about her so much, you should’ve known that she’d never agree to this… She trusted you so much. Hell! She trusted you more than she’ll ever trust me, her own mother. But what do you do? You betray her!”

Paula slapped him hard across the face, her vision was already blurry with tears. She never knew Bryan to be this inconsiderate.

If her daughter won’t have the guts to hit him, she’ll gladly do it for her, as her mother.

“That’s enough, Paula!” Henry yelled, stopping his ex-wife from disrespecting his best friend any further.

“You deserve worse than this” she muttered through gritted teeth, staring daggers at Bryan.

“What has come over you?” Henry asked, dragging her away from Bryan.

Paula tried to struggle out of Henry’s grip, but he was too strong. He loosened his grip and let her go when he felt she was no longer a threat to his best friend.

“Bryan has nothing to do with this” he tried to explain to her.

“I don’t care! And you..” she paused, pointing her index finger at Henry.

“You had better fix this”

Paula stormed out of the house after that. She didn’t want to stay there any longer than she already has, because if she did, she’d be forced to expose the truth.

“I’m sorry about that” Henry apologized for his ex-wife’s behavior.

“It’s okay. She was just upset” Bryan shrugged it off. He was too ashamed to react because he deserved it and even more.

He thought Paula’s slap would help him come to his senses, but it didn’t. He was in a dilemma and had no idea what to do.

“You should’ve given this a deep thought” he suddenly said.

Henry only let out a deep sigh. He had no idea things would take this turn.

“Where is Amy?” He asked, as he wanted to know how his daughter was doing.

“She got upset and went upstairs to her room. Sean went after her, so they’re probably talking right now” Bryan replied.

Henry nodded in understanding and decided to let them talk it out.

“How are you holding up with all the pressure from the shareholders?” Henry changed the subject.

“They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”

Bryan’s response brought a small smile on Henry’s face.

“I’ve bought half of the shares, so I’m good to go” he continued.

“Does that mean you’ve finalized everything with this new partner you told me about?” Henry enquired.

Bryan had taken a big risk by buying the remaining half of the company’s shares in Amy’s name without her knowledge. When she told him about her interest in becoming his partner, it gave him the drive to begin his plans of making this new company a competitive one, a reality.

Although they didn’t have the meeting in his office as planned because of his behavior, he still went ahead to buy the shares with his money. He plans on handing over the company to her when he sees it through this rough phase.

“Yes, I have. Everything is settled” he eventually replied.

“That’s great news. Congrats man”

In the meantime, Amy and Sean were having an argument in her bedroom.

“You were supposed to be my friend”

“Of course, I am”

“Then why in the world would my dad think of getting us married?!” Amy yelled as her eyes were swimming with tears.

She wasn’t crying because her dad betrothed her to Sean, she was crying because Bryan did nothing about it.

Why will a man who claims to be in love with her not fight for their love?

“Amy, I- I-“

“Did you know my father was going to get us engaged?” She angrily asked, after putting two and two together.

Her dad, no matter how possessive would never come to such a conclusion without first asking for her permission, unless something or rather someone must’ve made him do this.

“I didn’t think he’d go this far” Sean nervously replied.

“What do you mean by that? What did you tell him?” Her anger didn’t subside now she realized that her guess was right.

“I- I only told him about my feelings for you”

Amy’s eyes went wide with surprise. Did he just say he has feelings for her?

As if he read her thoughts, Sean said

“I’m in love with you, Amy… I didn’t know how to tell you after you said you were in a relationship, so I told Henry about it. He promised to help, but I didn’t know it’d be this extreme”

Sean’s confession infuriated Amy even more. He was aware of the fact that she was seeing someone, yet he still went ahead to tell her dad of his supposed feelings.

“I shouldn’t have said anything. I shouldn’t have trusted you” she kept mumbling to herself while restlessly pacing in her bedroom.

Sean noticed how angry she was and tried to apologize, but Amy wouldn’t give him a listening ear.

“Do I look like my dad to you?!” She asked through clenched teeth when she realized how messed up the situation was.

“I’m sorry, okay?”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it!” Amy yelled in reply.

Knowing the kind of person her dad was, his decision remains final.

How would she get out of this mess?

Bryan is the only one besides her mom who could stand up to her dad, but it seems he doesn’t plan on doing that, since Sean is his son.

Amy went down on her knees, sobbing while gripping her hair tightly. This made Sean feel terrible for what he did. He should’ve kept his feelings to himself.

“Amy, I-“ he began but Amy didn’t give him the chance to say anything.

“Get out!” She screamed, causing him to flinch.

He gave Amy one last glance before leaving her bedroom.