Julie took a deep breath and said, “If you want to know more about him, then just read the financial magazine. He was all over the book in the last month’s edition.”

“But I also want to talk to him once... to get a better understanding of him…” Slowly, Amy somehow managed to utter those words to her mother.

She closed her eyes in fear, thinking that her mom would find out about her plan. She was not sure if she was convincing enough to make her mom believe her words. But instead, Julie’s reply made her very happy.

“If you check my diary that is kept on the left side cupboard, you will find his contact details,” Julie said while holding the wall for support. She felt dizzy but she could not let Amy know about it.

“Thank you, mom. You are the best!” Amy hugged her from behind and ran away.

When she hugged her mother, she felt something odd. Her mom was completely drenched in sweat. At that time, she ignored it thinking that it was normal as her mom had been taking care of her papa from morning without any break.

From the time Victor fell ill and bed-ridden, Julie took it upon herself and started to care for him, day and night. She hardly had any rest for the past three years. She did not allow any servants near Victor’s room for the first few months. She even did all the cleaning of that room.

Even though a nurse was appointed to do some tasks, she never allowed anyone to touch her husband’s body. She gave him a bed bath every day and also changed the Urostomy pouches after he did his nature calls. Only when she could not do something physically impossible, then she asked for help.

Victor tried to talk to her several times and pressured her that she should take some rest. But she never agreed. She wanted to do everything herself. At that moment, she had always asked him,

"If I was in your position, would you not do the same for me. Or will you hire someone else to do the deed?"

That sentence made Victor shut his mouth. Still, he did not stop from persuading her to change her mind. Or at least he wanted to reduce the physical tasks like cleaning his room. After several days of convincing, finally one day she agreed to let the servants clean his room. She also allowed them to change the bedspread twice a day under her supervision.

Once Amy went out of her room, Julie turned around and looked in the mirror. She understood that the blood in her hands did not belong to Victor. It was hers. The blood was flowing from both her nostrils non-stop.

Julie rushed towards the bathroom and flashed water on her face to remove the blood. Then she pulled out the tissue paper and held it tightly near her nose to stop the bleeding.

She wondered, ‘Did I overwork myself as Vic said? Should I have let others help me in the task? What will happen to Amy if something bad happened to me too…?’

When that question struck her head, she once again had troubled breathing. She had to make sure that this marriage will be carried out regardless of the price she had to pay for it. She could not wait anymore as time has become too precious for her. She walked towards the cupboard and saw her diary lying on the top. The diary was left open by Amy and the page showed Jason’s phone number.

She immediately picked the phone and dialed his private number. Once Jason picked up her call, Julie spoke without even waiting for his response.

“It’s me! Amy’s mother. Amy had agreed to the marriage. It will happen tomorrow.” Julie announced.

Julie tried her best to bring happiness in her voice as much as possible.

“Really? Did she agree willingly?” Jason asked doubtfully.

Even though he felt like jumping up and down with joy, he controlled himself with great efforts. He looked around him and noticed no one was there except him in his office. A faint smile appeared first that started to grow wider slowly. His eyes started to twinkle and expressed the happiness he felt at that moment.

“Yes, she wants nothing more than to see her father happy and fulfill his request,” Julie declared.

When Jason heard her say, ‘fulfill his request’, he stopped smiling. He had some uncomfortable feelings in his mind. He even thought if he had felt happy a little too soon.

As Julie couldn't see his facial expression, she continued to say,

“Moreover after she spoke with her father, she wanted to meet and talk with you. She is super excited about her marriage with you...I don’t know how to say this, but…”

Looking at Julie’s hesitation, Jason affirmingly said,

“Please do not hesitate. Whatever it is you can say openly to me, Mrs. Victor.”

“Ok. Since you say so, I would like you to promise me that before marriage you would not see or talk to my daughter. I gave her your contact details but I don’t want you to meet or talk to her before the wedding. It is our tradition to not let the bride and groom meet one day before the wedding ceremony. I know it’s all happening too fast and you both did not get enough or any time to interact with each other. But do not worry, after marriage, you both will look at each other’s faces throughout your lives. Also, you will have plenty of time to talk to each other. So can you promise me this one thing for me? I request you, please!”

Even though he understood that something was definitely wrong, he still promised.

“Sure, Mrs.Victor. I would do that. Please treat me as your son and order me. You do not have to request or say please to me. I totally understand your concern and I will make sure to not meet or talk to her.”

“Also, you can also stop calling me Mrs.Victor! Didn’t you just say that I must treat you like my own son? Moreover, I will be your mother-in-law from tomorrow onwards. So will it not be better for you to call me 'mom' from now on. Just like how Amy calls me?”

“Sure mom! I will do that.” Jason smiled and disconnected the call.

In a few minutes, his assistant knocked on his office door twice before he entered. Looking at his expressionless boss who was smiling like a fool for the first time, he was left speechless. He forgot why he came inside the room for a second.

When Jason noticed Larry standing near his desk, he hid his happy face behind his usual poker face. All of a sudden Larry was uncertain if he really saw his boss smile or not. Until Jason snapped his finger in front of his eyes to bring him back to earth, he was staring at his boss intently.

“What is it? Why are you standing like a statue after coming inside my office?” Jason asked.

“Boss, there is a girl who called our secretary department asking for an appointment from you today. She said it is urgent,” Larry finally responded after half a day.

“Ignore it. Haven't you always taken care of such people before? What’s so new about it? Every girl in this universe wants to meet me. Isn't this their old trick to say that it is urgent? When all they want is to go on a date with me. I am surprised that they are still using the same old tricks.” Jason complained.

Larry tried to hide his sarcastic laugh. Instead, he coughed and saved himself from getting into trouble with his boss.

“The girl said her name is Amy and she said her father’s name is Victor. I double-checked and she confirmed that she is the daughter of ‘The Victor groups of companies’ chairman who fell ill three years ago. She said she has something urgent to discuss with you. She said you will know what she wants to discuss. Aren’t we trying to acquire that company from the last three years? Did the shareholders once again start to cause trouble?” His assistant Larry asked while thinking about why Amy really called them.

“What?” Jason gave a broad smile after he heard Amy's name.

He thought, 'She sure acts fast just like when he first met her.'

Jason thought for a minute and then replied,

“Still, go ahead and tell her that I am busy. Also, make sure to inform her that I am busy because of my marriage that’s happening tomorrow. Also, I do not have any free appointments today because of that. Cancel all my future appointments as well, as I will be busy with my wedding. Take note that I won’t be coming to the office for the next two months as I plan to spend time with my wife after our marriage. Do not disturb me during this time. If there is any trouble then ask the Vice president to handle all the deals and meetings from today onwards. I meant from this minute onwards, as it’s my marriage tomorrow.”

Jason kept on including the word 'Marriage' in each sentence he spoke. Larry could not process what he had just heard from his boss. Marriage? His boss is not homosexual? He is marrying some girl or... a guy… Suddenly he got suspicious and looked at him as if he was scrutinizing with his big eyes.

Looking at Larry’s reaction, he understood what he was thinking. So Jason immediately clarified.

“I am marrying a woman. And you will know soon, who she is. Also, stop all the efforts in trying to acquire the Victor group of companies anymore. We will put that on hold until I come back from my vacation.”

After issuing this order, he got up and left holding his Jacket in hand. Larry stood still once again, unable to come out of the trance even after a long time. His small brain was not enough to process all the details he had just got from his boss.

First, his boss said he is going to get married. Second, he said he is going to marry a girl. Third, he said he is going on a long leave, two whole months... He even mentioned a vacation... Nothing sounded truthful to him. If he did not hear it directly from his boss, then he would have thought that it was all a lie. Someone was playing a prank with him.

It took him the rest of the entire day to process the shocking news in his head, he heard from his boss’s mouth. Suddenly the reality struck him and he felt overjoyed. His boss is getting married. He will be relieved from always sticking around his boss from now on.

"He is getting married! He is getting married! Finally, I can be free from all those covet eyes that were looking at me with jealousy. He is finally getting married…”

Larry kept on blabbering those words continuously until he reached the secretary department. Whoever crossed him on his way back, stared at him like he was a loony.