Chapter 2

Thelma is angry at the turnout of everything, but Thama has no emotions. She has not said anything to her mother since they left the Cannon villa.

She knows her mother is going through hell with her father’s brothers, and they will not stop until they have their way with everything.

She remembers very well how her uncle John told her she would not be able to handle the Cannon Empire because she was a girl, but now she has proved them wrong and they have decided to use her father's will on her. Finding a man to marry in a month will be the hardest thing she will have to do in her life.

When her father, James, died, Thelma took on the role of father and raised her daughter to be the woman she is today. She never had friends; her only friend was her mother. The only thing she focused on was school.

The only guy who worked up the courage to approach her got married to her former teammate, and they have twins together. As they were sitting there thinking about how to go about everything, the two brothers arrived.

"We have found someone for you," Charles says with a smile on his face."That’s fast," Thelma says as she receives a questioning eye from John, the youngest of the two brothers."The eldest son of the Luciano family," John says, with a grin on his face.

"That can’t be Cirino Luciano, the underboss; he is not interested in women; everyone in the city knows that!" Thelma shouts as she moves closer to John, who stands up, wanting to push her, leading to a fight of words between the two of them.

"We are the elders of this family, and we have spoken," he says as he looks at Thama, who has been quiet and has a calm face."Why are you doing this to my daughter?" Thelma asks as she starts to cry on the couch."Save those tears for another day," Charles says.

"It’s okay, Mom. Luciano is not a bad family, and I am sure everything will be okay," she says to calm her mother, who is crying, knowing very well it's the worst family anyone can be married into.

According to the rumors, Thama knows the Luciano family and knows that the oldest son doesn’t like women, and he is the underboss of the mafia. She has met him on different occasions to discuss banking in business.

The Luciano family is one of the biggest families in the city, but not as big as the Cannon family. They are in the banking business, according to the papers, but everyone knows the kind of illegal business they do behind closed doors. They have banks in every part of the country and are run by the two brothers, who mostly do the work at home.

Charles has set up a meeting for Cirino Luciano, the eldest son, to meet up with Thama in the evening of the following day. They decided not to stay longer and left the villa so that she could have enough time to think about everything.

Thelma hugs her daughter as she cries. "What have I done?" she asks as she cries. "It's okay, Mom; everything is going to be okay," she says.

It’s early in the morning as Thama arrives at work. She is greeted by her secretary, Kylie, who sits behind her with documents in her hands."Good morning, Miss Cannon," she greets her as she hands her the document."Good morning, Kylie," she says as she collects the documents. She walks out of the office after going through her schedule.

As Thama was busy with work, a knock came through the door. She said to come in, but she didn’t pay much attention to checking who had entered."Hello, I am Tobias Luciana," a male voice says as she looks up to see a handsome young man, maybe 23 years of age, with sexy blue eyes.

She maintains her composure as she stands and shakes his hands. She knows the Luciano brothers consist of two men and an illegitimate child of their late father, who happens to be the one standing in her office."How may I help you, Mr. Luciano?" she asks as they take their seats.

"I have come to discuss your marriage proposal," he says, as she becomes furious and disrespectful. Of all the people, they had to send the youngest to be their representative."Don’t be furious, Miss," Tobias says as he hands her the papers.

"That’s the location." "You will meet up at that location with my brother, and not in the evening but at lunchtime to discuss everything," he says as he stands to leave the office. "Another thing: don’t be late. My brother doesn’t like latecomers," he adds as he opens the door and leaves.She can’t believe how everything is going. She is the richest woman and has been since she was born.

No one tells her what to do; she is the one who tells people what to do and when to arrive. She will have to teach him a lesson. The day is not filled with meetings; she has completed everything, and the only thing she is left with is the meeting with Cirino Luciano.

She keeps checking the time so that she doesn’t show up late. She knows the type of man she is going to meet and whether he is willing to accept her.

The only thing she is scared of is her plan; she will have to convince him to donate his sperm so that they can have a child together. It’s lunchtime. She arrives five minutes earlier to avoid appearing disoriented. She finds him seated, just like his brother said."Sorry for keeping you waiting," she says as she sits on the chair opposite him."It’s okay, Miss Thama," he says in a smooth voice. She looked at the man, who was dressed in all black and didn’t look anything like the rumors going around.

He is 15 years older than her, and it’s obvious that he is way older than her."This is the first time we are meeting not as business partners but as a couple," he says as he chuckles and continues, "It's strange, right?" he says, as she nods her head.

"Let’s get to business," he says and continues. "The marriage will only last for two years, and the child will be raised through shared co-parenting," he says."It’s fine with me," she replies as he hands her the document to sign in case she changes her mind and tries to run away.

The sum of $1 billion is listed as the amount to pay if she tries to run away."The wedding is set for three weeks," he says as he stands and leaves her seated.

As he gets into his car, he gets out his phone and makes a call. "It's set; she has agreed," he says as soon as the call is answered."Good," the other person on the other end replies, cutting the call.