The Bosses Pretend Bride

Rory Whitney stepped inside her childhood home. The short, curvey, burnette had been busy with her college classes since the start of the semester and had not been back in some time. It was hard for her to return because she didn't have a vehicle to shuttle her back and forth. She flicked the lights on after entering the place she used to call home.

Her family was not rich like so many of the other students that she attended university with. She had gotten a scholarship to the university all on her own. Rory could be considered beautiful with her long, straight, dark rich black hair and wide blue eyes with a tiny stature and an hourglass figure. But she was more than looks. She was smart as well.

"Dad!" She called out. "I am coming to check up on you. I decide to take a cab here from campus before I head home."

There was silence in the house, and not the kind of silence that makes you feel like they have just stepped out. This was the eerie kind of silence that made your skin crawl, and the hair stand up all over your body.

"Dad she called?" Again while walking through the house. Everything looked the same, but something didn't feel right. She just couldn't put her finger on that.

Rory made her way to the bedroom and when she opened the door she let out a gasp of shock. There were clothes thrown everywhere as if someone was in a hurry to leave. Rory looked around bewildered by what she saw.

Carefully going through the room to see if she could find anything useful that would lead to a clue about her father's whereabouts, she eventually found a letter with her name on it. It read

Dear Rory,

I know you have probably discovered my leaving. I am sorry to do this, but I felt I had no choice. I am going to find a safe place until I can take care of this mess. In the meantime, take care of yourself and watch out for suspicious people because I owe 150,000 to a loan shark, and he might be looking for me soon.

Sincerely,

Your loving dad.

Rory dropped the letter in her shock at the things she had just read. It couldn't be true. She fell numb all over and her gaze took in everything around her. The strewn clothing and drawers that hung out of their slots. She stood up on shaky legs, unsure as to what to do. This had caught her completely off guard.

Rory picked up her phone and tried to ring her father's number, but it gave her an error message. She hung up, her hands shaking as she did.

"Oh dad what have you done?" Rory went and grabbed his belongings, quickly vacating the property in case someone decided to show up looking for her father. She had heard about these things before. If someone couldn't pay, then the loan sharks would turn to the family for the money.

She sighed heavily as she pulled away from the house of her childhood in a cab, possibly for the last time.

Thankfully, Rory had moved out of that place as soon as she turned eighteen. She had worked since she was sixteen and saved all she could so she could afford to move out when she chose.

It's not that she didn't love her father, but they had never gotten on well after her mother's passing. As her thoughts switched to her mother, Rory never missed her more than she did right now. It was hard to be without her in times like this.

Rory recalled the happier times as the cab drove to her tiny apartment. They had been a happy family for years until her mother got sick after she turned fifteen. That's when everything seemed to change for the family.

Cancer, the doctors said. Almost seventy-five percent chance of not recovering. The odds had been stacked against her mother, but she chose to fight.

Rory had taken on the responsibility of caring for the home and her father as her mother went through treatments. Her father, on the other hand, became a mess. He began drowning his sorrows in drinking and who knew what else?

The cab pulled up to where she resided, and she stepped out, heading up the stairs. It drove away quickly. She was trying to fish her key out of the side pocket of her purse so she didn't notice the two men step out of the shadows.

One was burly like a body builder with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and a jagged scar across his face, making him look frightening. The other was of a slender build with a goatee and sleezy look to him even though he wore a dark blue suit of expensive taste. His face was set in a cold, hard look and his eyes were beady-like.

His gaze immediately fell upon Rory and a calculating look entered them. He waited until she was practically upon them to speak up.

"Rory Whitney, I presume?" His oily voice caused Rory to look up in surprise at the nearness and the hostile tone.

"Yes, may I help you?" She tried to sound cheerful, but the look of the two men made her nervous.

"We are here in search of Roger Whitney?" The tall slender man stated with a condescending smile. "He owes my boss a lot of money. And if he can't collect it from him, I have been informed to collect it from his next of kin."

The thin man smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes. The man just stared down at her in a manner that made her skin crawl, as if he was undressing her with his eyes, as he shifted his jewelry flashed in the low light of the streetlights.

Rory took a step backwards her heart racing in fear as she gazed at the two goons who stood threateningly before her.

"I...I am sorry I do not know where my father is currently." She stuttered, looking left and right to see if there was anyone out this late, but the streets were currently empty of any pedestrians.

She felt her heart plummet as she realized that there was no one to save her.

If you enjoy the story please tip.