Taming the Beast

Hera sighed deeply as she entered her father's office. She may appear desperate for what she is about to do, but her love for Achilles drives her decision.

She rapped on the door and twisted the handle. She peered and saw her father skimming over the pages. The old man smiled when he noticed her.

"Hera... come in," he murmured, smiling.

Hera smiled and walked into his office. She took a step closer to his table.

"What brought you here?" her father inquired, closing the packet he was reading.

"How's Achilles's business doing, Dad?"

Her father shrugged. "Achilles is working hard to find a solution for the investors. Because your aunt Edna is crippled, you knew she couldn't assist."

Yes, Achilles's mother, Edna, suffered from hypertension and had a small attack that weakened her nerves when her husband died.

"Would Achilles be able to handle that, Dad?" she inquired.

Her father glanced at her. "Hmm... do you still have feelings for Achilles?"

As much as she wished to hide her face from her father's queries, it was too late, as her father laughed. “Oh. Achilles treated you like his own sister, my daughter, and he already had a fiancée. What was her name once more?"

“Laila.”

They've been together for about nine years. Achilles proposed to her last year, just before her Uncle Bryle died, and they were meant to marry after two months, but his father died.

“Right. Isn't Laila Bryle's secretary's daughter?"

She gave a nod.

"How did you end up here?"

She let out a long sigh. "I needed to ask you a favor, Dad."

"Anything my daughter," her father answered with a smile.

"I'd like to marry, Achilles."

Because of his disbelief, her father did not answer right away.

"Please let it be the only way to revive their company, dad," she implored passionately.

Her father shrugged. "I can't—"

She rose to her feet. "The Watsons are in a pickle, and Achilles is already struggling with it. Aunt Edna requires adequate medication. Dad, aren't we family? You have the authority. We can assist them. But, knowing Achilles, he will deny your assistance."

"You're right, Hera. And I can't just give you whatever you want—"

“I love Achilles, Dad. I love him so much that it pains me to see him happy with another lady who reminds me of myself."

Her father exhaled a sigh. "You can't just have him that way, Hera. I didn't raise you to ruin other people's lives, especially Achilles. He's been through enough, and you don't know the complete tale. I apologize—"

"Then forget about me as your daughter," she remarked as she exited her father's office.

“WHAT did you do to your daughter, Simon?!” the voice of Simon’s wife roared on the four corners of their room. “If something will happen to my daughter, I won’t forgive you!”

Simon sighed. “Let her be until she will realize that what she wanted was not right.”

“Do you hear yourself?” his wife stood in front of him, hands on her waist. “She was just your only child. And you knew she never asks you anything! And now, she’s asking you a favor, you can’t grant it?”

Simon pinched the bridge of his nose as he controls his temper. “You must not tolerate Hera, honey. She’s asking the impossible. We’ve been friends with the Watsons for a long time, but just because of Hera’s obsessed feelings towards Achilles, she wants me to ruin other’s life. Achilles has a fiancé, you knew that—”

“But looked what just happened, your daughter is missing for two days! What if something bad happened to her?”

Simon lay on the bed, “she will come back. Just let her be—”

“No! You will grant her wish, Simon. That’s final.”

Simon got up and looked at his wife. “Hera became a brat because you tolerate her ugly behavior, Fiona. In case you didn’t know. Bryle and Edna were forced to marry each other, and looked how did Edna end up, though she loves Bryle, Bryle still treats her just like a toy—”

“But Bryle was born to be dominant and it’s Edna’s fault to accept to be his submissive. Achilles is different from Bryle. He’s not dominant. Look, he only had one serious relationship—”

“I’m still afraid that Hera might experience it since he got Bryle’s blood. And happened that Achilles saw how Bryle treated Edna one time. Hera was about to ruin Achilles’s life.”

“I’m sure, Achilles won’t do that. He respects us and treats Hera well. The difference is that they will marry each other and it’s the only way to bring back the Watson empire. I will talk to Edna about this—”

“If something happened to Hera, I would not forgive you, Fiona.”

WHEN Achilles arrived home, her mother informed him about the news.

“What did you say, Mom?” Achilles asked once more her mom, who was sitting in the wheelchair. He went closer to her.

“Your uncle Simon will help you with the company and promised to bring back all the losses.”

“I don’t need any help, Mom,” he said as he removed his necktie. Laila is out of the country since she had a photoshoot. His fiancé is a bikini model at a famous modeling agency in California, at first, he doesn’t want her job, but he trusts the girl.