Falling, Fallen | ✔️

1

~Ayla's POV~

My phone was ringing.

It was only six in the morning and I had just barely been asleep for three hours so I didn't register much in my sleepy state, but the one thing that I did register was the fact that my phone was ringing. Not only that, but it wouldn't stop. I ignored it until it eventually went to voicemail and then rolled back over in my bed, planning on going back to sleep. Then, not even thirty seconds later, my phone began ringing again.

I groaned in annoyance and sat up in my bed, irked down to my very bones as I reached over and snatched my phone off my nightstand. I glared at the screen through sleepy eyes and then glared even more when I saw that it was my mother calling me. "This had better be good." I grumbled to myself angrily, before accepting the call and lifting my phone to my ear. "Yes?" I greeted rudely into the phone, wanting to get this likely pointless phone call out of the way so that I could go back to sleep.

"Ayla, god, you're awake." My mom practically chirped into the phone, making me grunt. It wasn't like I was awake due to me wanting to be awake. If it weren't for her, I'd be sleeping very peacefully right about now. "What did you need, mom?" I sighed, tiredly rubbing a hand over my face. And because this is my mom—a woman who loves her theatrics—she hesitated before she spoke again, but I knew it wasn't because she was actually unsure if she wanted to tell me. No, my mother just really liked to play everything up and be overly dramatic over nothing. To be honest, my knowledge of that was part of the reason I was feeling bored as I waited for her to say it. She did this often, and it never amounted to anything.

"Well, honey, I have something to tell you." She said, still playing it out. However I was tired and, quite frankly, not in the mood for this at all. "And it couldn't have waited until it wasn't six in the morning? What is so important, mom?" I asked impatiently, just about ready to hang up on her and be done with it. Sure, she'd be pissed, but to be fair I put up with this type of nonsense far more than I should have to. I mean, who the hell calls someone at six in the morning for nothing? Yup, my mom, that's who. I deserved a little bit of a break from it sometimes.

"Okay, okay." My mom said, and I just about thumped my head back against the headboard. "You remember the company your dad was always competing with? The Maxwell's company?" She asked, making me frown. My brows knotted together and I looked up at the ceiling, confused. "Yes, I remember them. Mr. Maxwell was a crotchety old son of a bitch." I recalled, rolling my eyes. I tapped my fingertips against my thigh impatiently. "But what about them, mom? If you're just calling to give me gossip again, I can promise you I have no interest in hearing it." I told her, almost positive that that was what she was doing. I hadn't heard the Maxwell name since I had moved out of my parent's house when I was twenty, and I was now twenty three.

Still, I quite remembered Mr. Maxwell, and not just because he was the CEO of Maxwell's Inc, which was a business that my dad had been competing with for years. Mr. Maxwell was old, probably in his late fifties or so, maybe early sixties. I remembered him well, though, because he had a knack for constantly taunting my dad, who could never get ahead of him in sales. I didn't really see why it mattered because dad made a very good living as it was, but I suppose it just came from his natural competitiveness.

"I'm not calling to give you gossip." Mom huffed to me, and I sighed. I was bored of this conversation by now so I laid back down and began to seriously contemplate hanging up the phone. "Anyways, I was calling because Mr. Maxwell said he would be willing to merge companies with your father. Could you imagine, honey? We'd be rich!" She squealed through the phone. I wasn't sure what type of problems she had that allowed her to be so rowdy at six in the morning, but I wasn't sure I wanted to know, either. "Mom, you guys are already rich." I responded, raising my brows. "What would you even gain from this merger, anyway? I thought dad wanted to beat him, not team up with him." I added, completely lost at this point. Mom scoffed at me as if I were stupid. "This merger could really help the growth of the business!" She exclaimed.

I groaned and rolled onto my back. "Can you please just hurry up and spit it all out already?" I complained, rubbing my eyes. My mom must've been offended by my disinterest because she huffed.

"Mr. Maxwell had a negotiation about the merger. See, he has a son that's supposed to take over the company when he retires, but I guess he's quite a playboy. Won't settle down." Mom began to explain, and I already could feel my gut starting to churn. Something told me that her calling to tell me this meant there was very bad news for me. "The condition is that you have to marry him. His son, I mean, not Mr. Maxwell!" Mom blurted, and I cringed deeply. She had just confirmed that this was, indeed, bad news being delivered to me.

"Why do I have to marry him? I don't even know his first name, mom." I scoffed, furrowing my brows in annoyance. I thought it was unfair to ask me to do something like this and I had no interest in partaking, at all. "Honey, please." My mom sighed softly and I froze. I knew what she was about to do. "This is such a big deal for your dad. He's been working so hard for so long. Doesn't he deserve it?" She asked in a hopeful tone. I cringed again, wanting to refuse yet finding it hard to do so. Mom knew that dad was my weak spot. Damn her.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing to this..." I just about scowled, and I heard her squeal in excitement on the other end of the line. "Oh, this is so good! Honey, your dad is going to be so excited!" She giggled, sounding absolutely elated. I grunted and slouched back against the headboard on my bed. "Okay, okay, I know you're probably tired." My mom tried to calm herself down but I could still hear the excitement in her voice. "You'll have to come over tomorrow to discuss this more in detail. Mr. Maxwell will be there, too." She told me, causing me to sigh. She let out another happy giggle before she hung up, leaving me sitting in my bed in silence. It seemed unreal. Not only was I get married, but I was getting married to someone I didn't even know.

Guess that there's no going back to sleep now.