Chương 127: 40 - THE FOURTH REDEEMER PT. 2

Before anyone knew it, senior year had come and gone. Tyene had found her clique, her own interests, and her values. The first pieces of herself that she would need heading into the real world. Vienna never left, but after the first year, she was no longer in any of Tyene's classes. She was always lurking somewhere in the school, but Tyene barely saw her. Almost too cleanly, she sank quietly into the background of her life. Though people still didn't mess with Tyene anymore.

The first time was enough to establish an aura of fear around her. Everyone knew that Tyene's ghost lurked somewhere behind her at all times, and if anyone ever angered her, Tyene would yell, "Sick 'em." Then, whatever unfortunate soul would lose at least two limbs and would never see justice for it. So though she had friends, no one ever got too close. No one fought with her. No one ever denied her when she asked for something stupid.

Any guy she liked would usually find some excuse to run away from her before she ever got a chance to give him the googly eyes. She couldn't wait to graduate and finally find a life of her own, away from this school and anyone who knew about Vienna and her relation to Mitas Corlander. And then she graduated, proudly accepting her diploma as her mother and friends cheered for her off to the side of the grand stage she walked. Just her mother.

Corlander was off in some foreign country, negotiating some business acquisition Tyene didn't care enough to learn about.

"I'm so proud of you," her mother said, embracing her. After a while, Tyene was surprised to hear the principal on stage call out another name.

"Vienna Misling." The girl silently walked to the stage, only clapped for by the parents in the audience who didn't know who she was. The hall was quiet enough for Tyene to hear the whispers.

"She still goes here?"

"You think her parents are in the crowd somewhere?"

"I doubt she even has parents. Would you even be surprised if you found out she was grown in a lab?"

"Isn't she the weird girl that used to follow you around, Tyene?" one of her friends said.

"She doesn't look like she has any friends. I kinda feel bad for her."

"She's just another drone." Tyene waved the comment off.

"She's getting paid probably more than your parents' salaries combined to be here. Don't feel bad for her. I don't""Whatever you say."

"I'm just glad this high school is finally over, and I get to do my own thing."

"Like what?"

"Figuring it out is going to be the fun part." Later that week, she sat in the hallway of her home, listening to an argument about herself.

"How can you be so controlling about this?" Her mother yelled.

"It's a large investment. This is the only way I can be sure it pays off."

"But what if she doesn't want to work for your company?"

"Then I won't waste my money sending her to college… this is what you asked me to do. Tyene will never want a day in her life. Her future will be secured as long as she listens. But the first thing to learn is that everything in life is transactional. Freebies don't exist… she'll get an engineering degree. She'll work for me, and within a few years, if she's smart, she'll have a very high position within Corlander Automotive."

"Is that what the contract says?"

"The contract says everything it needs to." A few minutes later, her mother walked out of Corlander's home office with a stack of papers. She handed them to Tyene.

"I'm sorry, dear." The engineering degree wasn't terrible. It was shitty in all the places one would expect college to be shitty, but the work didn't bother her. What was her lack of choice? She didn't get to choose which school. She didn't get to choose her job. She didn't get to choose how she was going to spend the rest of her life. It was because of a man she barely knew and her mother's strange obsession with staying with him.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. She never understood why she did. Whenever she asked, her mom was always vague in her answer. To her, it was never anything Tyene should worry about. Vienna was still around that entire time, lurking in the shadows. She no longer pretended to be a student, but Tyene saw her more in college than she did in high school. Corlander used her to send his messages.

Whenever she was 5 minutes late to class, whenever she stayed out late, whenever she got a B instead of an A, Vienna would knock on the door of her dorm and deliver a message reminding her of her commitment to Corlander Automotive.

"Just fuck off already. I get it." Tyene usually said in some form or another. The girl would bow slightly and leave, not to be seen again until the next message. She was another of his drones, only appearing to keep her in line. A constant reminder that he was watching her, expressing his reign over her life. But for the sake of things just being simple and not upsetting her mother, she gritted her teeth and lived the life chosen for her.

"NO!" Tyene was sure she screamed it at the top of her lungs. No one heard but one other person. The walls of Corlander's office were soundproof. It was at the top of Corlander headquarters where she had spent the last 8 years working. He had summoned her to his office for some very important news concerning her future. News that she outright rejected.

"I don't care how you try to talk your way around this, but I won't be conscripted to marry someone I don't even know!"

"You've known German. He's always been around. One of my most trusted confidants. He'll take care of you."

"Take care of me? Who says I need anyone to take care of me!?"

"You're still living in my house with your mother, aren't you?"

"That's not because I'm some helpless broad you picked up off the street. If anything, it's my mom that needs taking care of since you're never home anyway. What, do you want me to leave?"

"I want you to consider the proposal. German's a loyal man, been by my side since he was a boy. He'll be loyal to you, too."

"So that's what it is. I'm some bargaining chip to keep your other bitches in line."

"Remember who you're speaking with…" He said sternly, catching her rolling her eyes. He stood from his office chair, walking slowly towards her. Then he leaned against the desk, looking thoughtful.

"Your mother has no love for me. I think you know that. Our marriage is one of necessity. When your father left her for another woman, you all would've had nothing. No money. Not even a house to call your own. When she agreed to marry me, it was so that you would be taken care of. That was her one condition to be my perfect wife. I respected that and thus have created the scenario that secured your future. I don't give a rat's ass if you respect me. But respect her wishes, for the marriage she sacrificed for you."

She agreed to meet German alone on the roof of the building for lunch that day. She hadn't agreed to marry him, but she conceded to at least talking to the man. She had a few choice words for the man that she had prepared in her head as she waited for him.

"What kind of a name is German anyway?" Those were the least incendiary of them. He showed up with his suit jacket over his shoulder, trying to make the rest of his 3-piece suit look casual. His hair was long for one of Corlander's men, being bunched up in a neat little bun in the back. His face was sharp and his expression tight. He had that strange little diamond tattoo on his cheek that a bunch of the guys upstairs had.

She could see him through the window of the door, spending five minutes adjusting his tie and making sure his hair was packed tightly. She groaned, getting the same feeling that she did when her stepfather first entered her life, but with an added sense of vanity.

"You must be Tyene," he said, sitting on a chair next to hers that some servant had put there for them.

"That's right, slick." She was wearing a sleeveless cashmere sweater and a firmly pressed pair of dress pants, leaning back in her chair like it was a beach chair when really it was one of those metal folding chairs.

"Excuse me?"

"What, don't like the nickname? That's too bad because it's staying, slick. German's a stupid name, and I don't feel like saying it." He nodded to himself.

"Corlander said you might be difficult to get along with." She scoffed.

"That guy doesn't know a thing about me. And neither do you, for that matter. I don't know what you plan to get out of marrying me, anyway. You're just trapping yourself as one of his pawns for the rest of your life."

"That is precisely what I aim to do." German loosened his tie.

"Then you're even duller than I thought you'd be."

"We all have to pay our dues," he said.

"Keep telling yourself that, slick."

"Then what is it you're doing? The way I see it, the only difference between you and me is that you don't seem to have a goal at the end of this."

"What goals do I need? I'm already living the life, aren't I? All the money I could ever want, big house, nice cars, rich assholes trying to put a ring on my finger without my permission. Yeah, fuck your dues and your goals," she shook her head, standing up.

"This isn't gonna work. I'm leaving."

"How else do you plan on getting free of him?" She stared at German.

"We just have to marry. It doesn't have to be a happy marriage. Just a name and a few pieces of paper," he said, standing behind her.

"I won't bother you if that's what you want. This wasn't my idea either. But my job is to keep him happy."

"Even if that means you're not. Even if that means he controls everything about you?"

"That won't be the case forever… we just have to pay our dues until our dues pay us back." He stuck out his hand.

"Will you accept this proposal?" She looked down at his hand.

"I'll think about it… But don't get your hopes up, slick. If by some stupidity I do say yes, I'm gonna make your life a living hell." His expression didn't change, but she could tell by his eyes that he wanted to smile.

"You can try."