Ericka's point of view...
"What are you doing here, Ericka?" Dad's cold voice echoed and his face showed his ignorance clearly. Whenever I look at him, I feel a hollow ache growing in my chest, that black pit of despair that seems to deepen with every careless word that falls from his lips. "Dad...I..." I hesitated almost choking on my own words but before I could even make them out, he groaned in displeasure. "If this is about cancelling the wedding, you can save your breath and walk back to your room" I was speechless. How could he be so heartless? "Dad...Please listen to me..." I stepped forward and he slammed the table before him. "Go back to your room if there's nothing important," he said dismissively. "Dad, please, he called me again just now..." I murmured, hoping for even a shred of compassion. He averted his gaze, snorting in irritation as if I was here with something unreasonable and literally I mean nothing to him. I know he didn't want to listen, but I had to tell him. I had to. And so I braced myself and continued, walking towards him. "Dad, he doesn't like me...!" my eyes pooled up, "He is not a human, Dad. He even threatened to kill me if I went through with this. I don't want to get married, Dad. I won't..." I begged. He shot me a disdainful look, unimpressed, as if my pain was no more concerning than a pesky fly. "Enough of that nonsense, Ericka." He slammed the table again, this time so loudly and I jolted back. He was furious as ever. "It's you...You are so useless that you can't even keep up with a man" I clenched my jaws. Is that my fault that the one I am engaged to, is a complete jerk? "Dad but what did I do..." "Shut up..." he barked cutting through my pleas. "Logan's temper isn't my concern, Ericka. That's entirely your problem. The Davis family is powerful, and they offered more than we could have ever hoped for. I already agreed to this marriage, and I won't go back on my words." he said sternly, straight to my face. That's right. The chairman gave Dad a good stock of cash as a prenuptial gift, in other means, my price, and my Dad accepted it without my consent. I felt a sore taste in my mouth as I recalled it. Why the hell did I even come here? He narrowed his eyes and stood up. "He said he will kill me..." I repeated looking straight into his eyes where I couldn't find any sort of affection for me. A chill seeped into my bones as his hateful gaze hit me. I felt raw like my skin had been peeled away, leaving me exposed to every lashing word he was throwing at me. "Do you really...not care?" I said in a whisper, my voice quivered. He rolled his eyes. Am I nothing but a tool to him? "Even if he...hurts me, even if he wants to kill me, Dad?" My vision was blurred as the tears formed a layer. His gaze turned colder and he clenched his jaws. "I don't..." he yelled back. Yes, I heard it right, he said he doesn't care about me, living or dead...!! He actually said that. It wasn't the first time that I faced his hateful reality. But why does it hurt.?It hurts a lot. I sometimes doubt if I was really his daughter. As if proving me wrong, he added. "I gave birth to you, raised you to be what you are now, Ericka. Are you such an ungrateful daughter? Are you not responsible for your family?" I scoffed internally. Wasn't I the one who had been earning every penny they had been spending without any care of the world, all these years? Was that not being responsible? He raised me...! How ironic...! My mom was the breadwinner of this family her entire life, doing all the things that she could do, exerting her weak self until she died of it, while this man used to indulge himself in drinks, women, and bars. Now here he is, spatting classes of being responsible...! "Look at your brother, he is still young," he added, I hung my head and blinked back the tears. Ryan is just a year younger than me, yet he never moved a finger to do anything to support this family. All he did was lie on his bed and play video games, leeching off my hard earned money. "You know better than anyone else that he needs a lot of money for his college. Who will be responsible for him if you become so selfish?" I stared blankly at him. I just can't understand what sins I committed to be born into this family...! "Your sacrifices are nothing compared to the efforts I put into raising you. And by marrying into that rich family, you can live a luxurious life while still helping your family. You need to understand your place." My place...! Being a tool...! Yes, I understand it very well by now...! I gasped, holding myself back from lashing out at him. No...! I can't accept it. "What if I say no, Dad...!" I yelled, "I am not going to marry that scumbag..." Slap...! Before I could complete my words, I felt a sharp pain on my cheek where he slapped mercilessly. "You are such an unfilial bastard...!" he barked. "You must remember that you signed a contract with your boss and accepted that money..." I gasped. "I...??" I can't believe he was ranting at me like that. "I took the money...!!" My eyes turned red. I asked in disbelief and anger, hardly managing the bubbling volcano inside me. "Did I take the money!??" He turned around and stood with his hands on his hip. "Listen, Ericka. It's just absurd to talk about it now. We already took the money and now, we can't return it. You have to get married as promised..." I inhaled deeply. Twenty million dollars...! He spent them...just like that. His words sliced through me. I wanted to rash out, to tell him that his ambition wasn’t worth my life, but I knew it would fall on deaf ears as it always does. This man doesn't care about me at all. Shouldn't Father be one who should have protected me, but here he was bartering me away as if I were some commodity to be traded.? This was my fate, though cruel. I clenched my fists, feeling tears prickling in my eyes but refusing to let them fall. Not for him...! He turned around to face me again, there wasn't any kind of affection or guilt on his face. "Now go back to your room. Remember you have to get married next week. And don't even think about anything else...Did you hear me?" Dad yelled, raising his finger towards me. He wasn't helping. His words were even harder to take in. I recalled Logan’s words, his voice flashing through my mind, the venom in it as he barked words that stung like physical blows. Whom should I listen to? I wasn’t a person to both of them they treated me like shit. What am I? All I know now, is that, Dad won't let me stop this marriage and Logan was not willing to marry me. What the hell am I supposed to do? ****************
