Author's point of view...!
Taking a steadying breath, I pulled myself together, feeling something shift deep within me. If they want me dead so badly, then let it be...! “Fine,” I muttered, biting back the bitter taste forming in my mouth. “I’ll go through with the wedding, Dad, but I don't think this would work out well...?" His eyes narrowed, I continued under my breath, "You won't be able to leech them for long" He gritted in frustration and grabbed my wrist, stopping me from going out. "If it's not going to work, you will have to make it work, Ericka. No matter what..." he said in his menacing tone. I squeezed my eyes shut. This man could be the cruelest father in this entire world and the heavens had cursed him upon me...! I sucked in a cold breath and calmed my nerves. I was never a loser, and I won't be one in the future as well. "Okay fine...! I will marry him..." I blurted out, pulling my wrist from his grip. "I will go through it. Even if it is to fight for every breath I take." I said that to myself. He looked at me with smug satisfaction, already dismissing me as if I were some chore he had finally completed. I forced myself to stand properly, my heart feeling both fractured and hardened. I turned and walked away. When Chairman Davis put this proposal before me, I tried hard to refuse it but he was so serious about it. He didn't let me talk to him anymore. I thought maybe it was for my good and his son might be the right partner for me. God...! Who could have guessed, what his son actually was?? I walked back to my room and slammed the door behind me. As I know I couldn't avoid this, I can at least make it bearable. Sitting on my bed, the first thing I did was block Logan's number to let my mind suffer less from his venom. A week passed and Dad indulged himself in the so called preperation of the wedding. I didn't hear anything from Logan after that and I had been avoiding Dad as well. I was glad that at least I wouldn't have to hear those venomous words again, but soon, my little shell of safety shattered. The day before the dramatic wedding, my Dad walked in with his phone in his hands and my heart skipped a beat. My intuition was screaming in my head that it might be something, something was really off. Did Logan call him? And what is he up to now? "What is it, Dad?" I asked, puzzled, and as expected, Dad replied with some urgency in his tone. "It's Logan, Ericka" My heart sank, I couldn't avoid him any longer. I extended my trembling hand towards him to get his phone. Preparing myself for the curses that would follow, but Dad didn't lend me his phone;; instead, he said excitedly. "Get prepared, honey" I was stunned for a moment. Did he just call me honey!! As if smacking me out of my trans, Dad continued. "He hung up but he called me just to invite us to a family gathering and you to his bachelor party..." Wait...! What?? "What...!!" I was so shocked. That scumbag is actually inviting me to his party...! No way, right? Is that for real!! Or is that some kind of trap that he laid carefully for me!?? No way...! There is no way I am going to be his prey. I won't go there...! "Come on, get ready..." My Dad's desperate voice pricked through my thoughts, and I tried hard to protest. I can't go...! I must not...! "No Dad...I wouldn't..." I protested but he cut me off yet again. "What did you say..." Dad's eyes narrowed and his demeanor instantly changed into something ugly. Not again...! Before I could repeat myself, he blurted out through his gritted teeth. "I don't want to listen to that nonsense crab again, Ericka..." he smacked, "Your father-in-law had arranged everything for you to get ready for this party, and you would do whatever is needed..." I froze, speechless. It seemed that I couldn't just avoid this disaster. "Mr. Jameson had personally asked me to tell you to dress up elegantly as this will be your first time meeting your future husband..." he added, seriously as if stating a chapter of solemn oaths. My future husband...! Yeah, right!!! I heaved a sigh. Dress up to be humiliated or to be killed...? I have no idea what he had planned after I ditched him. He must be going crazy with anger by now. Everything that I had been trying hard to forget, to bury, resurfaced. I found myself trapped in this. My mind insisted that this was the trap he had been preparing all this while, and I could not afford to go. He is a monster and I am sure he would go to any extent to stop this wedding. Though we share the same goal, he would never consider my safety to achieve his goal. Instead, he would rather kill me without any hesitation. "We will be leaving early this evening. Be ready and don't you dare play any tricks this time, Ericka" Smacking that, Dad left me alone to cry. What a loving father...! I stayed in my room all day, with no food and no one to talk to. How could I even think about eating when I knew that something wrong would happen to me tonight? That was so annoying...! In the evening, I was called out by my father. I descended the stairs only to find the entire hall crowded. As I reached the bottom, my eyes widened. There were young women everywhere, dressed in matching uniforms, bustling around like a carefully choreographed performance. Mr. Jameson had apparently arranged for a whole team to prepare me for tonight’s ordeal—maids, makeup artists, stylists, and even assistants holding a lineup of designer dresses, bags, heels, and jewelry. The setup was impressive, like something straight out of a fairytale. But instead of feeling pampered, I felt trapped. This wasn't helping. A knot settled in my gut. I tried to take in everything, but still, my hands and legs shivered. The extravagance around me felt suffocating. All of this was for bringing me to him...! Logan, the man who starts hates me to his core. Just the thought of his name sent a shiver through me, a nauseating churn roiling in my stomach. I didn't understand why I had to do this. Why was he throwing a party if he despised me so much? The entire team worked swiftly, doing all the chores they were supposed to do, but I couldn't help but feel uneasy. “Ma’am, we’re ready,” one of the makeup artists said, her voice cutting through my anxious thoughts. I blinked, snapping back to reality, and hesitated before looking at my reflection. "What the heck..." I exclaimed in shock. “Is that…me?” I murmured in disbelief. The person in the mirror who looked back at me didn’t look like me at all. The transformation was stunning, almost unrecognizable. I looked like some high-fashion model, too polished, too poised. A stranger, to be honest. "You look so beautiful, ma’am," the girl beside me said, her voice soft with admiration. I forced a tight smile, trying to appreciate the compliment, but something inside me just wouldn’t let it settle. I sighed, my eyes falling from the mirror. No matter how beautiful I looked on the outside, it couldn’t erase the turmoil I felt within. "Ma'am, we will leave now," the girl from earlier said in a low tone, and I nodded. The entire team left, leaving me alone in my room. I inhaled and exhaled a few times to let my mind settle into reality. No matter what was waiting for me out there, I had to face it. **************
