CHAPTER 2

Elowen's POV

"Dad," the words failed me. Were they really about to cancel my wedding for Lilith's sake?

I had planned and scheduled this wedding at different times and had to move it for her sake, Dad had insisted she be my chief bride's maid.

First it was that she had exams in school then her project defence was too close to the date then they had to prepare for her convocation then her master's degree so she had to travel for a year and I had waited out all the excuses yet they were canceling my wedding for hers.

Tsk. Lilith didn't even have a serious relationship to begin with. I folded my arms across my chest and waited for the new story.

"You're giving out your precious daughter so quickly in marriage all because she wants my wedding date not so? And my wedding dress was the best fit for your emergency arrangement. How nice." I shook my head.

It was barely a surprise but I didn't expect they'd go that far to be that cruel to me.

"Lilith is sick, Elowen." The words rolled out of Dad's tongue quietly. Too quietly it bothered me.

"Three months, the doctor said she just has three months to live so we're doing our best to grant all her last wishes during the period." I felt a prick in my heart. I didn't have an idea that my sister was dying.

"I didn't know but why wasn't I informed earlier, I would have willingly spoken to Owen to move our date and retract all the invitations we sent out." It wasn't going to be the first time. No matter how upset I was with Lilith obsessing over ownership of my property and privileges, she was still my sister and my heart wasn't carved from ice like theirs.

"We were going to tell you but we didn't know how you would take the information especially since she would be borrowing a few things from you as well." Elara defended her daughter as usual but I was barely interested in her tales.

Elara never cared about my happiness so I could bet that she had done it all on purpose to get on my last nerve so I waved it off.

"Fine, I'll inform Owen." I said and turned to leave.

"He's aware already. He was the one that called the designer to update the measurement." I heard Lilith say, I glanced over my shoulder at her and was going to ignore her but her words registered in my head.

Owen was aware and I was not. Why?

"Is there something else y'all are yet to spill?" I turned to them again but none of them said a word.

For some reason, my heart skipped a beat and I felt uncomfortable. My stomach churned.

"Lilith is getting married to Owen." Elara had said it so audibly the humor was unmistakable. I laughed hard at the joke but soon I realised none of them flowed with the joke except...

"Elowen, this is not a joke. It was her dying wish and you don't expect—"

"You two timing bitch!" Before my father finished his sentence, adrenaline surged through me and I laughed at Lilith to hit her but Elara held me back.

"What are you doing? Do you want to kill her? She's sick and very fragile!" Dad yelled.

Lilith kept a puppy face and acted like a wet dog.

"Lilith being sick and dying. So this is what it's all about. To marry my husband. What a cruel joke but I promise you, she will die without that wish being fulfilled." I spat in disgust at the gimmick.

"Elowen! Do you have no human empathy even if you don't value family? This is life and death." Dad scolded me but to hell with all of that.

"Human empathy? She doesn't deserve any of that but I'm not surprised, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. She's just trying to walk in her mother's shoes but too bad I'm not that easy to eliminate." I glared at the mother and daughter duo as I delivered every word of my speech.

"Watch your tongue young lady!" Father scolded me and Elara's eyes burned with hatred.

"Father, please don't be angry at her. She has every right to be upset, if I wasn't leaving this world soon I wouldn't have asked her for such a sacrifice. I just wanted these three months to be different and—"

"Oh shut up!"

"No you shut up!" Dad countered me.

"Can't you be reasonable for once, your sister has only three months to live and you're talking rubbish. After 3 months, Owen can still get married to you. She is getting married to Owen and that's the end of this conversation." He said it without a note of finality.

Something cracked inside of me but I kept myself together. I knew Owen would never agree to such an arrangement.

"Look, Owen is here," Lilith announced and I exhaled deeply letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding unto.

"Owen," I ran to him and threw myself in his arms. I buried my face in his chest for a while and inhaled his cologne—soothing for my predicament.

"Elowen, you shouldn't be that close to Owen knowing he's getting married to your sister in three days. It's inappropriate." Elara said.

I remained there but Owen's silence made me pull away.

"Are you not going to say anything about what she just said?" I asked, my brows contorted in a frown.

"El, I was going to tell you but I was waiting for the right time." It snapped, the last thread I clung to—completely shattering me.

Owen had agreed.

"Tell me? You agreed to this madness?" I stepped away from him.

"El, Lilith is sick and it was her dying wish that I—"

"Just stop. I've heard the story already." I felt cold, as cold as the sweat that soaked the back of my top.

Owen and I had been in a relationship for five years.

Five years and I stood by him. When his family business took a downturn, my father had advised me to leave him but I had stayed by his side. I had stayed up most nights knitting mats to sell when their facility was confiscated but I wasn't even interested in counting scores, I loved Owen, with my entire life.

"What else were you waiting for to tell me?" I had lost my feisty touch, Owen was the reason for which I was so confident earlier but hearing him...

Just then someone brought in the documents from the registry, Owen and I had filed for it two weeks ago.

"Miss Lilith," the delivery person delivered it to Lilith and she signed the receipt.

"That is my marriage certificate."