Amelia already hated the family they planned to marry her into. She got that they were eager to tie them together, but how could they come visiting without her said future husband? She knew she wasn't eager to get married but that doesn't mean she wouldn't have preferred seeing whoever she was meant to spend the rest of her life with. It was only those who had nothing to do with the marriage that had come visiting. She was seated between her mother and Ava, while her father sat in front like the chairman of the occasion. Her future-in-law was sitting opposite them, and the mother-in-law's gaze had not left her since she came. She whispered something in her father – in – laws ear.
All Amelia felt at that moment was as if she was good about to be sold away. She felt her skin itchy and wished she could just leave the gathering. But, a gaze from her father was enough warning not to try anything funny."How have you been?" Her father said with a smile toward the Afonso. He had never smiled at her in that manner."We are good. Thank you." Mr Afonso responded, then continued, "Now that my son is back, I think we should have this wedding at the end of this month."Amelia wanted to scream. They weren't even going to give them enough time to get to know each other. They don't care if their children wanted to be together or not. Amelia understood that she was being sold out because she was illegal, but what about Micheal; was he also illegal? Was that why his father had kept him secret all the days of his life?"Ending of the month is just perfect. Since there is not much to prepare for. We will get Amelia ready before the day." Her father responded with a huge smile on his face. Amelia knew what that meant. The earlier she married, the earlier her father could deal with his debt and forge ahead with his business. She felt a tiny pinch on her left and glanced at Ava who winked at her."We will also send Mike over, so you can get to know him before the end of the month. We wouldn't want you getting too surprised by your son–in–law."Son-in-law her foot, Amelia whispered. She didn't understand her importance at the meeting when they wouldn't allow her to speak a word or make any contribution. The only surprise they were all going to get was the bride not appearing at the venue of the wedding. There was no way she was getting married at the end of the month. The moment they had to finalize the deal, she was sent out of the room, and back to her room. Amelia would have run to her room, but her mother's voice that it was not ladylike to run was the only thing that kept her walking fast. The moment she got inside she heaved a sigh of relief; Loveth was inside waiting for her."How did it go?" She replied. How did she expect it to go? It was as horrible as every meeting she had ever held with her parents. She ignored Loveth, moved to her closet, and started throwing her things inside her box."What are you doing, miss?" Loveth whispered. Amelia continued her task; she dropped her gowns, tops, trousers and a few toiletries. She made sure to pick only things that she considered important; things she can't survive without. "Miss, you can't be serious about running away? You don't even know anyone. You don't know anywhere. What will you do after running away?"She hadn't thought about it that far. All that matters right now was that she was going to leave the house. "What do you want me to do? All this is looking too real. The families are here too. Do you expect me to sit down here, smile and then end up with some stranger?" She sat beside the bag, and then felt a drop of tears on her cheeks. "Why am I living this way? I didn't beg to be born. At least, they should allow me to live my life the way I wanted. It's not too much to ask."Loveth smoothed her back slowly, "I know you must be angry right now, but running away is not the best, miss. The world out there is dangerous."Amelia knew that much but living her life the way her parents wanted it was not the best way to live. She was now shedding tears confused as to what to do; a knock on the door got Loveth flying off the bed, and Amelia wiping every tear from her eyes."If it's not the upcoming bride," Ava said in a sing-song. Loveth bowed and excused herself, she wouldn't want to be between the sister's fight."What do you want?" Amelia responded. Ava did not respond but she moved deeper into her room. She glanced around and when her gaze landed on Amelia's box, she smiled, "It's good to see that you are already getting ready to move out. I bet you are excited to get married and all that." She cooed, "And here I was thinking you are all innocent with the way you act. I had no idea you are anticipating this already."Amelia was quiet; it was better that she assumed that. If she had any clue she was planning to run away, in a matter of minutes, her parent would hear about it, and she would be under tight security."You are eager about it," Ava said shocked. Suddenly she looked sad about it. Does she care about it? Amelia thought, or was the fact that she might be happy to get married that painful for her step-sister to bear?Amelia feigned her smile, "I will be happy wherever you are not." Ava gave her the famous deadly stare. Amelia smiled widely, glad she could get a reaction out of Ava."Mum and Dad are back," Sharon said excitedly peeping from the door. Mike had settled quite well in the house, he had put his books on a shelf, his clothes were arranged neatly in the closet, and his art was carefully placed beside the bed. He was still looking for the best place to set them in. Sharon jumped inside, and settled on the bed, for someone who had not seen him in the last fifteen years, she felt way too comfortable with him. Maybe it was just the fact that they were siblings.Mike wasn't ready to face his parents, so he focused on looking for a perfect place for his art. Sharon picked one up, "What are these?" She shook it. "Is it some kind of paper?"Mike smiled, "It's my drawings. Do you want to see it?" He would rather do anything than go to his parents.She nodded excitedly. It was really great to have someone else in the house. Mike sat carefully beside her while he opened one. Her gaze was fixed on the drawing, "Wow! You are really good." She touched the drawing
Angie, Amelia's stepmother had never sucked to anyone before in her presence. She acted as if she was a force to reckon on her own, but right now she found herself as her stepmother's point of interest. It was as if she was literally sucking up to her. She sat in a corner of her room giving orders to maids who were working on Amelia. If Amelia didn't know better, she might have thought that it was the said wedding day. They bathed her and dressed her up in one of the designers wears her stepmother bought her. They changed her hairdo and also completed her makeup. Amelia barely recognized herself when she glanced at the mirror.For the first time, her stepmother had strictly forbidden Ava from coming into her room at that moment. According to her what she was doing was serious business, and Ava could mess it up. Amelia almost laughed out loud, she didn't need Ava to help her in spoiling their plans, she was more than enough to do that for herself.When they were done, her stepmother
Things hardly made Mike laugh. But, at that moment he found himself laughing out loud. He stared at Amelia's stepmother as if she had just made the joke of the century. His gaze moved to Amelia who was quiet and touching the small bag in her hand like it held the most important things in the world. He said nothing in response to her joke, but she repeated it again."My daughter Ava will be your wife"Mike stared at Ava, truly she looked beautiful in the Barbie kind of manner but he didn't feel that first attraction he felt with Amelia. He was seeing both of them for the first time, yet he felt strangely connected to Amelia. But, he had no interest in this Ava.He focused his attention back on Amelia as if her stepmother hadn't said anything. "As I said, we could work it out if that's the reason for your proposal."Amelia wasn't listening to him though; her gaze was on her stepmother who was staring at her in a strange manner. Ava also wore a frown on her face. Mike could read thei
"I need help." He stared at the message she had dropped. For some reason, he felt concerned. Since they started chatting, she had never asked for help or hinted that she was in some sort of trouble. She had been contended with discussing her plans and her future. She usually likened herself to a caged bird that desires nothing more than to be free. Free from what exactly, he had no idea.Mike dropped the picture he was painting and relaxed on his chair. "What's wrong? Is there a problem?"The message was delivered but there was no indication that she read it. She mostly reads and responds immediately. He stared at the phone as if he could control her to respond to the message. Pheonix12 had been his friend on messenger for as long as he could remember and apart from Steve she was the only one he could relate with, but it was a pity that she wasn't willing to tell him her real name, even after their long time relationship. Yet, he couldn't judge her because he had also refuse
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"She read the message for the fifth time. How was she supposed to ask him for help without telling him her story? A story she doesn't have the privilege to tell until she was outside the hell called home. She hadn't thought far about it when she had sent a cry for help. It wasn't the best solution for her. She only has herself in this world, and she would do her best to help herself. She closed her messenger app and stared down at Loveth.Loveth crouched on the floor sweeping the place that had been turned into a mess by Ava. "Does this mean you are no longer getting married, miss?"Amelia lay on her bed confused; if they were trying to cut her off from marrying the stranger, she was supposed to be happy, but she wasn't happy. She had no idea why she was feeling bad about it. It must have been because she had put her hope into escaping through the marriage, and the guy seem to be understanding. She had the feeling he was going to grant her
The first step Amelia took outside, all she could think of was freedom. It would have been great if this was her leaving the mansion completely and not coming back for any reason, but it was just a visitation to her future in-laws. She stepped into the tinted glass while Ava sat beside her. Her mother sat in the passenger's seat and her father was the designated driver for the day.Inside the car felt more suffocating than anything for her, being in close range with her family and knowing there was no means to escape was suffocating. She held her chest and stared outside the window wanting to avoid any means of conversation with any member of her family."Did I tell you that I met Mike yesterday?" Ava said in a low voice. Amelia ignored her. Ava never spoke to her not to talk about giving her updates about what was happening in her life. So, she had no idea why she was suddenly telling her about this. "We met at a club and he is such a gentleman; the perfect guy for me." She paused
Amelia picked up her phone, chatting with her friends online. Ava stared at her, wishing she could report to her mother that Amelia had a phone; but it was open news now. No one cares. Her future–in–law had insisted they needed the means to get in touch with Amelia, and they needed her number in case of emergency. Ava walked into the room brushing things on the floor without picking them back up. Amelia stared at her favorite brush on the floor, followed by her favorite mirror broken into pieces. It's okay, she thought to herself. 'Ava was trying to get a reaction from me, but I won't give her the satisfaction'. Her eyeballs were red and her lips were bruised from biting it."Are you glad now that you have stolen my groom?" Ava stood in front of her with puffy eyes. Amelia dressed in a baby pink gown Mike had delivered through an agency, closed her eyes, and put her eyeliner back in her makeup back. It was her first date with Mike, not that she was looking forward to it,
'I am getting married.' Mike stared at the message Phoenix12 had sent him. How was that possible? He was also planning to tell her about his pending marriage, and here she was telling him about hers. That must have been fate at work.'Congratulations, Phoenix. I guess you are finally rising in a way.'Her response was swift, 'In a way I am. I could finally say I am breaking away from my cage. What I don't know is if I am going to a new cage or maybe this is my one chance at freedom. But, I am taking my chances."He frowned. What does this mean? Was she not in love with whoever she was getting married to? 'I wanted to ask who the lucky guy was, but it seems you are not in love with your fiancé. Is he ugly?"He pictured her laughing. Although he had no idea what she looked like, to him she had always been young, with a pretty face. There was no way the lady he was talking to would be old. 'He is too good-looking, and that's a problem on its own. It's an arranged marriage.