This marriage must hold!

"This is the day I never wished to see. A day I wished would have skipped itself. This is a nightmare under the sun." Charlotte took a silent breath. She was in her wedding gown, sitting in the back of a car with her chief bridesmaid. They were on an hour drive to the wedding reception.

"The pressure of my parents is upon me to get married to a person I never knew. I have met him twice. First when he was first introduced to me as my life partner and secondly, when we went to buy my wedding gown. The two times we have met, he smiled at me like a firthy. Is this the kind of person my parents really wanted for me? It was as if my parents were watching a horror movie when I first said 'no' to this marriage. It's our duty to always make you happy, they said. But without my consent, they have accepted my life partner…" And before she could stretch her thought further, she felt a touch at the back of her left hand.

"We have reached the venue, let's go down." This was the voice of her chief bridesmaid, who was also her best friend and her name was Bridget. A trip of so many minutes was like seconds to Charlotte. She had been thinking of what will happen to her life after this day, the death of her career and the inconsiderable words of her parents.

Charlotte came down from the car. She could hear the increasing noise of the guests in the hall as she moved each step closer to the hall. Her face was down. This was the saddest day of her life. A wedding day was supposed to be a lady's happiest day. But in the case of Charlotte, she wished she was a nun. Her opinion was never considered and her parents had threatened to disown her. She loves her biological family and she never wanted anything to come in between them.

There was a white veil on her face and her long wedding gown pulled away with her in her slow pace. She stepped into the hall without looking to the right or to the left, but the corners of her eyes could see the massive crowd that had come to grace the wedding ceremony. And there was a very beautiful artificial white flower in her right hand.

The groom was already there. He was standing some feet away from the officiating Minister. Everyone had been waiting for Charlotte to come in and take the marriage vow. When Charlotte first saw the groom from some distance. She kept her instinct to herself. But as she walked closer to him, it became obvious.

"This is not Matteo. Is this not his elder brother that is very cold hearted?" She thought. Then she waited to see what would happen next. And as soon as the Minister raised his hands and said,

"Please step forward. It's time to take your marriage vow."

At the end of his statement, Charlotte fearfully turned and brisked out of the hall. There was chaos in the very big hall and all eyes followed her as the tail of her gown ran after her. That same moment, her parents followed her and caught her outside the hall.

"What is it?" Her mother asked. But Charlotte delayed her reply and found somewhere at the back of the hall. She frowned and the flower was no longer in her hand.

"That is not the man I want to marry. That is not Matteo." She took some breath to settle her inflated lungs.

"You are right. That is not Matteo. But Matteo is dead. He left a suicide note and his body has not been found. We never wanted to tell you this. We don't know how you will feel. That is why we kept it from you. He died yesterday and his family replaced him with his immediate elder brother." These were the kind words of her father and there was no authority in them yet. Charlotte pulled the veil from her face and tears were coming down from her eyes.

"Am I a log of wood without feelings? First, you never allowed me to voice out my opinion. You pressed me and muted everything that could react to your decision. And now, you exchanged the person you forced me to marry to that Cold-hearted man. I'm not getting married to him. I will only take my marriage vow when I see Matteo."

Her parents looked at each other. They were speechless at first.

"This is a perfect reason to reject this marriage. I wish I have known, I would have written my own suicide note." She thought in between their silence.

"Wait a minute," her father's voice suddenly changed. "Is it not the family you are getting married to?"

"Am I getting married to the family or to the individual?" She protested.

"Both," he shouted. "When did you make up your mind that you will marry Matteo? Even to the last moment, you reluctantly accepted. Why do you suddenly want Matteo? This was one reason we never told you yesterday when we received the news."

"You pressed me against my wish… Denied my right to love and live with the person I love, destroyed my career and," she interrupted.

"Who are you talking about," her mother quickly jumped in. "Who are you referring to? Aiden? That one who had left the country to further his study? Who is giving you that confidence he will not see someone over there and then forget you. We know what is good for you. We want your happiness."

"Happiness? Do you say happiness? To marry that ruthless man? I would rather remain single than to throw myself in hell."

Some members of Charlotte's family started coming out of the hall. They had waited and waited, but Charlotte and her parents were not coming back. As they started coming out, Charlotte's father held her right hand in annoyance and pulled her a bit further from the people and said,

"This marriage has been fixed and it must hold. You have been selfish right from when you were a child. You always put your interest before others. You never cared about the happiness of this family. You care so much about yourself. We never treated our parents the way you are treating us. You know what is at stake. Still, you have decided to stone your heart and disgrace yourself. What is the difference between Matteo and Ethan? Come to think of it, Ethan is more mature. We were even happier when we received the news that Ethan will replace his younger brother. Though, we are not happy that Matteo had committed suicide. Our happiness is that we are placing you in the hands of someone better." He turned his face away from Charlotte and said to her mother.

"You better talk sense into your daughter's head. If you want to," he shrugged, "we can't allow her to fool us in the presence of this crowd and our family members who are already jealous that our daughter is married into a wealthy family of Alexander." He turned and left Charlotte and her mother and went back to the hall with an angry look.

Dionne, Charlotte's mother, became more confused. Her husband had put the decision of their daughter upon her head. She knew the type of husband she married. If this situation doesn't work out well, he will shift all the blame on her.

Charlotte was not ready to reconsider her stands. This for her, was a perfect opportunity to reject what they have wanted. There was nothing for her to consider, if this will break the camel's back, let it break it. She had made up her mind.

"Do you really want to do this to us Charlotte?" Her mother wanted to feed on her emotions.

"Are you sure your dad will allow you to step into his house if you do not comply with this marriage?"

"I would rather live on the street than marry someone I am never comfortable with. Mom," she resumed her tears and the sound of her voice collapsed again and she continued,

"How can I marry someone so suddenly? This is blackmailing."

"Are you saying your dad and I are blackmailing you? How? When I was pregnant for you, I never did a job that would cause forced abortion. When you were tender, we fed you with the right food. When you were sick, we gave you the right medicine to get well. And now you are old enough to marry, why do you think we will put you in a hand that will mistreat you?"

"Mom! I don't love him. At least, Matteo often smiles and his smiling somehow eases my heart."

Her mother could not hold back her anger and she shouted at her.

"You must marry someone from Alexander's family. We have secured this union. Your young brothers' scholarships have been paid. Your dad and I will now receive free meditation. You can only say 'no' to this marriage if you are ready to pay back all the money Alexander's family had spent." Dionne turned and left her and went back to the hall very angry.

Charlotte was in tears, but she was not ready to change her decision. To her, her decision has come to stay. Who will convince her? She was ready to put her desire in between herself and her parents on the account of marrying a total stranger.

"Do you want to let your parents down?" A voice hit her from behind. She knew that voice. It was no other person than her beloved aunty whose name was Stella. Charlotte turned and when she saw her, she wept the more. This time, in a well intense manner. She knew she could lean on Stella's shoulders.

"But Ma, I cannot marry a person I have heard so many cold things about. I know you are the only one that will be on my side."

"Yes, I will always be on your side. But on this matter, you will agree to rescue us from shame. Then I will tell you what to do?"

"What will I do? Please tell me?"

Stella first cleaned her tears and kissed her right cheek. She knew Charlotte would accept her advice, but Charlotte was eagerly waiting to hear what she was about to say. She held Charlotte's hand and walked away from the people around and said,

"I want you to display irk attitude, and in a very short time, Ethan will divorce you."

"But how will I do that? I have not be married before," Charlotte asked with a recovery voice.