Chapter 3 -The Choice

Maria did not go home immediately she left Blackwood Towers. She stayed out. Behind the basement of Blackwood Towers wondering what will become of her if she agree and if she don’t.

Then she walked some more... distance heading towards the highway. She kept on walking. She had no idea where she was going but she was considering suicide at this point. She only knew that she could stay depressed, pressured, contract marriage, sick dad, unemployed, this was too much for her.

“The word really weighs heavy on me. It was like the world was weighing me down”. Maria said in her mind while walking

Maria crossed the road without thinking or looking where she was going.

A car horn blew loudly and someone yelled at Maria but Maria did not say anything back.

Maria’s mind was far long gone. She was thinking about everything surrounding her at that point that she did not take note she was on the highway.

Maria just kept on walking and talking to herself. “One year.”

The contract said that was how it would be. The contract was really clear about a marriage meant for public presentation but no intimacy. 

One year of pretending to be someone’s wife.

She will be living with this man for one year. The thing is she does not know him that what is really making her scared, does he get upset or angry. Is he always this calm and quiet. Living with a man who was so quiet and tender all the time made her feel like he could predict the future or something. He never yelled at her. 

Maria now finally got tired of walking because she has been working for a long time.

She a wall to rest on near a quiet street. The street was really quiet. Then her head dropped forward. She just let her head drop like that and busted out in tears again. “What kind of life is this”

She pulls out the folder from her bag again. She did this because she wanted to confirm what she read to be true. She wanted to be sure everything was okay, with the contract. She read every line of the book very slowly.

No love.

No expectations.

No questions about his past.

Public appearances only.

Confidentiality clause.

Penalty for breach.

It did not feel anything like the marriage she knew or heard about. The whole thing just felt really weird. It did not feel like a marriage at all. This was an arrangement of two people living together for no purpose for one year.

“That place felt like a prison to me”. Maria said.  The whole experience was really devastating. Her phone rang. She picked up her phone. Saw that someone was calling her. The phone kept on ringing but she was not in the right mind for call, she then decided to answer it.

It’s was her sister Laura.

"Maria " her sister said fast. "Where are you? The hospital called. The hospital wants to know about the payments."

Marias heart felt really bad. She said "What happened to dad, hope he is responding now, I’m on my way?"

Laura told her that her “Daddy’s condition was really getting bad now”. she said “the hospital needs money or her Daddy will not get the care he needs any longer, they are running out of patience”. If they do not get the money before tomorrow, they will have to move her Daddy to a part of the hospital where they do not take care of people as well.

Maria closed her eyes. She just let everything go. That meant there were no machines around where they were planning of taking him to their father will not get any attention at all.

Its means giving up on somethings. This was a difficult decision for make.

Maria said “I’m coming” with a soft voice.

The hospital looked so different at night. It was like a new place when the sun went down. The hospital was really scary, at night. The hospital just does not feel pleasant to be in at night looking all creepy and place meant for forbidden people.

Quieter. Colder

.

Maria stood outside her father’s room. She was listening to the machine that was beeping steadily. Her sister stood beside her. Her sister had her arms wrapped across her chest. Maria and her sister just stood there waiting. The sound of the machine was really steady and not changing at all. Maria and her sister were looking at their father and just imagined what will become of him any moment from then.

Her sister asked her if she was able to get the money. She wanted to know if the money was there now. The sister was patiently waiting all this while to hear about the money or how the bill will be paid.

Maria was just sitting down shaking her head.

Laura let out a heavily breathe feeling  so sad. Then she said "What are we going to do with the problem of her sister who just lost her job and source of income to feed the family?" she asked again.

Maria did not say anything. She just stayed quiet. Maria did not want to respond to anything her sister was saying.

The nurse assigned to her father just walked into the room. Then she sat down beside her father. she cared so much for only her dad. The nurse took the hands of her father calmly. She was being very careful, with her father

She said I am here, in a quiet voice.

Her father just stayed still. He did not get up. Do anything. Her father was completely frozen, in place. Now the nurse, Maria and Laura was in the room

Now Laura leaned against the wall and said to Maria "You promised me that you would figure something out about this situation, with the money."

Maria said that she was trying. She said it very quietly.

"Trying is not enough " her sister said sharply then she stopped talking. "I am sorry. I did not mean to say that ". She said it again “trying is just not good enough find a solution.”

Maria said that everything will be fine.

But at that moment it wasn’t.

Maria looked at her father again. Maria wanted to hear what was on the mind of her father. Her father was very important to her. Maria loved her father much.

He had worked so hard for them.. was it all for nothing. The person had put in a lot of effort for them. It did not pay off. He had done it all for them.

She was happy about her condition at all. She said “why is poverty treating us this way”.

Her phone started to vibrate.

A message.

The time is getting late and midnight is approaching. Midnight is around the conner.

The woman looked at the screen for a time. She just kept looking at the screen. Her sister noticed something. She said "Who is that person?". Maria said that no one was there.

Her sister looked at her closely and said "Maria".

Maria got up from her seat. She said "I need some air."

Maria walked herself out of the room before her sister could ask her questions about what was going on. Her sister really wanted to know what was wrong, with her. 

The air was cool, on her skin that night. It felt nice with a great relief. She was just standing there outside the hospital feeling the night air.

Her phone vibrated again. This was really getting on her nerves. Her phone was ringing the whole time and its was disturbing her peace.

Decision?

Maria typed slowly. She was taking her time when she was typing. The words were coming out slowly from Marias fingers on the keyboard.

I think what people really mean by this question is why do people need a wife. Getting married has to do with having someone you can talk to in good and bad situation in life.  A wife can be a friend and companion. People need a wife because they want someone to care for them and be there, for them when they need it. A wife can make a person feel happy and loved.

The person sent a response away. The response came quickly.

Business.

The woman was so unhappy with the response she got. She was not satisfied, with what she had written so she typed again. The woman was trying to get her words right and typed again.

She did not like how the response sounded it was not a good way to talk to someone. The reply did not even answer her question.

A few seconds went by.

Then the reply came:

Some men require signatures from people. Some men need to see celebrities make appearances in public. I need a wife to be my partner, in life. 

Her fingers just hovered.

And after one year?

This time it took a lot longer for them to get back, to me with the reply. 

“We walk away, from everything. It is completely clean.”

Maria took a deep breathe.

No feelings?

I saw these three dots. They were there, for a moment. Then they were gone... Then the three dots came back again. The three dots kept doing this they would. So, I suppose he was typing

Finally, the messaged like a thunderbolt saying:

“Feelings can make things really complicated. I do not let feelings get in the way of my life. Feelings are too much to deal with that is why I do not allow feelings to take over.”

She was really close, to laughing.

So, what if I actually do it?

The reply was cold.

If you do not want to do it then do not sign the thing.

Maria seeing the harsh reply locked her phone. She was holding the phone tightly against her body. The thing he was talking about really difficult for a lady with emotions but he did make it sound easy when he explained it. He made it looked so simply. 

Emotions is not really to get over most times. You wish you could just turn off these emotions and feel better... Emotions help us in our personal life. These feelings make us human. They make life look meaningful.

Marriage even if it is not real should mean something. It is like people think that marriage, a fake one does not matter at all... Marriage, whether real or fake should still feel like one.

The woman lifted her eyes to look above. The dark clouds was filled with a lot of stars. The woman liked looking at the sky.

"Daddy " she said quietly "what do you want me to do?"

No reply.

The was already 11:45pm time was just fast. Maria was moving around  her apartment. The clock had just struck 11:45p.m... Maria was still at a corner.

The folder was sitting open on the table. The folder looked like it had been pulled open and was just lying there on the table. The pen was just sitting there beside the folder

She looked at the folder for a while time. She kept looking at it not knowing the next step to take time was no more on her side.

Her phone then rang again. She looked at her phone. Saw that she had a lot of messages from her debtors and the doctor of the hospital where her dad was being taken care of.

15 minutes to go.

She closed her eyes. She just let them shut and everything went dark. Took a deep breath and said “if I perish, I perish”

Her sister words just kept reechoing in her head. She could not stop thinking about what her sister told her when she was with her dad. (...trying is not enough).

You really have to do something. Trying is not enough. You have to work hard to see results from the energy and time you put in. she just kept remembering how her father was trying to survive over and over again in her mind. Her father’s breathing was really weak.

The woman carried the pen because she wanted to write something. Her hand was trembling so badly. She doesn’t know how to stop her hand from trembling so badly. They were tears in her eyes. 

She said that she does not want this. She said it very quietly.

But want had nothing to do with it.

She picked up the pen again because it fell out of her hands. She signed her name slowly and carefully.

Maria Collins.

The clock ticked away slowly. She looked at the signature. I seemed like it was written by a different person because it was not her choice from heart, life gave her one.

Her phone started buzzing.

Done?

She cleaned her eyes. Then she typed:

Yes.

The person gave a response right away:

A will come to place tomorrow morning to pick you up

She didn’t say anything again.

Maria just fell down to the floor. She folded her arms around her knees. She just sat there like that holding her knees tight the girl did. The floor was hard and cold. The girl did not seem to notice she just kept holding her knees.

Marriage.

Tomorrow.

The morning came fast. I was not ready, for the morning to arrive soon. The morning just seemed to get in a hurry.

Maria did not sleep so much. At morning by 7 a.m. A black car was already outside her apartment, she had to prepare and entered the car to blackwood towers.

The woman stepped into the room quietly. She did not make a sound when she stepped in. it’s was a city view from the top of the building and everywhere looked so blurry.

She could see the Blackwood Towers rising up again. The feeling was not the same, as before. It felt different.

Final.

The woman was taken inside the building. Then she was taken to a quiet office. This office was filled with expensive wines and precious diamonds.

Walton James was standing over by the window. He liked to stand and look outside. The man turned around when the woman walked into the room. The man said “did you signed the contract right?”.

Maria said “yes”.

He nodded once. He said "Good".

That was all.

No thank you. No smile.

The man gave the woman another piece of paper. The man said that this confirms the payment. The woman looked at the document in her hand.

$4,200,000.

Her heart melted away immediately.

He said that it will be transferred today. The doctor told me that your father will get the treatment he needs

She looked up at him. Said "Do you promise me that?"

He said that he does not break contracts.

he nodded her head slowly.

The woman asked when the wedding is going to hold. She did this with a soft voice.

“Tomorrow.”

Her breath caught. She said "Tomorrow" in a surprised tone.

He said that the thing is small. It is legal. It is private.

She laughed a little. "It definitely is."

He looked at her for a moment. "You can still walk away, from this situation " he said to her.

She looked at him. Said "No I am not able to do that."

Something looked it entered into his eyes. It was gone fast just as fast as it appeared.

The man said to her "Welcome to your life Mrs. James."

The words really hit her hard It made her feel sad.

Mrs. James with no emotion of love.

The woman felt really dizzy, that was not a good thing for her at that moment

When she got ready to leave the man’s voice made her stop.

“One more thing.”

She turned around. Looked back at what was, behind her.

He told me that having feelings does not make the person weak. “It makes the person practical” he said in a voice. The person is being straight forward and still point out the agreement

She did not know why. That made her eyes wet again. It was really strange that the music played at the background were playing back memory of someone and was making her feel sorrowful 

The woman walked out of the place. Maria did not say anything until she took her cab and left.

Her life had really changed a lot. She was not the person anymore. Her life was completely different now and there was no turning back now.