Chapter Six

Aria's POV

As expected, there were murmurs everywhere. Every camera was facing towards me and more pictures were taken. It took everything in me not to breakdown and start crying, and tell everyone the truth, but I couldn't do that. Even though my father and I had our differences, I could never humiliate him in front of everyone.

"Aria, what are you saying? You do love me, right? This is all just a joke, right?" Axel said as he took my hands in his.

I swallowed the huge lump that was in my throat before answering. "No! I don't love you and I won't marry you!" I said as I snatched my hands from his.

"No Aria please, enough with the jokes. I get it, this is just a wedding prank." Axel said as he started to laugh nervously.

"No Axel, this is not a joke. I can't marry you."

"No. No. This can't be." Axel said as tears started to fall down his cheeks. It really broke me to see him like that but I had no choice.

"Axel, calm down." Aiden said as he held Axel's shoulder.

"Aiden! Aiden! Please talk to Aria, tell her that I love her and that I want to spend the rest of my life with her. Please Aiden, talk to her." Axel said as he cried.

"Aria, my dear, what is all this? Why are you refusing to  marry my son?" Axel's mother said as she stood in front of me.

"I told you already, I can't marry a blind person."

"Mom, mom, please talk to her." Axel said as he tried to break from Aiden's hold.

"Aria please try to reconsider your decision and....."

"No!" I said interrupting Axel's father. "I can't marry your son and you can't change my decision." I said stubbornly, as I fought the tears that were threatening to fall down any moment.

I couldn't take it anymore, the way everyone was looking at me, the cameras on me, and most especially Axel's hurt face, it was all to much for me. I looked around and saw how hurt Axel's parents were, I looked at Aiden and he looked very upset with me, Axel was crying as he continuously called out my name, begging me to come back to him. I looked at my mother and saw her crying, it was like she knew why I did this. My eyes met my father's who was fuming with anger and had his fists clenched tight, but that was the least problem I had right now.

I held my gown in my hands and ran out of the venue as tears fell down my cheeks. I quickly went outside to the escalade that drove me here and got it in. The driver was confused but I had no time for this.

"Take me home right now." I said.

"But ma'am, your wedding...."

"I said take me home!" I shouted interrupted him. He quickly started the car and we drove home.

On the way more tears uncontrollably fell down my cheeks and I did nothing to stop them. I don't know if I did the right thing or not, or if Axel is ever going to forgive me.

"We are here." Dan, the driver, said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I hastily opened the car door and ran inside the house and went to my room. I locked the door and leaned on it as tears continued flowing down my face.

Just then there was a knock on my door and my heart instantly skipped a beat.

Was it my father? How did he get here so fast?

"Aria, open up Aria, it's me Lisa." I heard Lisa's voice on the other side and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.I opened the door and threw my hands around Lisa and hugged her tightly.

"Calm down, everything's going to be fine." Lisa said as she gently rubbed my back.

I cried for a while and pulled myself back.

"Now tell me what happened. Why are you not at the wedding venue, and why are you crying?" Lisa asked as she wiped off my tears.

I was just about to tell her what I did back at the wedding venue when I heard my father's angry voice from downstairs.

"Aria! Aria! Where are you Aria!"

"Oh no! He's here." I said in a shaky voice while looking at a confused Lisa.

"What happened Aria?" Lisa asked, noticing how scared I was.

I heard my father's footsteps coming up the stairs and within a few second he was standing at the hallway just a few steps away from us. He took big steps as he came towards me and roughly grabbed my arms.

"How dare you Aria? I warned you and you went against me, how dare you?" He asked as he roughly shook me while tightening his grip on my arms.

"Dad, dad you're hurting me." I begged but he only tightened his grip further, making me wince in pain.

"Sir please, you're hurting her." Lisa spoke.

"Did I tell you to speak! Get out of my face before I fire you right this instant!" He shouted and Lisa went away as she looked at me with sympathy.

"I warned you Aria and you disobeyed me!"

"I only did it because I can't take advantage of Axel. I love him and if I had done what you wanted I would have been using him. I am sorry but I am not as selfish as you are!" I equally shouted and in less than a second I felt a sharp sting on my left cheek. My father had just slapped me, again.

"Really! Really dad! You slap just because I did not fulfill your selfish needs! Then go ahead, slap me, slap me as much as you want but just know that it's not going to change what has already happened!" I shouted not caring what he's going to do to me.

His face turned red and he clenched his fists. I had never seen my father this angry.

"That is it!" He shouted as he grabbed my arm and started dragging me downstairs with him.

"I have had just enough with you. I don't want to see your face anywhere this house." He said as he dragged me towards the gate.

Just then I saw my mother getting out of the Bugatti that had just entered the compound and she came running towards us.

"Mark, what are you doing?" She asked.

"I am teaching this brat a lesson." He said and I felt a notch in my stomach.

"She's is not a brat, she is your flesh and blood daughter." My mother said.

"I don't care who she is, I want her out of my house." My father said as he continued dragging me towards the gate.

"No! Mark stop all of this nonsense and let Aria go!" My mother said as she tried to free my arm from my father's tight hold but it was all in vain.

"Mark stop it!"My mother shouted blocking my father's path but my roughly pushed her out of the way making her fall to the ground and hitting her head.

"Mom!" I shouted as I watched her struggling to get up. Lisa and the other maids quickly rushed to her aid.

"Dad, please let me go, mom needs me." I cried as I tried to get out of his hold.

"No she doesn't, you know why? Because nobody in this world needs you, and nobody will ever need you, because you are a useless, worthless and meaningless ugly freak." My father said in a low tone as he leaned closer to my face, and a huge lump went down my throat, as more tears rolled down my face.

He ordered the guard to opened the gates and he threw me out.

"I don't ever want to see you near this place." He said and the gates were closed.

I looked down at my now dirty half ripped wedding gown and my dirty feet. I wiped off my tears and started walking to God knows where.

I had been walking for hours and and it was getting quite dark. My stomach was grumbling and I had I was feeling cold. I had nowhere to go. I walked towards the road ignoring people's stares. They were probably thinking that I was a runaway bride or freak who stole the bride's dress.

I arrived at a bridge and stood there for a while as I watched the ocean.

Nobody in this world needs you, and nobody will ever need you, because you are a useless, worthless and meaningless ugly freak.

My father's words rang inside my head.

I felt a sharp pain inside my heart every time I remember those words.

Maybe my father is right. Nobody in this world ever needs an ugly freak like me, after all people always saw me to be a useless, worthless and meaningless, that's why I have always felt like a burden my entire life because I have always been in the way of everything, including my family's happiness, and that's why nobody ever needed me.

I wiped off the tears that were falling and took in a sharp breath before I jumped on the bridge and sat on it with my legs just above the waters.

They don't need me, nobody needs me. Maybe it's better if I just go away, that way I will be out of everyone's way.

I closed my eyes and silently counted.

Three, two, one.......

I was about to throw myself into the ocean when someone held my waist from behind.

"Don't do this." A deep male voice said behind my ear.