CHAPTER 5

There’s no way I’m marrying that old man. Come what may!” I spat, stamping my foot against the tiled floor before spinning on my heel to leave.

“I’ve become a maid in my own father’s house. I’ve done everything you demanded since my parents died in that car crash. I obeyed every command, I swallowed every insult, all in the hope that maybe you’d forgive me for my mother’s so-called sins. But none of it has ever been enough! Why do you want to throw me away to that old man? Why—”

“I am not asking for your opinions, Gilda!” my stepmother snapped, cutting me off sharply. “You will marry him, and that is final! You will quit acting, you will become his housewife, or you will leave this house with your bad luck!”

“You’ll get married to him!” she repeated firmly. “Better that than becoming a whore who sleeps with married men to climb the social ladder. Compared to your mother, who wasted her youth with limited opportunities, this is your one chance.”

“This is a shot for you to live a good life, Gils!” Vera chimed in. “Don’t miss it because of your useless pride. Unless, of course, you’d prefer to end up a wretch for the rest of your days.”

I rolled my eyes so hard it almost hurt, my anger boiling hotter with every word they spewed.

“Perhaps you should marry him instead, Vera!” I hissed, my voice laced with venom. “At least that way you won’t have to live your so-called wretched life. From what I see, you’re already used and passed around by the men you’ve spread your legs for just so they’ll throw you scraps for movie roles. Before your eggs dry up and expire, maybe you should marry this man yourself. Let him impregnate you quickly so you don’t end up barren, just like your precious mother was once upon a time!”

The room stood still.

“What did you just say?” they both shrieked at once, shock twisting their faces.

But I wasn’t done. My rage had long since drowned out any trace of fear. Without hesitation, I snatched the marriage registration form from her hand and tore it to shreds, the pieces fluttering to the floor like dead leaves.

“Never,” I spat. “In no phase of my life will I abandon my dream to rot as the housewife of an eighty-five-year-old pervert.”

I turned toward the door, fire burning in my chest.

“You can have the house for all I care!” I screamed, my voice echoing through the living room. “I’m gone and I am never coming back!”

With that, I slammed the door so hard behind me it rattled the frame.

For a moment, silence pressed in on me, heavy and raw. My hands trembled. I had only flipped their poison back on them, for the first time in my life. A part of me felt guilty, but exhaustion and frustration drowned it out. What did they truly take me for?

Yes, walking out meant I had no home anymore. But then again… when has this place ever been home?

*****

I walked out of the bar wasted. I’d withdrawn some money only to spend it all on drinking. I wanted nothing more than to numb my pains. The wounds on my body still stung since I hadn’t gotten back to my room earlier to treat them. But my broken heart was worse.

If only, I thought.

Earlier tonight, after I’d saved the little girl, she had returned with two men who unlocked the storage room and pulled me out.

Japheth Williams and Seth Williams, the two famous brothers of Williams Film Productions, had stood before me as I struggled to get up. The little girl I had saved happened to be their family.

Everyone in the city knew Japheth Williams was disabled, but I couldn’t tell which of the brothers had stood before me. They kept their identities hidden so carefully that only their names were known.

“I saved Angel because she was an adorable girl I couldn’t ignore,” I remembered telling them when they asked what reward I wanted.

Money, cars, collaborations, flight tickets — they mentioned all of it. But I had turned every single offer down, because I was not a greedy person.

Now, thinking about it, I wondered if I had made a mistake. Would I have chosen differently if the events of this night had happened before I met the brothers?

A car almost ran into me as I staggered across the road, dizzy and lost in thought.

“Fuck you! If you want to die, go kill yourself somewhere else! How dare you stand in the road?” the driver cursed loudly before speeding away.

I was still staring at his car as it disappeared when another one drove up to me.

The window slid down and that was all I remembered before I lost consciousness.

When I woke up and looked around, it was morning. I was lying on a large bed with white sheets. The room was large and luxurious, nothing like the tiny servant quarters. I began staying back at my home after my father's death.

I sprang up immediately, realizing this wasn’t my home nor anywhere I was familiar with.

Then, a little girl ran into the room. Angel. The same girl I had saved last night. My confusion only deepened. Why was I here with her again?

A man in a wheelchair wheeled himself in. I had seen him yesterday, though I couldn’t recall exactly when.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” I blurted quickly as he explained how he had found me and brought me here. I hurried to put on my shoes, ready to leave.

But then Angel tugged at my hand. She held up her tablet. On it, words appeared:

“Stay with me.”

I froze. I had never heard her speak before and now I understood why. She couldn’t.

I was still struggling to make sense of it all when the man’s voice rang across the room, firm and startling, shattering my thoughts and halting my escape.

“My daughter has never liked anyone before" he began before he paused as if waiting for the words to sink in.

“How much will I have to pay for you to become her nanny?”