Life As An Unwanted Daughter

_DAISY<3

I step back at the force of his slap on my face, muffling my cry to stay quiet.

"What the fuck did I tell you? I said a woman is not supposed to speak except spoken to." Father snapped with disappointment in his eyes.

"Do not test me, girl. I don't want to see you downstairs unless you're summoned." He growls at me.

My bottom lip trembles as I nod.

"And why do you look like a rag doll? It is almost lunch time." He looks at me from my head to my toes with disgust in his expression.

He turns around to our only maid and gestures to me while speaking to her.

"Fix this nonsense. It is your responsibility to keep an eye on this good-for-nothing girl." He says, shaking his head as he walks away.

I let out the breath I was holding and rushed upstairs, Maya right on my tail, closing the door behind her as we entered my room.

"I am sorry, Miss. I didn't know—"

"It's okay, Maya. We both know he hates everything I do." I say, giving a small sad smile.

It's not her fault he hates me.

Father has hated me since the day I was born because my mother died bringing me into this world. My father says I killed her, that I caused her so much pain to the point where she had to die.

Three hours later at exactly 1:45 PM, I rushed downstairs, not paying attention to anything but getting to the dining table before him.

I thought he would be happy today at least. His darling first daughter is going to be given to the Mafia boss for marriage.

Why was he upset?

I thankfully made it to the dining room first to see the improving preparations for tonight.

The Mafia boss is going to be coming tonight to take my sister's hand in marriage.

Father has been training my sister and I on how to ‘please’ a man. He made us take classes on mannerisms when I was 12 and my sister was 15.

When my sister graduated from the class and I didn't, Father started physically hitting me to ‘learn my lesson.’ He said I liked it the hard way.

Then the next class was etiquette and marriage counseling, then how a woman should behave and dress at all times.

My sister has graduated all her classes as she was now ready to be married while I was not, according to his words, ‘not yet fit for a man.’

I'm told that this is the life of women in the Mafia. We must respect the men of the house, we have to keep our heads low and go from obeying our fathers to our husbands to not get hit or punished.

He said men don't listen to women, but we must listen to survive.

"Daisy." Father’s deep voice snaps me out of my head.

"Where is Selena?" he asks, sitting down, then motioning for me to sit down as well.

"I do not know, Father." I say, afraid he would get mad, but just then she enters the dining room, making me take a breath of relief.

She sits down, and my father nods in permission for us to start eating.

"Are you prepared for the Mafia boss' arrival?" he asks, making Selena nod quickly.

"Yes, Father, I have everything in order," she continues. "If Daisy doesn't disgrace me with her cursed bad luck, I'll be getting engaged to the Mafia tonight."

"Daisy, you are to stay in the garden at the back of the house." Father turns to me, making me drop my spoon. 

"Do not come inside the house until he is gone. Do you understand?" he asks, making me nod my head.

Why can't I just stay in my room?

I slowly chew my food, not daring to ask the question in my head and also praying that everything goes smoothly tonight.

It is now 6 PM. I am sitting on a small bench in the garden reading a novel. I think the guests have arrived, but I cannot be sure, as I’ve been outside here since 5 PM.

My father has asked me to change my clothes a total of six times into something more ‘worth looking at,’ but I have not bothered the last time because I have never stepped a foot out of this house, so I doubt they'd know who I was.

Father only took Selena to balls, galas, and parties, so I doubt the guest would know about me.

I sigh, pushing away the thoughts about the nightmare I called a life and slipped into the fantasy world of my book.

I heard the door to the garden slam shut before I saw Selena charging towards me. "You cursed bitch." she seethes, making my eyes widen at her use of a curse word.

Father wouldn't like that.

I have no idea what I did, but I am scared. She gets like this sometimes, does mean things to me when she's angry, and I never know what I've done.

"Selena, w-what—" I sputter in surprise as she grips my arm, pulling me from the bench.

"You used your cursed spell to make a cut on me, right? So I wouldn't look my best for my husband. How did—" She gets cut off by Maya rushing through the door panting.

"I found it, Miss Selena. It was the razor you used for your legs last night." she breathes heavily, her eyes looking at Selena's tight grip on my arm.

Selena drops her hand and smiles. "Don't think I don't know how jealous you are that you have to take more classes while I get to marry the Mafia boss."

She continues with a finger to my chest at each sentence. "Don't even think about casting more cursed spells, Daisy. You've made my razor cut me, but I won't hesitate to break your bones if you try something funny again." She shouts, stomping out after pushing me to the floor.

I groan as pain shoots through my back that has collided with the edge of the bench, willing myself not to cry.