Four

He was told to take her home.

   "I can walk on my own, you know," She sighed and pulled his hand away from hers.

She wondered what the other children would say if they saw her dragged out.

  "You do not have any right to tell me what I can do and cannot do, Mila. You lost those rights when the society gave you to me," He yelled.

Mila turned around and saw some of the girls in her dormitory looking at her.

 "What are you looking at?" She shouted at them.

They went back to what they were doing.

  "You have succeeded in making it clear to the entire school, you fucking bastard," She turned to leave.

Vincent held her hand.

  "Do not make me repeat myself, Mila. You are coming with me. I do not want to make a scene," He replied.

He gave an envelope to Sister Benedetti.

 "Thank you sister, Mila will go with me now," He said and pushed her into the car.

Mila was silent all through the ride home.

  "Do not use curse words anymore, I do not like it," He said and opened the door for her to go down when they arrived at their house.

Austin was in the front yard when they arrived.

 "Mila, you are supposed to be in school," He said and hugged her regardless.

They had not seen each other for a long time.

  "Your idiotic best friend is against my studies," She said and glanced at Vincent.

Vincent smiled and turned to Austin.

"Do I need permission to take her away?" He asked him.

She followed him in.

  "I do not see why you need to drag me," She said in a barely audible voice.

  Austin cursed under his breath.

 "Daddy," She responded and went to him.

Her father loved her but he could not go against the decision of the society.  

 "What have you done? Why is he dragging you?" Her mother sighed and hugged her.

Mila was feeling guilty and uneasy. She knew about the strict rules of their society, and disobeying them had ugly consequences. She wondered if the doctor informed Vincent that she had been touching herself.

  "Come to my study," Her father said.

Vincent was already inside waiting for both of them.

  "Can the documents be signed already, the tests have been done," Vincent said. He was eager. After signing the documents, nothing could change the decision unless something happened to either party.

Austin barged in.

 "Why do you want to do this? Please do not do this. You could have any other girl, it must not be Mila. You can tell the higher-ups that you have no interest in my sister," He raised his voice.

Vincent chuckled.

 "Should you not be grateful to me? I mean I am taking the burden off your shoulders," Vincent replied.

Steven motioned for Mila to leave.

  "I do not want to talk to you about this," He shot back.

Steven could not say anything. He was to do as the society required, if not, their entire family would be doomed. Vincent was the next head. Offending him meant offending the other families.

  "Why her? There are many girls from better families," Austin went head to head with him.

 "Because I want her, Austin. There is no other reason than that. I want Mila Carters for myself and I will kill any other person who wants her. You know me, Austin. I do not play when I want something," He said and arranged his suit.

He turned to Steven.

  "Where are the papers?" He asked him.

Mr. Carter took the papers and handed them to him. Steven canceled the part that was written in bold. "No intercourse until after the wedding."

He laughed.

Austin tightened his fist, he could not do anything because Vincent was right.

He signed the papers.

  He waited for Mr. Carter to sign.

"I will send a copy of the contract to you," Mr. Carter told him. "Austin, lead him to her room," He told him.

Vincent was happy with himself, he succeeded in getting the girl.

Austin knocked on her door.

  "Who is there?" She asked.

"It's me," Austin sighed.

He could not imagine the fact that his friend was going to be bedding his sister.

  "Give me a minute," She replied.

Vincent looked at Austin.

 "What are you still doing here?" He asked Austin.

"Do you think I am going to leave you here alone with my sister?" He asked him.

Vincent laughed.

  "She is my fiancée now," He told him.

Austin sighed and went away. Mila opened the door.

  "Why are you here?" She asked him.

Vincent did not answer, he pushed her and entered the room.

  "You should not barge into my room like this. My father will not agree to it," She told him.

Vincent laughed.

  "Do not be silly, you are mine now and I need to know you well if we are going to spend our lives together," He replied and sat down on her bed.

 Mila felt uneasy. She looked away.

 Vincent slammed his hand on the table.

   "If you are planning on using violence to make me scared, then it is not going to happen," She told him.

Vincent laughed and pulled her to him.

  "I have other ways to bend you. It does not always have to be violence," He said and ran his hand on her cheek.

Mila got up immediately.

  "You should not do this. It is inappropriate," She muttered.

Vincent pulled her hair, forcing her head down.

   "Inappropriate?" He asked her.

 "It is not…" She stammered.

He was pulling her hair tightly and she could not free herself.

  "You are hurting me," She cried out.

  He pulled her away before he could lose control. He put his hand in his pocket and brought a box out.

 He removed a ring and put it on her finger.

"What is this? I am going to school and they will talk if they see me wearing this," She tried to remove it.

He ran his hand through his hair.

  "You will go to school like that every day," He replied.

 "What do you mean?" She asked him.

He got up from bed.

 "It means no more boarding school for you. You will go as a day student until you graduate next month. I do not see any reason for you to be in school, but because that is the last phase of your education, I should let you," He told her.

Mila was angry.

  "I am planning to continue my education at Stanford," She told him.

Vincent was amused.

 "So you can make a list of who to bang in university? As much as I love women who strive to do something better with their lives, you will be the wife of the head and your job is to please me and have my children. You will be occupied," He told her.

She cried silently, just one signature, and her whole life was falling apart.