Chapter 2

LEENA'S POV

I struggled in his grip until I could not take it any longer. I had to scream.

"Let me go, Zack! Jeez!" I said aloud. I saw Kara's eyes glint with amusement. I looked into his eyes with a look of horror, and a smirk flashed across his lips. He was satisfied with the idea of making my life miserable.

"Are you ready darling?" He asked me coldly. I felt shivers run through my body as he spoke, yet, I was not going to let him have the last laugh. If he wanted to be less than a human being to me, I was going to show him how animals behaved.

I straightened up and smoothened my hair back with my palm. My wrist hurt terribly where he had gripped me. I turned to find Kara smiling but when she discovered my eyes were on her, she immediately feigned innocence, and pretended she was not exhilarated by what was happening to me.

Without a second glance at Zack, I picked up my purse and headed for the door. My Father and the rest had already gone ahead of us to the court venue.

I was not going to let Zack put me on the spot.

The drive to the court was a tension filled, quiet one. He refused to let me ride in my car, and forced me into his. It was disgusting sitting beside him.

I could not stand him, yet, a part of me also refused to hate him.

We walked into the court room together, holding hands forcibly, and pretending to be the perfect couple.

"Don't you two look really beautiful?" Zack's mother, Mrs Ellie Stanford said to us. She was an angel in human form. A bit too naive, but an angel nonetheless. I smiled back at her, wishing she could see how horrible her son really was and not the other way around.

"You both look really beautiful. I haven't seen a couple more suited for the other." She said with a smile on her face.

"Thank you Mrs Stanford." I replied to her, laughing nervously.

"Leena!"  Father called to me abruptly. I knew that tone, and I was not ready to find out what was wrong.

He grabbed me by my hand gently, and pulled me aside. Lily, my step mother sat on one of the court benches in a distance, unconcerned by whatever was taking place before her. If it were up to her, she would have her own daughter in my place instead, and frankly, I did not mind.

Father was dressed in an off white suit which sat cooly on him. He was a tall man, strongly framed and was not very tolerant, yet, when it came down to the family's business, he was just as weak.

"My daughter. Are you okay?" He asked searching my face for answers, before my words would bring forth its lies.

"Yes, Father, I am very fine. How are you?" I asked him in return. Apparently, he knew better than I did when something was completely wrong. He knew I did not want this marriage, but he also believed that Zack was still the same angel like friend he was to me when we were much younger.

"You don't have to do this, you know that, right?" My father said boldly. But I knew otherwise. If I did not do it, it would break his heart. It would ruin us forever.

He, just like Zack's parents thought we would both be extremely suitable for each other. But that was just a lie. That was a tale fabricated by them to ensure that the images they had confined within their thoughts about our lives became their reality.

I was tired up, threatening to scream, "what about us?!! What about me!! I am tired!!" But.the words never came.

I sat beside the man I was beginning to despise beyond life, like a lamb led to the slaughter. I watched the documents being presented before us, and I picked up the pen which had been laid down before me.

Zack had already signed the documents without thought. He zapped his hands across the paper roughly as if it did not matter to him if he tore the said document with his signature or not.

He was not even happy about it, then why was he going ahead with the wedding? Why was he putting me in a tight spot? A place like this where no woman was supposed to be in.

They had come to us with the proposal. His parents had made the suggestion, pulled the preparations and set us up for this marriage that we both did not want to be a part of!

So why was he forcing it?? Why did he hate me for a path that he personally chose for the both of us??? What was my offense??!

I held my finger suspended over the paper for over a minute. Everyone paused, and waited for me to sign the documents. What was I going to do about this now?

If I signed it then that was it, he and I were married, and it would take another type of this process to get both of us out of this agreement.

I turned with teary eyes to look at him, hesitant to the power of my own Will. Or perhaps the lack of it. I had no will anymore, and this was the path I had to tow in order to save my family's company from going bankrupt.

I turned to look at my Father and I saw he had a stern look strained across his face. I feigned a smile and nodded at him.

He did not believe me, but he nodded in return. With a heavy heart which tugged at my soul, threatening to wrench it from my body, I turned back to the table.

I put the pen to paper, and with tears in my eyes, I drew my signature over the document. I held my head high and refused to let the tears which had surrounded my eye lids drop. No one could know that I was suffering emotionally.

No one could find out that Zack and I were not the perfect, happy couple we were expected to be. No one.