Chapter Two.

I walked into the house the next day, only to be met with a hard slap across my face. My mother stood before me, her hand still raised, eyes blazing with fury. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, but I held them back, refusing to let them fall. I stared at her, my cheek burning, trying to process the sudden attack.

"How can you embarrass the entire family like that?" she demanded, her voice cold and sharp. My mouth opened, but no words came out; I was too stunned to speak. Her face twisted with anger as she added, "Have you no shame?"

I glanced over at my sister, Sophia, who was leaning casually against the doorway with a small smile on her lips. Her arms were crossed, and she looked at me with satisfaction and disgust. My hands clenched into fists, my nails digging into my palms as I fought the urge to lunge at her.

I burned with rage, searching for words to respond to my mother, but I swallowed hard, unable to speak. She continued, her voice filled with anger, "The audacity of you to just walk away from the marriage. Who do you think you are to embarrass the entire family like that? And then you have the nerve to show your face here this morning? Really?"

"But mother, I..." I started, but my father cut me off. "I know what you are about to say. So what if he cheated on you? So what?" I looked between the two of them, struggling to find the right words. My father's expression was cold and harsh as she added, "At least he was considerate enough to do it with your sister. And here you are, still complaining. If you weren't so pathetic and worthless, you would have done a better job keeping your man."

"Father, go easy on her. She's too sensitive," my sister said in a mocking tone. Her words were filled with insincerity, and I shot her a glare. She smirked back, clearly enjoying every moment of my humiliation.

"Where were you coming from, huh? Where did you go after you decided to disgrace this family?" my mother demanded. I glared at her, which only seemed to anger her more. "Don't you dare look at me with those pathetic eyes of yours, young lady.”

"I am the one who embarrassed the family? I am the disappointment? Your daughter here slept with my fiancé on our engagement day, and somehow I am the embarrassment? Do you even know what you are talking about?" I demanded, glaring at my mother.

She rolled her eyes and asked, "So what?"

"So what?" I scoffed, tears streaming down my face. I wiped them away with the back of my hand. "Do you realize I am also your daughter? Do you even care about me at all? I have tried to be a good daughter, but no matter what I do, you treat me like I am some kind of animal. What kind of parents are you?" I shouted at both my father and mother, surprised by the surge of confidence that fueled my outburst.

I blinked, trying to regain control of my tears as I clenched my fists. "You both are horrible," I muttered. My mother didn’t respond; she just stared at me, silent. I glanced at Sophia, who rolled her eyes and said, "Dramatic…”

"Your sister is getting married to Jarred," my mother said. I smirked, confused as to why she thought I cared. At this point, they could have each other, and I hoped they rotted in hell together. I said nothing and turned to leave, clearly not wanting to be around them. But Sophia's words stopped me in my tracks.

"I am pregnant with his child," she announced. Something snapped inside me at that moment. I didn’t understand what it was, but anger burned within me as I slowly turned around to glare at her. Was this really happening?

Sophia smiled, placing a hand on her belly. "I am three months along," she said. I scoffed, struggling to process her words. No way. Absolutely no way. These two had been carrying on behind my back for so long, and I hadn’t had a clue? How had I missed this?

I forced myself to remain calm, clenching my jaw as I managed a strained smile. "Congratulations. I wish you a safe delivery," I said, turning to leave once more. But Sophia's voice stopped me again.

"You will be marrying him," she declared. I stopped, turning to look at her, confused about what absurdity she was about to spew.

"I will be marrying who?" I asked, my eyes darting between my father, mother, and sister, trying to understand what they were talking about.

"The man your sister was supposed to marry, you will be marrying instead," my mother said. I looked between my father and mother, searching for any sign of a joke, but they were very serious, and it scared me. They wanted me to marry that man? That evil man? I had heard plenty about Tristan Hernandez—a ruthless billionaire with a criminal background who had managed to avoid arrest thanks to his connections and an army of top-notch lawyers.

"You want me to marry Tristan Hernandez? Are you joking?" I asked, struggling to make sense of their words. None of it seemed real.

"You don’t see us laughing, do you?" my father said, taking a sip of his coffee. He adjusted his glasses and continued, "Your sister was supposed to marry him, but now that she is pregnant by the man you were supposed to marry, what choice do we have? We need this connection, and besides, I owe him a lot of money. It has to be settled somehow, and this was the only solution I could come up with.”

I scoffed in disbelief, looking between them, hoping they would reveal this was just a cruel joke. What did they think they were doing, trying to ruin my life like this? Hadn’t they done enough already? Confused, I called out, "Mother..." My voice was more like a whisper, feeling helpless. "Father," I said, turning to him, but no words came from either of them.

Tears began rolling down my face as I shook my head. "No, the last thing I am going to do is marry Tristan Hernandez," I declared, being sturborn about my decision. I was determined not to give in to their demands this time. But I had no idea they had other plans for me.

"I can’t stay here anymore," I said, turning to head upstairs and pack my things. Suddenly, a couple of large men appeared out of nowhere, blocking my path and preventing me from moving forward.

“What is going on here?” I demanded, trying to push past the two large men blocking my way, but they remained immovable. I looked back at my parents, fury boiling deep inside of me at that moment. “What the hell is this?”i asked trying to figure out just what they were up to again.

“What needs to be done,” my father replied coldly, his disapproval very obvious. “Your future husband will be coming for you personally today. Go upstairs and stay there until he arrives.”

“Oh, so this is your plan? You are going to kidnap me and hold me hostage, then sell me off to some strange lunatic businessman?” My voice rose with each word, the anger and betrayal already taking me. Every day, I felt the length of my parents' hatred for me, and it was unbearable and sad too. “Is that why you had her sleep with my fiancé? So she would have to marry him instead of that man? Was that your plan all along?”

My parents didn't say a word, confirming my worst fears. They were even more horrible than I had imagined. Without another word, I ran up the stairs, my mother’s voice echoing behind me. “Make sure you get dressed and look pretty for him,” she called out.

I burst into my room and slammed the door with force, collapsing into the bed. I buried my face in the pillow and let out a torrent of frustrated sobs. How could my own family be so cruel? I couldn't understand how they could be so heartless, and at that moment, I questioned whether they were truly my family or if I had been adopted. Everything felt so confusing.

I desperately needed an escape, but as I peeked out the window, I saw the house was already heavily guarded. Defeated, I rolled my eyes and buried my face in my hands, breaking down into another fit of tears. I cried so much that I lost track of time. A few hours later, a soft knock on my door jolted me from my deep thoughts. A voice called out from the other side.

“He’s here already,” my heart dropped at the news. A sick feeling stirred in my stomach. I took a deep breath, steadying myself, and rose to my feet. Accepting my fate, I made my way out of the room and down the stairs, each step making my heart pound louder.

When I reached the bottom, I saw everyone gathered in the living room. My parents were standing near the staircase, a stupid forced smile on their faces . Thankfully, my sister was nowhere to be seen; I wouldn’t have been able to bear seeing her stupid face at that moment. A tall figure stood with his back to me, his features blocked from my view, but I knew it had to be Tristan Hernandez. The man had an aura of authority and cold detachment.

I hesitated at the top of the stairs, gripping the railing tightly as I readied myself. My hands were sweaty, and I could feel the gravity of the situation crashing down on me. With a final sigh, I began to walk down the stairs again, knowing there was no means of escaping this encounter.

“Oh, she’s here already,” my parents said, their attention turning toward me. I noticed my mother’s annoyance as she took in my appearance. I hadn’t bothered to clean up at all; my face was swollen from tears, and my hair was a scattered mess. I looked like a disaster, but I didn’t care about my looks at that moment. There was no way I was going to make an effort to look presentable for this man that I was being sold to.

As my parents called me over, the man’s attention shifted toward me. He spun around, and our eyes locked. Recognition flashed across my face as I stared at him, trying to place where I had seen him before. He seemed to have the same fleeting look of confusion, which was quickly replaced by a small, knowing smirk.

My memories came flooding back as I finally placed him. “It can't be…” was all I could manage to say as I stood there in shock. Tristan Hernandez, with a self-satisfied smile, looked at me and said, “Hello there! What a coincidence, it seems you are  the one I will be taking home with me after all.” He paused, his smile widening, before adding, “Nice to meet you again…”

I didn't want to believe it was happening. I had sex with Tristan? At this point it seems the universe was playing a sick game what me as I couldn't help but wonder

What the hell is going on?