The first Night

"Why is Elisabeth not ready yet? She's taking so long." Marian went upstairs to check on her sister. Today was her wedding day. Elisabeth had asked everyone to leave her room because she wanted to spend some time alone before getting married.

"Elisabeth? Why are you taking so long? You don't want to be late for the wedding, do you?" She hurried to her sister's room. She knocked on the door but got no response. "Come on now, at least open the door." She whined. The door slowly opened, and Elisabeth stood at the door, looking disheveled. Marian gasped in surprise, "Elisabeth? What's wrong? You were supposed to be in your wedding dress!"

Elisabeth grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room. "You have to help me, Marian. If you don't, Marcus will die." She sounded tearful, with dried tears staining her cheeks; she had been crying hard. "Marcus? Who's Marcus?" She frowned.

"Marcus is the man I love. I don't want to get married to Bruce; I don't like him at all." She sobbed. Marian's eyes widened, "You don't like Bruce? He's every girl's dream!" Her mouth fell open. "He's not my dream; Marcus is." She sniffed.

Marian shook her head in disbelief, "Why are you saying this now? Why didn't you tell them you had another boyfriend?" Marian's head was already spinning; she was so confused. "Today is your wedding day; what are you going to do then?" She bit her lips.

"You have to act as the bride in my place." She dropped the bomb. Marian gasped, "Are you listening to yourself? I'm not the bride; I'm your sister, Elisabeth, your sister!" She almost yelled. "Keep it down, or the others will hear you." She pleaded.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked. "That's because I don't want to lose the love of my life! I love Marcus, and no one else." She fired back. Marian was dazed and couldn't figure out what to say. After a while, she finally spoke up, "I'm not doing it; I won't act as the bride. Do you want to put me in trouble? They'll kill me if they realise I tried impersonating you."

"They will do no such thing; I assure you." She nodded. "I can't do this; I can't get married like this, especially not to that man." She shook her head. 

Elisabeth's phone rang. She looked at it and her face went pale. "It's the hospital," she whispered, then answered. "Hello?" 

Marian watched as her sister's expression shifted from panic to something darker. Elisabeth listened for a moment, then her eyes locked onto Marian's.

"Yes, this is Elisabeth Green. My father... yes, I understand." A pause. "The surgery... how much longer can we wait?" Another pause, and Elisabeth's lips trembled. "I see. Thank you for calling."

She hung up and turned to Marian, tears streaming down her face now but they looked different. More desperate. More real.

"That was Dad's doctor," Elisabeth said, her voice shaking. "His heart condition... it's worse. They need to do the surgery within the next two weeks or..." She couldn't finish.

Marian's stomach dropped. "What? But I thought Dad was stable? They said "

"They were wrong!" Elisabeth grabbed her shoulders. "He needs the surgery now, Marian. And you know how much it costs. Three hundred thousand dollars. Where are we going to get that kind of money?"

Marian felt dizzy. Their father's heart condition had been getting worse for months, but they'd been told they had time. "We'll figure something out. We can get a loan, or "

"There's no time!" Elisabeth shook her. "Don't you understand? The Anderson family already agreed to pay for Dad's surgery as part of the wedding arrangement. It's in the contract. Mr. Anderson promised Mom and Dad that as soon as I married Bruce, they'd transfer the money directly to the hospital."

The room tilted. "What?"

"That's why Mom and Dad agreed to this wedding so quickly. They didn't tell us because they didn't want us to worry, but I overheard them talking last week. Dad needs that surgery, Marian. If this wedding doesn't happen..." Elisabeth's voice cracked. "If I run away, the deal is off. The Andersons won't pay. And Dad will die."

Marian's legs nearly gave out. "No... no, Elisabeth, you can't "

"I HAVE to!" Elisabeth was sobbing now. "Don't you see? If I marry Bruce, Dad dies because I can't do it I'll run away or break down during the ceremony. But if YOU go through with it, if you just get through today, just the ceremony, the contract is fulfilled. The money gets transferred. Dad gets his surgery."

"But Elisabeth, they'll find out! When Bruce realizes "

"By then it won't matter! The contract will be signed, the marriage will be legal, and the money will be in the hospital's account. They can't take it back. Dad will be saved." Elisabeth grabbed Marian's face, forcing her to look at her. "Please, Marian. I know I'm asking the impossible. I know this is wrong. But it's Dad's life. Our father. You're the only one who can save him."

Marian felt tears burning her eyes. "This isn't fair..."

"I know. I know it's not fair. But please... please, Marian. I can't watch Dad die. Neither can you. This is the only way."

Marian's mind raced. Their father, who'd always been so kind to her even though she was the younger, quieter daughter. Who'd worked himself sick trying to provide for them. Who was lying in a hospital bed right now, his heart failing, waiting for a surgery they couldn't afford.

Three hundred thousand dollars. A sum so impossible it might as well be three million.

And all she had to do was walk down an aisle. Say some words. Wear a dress that wasn't meant for her.

"What happens after?" Marian whispered. "After the wedding?"

Elisabeth bit her lip. "I... I don't know. But Dad will be alive. That's what matters. Please, Marian. Please. I'm begging you."

"Elisabeth? What are you still doing there?" Their mother's voice came from outside.

"Just a few more touches, I've got this!" Elisabeth replied, then turned back to Marian with desperate eyes. "Please. Say yes. Save our father."

Marian closed her eyes. She thought of her father's smile. His weak hand holding hers last week when she'd visited him in the hospital. The way he'd whispered, "Don't worry about me, sweetheart. Everything will be okay."

He'd been lying. Nothing was okay. He was dying.

Unless she did this.

"Okay," she heard herself say, the word coming out broken and small. "Okay, I'll do it."

Elisabeth let out a sob of relief and threw her arms around Marian. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You're saving his life. You're saving all of us."

But as Elisabeth helped her into the wedding dress, as she adjusted the veil over Marian's face, all Marian could think was: "What have I just agreed to?"

She wasn't just saving her father's life.

She was trading away her own.