Married to the stranger I shouldn't have touched

“You’re going to get married next month.” How? The words fell into the room like a stone dropped into still water. No warning, no softness—just impact. I blinked once. And then again. Slowly, I looked at Señora Ortega as if I had heard her wrong. “Excuse me? How…?” Señor Ortega didn’t even lift his eyes from the papers on the table. “The arrangements are already in motion. The man has agreed. It’s a good alliance.” A good alliance. My fingers tightened around the edge of the sofa as I felt something cold spread through my chest. “You’re talking about my life like it’s a contract you can just sign.” Señora Ortega sighed, as if I were the most difficult person in the room. “Camila, don’t be dramatic. This is for your future and for this family.” “For this family… how is that possible?” I repeated slowly. My voice sounded lower than I expected. “Isn’t it for me?” That made Señor Ortega finally look up. His eyes were firm, unmoving. “You are part of this family. Everything we do for you, everything we’ve given you, comes with responsibility.” There it was again. That invisible chain they always wrapped around me whenever I dared to step outside what was expected. I stood up slowly. “So that’s it? I repay you by marrying someone I don’t know? Someone old enough to be…?” “Enough,” Señora Ortega interrupted sharply. My jaw tightened. “No, I want to hear it. Say it clearly. I’m being given away.” Silence. Not denial. Not reassurance. Just silence. And somehow, that hurt more. I laughed once, but it came out bitter. “I really thought I was part of this family.” Señor Ortega closed the file in front of him. “You are. That is why we are securing your future.” “My future?” My voice rose now, breaking at the edges. “Or yours?” The room fell still again. I felt my chest burning, my thoughts too loud in my head. All these years I tried to be perfect. Every time I tried to earn a love that was never really mine from the beginning. And now this. A deal. A marriage. A transaction. I stepped back slowly, shaking my head. “What… no.” Señora Ortega frowned. “Camila—” “No.” This time my voice was stronger. “You don’t get to decide that. You don’t get to hand me over because I don’t have another option.” I turned before they could respond, my breathing uneven, my hands trembling. “Camila!” someone called, but I didn’t stop. I opened the door and stepped into the cold air; my heart was beating so hard it felt like it was trying to escape my chest. They only do this to me because I am adopted,can they treat Lilia like that Behind me, the house stayed silent. But inside me, everything was breaking. ************* I didn’t even remember how I got to the club. One moment I was walking away from the Ortega mansion, and the next I was sitting at a crowded counter, loud music shaking the floor beneath my feet, lights flashing like they were trying to erase thoughts from my head. I wrapped my fingers around a glass I wasn’t even sure I ordered properly. The drink burned slightly when I took a sip. Good. Maybe I wanted it to burn. "Another?” the bartender asked. I nodded without thinking. Anything to quiet the noise in my head. The marriage. The deal. The way they looked at me like I was already gone. I exhaled sharply and stared down at the counter. “I’m not doing it,” I whispered to myself. “I’m not marrying him.” But saying it didn’t make it feel real. Not yet. A shadow appeared beside me. At first, I didn’t pay attention. Clubs are full of shadows, people passing, laughing, living lives that don’t feel like yours. But then I noticed the silence around him. Not real silence—the kind where people still talk—but the kind where attention shifts without permission. I turned slightly. He was standing at the counter now. Tall. Broad shoulders. Dark hair slightly messy like he didn’t care enough to fix it. Expensive watch. Calm posture. The kind of confidence that didn’t need noise to exist. He spoke to the bartender, ordering a drink, voice low and steady. And I just… looked at him. Longer than I should have. Something about him didn’t feel like this place. Like he didn’t belong to the chaos around us. My mind, already tired and reckless, started doing something dangerous. A thought slipped in before I could stop it. What if… What if I didn’t have to go back? What if I didn’t have to become someone’s business agreement? My fingers tightened around the glass. I kept staring at him. He took his drink, finally turning slightly—and for a brief second, his eyes met mine. My breath caught. Not because of romance. Not because of anything soft. But because I saw possibility. A way out. A stupid, reckless, desperate possibility. If I could get close to him… if I could change something—anything—about my path… then maybe I wouldn’t have to be handed over like a contract. Maybe I wouldn’t have to marry a man I didn’t choose. Maybe I could rewrite everything the Ortegas decided for me. I swallowed hard and looked away first, my heart suddenly too loud. “What are you thinking, Camila…” I murmured under my breath. But even as I said it, I didn’t stop thinking it. Because for the first time tonight… I wasn’t just running away. I was starting to consider how far I was willing to go to stay free.