Chapter 2: When Reality Bites
1074 Words
What was left on the dinner table was Agatha and her mom. Silence ate them up, the situation was so much for them, that they could not fathom it.
Agatha ate her food silently.
“I'm sorry…” Her mother whispered in the thin air which made her stop eating.
She deliberately ignored her mother as she continued to dig in.
She knows she's powerless against her father who always has the last word in everything.
“I cannot do anything about it. He knew what he wanted and he would do anything to make it happen,” she whispered as she continued eating.
“It's alright.” Agatha blurted out of nowhere. “You don't have to apologize for something inevitable. It was meant to happen, none of us wanted it.”
Her words comforted her mother, but not to herself. She kept on questioning how much was her worth and how much money it would take for her to be bought.
In the middle of her worries, her father came back.
“Alright now, he told me he is free later. You should pamper yourself and look the best! A dinner date surely sounds fun!”
The amount of joy her father felt could not top the amount of self-consciousness Agatha was feeling.
She just nodded her head and went outside. She does not have any other thoughts in her head aside from the pain.
She watched every single thing they owned be thrown into the truck. How her favorite antique vase was cracked as it was moved, her coffee maker was sold, and her maids left her behind.
“Take care of yourself, ma'am.” The maid who has been with her ever since she was a child smiled at her. It was the last smile she could offer.
A tear dropped from her eyes. She is not used to sympathizing with people. However, her nanny Helena was different.
She treated her just like her own mom, saying that letting go is hard.
“I promise… we'll hire you back, alright?” She caressed her nanny's hands. “If I get to choose, I'll choose you over my butler.”
Helena just smiled and gently caressed her face back. She wiped off her tears and hid the forming tears in the corner of her red eyes, swollen from crying.
“As long as you do not overwork yourself or skip a meal, I will be fine. Let's get in touch?” She smiled.
“Alright.” Agatha could only smile back. “Let's get in touch.”
She watched everyone slowly leave. How her huge mansion became silent and nobody makes a deafening mouthful of scolding anymore.
The wind became cold, everything seemed to feel the worst now. She hated every single bit of it and wanted to blame it on her father who gambled up everything.
“Am I going to end up alone?” Agatha thought to herself.
What could even make it worse is that, after two hours of doing nothing, multiple stylists arrived at their homes. It seemed like her hell would finally start now.
“She needs to look beautiful! You see, always remember, there is no room for lacking here.” Her father said.
“Give her the most expensive jewelry you have right there.” He ordered.
“How are we supposed to pay?” Her mother gently asked.
“Her soon-to-be husband will take care of that. Am I right, Agatha?” Her father stared at her and lifted her gloomy face with his index finger.
“Yes,” she responded.
It was unbearable being changed like a doll. She hates it.
She might have been dressed luxuriously in a bodycon black dress with thin straps, but knowing she will meet an old man does not sit right with her.
The night has finally come and she is set to meet with Arthur. The whole drive was quiet considering how she hated having a conversation with her family. She felt like they had already abandoned her and they sent her out to be food for some predator.
When she came to the restaurant where they were having dinner, she could not bring herself to enjoy it at all. She might be seeing an exquisite five-star restaurant with an extension of a hotel, but she knew it’d be her misery.
“You can call me if you want to leave, alright?”Her mother tried to reassure her that she would look out for her, but that did not make her calm down even a bit.
She slammed the car door shut and never looked back. She purposely made it sound so mad that her father would not bug her out.
“Ohh, dearest Agatha!” She was surprised to meet Arthur for the first time. “The last time I saw you was when you were, what, five years old? You have grown to be a wonderful girl!” Arthur greeted her and hugged her.
She felt crept out. It wasn’t even the kind where you will reminisce how he became an uncle when you were just a child because it seems like he had been looking out for her ever since she was just a kid. It is just… not right.
“Yeah. I saw you when I was just a kid.” She emphasized the word “kid” which made Arthur uncomfortable.
“Alright then, shall we head inside? I knew you would like the place and the food I ordered for us.” He smiled at her.
His hands landed on Agatha’s waist and she felt uncomfortable and had been weirded out.
She stayed silent until they went to the designated seat. As soon as she looked around, she felt more confused.
“Why aren’t there any other people out here?” Agatha looked around and realized that no other guests were eating besides the two of them.
“Ohh, you do not like it?” A curl escaped from Arthur’s lips. “I rented out the whole restaurant for you. Isn’t it romantic?”
Agatha felt unconscious and could only fidget the sheets of her dress.
She felt nervous, “Yeah…” her lips shook as she agreed.
That is the date she would never want to repeat. For a minute, all she wanted was to find some reasons so she could dash to the door and leave.
- Writer
