Married By Circumstance

“What do you think about this, Mum?” I ask her the same question for the umpteenth time as I appear before her in another one of the clothes I tag as decent and sexy in my old wardrobe. I try to smoothen the crumbs on the dress away with my small hands. Even I know I look tacky in the peach-colored dress that seems to have borrowed its shimmer from the stars. Sequins dance across the plunging neckline and cling to the daring slit that runs up my thigh. With a determined air, I tug at the hem, battling its flirtatious length. “At least, it is better than the hideous dresses you have been displaying over here for the past two hours.” My Mother replies uninterestedly as she continues with the wool bag she is weaving. “I still don’t understand the reason for this effort. I could have made my day more productive by actually doing some work.” I say with a tired sigh. “You are doing some work. Aren’t you?” She scoffs. “You call parading in a bunch of clothes I got handed down by my slutty cousin some work, Mom?” “At least you are putting on an effort to make them seem presentable.” “Mom, that’s not helpful,” I exclaim, hoping that my reluctance will make her waiver on her choice. “Quit the childish tantrum, Sarah. Don’t you think it’s high time that we both have no choice here than to follow through with the original plan?” She says the same statement she has been telling me since we woke up that morning again. “You call that a plan?” “Do you have something better that will work for us? I am all ears!” She gives me her full attention. “Yes, Mom. We work harder! That’s the best option that anyone would come up with.” “How has that been working for us ever since your father’s death?” “So now it justifies the fact that you are pimping me out to a Billionaire I know nothing about just because of money?” I ask the question that has been eating me up ever since my mother came to me the previous night about her whole grand plan. I just cannot understand how she arrived at that decision and how she believes it is the best option we have at the moment with how resolute she is being. “Sarah, you are making me out to the bad person. I am just thinking for the betterment of the family.” She exclaims dramatically as she does what she knows best whenever she wants to manipulate someone into doing her bidding. I watch unbelievably as tears stream down her eyes uncontrollably while she begins her lamentation. “You know I have only lived for you ever since your father’s death. I put my life on hold just so you can have the best life. I have sold every precious thing I have in this shabby house so that you can be learned. But now that you are at the tip of success, you want to back out?” “Mom please, stop the crying. And I never said I was backing out of anything.” I sigh. “You are, Sarah. If not, you wouldn’t be complaining about the only plausible way we have come up with to your final tuition fee at the university.” “We? Who are we?” I ask. “Jessica and I. She told me about Mr. Harrison, and she says he is a nice person. All we need to do is present him with something that will entice him a little bit. You don’t have to do anything much.” “What is she doing with that friend of hers again? Didn’t she say she wanted to cut all ties with her about three months ago?” I wonder as I try to process the kind of relationship she has with her friend to make her suggest such a horrible plan to her. “I don’t have to do anything? Why then am I wearing these awful dresses?” “It’s a form of courtesy. I will be there with you. Nothing is going to happen. I promise that.” My Mom assures me why her tears are still streaming down her eyes. I roll my eyes mentally as I wish I could just face-palm myself at the moment. She just wants me to agree to the ridiculous plan, the tears are as fake as they can be. But she knows that I will not be able to go against her decision if she does that. “Nice one, Mom!” “Okay, can we get going now? I feel like this dress is gonna squeeze the life out of me if I don’t get out of it as soon as possible.” I agree to my Mom’s ridiculous plan, silently praying that the plan will not play out the way she wants it to. Because I know damn well that I will not become any rich old man’s sugar baby just because of money. After about thirty minutes of a nervous ride to the most expensive estate in Los Angeles, the cab driver we ordered finally drops us in front of a gigantic yet cozy-looking estate that I thought I would only see in my dreams. My jaw drops down as I take in the beauty of the rich man’s house. No doubt, he must be extremely rich. An ordinary man cannot pull off this kind of building in the most expensive estate. Everything about the mansion is screaming exquisite. And even though I didn’t want to be here, I cannot help but be eager to see how beautiful the interior will be. Without needing my Mother’s motivation anymore, I fast walk as much as I can in the awful dress I wear to the front door of the mansion. For some reason, Mom chooses to wait for me in the cab while I go work my magic on the rich man. I try not to let that worry me as I fast walk to see the beauty inside, but I am stopped abruptly when a big hand roughly grabs my waist possessively. Instinctively, I look back to see how mannerless the old rich man could be for him to do something as audacious as that right in front of his house. But I am shocked when my angry state is met with a sly smile on the face of a rugged-looking bulky man that I don’t need anyone to tell me he is just an ordinary bodyguard. “Excuse you?” I blurt unbelievably. “Oh, please! Stop with the good girl charade. You are just like the rest of them. You will also come back to me begging for me to touch you again after you find out that the rich man cannot satisfy you.” The bodyguard hisses into my ear while digging his nails into my right arm as he holds me still in the same spot. I feel the hair on the back of my neck standing up fearfully as I struggle to free myself from his hold. But the man is just too strong. “Let the young lady go, Sean!” A calm yet cold and authoritative voice makes the man release me instantly as he cowers in fear at the sight of the owner of the voice. I look over to see who has that authority only to feel my breath stuck in my throat when my eyes land on the most beautiful facial features I have ever seen. “You must be, Sarah. Let’s go in for our discussion.” He says curtly as he leads me into his mansion. The moment I enter his living room, for the first time in my life, I feel cursed for not being rich. Everything is breathtaking. But as much as I want to admire the beauty of his house, I compose myself as I sit on his brown-leathered couch while taking in the expression of the rich man who obviously looks like he is in his late 20s, as opposed to what I assumed. I wait awkwardly for him to start a conversation since he obviously knows more about me than I do about him. He seems calm and collected as he sits on the couch before me while accessing my outfit with his gold gaze. Seeing the look on his face, I can already guess the thoughts going through his mind. I can already guess that he thinks of me as a slut. I am just waiting for him to let out the ridiculous thing he wants me to do. But the moment he opens his mouth to state his terms for helping me, I am more shocked by the request he says so confidently and causally. “Marry me!”