THREE
1161 Words
MARIA
I felt my hands tremble as my lips silently read out the content of the letter.
My eyes were blurry, but the wordings of the paper were as sharp and clear as crystal.
I struggled to process the news as tears welled up my eyes, fighting hard to spill.
"Wh... What's this? What's this, mum?" My breath caught in my throat as I sought answers.
"It's as clear as it is, Maria. You are to get married to Don Rodrigo's son to set the family free from this debt. That was the deal your father made with him before he gave up the ghost" She explained, looking away from me.
Of course, she wouldn't look me in the eyes while boldly telling me she was about to sell off her daughter for some business I knew nothing about.
"And you agreed to this... This cruelty from dad?" My voice hitched, tears slowly dropping.
"You shall not speak about your father that way, Maria" She said, tearing up. "All he ever did was what's best for this family"
"So, what now? I'm just going to be a pawn in this whole thing? A tool to settle my late father's mistakes? I can't believe you, mum"
"I had no choice, Maria. He did what needed to be done. If there were some other way to get around this, we won't be taking this route"
"And If I refuse to get married to him? Don't I have a say in this whole thing?" I managed to say through sobs.
"If you don't agree to the contract, we all would be spending the rest of our lives in jail, except we have a way of providing ten billion euros. So, the only say you have here is to take one for the family and agree to the marriage, as that is the only wise option, daughter"
She only called me "Daughter" when it was serious. At that point, I knew I could no longer appeal to her motherly nature.
I was about to have my whole world and career put on a hold because of my father. People usually said the first daughter had a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders, but I never envisaged being married off for convenience to pay off a debt, as one of those responsibilities.
I sat silently for some minutes, immersing myself in gloom, then suddenly sprang up.
"No! I can't do this, mother!" I stated firmly.
"What do you mean by that, Maria? I have never known you to be stubborn and this is not the perfect time to pick up that trait" She fought back.
I couldn't bear getting married to a man I barely knew what he looked like. Besides, I just got out of a relationship and I needed a lot of time to heal before getting into something as serious as a marriage... Scratch that, a contract marriage.
"I am tired of always being the obedient girl that never speaks up for herself. I can't get married to someone I don't know. You can go ahead and get married to him if you love him that much" I spat out without any regrets.
But mother didn't take the last words slightly. With the little energy left in her, she bolted up.
"Now, you listen to me, Maria. This is not a matter of choice. You have none here. The only choice you have is to do as I wish. As my daughter, this is what you were meant for- to take the family shame away. That's why you exist, and there's nothing you can do about it!" She fiercely said, raging with fury.
I was lost for words. The tears I initially tried fighting off, made their way down my cheeks.
"Are you not going to say anything? Will you just sit there in silence, Felipe?" I sniffed.
"Hey! I have nothing to do with this. I can't possibly go against father's wish, and I don't think I'm ready to go to jail"
"Even after all I've done to stand up for you. You sell me off this way, Felipe?" I felt betrayed.
"Look, Maria! I appreciate that you always bail me out whenever I get into trouble, but why don't you consider this one of your usual ways of getting me out of trouble. In this case, out of jail" He said with a smirk that made my skin crawl.
It was of no use putting my hope on Felipe. All he cared about was himself. He was a year older than me, but it felt like I was the older one.
My stomach twisted in anxiety as my brain fought to process all that was happening.
"Enough!" Don Rodrigo cut in, his husky voice penetrating the tense atmosphere.
I jolted up, trembling at his voice.
"I've heard enough of your annoying conversation" He continued.
"But... I..." I stammered.
"I don't give a damn how you and your family feel about this. That's not mine to worry about. But one thing is certain, you will marry my son, Carlos, else I would make your family suffer, down to the last generation" Don declared, his words dropping like a judge's final verdict. "Mind you... This is not a request. Don Rodrigo doesn't request, I command, and It must be met! Like your brother said, I'm sure you won't like to spend the latter days of your life in jail. You're still a young girl and you don't want that for yourself."
I felt like I had been punched right in the gut. "But, sir, I..." I tried to protest again.
He raised a hand, silencing me. "No arguments, young lady. This is business and your feelings are irrelevant. You should be grateful to your late father for giving you this privilege of having to belong to a noble family like the Rodrigo's, even though it's going to be for a short while" He looked around the living room and scoffed. "Every young girl would die to leave this rathole of a house, to a place of luxury. You should count yourself lucky, instead of whining about it"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How could he be so heartless with his words?
I feared for my life. I feared that I was about to get married to the most condescending family.
Mother and Felipe were silent all through his outburst. They had already resigned to fate and I was left to fight my battle myself.
I buried my face in my hands as I collapsed into tears.
Just as I was about to speak up again, the door swung open.
"Ah! Speak of the devil! What took you so long, Carlos?" Don's eyes lit in wonderment.
As I wiped my tears and lifted my face to see who the guest was, I froze.
My chest tightened and my voice got lost.
It was Alfredo, the guy I just f****d the previous night.
- Writer
