The Price for Her Father’s Sins

Mila Ortega “You’ll marry me.” “I absolutely will not!” I shot back, my eyes bloodred with rage. I charged at him, forgetting that I was bound to a chair and surrounded by two hefty men eager to hold me down. The Moreiras had always been a sworn enemy of my family— more like an inherited enemy. The enmity between us began from the time of our great-grandparents, and my father thought he could end it by joining forces with the government. By his help, Nik Moreira was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. But who knew that life imprisonment in San Diego meant ten years? For ten years we lived in peace. I graduated from high school and went to college like every other twenty-three-year-old. I had a boyfriend. My life was perfect. Until three days ago. The bursting sound of the door in the middle of the night jolted us from sleep. I was still trying to understand what was happening when my father barged into my room. “Mila, don’t come out, no matter what happens,” his voice was barely audible, yet the fear in his eyes warned me that someone unexpected had visited. Knowing my family’s bloody history, I sprang to my feet and exchanged the lacy nightie I had on for the most unflattering clothes in my wardrobe— a pair of mom jeans and a black hoodie. My father had always told me stories of mafia families clashing with each other, and it always began with the molestation of women. I wrapped my auburn hair into a cap, took off all my earrings and wiped my face clean of any makeup to look more boyish, but it didn’t help. Never did I imagine the day when my feminine features would be a threat— my hazel doe eyes, my round cheeks, my plushy lips… today, I wished I was male. POW! A loud gunshot in the living room made my heart jump out of my chest. I stopped, frozen. I feared the worst had happened. My father. They had shot my father. The warning he gave me forgotten, I turned on my heel, and ran out of my room. I passed the hallway in a blur and found myself standing in the center of our living room. I was right. The worst had happened. My father was in a pool of blood, and my mother was drowning in muffled tears. My breath stuck in my throat, too frozen to move. Just then, I saw him. Him. Nik Moreira. Hiding in the shadows. My gaze darkened. My fist clenched by my side. “You.” I seethed. “How dare you?” “Mila!” My mother’s voice broke the silence, filled with horror and fear, “What are you thinking?“ Her voice seemed like a faint, distant sound. I could barely hear myself thinking. The up-and-down rhythm of my chest could not match how fast my heart was racing. But unlike my mother, I wasn’t afraid. I was simmering with fury. “I’ll kill you with my bare hands…” I declared through clenched jaws and teary eyes. Before I could get a grip on myself, I charged at Nik Moreira, aiming to snap that neck of his. For a twenty-three-year old I was so stupid to have forgotten that he could defend himself. I was a black belt student of karate and the alternate leg kick that was supposed to lodge me behind him in a piggyback while my arms locked his neck failed— woefully. I couldn’t flip him no matter how hard I tried. Instead, I was stuck on his shoulder, clinging onto him for dear life. My attempt to kill Nik Moreira became a laughable scene. Effortlessly, he swept me off my feet, but before I fell to the ground, he held me— by the neck with my legs dangling in the air like a puppet. Nik tilted his head slightly, his eyes lingered on mine. Mother fell on her face, touching Nik’s heels for forgiveness. “Please don’t hurt her,” she cried, “She didn’t mean it, please… she’s still a child, spare her…” “Mom,” I tried to speak even though I could barely make out the words, “Don’t beg a murderer!” Before I could finish, Nik tossed me toward the wall like a weightless plaything. My body collided with the hard wall before I fell to the ground. “A murderer?!” Nik’s voice filled the room with an air of its own. “Who exactly have I killed?!” “My father!” I shot back, “I am not afraid of you, you murderer!” “Mila!” My mother called out, her voice a little too high-pitched. “He didn’t kill your father.” “What?!” “Your father was a coward, he shot himself before we could face each other.” Nik seethed, his words a low grunt as he clenched his jaws tightly. “What?!” “Yes, little tiger. Your father took the cowards way out. And now, you’ll suffer for his sin!” “All he ever wanted was peace!” I yelled, my voice trembling. Nik paused, staring at me with an amused expression. “Peace?” He scoffed, “Peace is what I’ve come to offer. You’ll marry me.”