The Only Choice
1202 Words
Three days.
The number obsessed Harriet.
It entered her dreams.
It was present in every nook and cranny of the apartment.
It resonated in each conversation that she had with herself.
Three days to make the choice that would determine the rest of her life.
By the second day, Harriet realized she was not even pretending anymore.
The bills lay on the table.
The notice from the landlord.
The electricity bill.
The estimate from the hospital.
In total, the pile became an insurmountable mountain.
Harriet sat in silence and stared at the contract for marriage that Luzio brought.
The documents were so innocent-looking.
Neat.
Refined.
Not a trace that she would need to pay such a price.
Her future.
Her freedom.
Her name.
All this just to save her mother.
The knocking on her bedroom door brought her back to reality.
Her mother was standing before her, wrapped in her cardigan.
She should have been resting.
Harriet immediately got up.
"Why are you up Mom?"
The older woman smiled sweetly.
"And I could ask you the same question."
Harriet did not meet her gaze.
Her mother sat opposite her and observed the folder lying on the table.
For a few seconds, none of them spoke.
And then,
"Someone offered you something, right?"
Harriet froze.
"How do you know?"
"A mother always senses when her daughter is feeling the burden of the world."
It almost broke her heart.
Silence hung heavily between them.
After a while, Harriet drew a deep breath.
"There's a man."
Her mother raised her eyebrows.
"A man?"
"Not in that way."
Harriet struggled to form a bitter smile.
"In fact... precisely in that way."
Her mother remained patient.
"He wants to marry me."
Silence hung heavily in the room.
Raindrops fell softly against the window panes.
"Is it a stranger?" her mother asked.
Harriet nodded.
"And in exchange?"
She whispered the question gently.
Almost as if she had already known the answer.
Harriet looked away.
"He will take care of everything."
Her mother paled.
"No."
She said the word decisively.
"Mom—"
"No, Harriet."
Tears gathered in her mother's eyes.
"I will not let you give up your life for me."
"It isn't a sacrifice."
The lie sounded hollow.
To both of them.
Her mother reached out across the table and held her hand.
"My little bird... All my life I've been trying to give you a future."
Her voice quivered.
"I'm not going to be the one to take it away from you."
Harriet felt her heart constrict.
"You won't."
"Promise me you won't do this to me."
It was quiet for a long time.
Painfully quiet.
Harriet didn't know how to respond.
Because she couldn't make such a promise.
And that, in itself, was the answer.
Her mother shut her eyes.
"Oh, Harriet..."
The tears flowed at last.
Hot.
Incessant.
"I don't want to lose you," she murmured.
The woman pulled her closer.
"You are not losing me."
"I am."
Her voice broke.
"The doctors told us that we don't have much time left."
More silence.
Then her mother whispered,
"Sometimes... love means letting go."
Harriet shook her head.
"No."
"Harriet—"
"No."
She pulled back.
Her eyes were brimming with tears.
"All my life I've been with you."
Her breathing grew heavy.
"You've been raising me all by yourself."
"You've worked yourself to exhaustion just so I could get an education."
"You've given me everything."
A tear slid down her face.
"Then please don't expect me to stand and watch you die."
Total silence ensued in the room.
The older lady said nothing.
Since nothing else could be said.
The third day came too soon.
Harriet spent that day at the hospital.
The treatment schedule had been planned well in advance.
Everything had been set up.
Except for the cash.
By late afternoon, she knew what she had to do.
Neither out of choice nor trust in Lucien.
Just because she had no other way out.
She rang the number from his business card at five p.m.
Luzio answered promptly.
"Miss Virelle."
Like he had been expecting a call all along.
Harriet held her breath.
"I want to speak to Signor Vale."
A small pause.
"I shall get you a car."
The black car came an hour later.
This trip to Lucien's mansion was different from the last one.
Those dazzling city lights no longer fascinated her.
They were merely indifferent.
The world kept spinning as it is, even though her whole world was about to change.
On arrival, Luzio welcomed her professionally as always.
“Signor Vale is waiting for you in his study.”
Harriet nodded.
Her hands were icy cold.
The huge doors creaked open.
Lucien was sitting in front of the fireplace.
As she had known him all those years ago.
The black suit.
Immaculate posture.
Dark eyes giving away nothing.
He turned his gaze to her when she entered.
There was an uncomfortable silence.
Harriet stood in the middle of the room.
Neither of them said a single word for several seconds.
Eventually,
"I'll do it."
The words escaped her mouth softly.
But there was something about them that reverberated through the whole house.
Lucien stayed motionless.
Too much so.
He only gripped the armrest of his chair a little harder.
For less than a second.
Most people wouldn’t notice.
But Harriet did.
His face changed expression.
Not happiness.
Not relief.
Somehow something more complex.
Something she couldn’t figure out.
“You’ve made your decision,” he stated.
It was not a question.
Harriet nodded.
“My mother receives treatment right away.”
“Yes.”
“The best doctors.”
“Yes.”
“No games.”
“Never.”
She forced herself to look into his eyes.
“And after this… my life is mine.”
For the very first time, Lucien broke eye contact.
It was a fleeting action.
Almost an imperceptible action.
"As much as possible," he replied.
It disturbed her.
But she was too tired to protest.
Luzio came in quietly, carrying some papers.
"The ceremony has been arranged for tomorrow afternoon."
Tomorrow.
Things were moving far too quickly.
Her whole life,
Was going to disappear within twenty-four hours.
Harriet signed the first paper.
The second.
And the third.
Every single signature meant slamming one of those doors shut for good.
When she finished, silence filled the air.
Lucien clasped his hands together.
"You should get some rest."
Harriet laughed dryly.
"Rest?"
"Tomorrow is going to be tough."
She stared at him.
At the man that she would be marrying in less than a day.
At the man who was still a stranger to her.
"One question."
Lucien caught her eye.
"Why me?"
The crackling of the fire was barely audible.
A long pause ensued.
Then—
"One day," Lucien stated, "you will come to see why there was never anyone else."
She felt an icy chill run down her spine.
Before she could say anything else, Luzio interrupted.
"The arrangements for the marriage ceremony are ready, signor."
Lucien nodded.
In an instant—
The plan turned into action.
Tomorrow, Harriet Virelle would no longer be alive.
But Harriet Vale would come to be.
- Writer
