From One Night to Forever

You can't do this to me, Dad!” Aurora blurted out with tears rolling down her cheeks. “You can't just marry me off to someone like I'm some object for sale, an arranged marriage to Ryan will be the last journey I'll ever embark on”, she continued. Being the only daughter of one of the most successful businessmen in the city, Aurora was born into a life of luxury and most of her important life decisions had been taken by her parents, particularly her Dad. But she wasn't going to let this one about the choice of a life partner be taken by her Dad too, so for the first time in her life, she tried to stand up to her dad and speak up for herself. “It is enough embarrassment already that you graduated from college with a baby whose father you are not even sure of till date, and now your mum and I have to deal with hiding that from the world.” “Dad! That's so mean to say! You don't have to keep reminding me of a mistake that was not even my fault. I was drugged for goodness's sake!” “It's either you accept my decision or you risk getting disowned and losing your inheritance as the only daughter of The Stones,” her Father, Williams Stone said as he stormed out of her room angrily and banged the door behind him. Aurora is a nerdy, clumsy twenty-five year old lady who is overly interested in everything academics and the book world. Unlike ladies her age, she knew absolutely nothing about fashion and had the most unattractive dressing styles. As a First Class Graduate of Engineering which she bagged from The University of Georgia, Athens, all she wanted to do was to attain the highest heights of her career and here was her Dad trying to force her into accepting an arranged marriage against her dreams of falling in love with her dream man and getting married to him eventually. She followed her father almost immediately after he stormed out of her room like she was out to have a heated confrontation with him but instead, she headed straight to her mother's room. “Mum! Mum!” She called out, still sobbing. Her Mum, Mrs. Lisa Stone, who heard the conversation and the back and forth between Aurora and her father, just sat still on the bed, gazing into thin space without uttering a single word. “Mum you can't tell me you didn't just hear me calling out to you, you can't tell me you didn't hear everything that just played out between Dad and I”, she blurted out again this time standing right before her Mum and looking straight into her face. “Why are you not saying anything Mum?”, she continued, this time squatting and shaking her mum vehemently. “Aurora my dear, you know whatever your Dad says is final and no one, not even myself dares challenge his decisions in this house”, her mother finally spoke after a long period of silence. Aurora gradually stood up and quietly walked through the door without uttering a single word like a walking dead whose life had just been snuffed out of her. She may be fragile and weak but one thing she would always be associated with was firmness, she had taken a firm decision never to allow herself be married and shipped off to Ryan like a common commodity regardless of what the consequences of her decision would be and she was definitely standing by it. Aurora walked back to her room, parked some of her stuff into a portable suitcase, a lot was going through her mind already and she needed a tenseless atmosphere to help her calm her nerves. The sound of the suitcase brought her mum down to her room almost immediately like one who had just been released from where she was being held hostage. “Aurora what are you doing my dear?”, she said panting heavily. “Don't tell me you're leaving home because of the little incident that transpired between you and your dad?”, she continued. “Mum, how can you call this little?” Aurora blurted out, still sobbing and wiping the tears that won't stop flowing down her cheeks. “Dad is willing to give me away for his selfish motives just to prove to no one but himself that he's a more successful business man than Mr. Jacob Gordon”. Just then, her attention was diverted to the buzz from the phone ringing in her hand, it was from an unknown caller and she definitely was not in the right frame of mind to take any calls at that moment, so she silenced the phone from the power button so she could go back to her ranting. The buzzing from the ringing phone was becoming incessant that she had to answer it already. “Hello who is it and how can I be of help to you?”, she blasted out on the innocent fellow who was at the other end of the call. “My name is Jacob Gordon and I am.. “I can't marry your son sir”, she responded without letting him finish what he had to say. “You businessmen are all the same”, she continued. “Ruthless, brutal and unnecessarily egoistic, you think I'd let you connive with my Dad to marry me off to your irresponsible son?” “Never! I'd rather die than be shipped off in an arranged marriage like a mere commodity” she finally said and kept mute like a running tap whose flow had just been stopped. “Are you done? Can I speak now Miss Aurora? Mr. Gordon replied calmly but firmly without minding Aurora's aggressive tone towards him. “I was never going to try and force you into this in the first place, I told your Dad that your consent was all I needed to give my consent and I totally understand how you must be taking all these,” I will not in any way try to force you into getting into a marriage with Ryan. As a responsible adult, I believe you have what it takes to make rational decisions as it pertains to your life, marriage inclusive.” “Since you're vehemently pushing against it, I respect your decision and I'm standing by you and with you. All the best in your future endeavours, Goodbye”. Aurora was dumbstruck at all that had just played out. She couldn't believe her Father had been the one fuelling this arranged marriage of a thing all these while. She walked through the door of the only place she had known as home all her life despite her mum's pleadings to her and her dad to sort out the issue amicably. Unsure of where she was headed that late night, she walked through the streets of Georgia. It was past 11pm and with no contacts of known relatives or friends (her only friend was not in Georgia), she wandered lost in her own thoughts before she heard someone call out to her loudly. “Aurora, Aurora Stone” the voice called out. But who could it be that knew her so well?