CHAPTER 6
349 Words
The following months passed with an illusion of normalcy.
I tried to stay positive.
To convince myself that it was only a matter of time.
That once Elijah got to know me better…
everything would change.
That we could become a good match.
That this marriage would stop feeling like a sentence.
But none of that ever happened.
He always had an excuse.
School.
Sports.
Swimming.
Finance classes.
His father’s company.
Until I got tired of it.
I stopped waiting.
If things happened, fine.
And if they didn’t… I would figure it out on my own.
I thought that maybe, if I acted more indifferent—less desperate—he would come closer.
That if he saw me happy, living my life…
he might change his attitude.
But that didn’t work either.
Months later, he told me he would be leaving the country to study… along with his brother.
Until he finished his education.
—Maybe we can see each other during the holidays —he said—. Or when I come back to visit.
A lie.
We both knew what that really meant:
Distance.
Indifference.
Oblivion.
He would live his life in another country.
Free.
Parties.
Friends.
Girls.
Doing whatever he wanted.
While I…
Remained trapped in my golden cage.
Constantly watched by my parents…
and now by the Halls as well.
As if the pressure wasn’t already suffocating enough.
They were suffocating me.
Restricting everything I could be…
just to turn me into the future Mrs. Hall.
Always under my brother’s watchful eye.
Always flawless.
Always proper.
No scandals.
No mistakes.
While all I wanted was… to live.
To be like my friends.
Now I understand.
That stupid clause…
It was never about honor.
It was about control.
He was afraid.
Afraid that I would discover the life he was living abroad…
and do the same to him.
That’s why he made sure…
to bind me before leaving.
With a chain around my neck…
and another around my ankle.
So that my family… and his…
Could pull them tight
every time I tried to be free.
- Writer
