Fragments of a Broken Woman

CHAPTER 3

Two days later, I was walking down the stairs to the grand dining room for breakfast before heading to school.

“Sophie, darling, hurry up,” my mother called. “Come eat and take your vitamins.”

“Vitamins.”

Another lie.

According to them, I had to take various pills every day because I had been very fragile as a child. My life, supposedly, had passed between doctors and hospitals.

Although I remembered nothing of it.

And yet… I never doubted them.

After all, they were my parents.

Who questions their own family?

Big mistake.

That morning, something felt off.

My father sat at the head of the table, serious. My brother, silent, focused on his plate. And my mother… my mother was a bundle of nerves.

The atmosphere was tense.

As if a bomb were about to explode.

Then I saw it.

My mother passed behind my father and gently brushed his shoulder.

The signal.

I already knew that gesture.

Something important was about to be said.

“Well, darling…” my father began. “Your mother and I want to talk to you.”

I lifted my gaze, feeling anxiety tighten around my chest.

“Did I do something wrong? My grades…?”

“Oh, no, darling,” my mother interrupted quickly.

“We’ve made an important decision about your future,” my father continued. “Something we need to discuss with you.”

My stomach tightened.

“See… do you remember Mr. Hall and his children?”

“Yes…” I answered cautiously. “What about them?”

“We’ve been talking, and we believe it would be very beneficial to unite our families.”

I took a large bite of my food, trying to hide the anxiety already consuming me.

“And… what does that mean exactly?”

I already knew the answer.

But I didn’t want to hear it.

“At this point,” my father said calmly, “this alliance can only be sealed in one way.”

He paused.

“Through marriage.”

The world stopped.

“Marriage?”

The word fell like a sentence.

“I understand…” I said slowly, trying to process it. “Michael is almost the right age. Does Mr. Hall have a daughter for him?”

My brother nearly choked and shot me a deadly look.

Then my mother spoke.

“No, love… they’re thinking of you.”

Silence.

“We’ve decided to betroth you to Elijah.”

Everything inside me shattered.

“WHAT? Why me?”

My voice came out louder than expected.

“I just turned sixteen! I’m barely in high school. You told me I could study acting… or fashion design!”

I could barely breathe.

This wasn’t a conversation.

It was a sentence.

My mother looked at me, nervous, seeking help from my father.

“Caleb…”

That was her signal.

“Sophie, look at me,” he said, his voice firm yet gentle. “This engagement doesn’t mean you’ll marry tomorrow. Or next month. Not even next year.”

He paused.

“It will be when both of you turn twenty-one. You’ll have time to study, to prepare…”

He continued speaking.

But I was no longer listening.

We didn’t even know each other.

Until recently, we were complete strangers.

All I knew about Elijah was superficial.

Second son of the Hall family. Son of a second marriage. The typical perfect heir.

Tall.

Blonde.

Emerald-green eyes.

A smile that seemed lifted from a dream.

But that wasn’t enough.

Not to share a life with someone.

Would we be compatible?

Could I… learn to love him?

Questions crowded my mind.

Until my father’s voice brought me back.

“Well, love… what do you think?

Both of them watched me expectantly.

As if my answer could justify everything.

I swallowed hard.

And said the only thing that truly mattered:

“And love?”

My mother sighed and looked away at my father.

He answered:

“Sophie… you have to understand something. Love is also built.”

His words were soft.

But not comforting.

“First comes your duty to the family. Over time… with living together… love will come.”

I stared at him.

And for the first time…

I didn’t believe him.

Days passed… one after another, brainwashing me.

Making me believe this was right, that my family loved me and only thought of my well-being.

That I should see it as something far away.

Something in the future.

That I should focus only on the present… on what I lived today.

In the end, I still had five years ahead.

Yes… five years.

But it all boiled down to one thing:

An expiration date.

I could pursue my dreams, my life…

only until I reached that limit.