THE INFAMOUS Michael Madden
1446 Words
Caoimhe
My jaw hung slack as Dad finished his pronouncement. The news punched the air out of me, leaving me gasping for a reason, any reason.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, still in shock at the news.
"You heard me correctly, didn't you, young woman?" He replied sternly.
Then, it clicked. It all made a horrifying kind of sense.
This was the plan all along, let Sarah, the favourite, marry the young, promising Jason and then push me to settle for William Madden, I turned to look at my stepmom, who started right back at me, a self satisfied smile on her face, and Sarah who had a mirrored look.
They already knew Sarah and Jason would get married and I didn't know while holding onto the stupid ring Jason gave me the night he engaged me.
They were in on this all this while. I was being screwed.
"No," I croaked, my voice barely a rasp turning back to my father. "William Madden? He's a good-for-nothing idler! Everyone knows it!"
A muscle twitches in Dad's jaw. "He might not be the Madden heir, Caoimhe. But he IS a Madden. That should be enough for anybody."
I stared at him, shocked. How could he do this? To his own daughter? How could he display such shameless favouritism for Sarah and basically treat me like I was gutter trash?
I clenched my jaw, blinking back the tears dropping from my eyes, "I won't."
My father looked at me, a dangerous edge on his face, "Caoimhe, don't be difficult. Don't fight me on this, just be a good girl and do as you were told and everything will be fine."
"Fine for who exactly?" I fired back, ignoring the smirks on the face of Sarah and my stepmom who looked like they were enjoying themselves.
"For her right? She gets to marry the better husband and I am stuck with the black sheep of the Madden family whose own Dad wants nothing to do with, yes? Is that supposed to be fine for me?"
"Caoimhe don't be ridiculous." He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "He can't be that bad."
"He has been arrested more times than I can count Dad!" I yelled, losing my temper, how the hell was my Dad doing this?
"Pretending like this was perfectly fine, like throwing away my future wasn't a big deal. "Do you not care about that?"
"He has been to rehab, he is doing better now Caoimhe. Besides it could be rumours after all none of this was confirmed." My dad said.
"Oh bullshit!"
"Enough of this complaining!" My father yelled, raising his booming voice for the first time.
"You will marry William Madden, that is my final decision, and besides," he leaned closer, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper, "There is something you need to know, your precious nanny is in the hospital. Expensive treatment. Treatment I can't afford."
My blood ran cold. Mrs. Hernandez? Sick?
"What are you talking about?" I asked slowly, hoping, praying I had somehow heard him wrong.
"I got a call from one Juan Hernandez, says he is the son of your Mrs Hernandez, a woman I distinctly remember employing to nanny you after your mother-" he paused a little, taking a deep breath, "Left us."
"And what about her?"
"Apparently, she is sick, really sick according to her son at least." He looked at me, not a hint of a joke in his eyes.
"It's cancer. Lungs. They say they caught it early but chemo can be quite expensive and given their status in this country, I am not sure they have insurance."
"Oh my god." Those were the only two words I could mutter, sitting down and burying my head in my hands.
Mrs Hernandez, the woman who'd practically raised me, the one who soothed my scraped knees and whispered stories of faraway lands, in her distinct Hispanic accent was sick?
"We have to help her Dad." I said finally, looking up at him, "We have to find a way."
"Ah, well, finances are a bit tight at the moment, and cancer treatment is very expensive, unless-"
My heart rate increased immediately, I could see where this was going, I didn't want to believe he was going to be that cruel, but I could see what he was trying to say. I gulped, "Unless what Dad?"
"Unless I find an incentive to help that poor family out, say, you be a good girl and marry William Madden."
"So, you're selling me off?" I spat, fury bubbling in my chest. "Like some prize cow?"
His eyes narrowed. "Don't get dramatic, Caoimhe. You'll be well taken care of."
"Don't pretend this is about me Dad, you couldn't care less about me, it's about you!"
"It is about this family!" He yelled back.
"You know the truth, don't pretend you don't. We are about to lose it all, I don't have anything in the bank, my businesses have all gone to hell, we are broke! Caoimhe!"
He paused for a moment, his chest rising and falling as he took in deep breaths. I remained silent, too stunned by his outburst to say anything.
"If you marry William, we create an alliance through marriage to the Madden family, and with that the connections necessary to get this family back on track, and maybe even pay for your Mrs Hernandez's treatment. Get that into your head and stop being selfish for once!"
A silence enveloped the room when he finished. Even my stepmom and Sarah looked as surprised as I was with my Dad's rant. Then he broke the silence with another bombshell.
"The wedding is next week."
My head spun. This couldn't be happening. My protests seemed to bounce off him like bullets off a tank. "Why? Why never me, Dad? Why are you always pushing for Sarah?"
"Watch your tone," he growled, the alpha in him surfacing.
"And be mindful of your sister. She deserves happiness."
Deserves happiness? Sarah, the golden child, who could do no wrong, even when she was getting knocked up by the town baker's son when she was just into her first few years of college.
She had done nothing about it, just came home and wept about her being vulnerable and lonely to my Dad who had immediately taken her side.
She then promptly lost the pregnancy after a hard drinking, hard smoking night partying. All to no consequence, not even as much as a scolding from my Dad.
"Happiness?" I scoffed. "This is a sham! Michael
Madden is notorious! He's the black sheep of his family!"
A flicker of something crossed his face, a fleeting emotion I couldn't decipher. It was gone as quickly as it came, replaced by his usual stoicism.
"Careful, Caoimhe," he warned, a steely edge to his voice.
"Choose your words wisely."
"Why can't Sarah marry him huh?" I pressed, ignoring him, "They have so much more in common."
My Stepmom shot up from her chair, her eyes blazing in anger, "How dare you say that you little-"
"Mom, stop!"
It was Sarah, her hand clutching her mom's hand. "Let me handle this."
Her mother glanced at her, still angry "I cannot let this little fool disrespect you like that." She said through gritted teeth.
"I said, let me handle it." Sarah repeated, more firmly this time. Her mom, sensing how serious she was, nodded and stepped back, throwing me a dirty look which I returned with as much venom as I could muster.
"You know sis," she said, turning to me, "I always took you to be naive and a tad bit foolish, but you really have overdone yourself this time."
"You took everything from me!"
"A piece of advice yeah? There is no need to fight this Caoimhe. It's for your own good,I have Jason, you are going to have to settle for William Madden or your dear nanny well, you know?" She flashed her teeth at me, grinning in mischief as I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to throw myself at her and beat the hell out of her.
Her words were a physical blow. The room tilted, the air turning thick and suffocating. With a choked sob, I fled, tears blurring my vision, seeking refuge in the sanctuary of my room.
Michael
Madden as my husband, Mrs. Hernands, everything was fracturing around me.
My father, however, didn't seem to care, still maintaining his own demeanour, glaring at me.
"I will hear no more of this Caoimhe." He said, turning around to leave.
"You will marry Michael
Madden next weekend. That is my decision and it is final."
- Writer
