SIX
1142 Words
"All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."
-Abraham Lincoln
CHAPTER SIX: In which she has a reunion
While my stepdad was driving, I couldn"t help but watch out the window, a habit of mine since I was a young child.
"What are you thinking of?" My stepdad asks keeping his eyes on the road.
"Eh. Nothing much, just admiring the scenery." I said nonchalantly.
"So... heard your engaged," he said causally.
I frowned, "Not something that I want... I"d do anything to cancel it..."
"You don"t want to be engaged?" He asked, surprise overwhelming his tone.
"Nope. An arranged marriage... freaking ridiculous. Like, do arrange marriages even happen anymore?"
"They do actually, in India and such," he said.
"It was a rhetorical question!" I said frustrated.
"Calm down, it"ll be okay," he comforted.
"No it"s not... it"s not even fair, he threatened to give away the company to the family disgrace if I didn"t do as he said." For the first time since I heard of my dilemma, I allowed tears to steam down my face.
"The family disgrace?"
I nodded, "My cousin from my biological dad"s side of family... a savage... he"s got tattoos everyone, a horrible record, been to prison like ten times, and has attempted to kill me before so he would automatically be next in line for the Silverstone Hotels," I shivered in fear.
"Attempted murder!?" My stepdad exclaimed.
I nodded meekly, ashamed I spilled the family secret. I wasn"t supposed to tell anyone about what Raven had tried to do, but these stupid emotions of mine.
"It"s fine anyways, he won"t hurt me anymore," I reassured him, although he looked red with rage.
"He better not. I don"t want anyone psychotic getting near my daughter," I smiled, a genuine smile, not one filled with snark like I usually do.
"Thanks, papa." And we stayed silent for the rest of the drive.
***
We finally arrived and I saw a beautiful woman in her mid-forties with long, wavy brunette hair and sea green eyes, her face lit up when she saw us and a brilliant smile appeared on her face, making her look way younger than she already is.
"Mum!" I yelled out, eager to greet the woman.
"Azzizam! I missed you!" She said as she swooped me into a bone-crushing hug.
"Missed you as well," as I said those words, she playfully smacked me in the head.
"What was that for?" I asked, annoyed.
"For yelling at your mum on the phone... oh yes, I still remember how you screamed at your innocent mother for no reason, being a grouchy potato," she mocked.
"You amaze me sometimes... no reason for you meant forgetting your own daughter..." I pouted.
"And now your answering back... zaboonet kheli deraz shode," she scolded.
"Bebakhsheed, madar jaan," I said, giving her an innocent look.
She huffed and we went inside the house.
***
Settling my stuff in my room, my mum opened the door and barged in.
"Mum!! Couldn"t you knock for once?" I whined.
"You childish girl. You turned twenty-three but still act like a brat," I blushed. But then frowned. "You didn"t come to my birthday party last month..."
She rolled her eyes, "I"m sure you had plenty of fun without me there..."
I shook my head, "No, it was stiff as hell... one of the parties that full of snooty rich people.. Adam and the twins sneaked me away to a bar and the real party started... of course, when we got back, dad was furious the hostess of the party had ditched her own party."
She laughed, "As expected from your Father... not knowing how to just live a little!"
"And besides, your stepmom still can"t stand me for some reason... still grouchy that I was your dad"s first wife..." she stuck out her tongue.
"She only reacts like a b***h around you... she must be allergic or something," we laughed until she suddenly sobered up and asked, "How are you feeling about your sudden engagement?"
I sighed, "I hate it! Having to marry a complete stranger... mum, why didn"t you stop it when dad told you?"
She sighed, which made me think of how similar we were, "Sweetie, I know how important running the Silverstone Hotels is to you... I couldn"t just say, she"ll gladly give away her entire future inheritance just to not marry this loser! Since I know my daughter too well, I said you"ll agree, and look here! You did agree after all. But I know my daughter, I know you have a plan..."
I blinked innocently, "Mum! How could this innocent girl think of anything devious?"
She gave me the are-you-serious look. I raised my hands in surrender, "Alright fine! The plan is to make him fall for me as Lila, so he"d cancel the engagement."
She raised a brow, "Why can"t he just cancel the engagement? Why does he have to fall for Lila?"
"The only way out is to fall in love with someone else and marry that person... since that is obviously not going to happen to me, I was like, why not him fall for Lila, cancel the engagement, try to marry Lila, and then Lila runs away! Smart, if I do say so myself." I gave myself a mental pat on the back.
"Oh honey," she put a hand on her hip, "this plan has such a big risk of going wrong, I can"t even begin to imagine..."
I couldn"t help myself as I snapped, "It"s the best plan in this situation! What"s wrong with it?"
She flicked her wrist, "Well, for one, you could end up falling for him..."
My eyes softened, "That"s never going to happen... I don"t have a heart, not after what happened..." I whispered the last part, my hollow chest aching as the memories poured in my mind, forcing me to remember.
"Oh bleh! You may say that now, but it"ll surely happen! He"ll be your first love, right?" She asked.
Yeah, since no one except me and that person know what happened... "He"s not going to be my first anything, I can assure you that."
She hummed a response that sounded strangely like sure. I didn"t feel like continuing this conversation any longer, so I said, "Mum, it"s been a long flight, my everything needs to rest."
She nodded, "shab bekhar, azzizam." And left the room.
"Shab bekhar," I whisper to myself as I slump down on my bed.
***
"Azzizam!"
"Darling!"
"zaboonet kheli deraz shode!"
An expression that Persian parents use that literally translates to, "your tongue is too long!" Which means basically that you have an attitude and are answering back or talking back to your parents.
"Bebakhsheed, madar jaan,"
"Sorry, mother dear,"
"Shab bekhar, azzizam."
"Good night, darling."
"Shab bekhar,"
"Good night,"
- Writer
