The mute's forbidden love

Chapter two

Flashback

"Come on I'm gonna win this!" Jeremy giggles as we run to the front door. I asked him to race me to the door from my car. I let him win of course.

He reaches the door and does a victory dance. I laugh and join him at the door. Turning the knob, I open the door and let him enter first. As soon as I step foot in the house, mom comes into the living room.

She smiles at us, “You guys enjoyed yourselves?"

I nod whereas he yells, “Yes! I had so much fun!"

Mom chuckles, "Alright. Go get ready for dinner."

He happily skips up the stairs to his room. I look at mom and smile, “I should get going."

She frowns, “Won’t you stay for dinner?"

I shake my head at her, “No I have something to-"

"I insist. Please." She shuffles on her feet, “And there is something your dad and I need to talk to you about."

"About what?" I ask in confusion.

She places her hands on my arms, “We’ll talk after dinner."

She turns around and walks back into the kitchen. I walk in the living room and place my purse on the table. I settle down on the couch and scroll through my phone to spend some time. I've an assignment due at 11:00 pm, I hope I get to go home before that. I just stay 20 minutes away from my parents' house.

I moved out of this house when I was twenty, when I finally saved enough to rent a studio apartment. I know it was later than normal but I couldn't afford it. I started working for the first time in my senior year, so it took a while to save money.

I always wanted to stay alone and independent. Growing up mute, it felt like I was dependent on people a lot. When I spent the first night in that apartment, I felt accomplished. It was one step in the way to my success. The only downfall was that I couldn't see Jeremy every day. But I try to make time for him as much as I can.

Jeremy rushes down the stairs and gasps when he sees me. "You are still here!"

I shrug with a grin on my face. “I’m having dinner with you."

Mom calls out from the kitchen. “Dinner is ready!"

I look at him and raise my eyebrows. “Did you wash your hands?"

He nods eagerly, “Yes, yes I did, just before I came downstairs."

I nod. “Okay, you go. I will come back after using the restroom."

He bites his lip nervously, "I didn't understand the last word."

I laugh and get up from my seat, “Bathroom."

"Bathroom?" He asks shyly.

I give him a thumbs up and he walks to the kitchen. Jeremy is smart for his age. He is a quick and eager learner. He wanted learn sign language since he turned seven. He said he wanted to understand what I was saying by his own self rather than someone else telling it to him. It warmed my heart; I had never felt this special. One year of learning and he is as good as one of his age can get.

I quickly wash my hands in the downstairs bathroom and make my way to the kitchen. I walk in and see mom, dad and Jeremy on their seats. I greet dad and take the seat beside Jeremy. Dinner goes in a comfortable silence and soon I find myself in the living room with my parents.

I wait for them to speak. They both look at each other anxiously. Mom gulps and opens her mouth, “Honey, you remember the seminar you attended last month?"

I nod at her in confusion. I do but, how does she?

Dad sighs, “Someone noticed you there. One of the guests. He is a very successful and rich businessman. He fell in love with you in one look. He wants to marry you honey."

My eyes widen and I scoff, “Are you both serious? You want me to have an arrange marriage! I don't even want to get married!"

Mom comes and sits next to me, “We know this is sudden for you but trust me, he would make you really happy. He came to us yesterday and asked for our permission. Doesn't it show how much of a nice guy he is?"

I shake my head and get up to look down on them, “I’m not getting married. How can he just fall in love with me? Does he know I'm mute?"

First time in my life I was hoping someone would resent me for it.

Mom smiles, “Yes he knows. He is been watching you the whole month."

I frown, “So he was stalking me?"

Dad sighs heavily, “Stalking and watching are two very different things."

I smile humorlessly and start pacing. Mom gets up too and looks at me sternly, “We’ve always supported you in whatever you wanted to do. And we still do. He will too. You should be thankful that someone loves you so much and wants to marry you."

I gape and raise my eyebrows at her making her shake her head,” I didn't mean it like that. Honey besides all of this, there is one more reason why you should marry him." I look at her waiting for her to explain, “He promised to take care of Jeremy's full education, until he graduates from college. You know we won't be able to work more than 4 years from now. If we want to provide Jeremy the future, he deserves you have to do this for him."

I swallow and state frantically, "I will do that for him. I'm graduating in a month, I'll start earning. I'll do everything I can."

She smiles sadly, “How much? What about us? He promised to care of us too. Celia you know we don't have any savings. When you were sick, we had to invest so much in your treatment. After that we could barely fulfil our daily needs let alone save anything. Please do this for us, for your brother, for his future."

I bite my lip and control the tears threatening to fall, “And what if he hadn't fallen for me? We would've still found a way, right? Mom we can if we-"

She comes towards me and holds my cheek in her hands, “Celia marriage is not the end of the world. I know you've been missing something your whole life. Maybe this is what the universe has given you. You still can chase your dreams and have someone beside you to love you. True love is really hard to find, do not reject it. I'm not telling you to marry him right away. He told us you can take all the time you need. So, will you meet him on Friday?"

I purse my lips and swallow the lump in my throat. I think of Jeremy, he was my survival, he still is. So, if it takes this to make a life for him then so be it. I give her a nod.

Dad grins and gets up, “I’ll inform him. I'm so proud of you for making the right decision."

Mom smiles and kisses my forehead, “He’ll treat you like a queen."

Yeah, he will. A queen who the king would want all to himself.