~4~
1033 Words
Jacob's eyes lit up when he saw his sister come through the front door.
He sighed in relief. He thought she'd run away.
“Oh, thank God. You're back. Where did you run off to?” He asked.
He got no reply.
“Are you still angry with me?” he asked.
Darina ignored him and went to her room, slamming the door shut behind her. Jacob followed her.
He got in and pulled a chair closer to the bed where she sat down.
“Darina…” he put his hands on her shoulders.
“I know you might not believe me, but marrying Gerald wouldn't be that bad,” he said eagerly.
Darina looked at him in disbelief.
“Think about it, you'll be Mrs. Hampton, we'll finally be able to take care of dad, I'll finally have a job that pays enough. Our lives would change forever,” he tried his best to convince her.
“You mean your life would change forever. You're just happy because you don't get to spend the rest of your miserable life in jail,” she snapped.
“Oh, will you stop it, Darina? I did that to save dad…”
“And look where that's gotten me! I don't want to marry a man I don't love”
“What has love ever gotten you in your life, Darina? Besides, Gerald is much richer than John. He'll actually be able to take care of you. You might even learn to love him too. Forget about that stupid jerk”
Darina felt suffocated. But for some reason, she felt exhausted. She didn't have any more strength to fight in her.
She sighed.
Darina thought about it. If this was the best way to save her sick father, she would do it. She would marry Gerald.
“You know what? Fine. I'll marry him,” she said suddenly, in resignation.
“You will?” Jacob's eyes lit up; he was a little surprised though. He had expected more resistance from her.
He hugged her.
“Thanks, Darina. You don't know how much this means to me”
“You’ll save enough money to pay him back, and then you'll come get me, right?” she asked as tears pricked her eyelids. “You can’t leave me with him for too long, okay?” her voice broke.
On hearing her questions, Jacob felt very uncomfortable. What Darina was asking for was impossible, but he nodded all the same.
“Of course,” he said quietly.
He disengaged and held her hands.
“I promise,” he said looking straight into her eyes,
“Okay,” Darina said and nodded. She managed to etch a small smile on her face.
“Thanks again, Dari. Dad would be so proud,” Jacob said.
Darina rolled her eyes.
“Just promise me you won't try to run away again,” Jacob said.
“Again?”
“John called me. He said you wanted to run away. I guess he really isn't much of a jerk after all,” Jacob said before leaving the room.
Darina's heart sank.
She fell on the bed dejectedly. The tears she'd been holding during her conversation with Jacob fell.
Dread filled her heart. Jacob even said she might learn to love Gerald.
Love him? She thought and scoffed.
How was she to love a man who forcefully took her away from her family? She would never be able to do that.
Soon enough, she drifted off to sleep.
**.**.**
In the morning, Darina gloomily stood in front of the mirror in her room, wearing the dress that her brother had picked out for her.
“Oh, Dari,” he said. “You look beautiful”
But she didn't feel the least beautiful. She was wearing a knee length gown, patterned with rose gold petals in a white background.
It wasn't that much, but it wasn't bad either. It was the best dress she had and it just suited the occasion.
She was wearing her best dress on the worst day of her life. She marveled at the irony.
Moments later, she sat down at the dining table picking on her breakfast when her phone buzzed beside her.
She checked the caller ID and picked up the call.
“Darina… hi,” the caller said.
“Hi,” was Darina's low reply.
“You’re just waking up? Aren't you coming in for your shift this morning?” Luciola asked, her voice quite hesitant.
“No,” Darina replied flatly.
“Why? And John called me yesterday. I didn't quite understand what he was saying…”
“Yes,” Darina said grimly, cutting Luciola off. “I am getting married to Gerald Hampton,” she blurted out.
“Wow. That's uh… I mean, that's a good thing, right?” Luciola laughed half-heartedly.
“I mean, he's rich, so…you'll be okay, I guess…”
Darina's face fell. She ended the call abruptly. She didn't need another person to talk her into marrying Gerald.
It was almost as if Luciola didn't care, didn't take her seriously. If she'd heard about what'd happened to her from John, why did she wait so long to call her?
‘So much for a best friend,’ Darina thought.
Why was everyone around her behaving strangely?
She looked at the plate of food before her that she'd only managed to pick at since she sat down.
After a long while, she heard a horn, coming from a car outside and her whole being filled with dread.
**.**.**
Hours later, she was at the registry signing her life and freedom away to Gerald Hampton.
She looked up at the man who stared down at her with no form of expression on his face as she dropped the pen. He hadn't even spoken a word to her since they met that morning.
This was the man she was going to be married to for God knows how long? Dread filled her heart. She couldn't even bear to think about it.
Tears stung her eyelids and she looked away; she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her tears.
She was now Darina Hampton.
- Writer
