Under His Terms

Chapter two

Inside the living room, a chair scraped loudly against the floor.

‎“My daughter? My precious daughter? You must be joking! Absolutely not! She’s a child!” Aunt Marissa’s voice rose sharply.

‎The younger collector didn’t argue.

‎“It is only a proposal,” he said smoothly. “Any equivalent value would suffice.”

‎Equivalent.

‎My heart began to pound slowly, what could possibly be an equivalent to a daughter?

‎“There must be another way,” my uncle said desperately.

‎“There is always another way,” the older collector replied. “But time is limited.”

‎He stood up, straightening his jacket.

‎“So prepare yourselves. We will be requiring that assurance soon.”

‎The finality in his tone made my palms start to shake. Because the truth was already clear. No matter how much we cleaned this house or pretended everything was fine… it was never going to change anything

‎My aunt marissa, her husband and Isabella were seated in the living room, it's been a few minutes since the debt collectors left, the house has been awfully quiet since then, no one said a word, they were just looking at each other.

‎Isabella was the first to crack, she broke down crying

‎“I’m not going there,” she said sobbing even before her mother could even speak, her voice was shaking,“I heard what people say about him, I heard he has a cell where he locks people who makes any mistakes, they say he doesn’t forgive and doesn’t forget either, how do you expect me to live in a place like that?”

‎by now, her mascara was smudged under her eyes, she looked smaller now, not the same girl who slapped me over dust on a table.Now she looked scared, like really truly scared.

‎Her mother pulled her close immediately. “Stop it,” she said, stroking her hair. “it's not decided yet, and i will never hand my precious daughter over to a man like that, never.”

‎Then she turned to look at her husband, “Say something will you.”

‎He was standing near the fireplace, staring at nothing. The confidence he had earlier was gone, his jaw was tight.

‎“I need to think,” he muttered. “This isn’t simple.”

‎“It is simple,” Isabella said, pulling away. “I’m not going, If you try to send me there, I’ll run and you will never see me again, i swear I will.”

‎“Enough,” he snapped.

‎Then The room went quiet again.

‎Aunt marissa stood up and started pacing too, like she was deep in thought pacing. Then, an idea crossed her mind and she looked at her husband differently.

‎“What if,” she said carefully, “there’s another way?”

‎He frowned.“What do you mean?”

‎She glanced toward the hallway.

‎“They’ve never seen her.”

‎"who" he asked confused

‎“They only know her name,” she continued. " they only know we have a daughter but they have never actually met Isabella.”

‎By this time, isabella had gone silent.

‎“what are you saying mom” she asked,a bit confused.

‎Her mother turned fully to her.

‎“We send Nora instead.”

‎for a moment, no one said anything

‎Her husband rubbed his face. “That's very risky, and if that man finds out...”

‎“He won’t,” she cut in. “We will present her properly, they will take her and by the time the debt is cleared, it won’t matter.”

‎“She’s still a girl,” he said.

‎“And so is our daughter, or do you prefer we send our own flesh and blood to that monster?”

‎He didn’t argue again after that

‎Isabella sat up straight, wiping her long dried tears.

‎“She looks enough like me,” she said. “...from far.”

‎“You shouldn’t say that,” her father muttered.

‎“But it’s true,” she replied. “And she will listen, it's not like she really has a choice”

‎Her mother stepped closer to her husband.

‎“Without us, Nora would have had nothing, when her parents died,we took her in,fed her and gave her a home, she owes us this much.”

‎He looked toward the hallway.

‎“…Call her,” he said finally.

‎The relief was immediate, isabella’s shoulders relaxed and her mother straightened up.

‎Isabella came to find me.

‎I was wiping the staircase railing when she called my name.

‎“Nora, they want you in the living room.”

‎I followed her but I already knew and they didn’t know I knew.

‎When I stepped inside, My uncle standing while my aunt was sitting upright. Isabella sat beside her, her eyes slightly red again.

‎“Nora,” my uncle began, clearing his throat. “You’re aware we had visitors today.”

‎“Yes, sir.”

‎“They’ve come about a debt and the situation is complicated.”

‎My aunt leaned forward shifting in her chair, soft expression in place. “Sometimes business doesn’t go as planned, and we really need more time.”

‎I stayed quiet.

‎“The man requires assurance,” my uncle continued. “just until the money is repaid.”

‎“What kind of assurance?” I asked.

‎“A temporary arrangement,” my aunt said quickly. “Someone will stay under his protection.”

‎"Protection" yeah right, I muttered under my breath, what a convenient way to put it.

‎“It was meant to be Isabella,” my uncle said carefully. “But, you see, she isn’t suited for that environment.”

‎Isabella lowered her eyes.

‎“You’re stronger,” my aunt told me gently. “You’ve endured more and I know you can handle this.”

‎I thought about the renovations, The parties and vacations they went to. The new cars and the way they were spending the money like it would never end.

‎Now they were rearranging people instead.

‎“It’s temporary,” my uncle said. “Once everything is settled, you’ll return home, i promise.”

‎Isabella stepped closer and took my hands, she had never done that before.

‎“Please,” she whispered. “I won’t survive there, I’m not like you.”

‎"Not like you" what does that even mean

‎“You’re braver,” she added.

‎My aunt squeezed my shoulder. “An elder sister should always be ready to make sacrifices when necessary.”

‎My uncle spoke more quietly now. “She has her future ahead of her, you do understand that, don't you?”

‎of course I did, I understood exactly how they measured value in this house.

‎“And when this is over,” he continued, firmer now, “you’ll be rewarded.”

‎If I refused, I knew what would happen. This house would turn hotter for me than it already was.

‎But if i agreed… well I don't think staying with that man could be any worse than living with my aunt.

‎After a moment, I lowered my head.

‎“If this helps the family,” I said, “I’ll go.”

‎My aunt exhaled, Isabella gave me a quick, half hearted hug and stepped back. My uncle immediately picked up his phone.

‎“Yes,” he said when the call connected. “We have your assurance.”

‎I stood there while they discussed my departure.

‎Tomorrow evening, a car would come to pick me up, looking at them happily discuss and plan my departure, i understood something clearly.

‎I was never part of this family, I was just their back up plan.

‎