Tangled Hearts

The Revelation “You'll be marrying Dominic Hale,” Father's words echoed in the office, his tone cold and final. “What!” my heart beat erratically as I stared at him. What was he talking about? “You can't possibly be serious, father” My breath caught in my throat as I jumped to my feet. I'd been surprised when Father called me to see him, only now, I knew the reason. Harlan’s hands didn't stop moving as he signed some documents, “The decision has been made, Elara. The marriage will happen.” “No, no, no,” I shook my head, willing all this to be a dream. I'd imagined many ways I'd get married but this was not one of them. My heart ached as I stared at Harlan, how could he decide my future like this? “I'm not…” I took a deep breath, “I'm not getting married, you can't make that choice for me Father,” my legs felt wobbly as I spoke. Harlan’s face whipped up to glare at me, his eyes were dark with barely concealed fury, “You dare question my decision?” I trembled under his gaze. “But father I don't even know him,” my eyes pricked with tears. How could he try to marry me off to someone I didn't even know? “You have to reconsider…” “I've made my decision and it's final,” Harlan snapped, his cold eyes snaking over me. “Dominic Hale is a wealthy and influential man, this marriage means a lot to this family.” Harlan got to his feet, “If you mess this up…” he trailed off, his words holding a subtle threat that made my hair stand on end. ‘Means a lot for the family?’ What family? I smiled bitterly as a wave of pain coursed through me, what family would be so unconcerned about their daughter? Harlan sat down, his eyes swept over me, “I'm doing this for your sake, for our sake…” he turned his attention back to the documents. “You'll come to realize it's the right thing to do.” Right thing? His words felt ridiculous even as I heard them. I swallowed hard as a lump formed in my throat, “Right thing for me or…” my eyes glistened with tears. “Or the right thing for your politics?” A wince escaped my lips, Harlan didn’t care about anyone, certainly not for me. I'd simply become nothing more than a commodity for transaction in his eyes. Harlan’s hand paused as he was signing, “It's been decided, you will marry Dominic Hale,” Harlan spoke slowly. “That's final, Elara. You may leave,” he dismissed me, focusing on the paperwork on his desk. The lump in my throat felt heavier and my vision blurred with tears as I stared at him, how could he be so heartless? Didn't I have a choice of my own? This couldn't be happening. I turned on my heel and walked out, walking upstairs to the one person who could change this. I found Mother in her showroom, I often wondered what joy she got from staring at her gowns in glass cabinets, she spent most of her afternoons cooped up in here. “Mother,” I drew her attention as I walked in. “There's a problem,” my voice shook. I was about to speak but she beat me to it. “There's no problem Elara,” she didn't look surprised at my words as she stared at me, “It only depends on how you see it.” Her words hit me like a freight train, “Yo—you knew,” I wasn't asking, she nodded slightly and my heart broke into a thousand pieces. “How could you?” My voice broke, even Mother was aware. “I don't think there's anything wrong with it,” Mother’s words hit me like a sledgehammer. “It's for the family, Elara. Don't be ungrateful.” “Yo—you, you can't…” I glanced away from her, the sight of her sent stings of pain into me. “With time, you'll realize your father made the right decision,” she pursed her lips, her words dashed the faint glimmer of hope in my heart. “You’d…” my voice trembled, “You would let your own daughter's happiness be sacrificed like this?” I wiped my eyes, wishing it was all a dream. “You need to understand, Elara, I…” “I don't want to understand,” I snapped and my vision blurred with tears as I headed to my room, I curled up on the bed as my emotions wreaked havoc on me. My tears formed a small wet patch under my face and my body shook with sobs as I tried to comprehend what I'd just been told. My phone rang suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts, I picked up my cell; it was a strange number. I tossed it aside, I wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone. I curled into a ball on my bed, my thoughts were scattered. The silence was deafening, I couldn't take it anymore. I picked up my phone and dialed Clarice’s line but she wasn't picking up. I bit my lip, maybe she was fast asleep I thought, glancing at the clock. Clarice was my best friend, we'd been friends ever since law school. Dominic Hale. The name hit me with a faint familiarity, I couldn't sit still as restlessness filled me. I took out my laptop from my bag and powered it on. I surfed the net, looking for answers, my fingers were trembling as I typed out his name, Dominic Hale. A horde of name matches popped up, filling my screen, most were irrelevant until I caught sight of one. Dominic Hale, CEO… that had to be him. My finger hovered above the enter button, not sure what to even expect. Only one way to find out, I thought and I clicked enter. My breath caught in my throat as I waited for the page to load. And then his face appeared on the screen, I felt my heart skip a beat. There he was, Dominic Hale. His eyes seemed to pierce into mine as I stared at the screen. He was… handsome. My eyes clouded over as I tried to relate the man I was staring at to the main image I'd been carrying in my mind. I was about to scroll through his profile when the door opened and Mother walked in. Her expression was neutral, from what I could see of it in the dim light. "Get prepared, your father's arranged a meeting with Dominic Hale tomorrow,” Mother dropped the bomb. “What!” My heart sank as the implications of her words settled in. I glanced at the laptop I'd closed, and an image appeared in my mind's eye. Tomorrow, I would come face to face with the man whose name was already unravel ing the life I thought I knew. I hoped for sure I was prepared.