The forever pact

Chapter 4

"You have already been promised to the man. All I want you to do is get rid of those dirty clothes on you and put on something decent” Amelia said to Aurora.

Aurora had heard from Rhoda that her supposed husband would be coming to take her away that evening. The arrangement hadn’t gone down well with her, coupled with the fact that she was still trying to recover from heartbreak. She wasn’t ready for any commitment any time soon.

“But mother, I am not ready to get into any marriage now. Not after Elliot and not especially to a man whom I do not even know” Aurora protested.

“It wasn’t up for discussion. Just do as you have been told” Amelia replied coldly.

Too tired to argue, Aurora let it slide. She has heard of stories where people get married without falling in love but along the line, manage to still care for each other. Who knows, this might be her case. It might be how destiny has decided to play her.

Later that evening, the fleet of cars signaled the appearance of her supposed husband. He was a frail-looking seventy years old man. He was in a wheelchair and he had spittle running down his mouth. He almost looked like he had a stroke.

“Mother! You want me to marry a retard? Besides, he is too old for me. I’m just twenty-five. He could be my grandfather!” Aurora cried

Amelia narrowed her eyes “What, you don’t want to? You want to try to defy me in this house?”

“Marry him yourself if you want to, or better still, give out either Rhoda or Emily to him. I’m not a puppet that you can control whenever you please”, Aurora said

She looked at the man who looked like he had a small stature of 1.8 meters. He was convulsing, shaking his head countless times as he looked around. She couldn’t believe that this was the man whom her stepmother had decided was the best for her. Emily smiled and patted her head

“You see Aurora, this is your future husband. Your golden days are here already”

Aurora could hear so clearly the sarcasm and mockery in Emily’s voice.

“Why don’t you marry him instead? Last I remember, you were the one crazy about gold, not me” Aurora retorted

Emily came closer to Aurora and whispered in her ear “Would you rather I be the one cleaning him up? Oh, Aurora; you know that is your specialty. I’m not used to cleaning up dirt. You are, my dear”.

Amelia excused herself from the Park’s family and dragged Aurora alongside her. She dragged her into a room and shut the door.

“What was that stunt you were pulling there?” she asked

“Mother, I am not interested in this marriage at all. There is no way on earth that I’m marrying that sick, old man”

“Are you challenging my authority right now?”

“I’m not, mother, but if father was here, I’m sure that he would have never agreed to this arrangement from the start-”

The statement earned her another heavy slap. She held her face and tears filled her eyes.

“You ingrate! You are such an ungrateful child. This is how you choose to repay your father and I after he decided to pick you up from the gutters? We fed you; we clothed you and provided all your needs even against my wishes. Now, you stand here and open that gutter of a mouth to talk back to me. How dare you!”

“I’m sorry mother, but I cannot marry him”

“What do you mean you cannot marry him? His family is wealthy and you will be well taken care of. All they ask is that you at least give him an heir to continue his lineage. Is that so hard to do? Just give birth for Christ’s sake. Do you know how lucky you are to have this opportunity? You’ll live a life of luxury, with everything you could ever want”

Aurora shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “I do not want to spend the rest of my life miserable and alone.”

“What sort of a selfish girl are you? You will marry him, Aurora. It is not up for discussion. You will do as you are told. If you don’t, I’ll make sure that you regret it”

“I am not the only girl in the house, mother. If this marriage which you have arranged is so good, then give out Rhoda. You have always wanted your girls to live in luxury anyway”

“Get into your room and get dressed to go with your husband. You have five minutes to do that. It’s either that, or you leave this house and never come back. Never return unless you change your mind to marrying Park” Amelia said, her voice full of malice.

“I’ll leave, mother. I’ll leave and make my way. But I cannot marry him” Aurora said, her voice shaking

Amelia’s face twisted in anger. “Fine”, she spat. “Leave. Leave and see how you fare on your own. You will regret this decision Aurora. You will regret it for the rest of your life” Amelia said and left the room.

Aurora sank to the floor, suddenly feeling tired. Her father was not back yet and she had been denied access to the phones. She was so sure that she would die before agreeing to the marriage proposal but she didn’t know what to do at that point. She gathered a few belongings and left her family’s home, tears streaming down her face.

For hours, Aurora wandered about with her little backpack. The sun had almost gone down when she found a secluded area and decided to lie down for a bit there. She was enjoying the peace and quiet when a voice yelled out

“f**k! f**k! f**k you, Beth!”

She peered from her refuge and her eyes fell on the most handsome man she had ever seen in her entire life.