Marriage Affairs

Rebecca didn't understand what she was hearing at first. Only that something inside the room had already broken before she even stepped in. Her father's voice. Her mother's voice. Both sharp. Both shaking. And then— The sentence that stopped her heart completely. "What do you mean you're selling our daughter off to the Wilsons?!" Rebecca froze just outside the door. Not because she wanted to. But because her body simply refused to obey her. Her heartbeat slammed violently against her chest like it was trying to escape. Selling. Daughter. Wilsons. The words didn't connect. They couldn't. Her fingers tightened around her handbag so hard her knuckles went pale. Her breathing turned shallow—like the air had suddenly become too heavy to survive in. For a second, she told herself she had misheard. That adults said dramatic things during fights. That this was just noise. But then her father spoke again. And everything inside her cracked open. "Then what would you have had me do, Evie?!" Andrew's voice was low, strained—but dangerously controlled. "Sit back and watch them destroy everything I've built?! Do you even understand what's at stake here?! This is the only way!" Silence. Not peace. Warning silence. Rebecca's hand slowly loosened. Her handbag slipped. Thud. The sound hit the floor too loudly. Too final. Everything stopped. The room turned. Both parents stared at the doorway. And there she was. Rebecca. Frozen. Like her soul had arrived before her body knew how to follow. Her face was pale. Her lips slightly parted—but no sound came out at first. Her eyes searched the room like it might suddenly rearrange itself into something less painful. "W-what…" Her voice finally broke through. Barely a whisper. "What do you mean by Rossa getting married?" That name landed wrong in her mouth. Like it didn't belong in this conversation. Her mother rushed forward immediately. "Becca—no, no, it's not like that!" Evie's voice cracked. "Your father is trying to marry your sister off—please, talk sense into him!" Rebecca didn't move. Didn't blink. Didn't breathe properly. Her head turned slowly. Not toward her mother. But toward her father. "Becca, listen to me," Andrew said quickly, raising his hands slightly as if trying to hold the situation together physically. "I would never do anything like that without reason. You and your sister mean everything to me." "Then stop it!" Evie snapped instantly. "Call it off, Andrew!" The tension snapped tighter. Rebecca's voice came out smaller this time. But sharper. "I need to understand." Silence again. Then she stepped forward. Just one step. That was enough. "How did this even happen?" she asked. "How did you get involved with the Wilsons?" Andrew exhaled deeply. Like a man preparing to confess something that had been eating him alive. "It started with a contract," he said. "A ninety-million-dollar deal between OST Enterprise and Wilson Enterprises." Rebecca frowned slightly. "That deal was supposed to save everything," he continued. "Everything was already collapsing—investors, pressure, deadlines… I had one chance." His jaw tightened. "I prepared everything. Every detail. The meeting was perfect." A pause. "But Mr. Wilson didn't show up." Rebecca's brows knit. "Instead, his secretary came." The air in the room shifted. "I wasn't expecting that," Andrew admitted. "Mrs. Harper had spilled water on my tie earlier that morning. Mr. Justus told me to borrow one from his office so I wouldn't look unprofessional." Rebecca barely reacted. Not yet. "I left the room for a moment," he continued. "Just a moment. Everything was already set." His voice dropped. "And when I returned…" Silence stretched. "The secretary had arrived. The meeting went on. It went… too well." Rebecca felt her stomach tighten. "He signed everything immediately." A beat. "And then his phone rang." That pause felt like a warning. "And everything changed." Rebecca's breath caught. "He accused us of fraud," Andrew said slowly. "Said our data had been manipulated. That OST was trying to scam Wilson Enterprises." Rebecca shook her head slightly. "No… that's not possible." "It didn't matter if it was possible," Andrew replied quietly. "It mattered that he believed it." The room felt smaller. "The news spread fast. Investors pulled out. Contracts vanished. OST started collapsing overnight." Rebecca's fingers trembled slightly now. "Mr. Justus tried to control the damage," Andrew added. "But it was already beyond repair." His voice lowered. "The ninety million… became a debt we couldn't pay." Silence swallowed the room again. "And then he came back," Andrew said. Rebecca's stomach dropped. "He said if I didn't fix it, he would destroy everything I built." A pause. "I went to him." Rebecca froze harder. "I begged." His voice cracked slightly now. "I carried a cheque." Silence. "And inside it…" he swallowed, "was Rossa's passport photo." The room stopped existing properly after that sentence. Evie gasped softly. Rebecca's mind refused to process it. "What…?" Andrew looked away. "And that was when he made the proposal." Silence became unbearable. "Marriage," he said. "In exchange for clearing the debt." Rebecca felt something inside her tilt violently. Like reality had slipped out of place. "And he wants Rossa…" Andrew added quietly, "to marry his son." A beat. "Alexander Wilson." The name didn't sound like a person anymore. It sounded like a sentence. Rebecca's world went still. Not quiet. Still. Like everything had frozen just before collapse. And then— A voice cut through everything. Sharp. Shaking. Exploding with disbelief. "WHAT THE f**k DID YOU JUST SAY?!" --- Rossa stood at the entrance. Her presence changed the air instantly. Her eyes were red—but not from tears yet. From shock. From rage. From betrayal so deep it looked like it had weight. She stepped forward once. Slow. Controlled. Dangerous. "Tell me this is a joke," she said. No one answered. Her gaze locked onto her father. "You're telling me…" her voice cracked slightly, then hardened again, "you sold me in exchange for debt?" Silence. The kind that doesn't answer. The kind that confirms. And for the first time in that room— Andrew looked like he had no power left at all. ---