Marriage of Unexpected Consequences

I stood in front of my dad, my heart skipped a beat as he told me that I would be married off. "You can't just marry me off like that. Am not some collateral to be traded with, I have dreams and a future of my own" I can still recollect, my dad's face turned red as he listened to me. "I'm gonna beat the devil out of you, Claire!" he said as his anger started to boil. Then as usual he yanked off his leather belt and came after me. I ran towards my room and closed the door at him " I don't care! I won't do it, I won't marry someone I don't love because of you!" He shouted as he banged on the door " You are being selfish Claire, You think everything is about you. If it wasn't for you, my wife would have been alive till today! You blood-sucking being" On hearing this, tears streamed down my eyes. I began to remember how it all happened. My dad always said I was the cause of my mom's death. Of course, He only said this when he was under the influence of alcohol. My best friend, Valerie Hart told me that whiskey never lies. And I believed in some way it's true because if I hadn't been born, my mama wouldn't have died. But then I hadn't asked to be born and there were plenty of times I wished I hadn't been. This is not to make it seem that my dad was a truly wicked man. The fact is, I loved my dad despite all. My dad was a middle-class business man before he got married to my mom. They both lived happily as my dad bestowed so much love and money on my mom. My mom got pregnant for me. This made my dad happier but turned into an irony when my mom died giving birth to me. The death of my mom made him furious and frustrated which made him develop a serious drinking habit. He spent most of his money on alcohol trying to forget about his wife but her memories kept coming. I have been a dutiful daughter ever since the death of my mom. Since my dad was pretty much useless after her death, I lived with my grandma until she died. My grandma usually took care of me. My grandma wasn't weak at all, she was strong and agile and did chores herself. She always braided my hair and decorated it with ribbons and beads, she'd tie one of my dead Mama's aprons around her body and teach me how to cook and do a little cleaning. Back when I was little, I thought maybe she hated me because I killed her only daughter by being born but it turned out that she loved me as I reminded her of my mom. Sometimes my grandma would tell me stories about my mom and when I was ten, she gave me a framed picture of my mom to keep as my own. And I looked into those dark soulful eyes of the framed picture and thought she must have been the most wonderful woman in the whole wide world. Her skin looked smooth and her hair was long, dark, and curly. I knew with certainty in my soul that my mom would still be a knockout if she was alive today. I always loved my own space and had few friends. I spent most time with my grandma or my best friend. That lifestyle helped me to stay out of trouble and I got through a lot of hard times. After the death of my grandma, I came back to live with my dad. In the quest to move on and make more money, he borrowed a huge amount of money and invested in a platform to make more money but to his greatest surprise, he was scammed and lost all his money on this platform. Creditors were at my dad's neck, they tortured and beat him whenever they came to request their money, I watched my dad go through so many beatings and embarrassment. My dad needed money to pay off his debt immediately as his creditors were on the verge of sending him to jail, he met his long-time friend Mr. Ben who gave a condition before agreeing to help him. Mr. Ben a multi-billionaire agreed to help my dad as they were all in the same business(not until my dad went bankrupt) but he didn't do it for free. He knew my dad couldn't pay back that was when he asked for me to get married to his son Jacksonville. "But should I be traded as some collateral?" I asked myself. Deep in thought as tears gushed out my eyes, I was brought to reality as my phone rang. It was Valerie Hart - my best friend, she sure knew how to call at the right time because I needed someone to hear me out. …. I met Adrian - my boyfriend then and told him that I was forced into marrying a stranger. "Please Adrian, let's elope. I can't get married to a stranger just to save my dad's ass." I explained. "You know am financially challenged and I don't have enough money to cater for us if we elope " Adrian replied. I took a deep breathe saying "When we get there, we will find a job or something" "I can't Claire! I love you but I don't want you to suffer. This man you are about to get married to is financially stable, what If he traces us and finds us?" Adrian highlighted. I was already in tears as Adrian was not helping. "I love you Claire, I don't want you to suffer. Am sorry there is nothing I can do" Adrian said cleaning off the tears that gushed out from my tears. I went back home with no choice, despite all my pleas, my dad still went on with the wedding arrangement. The date was fixed and my dad was given enough money to pay off his debt and live an interesting life. He walked towards me, brought out the money, and swung it around my face. "This is the only way you could make up for all the hell you put me through!". He said as he spit on his finger to count the money. I understood what he meant but it wasn't my fault that my mom died and ever since then, my dad made me feel guilty. I couldn't stand my dad's presence anymore, so I quickly ran to my room and shut the door. I needed to be alone, I cried my eyes out and my eyes got red and swollen. …. Eventually, the wedding day approached. Tears filled my eyes as I wore my wedding dress. My wedding day was supposed to be a day to be remembered, but all I felt was alone being surrounded by strange faces. I have never felt so sad than on my wedding day. Tears gushed out of my eyes as the black liquid of the eyeliner kept spilling down my face. "Why are you crying?" The makeup artist asked. "Tears of joy" I replied faking a smile. Valerie Hart who has been busy making sure I looked pretty exclaimed. " My best friend is gorgeous!" I looked at her wondering how beautiful I could look as I stood up, walked closer to a wide, big mirror, and gasped, "Indeed I look gorgeous!" I said looking at the makeup artist. Just immediately, the wedding director came in, it was time to take my wedding vows. I walked down the hall with my best friend holding the hem of my dress, and all I could see were strange faces, wealthy men and women dressed in attires that could buy a nice house. My dad never showed up and I won't say am surprised, I mean he married me off to a stranger just to save himself from his mess. I cried in my heart and wished my mom was alive. My best friend left the hem of my dress and I walked towards Jacksonville who was already standing before the priest. The priest cleared his throat, looking at me "Do you Claire, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and cherish, in riches and wealth, till death do you part?" "I.. do," I said as I turned to face Jacksonville. He looked at me expectantly, as he faked a smile. I would be trapped in a loveless marriage, getting married to a man I barely know. I knew I was doomed already and that there was no going back. The priest turned to Jacksonville and said "Do you Jacksonville, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and cherish, in riches and wealth, till death do you part?" "Yes I do," he said as his expression hardened. " You may now kiss the bride" the priest declared as his face floated towards mine. He grabbed me, his hands around my waist as his lips brushed against mine and he indulged himself In my mouth. A sigh of relief swept through the crowd as clapping and cheering filled the atmosphere. I closed my eyes trying to ignore the emptiness that lingered in my heart. "This is my new life, I would have to find a way to make it work," I said to myself. We walked out of the church as cameras flashed away, As the guard blocked us, we rushed to the car. A guard opened the door for us as we entered the cool Range Rover. I settled in the car with Jacksonville as the driver took us to the Manson. The car was filled with awkward silence as we drove home. I stared at him closely, he was handsome and the hottest guy I had ever seen and let me tell you, I hadn't seen a lot. I couldn't wait to get to my new home and have my own space cause the silence was killing me. He was seriously pressing his phone, messages kept beeping and he smiled through them. I wondered what was so amusing to him and I sighed in disgust. I stared at Jacksonville as different thoughts ran through my mind, of all people would a man of high class and reput ation agree to settle for less(as I referred to myself because I was in no class to be compared to this guy)?