CHAPTER FIVE
972 Words
LIYAH’S POV
I stared at the document on the table. I didn’t want to touch it. Something about the way my mother was looking at me made me feel like whatever was written there would change everything.
“Mom, what is this?”
She wiped her tears and looked down. The man sitting across from us remained quiet.
I looked at him. “You knew about this?”
He didn’t answer.
I turned back to my mother. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
She took a deep breath. “It’s about the debt.”
I already knew that, but I waited.
“Your father borrowed money when things were difficult,” she continued. “After he died, I tried everything I could to pay it back.”
Her voice shook.
“But I couldn’t.”
“How much do we still owe?”
She looked at the man. He finally spoke.
“Enough to put your family in serious trouble.”
I looked at him. “Then why are you here?”
He pushed the document towards me. “There is another arrangement.”
I slowly picked it up. My eyes moved across the page. At first, I didn’t understand what I was reading. Then I saw my mother’s name.
And below it was another name I had never seen before.
I looked at her. “What is this?”
She didn’t answer.
“Mom?”
She closed her eyes. “Just read it.”
I continued reading. Then I saw the part that made me stop. My hands went cold.
“No.”
My mother looked at me. “Liyah…”
“No.”
I dropped the paper on the table.
“You want me to marry him?”
The man remained silent.
I looked at my mother. “You want me to marry a stranger?”
She started crying. “We don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, we do!”
“Liyah, please.”
“You can sell the house.”
“Then where will we live?”
“I don’t know!” My voice broke. “But why does it have to be me?”
My mother couldn’t answer.
The man finally spoke. “The marriage will settle the debt.”
I looked at him. “Who is he?”
He told me the man’s name. I had never heard it before.
“How old is he?”
My mother looked away. I already knew the answer wasn’t going to be good.
“He’s much older than you,” she finally said.
I laughed bitterly. “Of course he is.”
“Liyah…”
“I don’t even know this man.”
“You don’t have to know him.”
I stared at my mother. “How can you say that?”
She wiped her face. “He can give you a comfortable life.”
“I don’t care about a comfortable life.”
I thought about Daniel. His smile. The way he always made me feel like everything would be okay. The plans we had made together.
Paris.
Our future.
“I love someone else.”
My mother looked at me. “I know.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“Because love won’t pay this debt.”
Her words hurt more than I expected.
I looked down at the document again. My future was sitting on that table like it was nothing more than a piece of paper.
I pushed it away. “I’m not doing it.”
My mother started crying harder. “Liyah, please.”
“No.”
“You don’t understand what will happen if we refuse.”
“Then tell me.”
She became quiet.
“What will happen?”
She looked towards the man. He answered instead.
“Your family will lose everything.”
I looked at him. “And if I still say no?”
He stared at me for a moment. “Then your mother will have to deal with the consequences.”
My chest tightened.
He picked up his jacket and stood. “You have very little time to decide.”
“How much?”
“Three days.”
I stared at him. “Three days?”
He nodded, then walked towards the door.
Before leaving, he turned to my mother. “Don’t make another mistake.”
The door closed.
I looked at my mother. She was still crying.
“Mom…”
She didn’t look at me. “I am sorry.”
I shook my head. “You should have told me before agreeing to this.”
“I was scared.”
“So was I.”
She looked at me. “What are you going to do?”
I didn’t answer because I honestly didn’t know.
That evening, I locked myself in my room. I picked up my phone and opened Daniel’s chat. I stared at his name for a long time.
I wanted to tell him. I wanted to call him and hear his voice. But suddenly, I was afraid. What if he couldn’t help me? What if telling him only made things worse?
I finally typed:
Daniel, I need to talk to you.
I stared at the message before sending it.
A few seconds later, he replied.
What’s wrong?
I started typing, then deleted it. Typed again. Deleted it again.
Finally, I sent:
Can we meet tomorrow?
His reply came almost immediately.
Of course. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out together.
I smiled through my tears.
We’ll figure it out together.
I repeated those words to myself. Maybe Daniel was right. Maybe there was still a way out.
But when I looked at the document lying on my bed, I knew one thing.
Three days wasn’t enough time to change my whole life.
And yet, somehow, I had to.
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