CHAPTER SIX
1043 Words
LIYAH’S POV
I didn’t tell my mother about the message from Daniel.
I didn’t tell her that I had already decided I couldn’t marry that man.
I just stayed in my room, staring at the ceiling and thinking about everything that had happened.
Three days.
That was all the time they had given me.
I picked up my phone and called Daniel.
He answered after a few rings.
“Hey.”
I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Hi.”
“You sound different.”
“I’m just tired.”
There was a short silence.
“Did something happen?”
I wanted to tell him everything.
I wanted to tell him that my mother had agreed to marry me off to a stranger because of a debt that wasn’t even mine.
But somehow, I couldn’t get the words out.
“Nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
He laughed softly.
“That’s not like you.”
“I know.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
I closed my eyes.
“No.”
His voice became serious.
“What happened?”
I took a deep breath.
“My family wants me to marry someone.”
There was silence on the other end.
“What?”
“I said they want me to marry someone.”
“Why?”
“Because of the debt.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment.
Then he asked quietly,
“Do you want this?”
“No.”
“Then don’t do it.”
“I don’t think they’ll give me a choice.”
He sighed.
“Liyah, you can’t let them decide your whole life.”
I knew he was right.
But he didn’t know everything.
He didn’t know how frightened my mother was.
He didn’t know what those people were capable of.
“I just need some time.”
“We’ll figure something out.”
I smiled sadly.
“You always say that.”
“Because I mean it.”
I wanted to believe him.
“I love you, Daniel.”
“I love you too.”
We stayed on the phone for a while, talking about things that had nothing to do with the debt.
For a few minutes, I felt like my old life was still there.
Then I heard my mother’s voice outside my door.
“Liyah?”
I quickly ended the call.
“I have to go.”
“Okay. Call me later.”
“I will.”
I put my phone down.
“Come in.”
My mother opened the door.
She looked tired.
“Who were you talking to?”
“Daniel.”
She sighed.
“I knew it.”
“What?”
“You’ve told him.”
I didn’t answer.
She walked into the room and sat on the edge of my bed.
“Liyah, I don’t want you to hate me.”
I looked at her.
“Then don’t make me do this.”
She looked down.
“I wish things were different.”
“So do I.”
She was quiet.
Then she said, “The man is willing to give us more time if you agree.”
I stared at her.
“More time for what?”
“For you to get to know him.”
I almost laughed.
“I don’t want to know him.”
“You haven’t even met him.”
“And I don’t want to.”
She looked hurt.
“I am only trying to keep us from losing everything.”
I looked around the room.
“Mom, what happens after I marry him?”
“You’ll have a good life.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
She didn’t answer.
“Will I be happy?”
Her silence told me everything.
She stood up.
“Just think about it.”
After she left, I sat quietly.
I looked at the small wardrobe beside my bed.
Then at the old photograph of Daniel and me.
I picked it up.
We had taken it months ago, when everything still felt simple.
We had talked about Paris that day.
We had talked about leaving everything behind and starting over somewhere beautiful.
Back then, it had sounded like a dream.
Now it felt like the only thing I had left.
I placed the photograph back where it was.
I didn’t know what I was going to do yet.
But I knew one thing.
I couldn’t marry that man.
That evening, my mother received another phone call.
I was in the kitchen when I heard her voice.
“Please, I need more time.”
I stopped what I was doing.
“Three days isn’t enough.”
There was a pause.
“She needs to decide for herself.”
Another pause.
My mother’s voice became quieter.
“I understand.”
She ended the call.
I walked into the living room.
“Was that them?”
She looked at me.
“Yes.”
“What did they say?”
“Nothing.”
I knew she was lying.
“Mom.”
She looked away.
“They said if you refuse, they will no longer wait.”
My stomach tightened.
“And what does that mean?”
She didn’t answer.
I didn’t ask again.
That night, I lay awake for hours.
I kept thinking about my mother.
About Daniel.
About the house.
About the man I was supposed to marry.
And then I thought about myself.
For once, I needed to think about what would happen to me.
I reached for my phone and opened Daniel’s message.
Goodnight, love. Don’t worry too much. We’ll figure it out.
I stared at it.
My eyes filled with tears.
I wanted to believe him.
But I knew something he didn’t.
I couldn’t stay here and wait for someone else to decide my future.
I slowly sat up.
My eyes moved around the room.
Then they stopped on the small travel bag underneath my bed.
I pulled it out.
I didn’t pack anything.
Not yet.
I simply stared at it.
Because even though I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself, a thought had already entered my mind.
Maybe I had to leave.
And if I did…
I knew I couldn’t tell anyone.
Not even Daniel.
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