One Night with the Devil

“Hanna, hurry!. I’m gonna miss you my not so baby anymore.” My nanny, Mina, is crying. “Oh nana.. please. You’re making this hard for me to leave you here.” “Don’t worry about me, hija. Your parents for sure will get mad at me once they find out, but they won’t kill me. “Thank you for saving me nana.” My voice is now cracking as I’m crying, too. I cared for my nana so much. She was the one who took care of me ever since I was born. This is the first time that I’m going to leave her to get away from this hell. “Remember that I love you, okay? You’re like a daughter to me, Hanna. You know that.” “I know that nana and for the record I love you too.” “Take care of yourself Hanna.” I give my nana one last hug. “I will nana. Bye..” After we bid our goodbyes, I immediately hop into the cab and head straight to the airport, catching a flight. Me and my nana had planned this for almost a month ago. We made sure that they didn’t get any hint about the plan even I was under a strict supervision by my dad’s right-hand man. This day supposedly is the happiest day of my life as I am going to get married and that’s what my parents’ friends and the public know. Neither they knew nor they thought that these public facades masked my parents’ hidden agendas, and I am the pawn of their game. I already have all the documents with me and anything that I might be needing in the future. I also withdrew a huge amount of cash and deposited it into my international bank account my parents did not know about. But I widthrew those four times before I got the amount I needed. I had to do it by quarter so that my parents wouldn’t suspect. They still have a hold of my financials. They know all my bank accounts here and because of that I have told them I needed to widthraw cash to pay some clothes I might be needing during honeymoon since the boutique required cash and not cards. They never questioned me why after that. If they have still asked me, I have a lot of reasons to provide for them. So those cash, I have used those to pay the rent for my apartment in three months and the remaining was directly into my secret bank account. I am looking at the email as I am reading the time of my flight. “Could you make it faster, please?” I asked the driver and a bit fidgeting in my seat. I’m still scared that my parents might have found out about my plan by now. “You bet!” Thirty minutes later and I am finally inside the airplane going to Manhattan, New York. The plane has already departed from the airport ten minutes ago. I’m still not at ease while sitting, as there are many things yet to happen. My parents have a lot of connections and they could probably use them to locate me. I have to make sure that I arrive at my apartment first before I can finally say I did it and that I finally get away from them. For now, I have to keep on praying. “Yes! Oh God, thank you! I did it!” I exclaimed loudly when I arrived at my leased apartment. I roamed around and I was amazed at how this apartment looks so classy. The pictures online didn’t give justice to how beautiful this apartment is. Wow! This is so big! I almost forgot the reason I’m here. I’m scanning the whole place and this apartment is perfect for me for a brand new start. I heave a long, heavy sigh and then smile before I unpack all my things. Few hours later, after putting all my clothes in the closet, I decide to cook for my lunch. I have eaten nothing since this morning and I’m starving for food now. The fridge has full of healthy food stuffs in it. I quickly take out the ingredients and start cooking. Few minutes have passed and my food was ready to eat. While I’m eating, my mind wanders to my nana. I just hope that she’s okay and that my parents didn’t hurt her. I will not forgive myself if something happened to her. Now I’m ready to jump into the bathtub. My body needs water to relax after all the tiring days I had starting from the day my parents announced about the marriage to this day that I had finally escaped. I stayed for an hour in the bathtub before I got out. I’m feeling refreshed. Now, I am lying comfortably on my bed, watching some random stuff. I stop at the channel where breaking news flashes on the screen. It’s my mom and dad! My heart stops for a moment. I felt relief after the news as it’s only pre-recorded and it’s not about the wedding they were talking about. I didn’t realize that I already fell asleep until the remote fell on the floor and I heard a thug. It’s not that loud, but enough for me to wake up. I looked at the time and it’s quarter to five. I put the remote back on the table then took a sleep. Flashback from the day that Hanna had found out about the wedding... “You don’t get to decide here, Hanna! Whether you like, you’re gonna marry Kevin next month, and that’s final!” The voice of Hanna’s dad is booming inside their study area. After they spilled the plan to her and that was thirty minutes ago, Hanna hysterically did not agree. Hanna is crying her eyes out. Her mother did not take her side as her mom was also into the wedding plan. “I am your daughter! Why are you doing this to me?!” “Honey, we are doing this for your own sake. Kevin is a good catch. He can provide you whatever you want and eventually you’re gonna learn to love him.” Hanna’s mom told her. “No mom. You’re not doing this for me. You know I don’t like Kevin. This is for your reputations not mine!” “Honey..” Hanna’s mom was trying to get close to her, but she stepped back. “Hanna, I know this is hard for you, but this is for your own good. Kevin is rich. He can let you live like a princess. He can give you anything you want.” “No, dad. We all know that you’re only using me to get the funds you need for your dirty works.! You and mom are just the same. You are after his money! I can’t believe you can do this to me. You are a hypocrite!” A loud slap on Hanna’s face had her shocked. Hanna could not believe that her dad could hit her. “Hector!!” Hanna’s mom shouted. She’s surprised as well. “You have no choice but to obey us Hanna or else I will ground you here until your wedding!” Hanna is still crying as she shakes her head. “We are your parents, whether you accept it! What we want is for your benefits too! Don’t make me lock you in your room Hanna!” “No! You can’t do that! I’m already old enough to know what I want.” “As long as you’re still under my roof, obey! You’re nothing without us, Hanna! You have no money to even live on your own!” “I can live on my dad and I have a job! I have savings from my job!” “A job that could not help you buy all your wants! You’re still needing my money Hanna. So make the practical choice!”