Confined Four Years

Unbidden

~~~~~Julia~~~~~

Another meeting with the parents, another set amount of time she felt she would hate. Julia looked at the man next to her, still not knowing him all that well, then up at the building their parents’ companies merged into. Since their marriage a month ago, the two mostly avoided each other at home. It was tedious to try talking to him when the two were not even close to being friends. Julia did not hate men in the slightest but did not know how to approach the man her parents forced her to marry. As they made their way inside, she hooked her arm in his, since they still needed to give off the aura of a happily married couple.

One elevator ride later, she found herself in front of the same room as last time. Besides the powerful smell of cologne next to her, she could smell the fresh wax the maintenance was using. Adjustments to the new building were still in progress, but the upper floors were complete. Policies from both companies were being adjusted to this new company her marriage bought, but the news did not make her happy. The only reason she knew about it was because it was all over the news stations. No matter where she looked, she could see the pictures from her ‘happy’ wedding day, posted all over the city. This made her sigh.

She came back to the present and glared at the door separating her from her parents. They called the two of them down here to discuss their marriage, but the whole idea made unease curl into her stomach. What else could they possibly need to discuss since she and Marcus are already married? When Marcus pulled open the door, the two walked in before she pulled away from him after the door shut behind them. Now in the privacy of the conference room, she crossed her arms under her chest and glared at her parents. After forcing the marriage down her throat, she could tell they had something else planned she would not like. She refused to even sit when they motioned towards an empty chair.

“Have you two consummated your marriage yet?” Her mother-in-law asked, making her jaw drop in shock. “Because we want grandchildren.”

“No,” Marcus stated plainly, glaring at his parents. “And we don’t plan to, either.”

“And why not? You two love each other now, right?” Her mom asked with a curious expression. “We’ve given you two time to learn more about each other.”

“We barely know each other and have nothing in common! We did not marry each other because of that. The two of us married each other because you both blackmailed us to do it.” Julia half-yelled in frustration, no longer able to hold her tongue. “And you know that, ‘Mother’. How can you even expect us to do that too?!”

A tense silence fell over the room as the six of them glared at each other. Why are their parents acting so blind to this? Julia wondered with a loud sigh. The two of them told their parents to start with that it would be impossible for the two to come to love each other, especially considering the circumstances. She continued to frown as she watched the older couples shared a glance with each other. Two people, who have nothing in common, not even the smallest of things, forced into a marriage with each other just because their parents wanted to retire. Julia shook her head at this but remained where she was instead of going home. Even there, she felt the weight of their decision.

“We picked her because of her beauty and talents. Is there something wrong with that decision?” Marcus’s father asked black eyes narrowed at me. “She does cook and clean, right?”

“Beauty is only skin deep and we share nothing between us. It will not work!” Marcus returned, walking over to his parents. “Honestly, I always thought you two would let me choose who I married, not have a strange woman forced into my house and life!”

“You both agreed to the marriage, so we just assumed it would take a little time for you two to come to love each other. You both look perfect together.” Her father countered before looking into her green eyes. “But that is not the reason we called you here today. We want grandchildren.”

“What, so you can f**k them over as you did me?!” Julia questioned, listening to everyone suck in a gasp. “No. I will not have s*x with someone just so you can get your way.”

She turned to leave, grabbing her purse off the table. There is only so much she can bend to someone else, and this simply pushed her too far. She had nothing against Marcus, but her parents pushing her to have s*x with him just for procreation is just wrong. Julia felt like she had to do whatever her parents wanted, just because they were her parents. She grabbed the doorknob, ready to leave when she heard her in-laws clear their throats behind her. Before she could even turn back to see what they wanted, her mother’s sharp voice rang out, causing her to flinch.

“Do you want to finish school or have your siblings go through this?” She asked in an angry voice. “Honestly, why can’t you just love him?”

“Do you love dad?” Julia returned, opening the door to walk out. “Because if I recall, you don’t. If you did, you would never do this to me.”

Just the thought of having s*x with someone she had no emotional attachment to made her sick to her stomach. As she made her way down to the lobby, tears of frustration pricking at her eyes, she looked out of the window overlooking the city. How many people out there had to go through this situation? She wondered with a sad sigh. For the umpteenth time, she considered possible ways to escape this fate her parents laid out for her. How could they ever even think of doing this to her or her siblings? Julia had to do everything she could to protect her siblings since it was clear her parents would not.

***

A short time later that evening, Julia was setting the table when Marcus walked in. She did not say a word to him, simply started eating, not wanting to breach the topic that came up at the meeting today. Even though she knew she flavored the food correctly, it did not seem to have any taste, but she ate her fill before standing to take the dishes to the kitchen. She did not expect Marcus to follow, his plate left untouched on the table in the dining room. Did he have some good news? She wondered as the scent of the remnants of their dinner seemed to linger in the air.

“They want me to convince you,” Marcus stated, causing the plate to slip from her fingers. “Woah… hey!”

The plate shattered as soon as it hit the floor, the white porcelain spreading across the tile of his kitchen. She turned to face him with an irritated expression on her face as he pointed to the mess at her feet. The broken plate was the least of her concerns, especially considering what he just brought up. Instead of stooping to clean the mess, she crossed her arms under her chest, tapping her foot as she waited to hear his explanation for this topic coming up again. If she could, she would smack him now, and it crossed her mind more than once to do so.

“And why would they think you can convince me?!” she questioned in a sharp whisper; her tone shrewd. “Because I told you before, back when we agreed to this farce, that it would be impossible for me to grow to love you. s*x with you is even more impossible than that!”

“I know, but what else are we supposed to do, Julia?!” He returned, walking over to grab the broom. “Do you want to finish school? I don’t want to lose the company and watch Aiden, Trevor, and Zach go through the same thing. Do you want that for Betty, April, or Little John?”

“What do you expect me to say?! To appease our parents, I’ll f**k you?!” she shot back, angry he would even ask. “Why would you even CONSIDER asking?!”

Instead of waiting for him to answer, she turned and left the kitchen, going directly to her room. How could she possibly have s*x with someone like that? She wondered, ruffling her hair in frustration. She threw herself onto her bed, wishing she could be free of the responsibilities placed on her by her parents and the husband she did not want. Tears welled up in her eyes and she looked out of the window, wishing she could run away. Even though she wished it, though, she could not find the determination to do so. Why did she have to be the one to suffer because of what they wanted?

Julia rolled over to turn her back to the night sky and its beauty. Logically, she knew Marcus was right, and this was the only option they had. But she did not want to have s*x with him. The fact her parents even asked this of her made her feel cheap like she really did not differ from a p********e to them. She sighed as she sunk even further into the bed, wishing the blankets would swallow her whole. Julia knew they did not intend on giving her a choice, but this plan only made her hate them more. For a second, she considered fighting this, hoping to force them to see the error of their ways. Then she shook her head. It would not work.

There was no way to escape the life her parents lined out, and that inescapable fate depressed her. For the next two days, Julia remained locked in her room, refusing to even leave to eat. The more she bemoaned her existence, the worse she felt until she finally had to leave her room to get food. When she walked in there, Marcus sat at the bar, looking over some paperwork from the company. Though she completely ignored him, she could see the name Leo Charles at the top of the document. If she remembered correctly, that man was terrible, she thought.

When he glanced up, she looked away, walking over to the cabinet to grab a bowl to eat some cereal out of. She needed to fill her stomach with something, even if it had no taste to her. She grabbed the sweetest cereal they had, as well as the milk out of the fridge, to make her bowl. Julia hated the tense silence filling the room, but did her best to not allow it to distract her from eating her tasteless breakfast. The only sound in the room was the clink of her spoon against the bowl and the shuffling of papers in Marcus’s hands.

“I don’t want to do it either, Julia,” Marcus said without looking up from his paperwork. “If they have me removed from my position, they will put Leo in charge. You saw the documents, right?”

Leo is Marcus’s business rival and wants to change the company’s policies to force people to work, even on holidays. He was a business associate her father headhunted from another company, and his previous company had several policies in place that did not match well with Marcus’s ideals. If Leo takes over, however, he will make it extremely difficult to qualify for vacation time or holiday pay. Julia saw the paperwork on it when she went to a business meeting a few weeks ago, but she had no formal say in the business decisions her husband made. She had only gone to keep up appearances. Her shoulders sank as she looked up at him, meeting his chocolate brown eyes.

“Surely the Board of Directors will not allow changes to the policies concerning vacations and holidays to take place…” she stated, taking a seat with her cereal next to him at the bar. “Why is it we are the ones who have to suffer through this?"