POV: Natalie

It’s as glaring as day. Don Ramirez, my father, hates the simple air that I breathe.

“What….did you say?”

Oh, I heard him clearly, his words? They were so loud that it became deafening, but I wanted him to look me in the eyes, and repeat them.

Don Ramirez, never repeats himself. But you know who’s had enough? Me.

He turned to look at me, and for the first time, I held onto the gaze of the man I had feared all my life until now.

They were devoid of emotions, and suddenly, all the defenses I’d forced myself to put up came crashing down.

And before I could stop it, I heard myself splattering words I never knew I had the courage to say.

“When are you ever going to let this go? When? I was an infant. I didn't beg to show up as the daughter of a man who wanted nothing to do with me, I don’t deserve to be treated like a murderer by my own father!”

I screamed the last words aloud for the very first time, but every relieve that I should have felt was instantly replaced with more guilt, and fear.

“You think this is about the death of your mother?” The unfazed words hit me like a bomb.

I didn't even know the woman, never seen what she looked like, cause there were no pictures, except one.

I could barely remember cause I only got a chance to spare it a glance when I was ten and playfully ran into his home office, before getting scolded and dragged out.

That was the only time I ever saw a different picture from the large portraits of him that filled our home.

Yet, for some reason, I was always reminded, or made to think that it should have been me who should have died, and not her.

There was an awkward silence as it has always been with us, but I wasn’t having it, I wasn’t here to be ignored, he’s controlled everything about my life but this? I can’t let this go.

Not when I now had something to hold on to, not when there was Jamiel, my every reason to fight this.

Memories of the previous night came crawling to hunt me again, why didn’t he show up?

“I’m not going to do as you say.”

I blurted out before I could even stop myself.

There was a demonic glare from him as if he dared me to mean every word that I had just said, and maybe it was all in my head, but something about the way he turned to glare at me made me even more scared than I had ever felt around him, his eyes were so dark, I had never seen that before.

But before he could give me a response his phone rang and he walked to his window, responding in whispers.

I let out a sigh that I didn’t even know I had been holding in. When he got back, I knew there was no escaping this, I knew I was done for, I was really getting married to a man I knew nothing about.

“He’s coming. And you better be ready.” Was all he said before walking out of the office, leaving me to my misery.

And barely twenty four hours later, I stood all alone at a corner of the hall I’m to be married in, and I let the tears stream down my face with my heart bawling in pain.

I’m to be married against my will, now I’m being made to have no wedding ceremony, a pen in hand, no loved one in place, and a broken heart.

How did things spiral out of control?

How did I go from being the admirable lover to a gardener who meant everything to me to being bound in holy matrimony by contract to a total stranger who seemed to have vowed with my father to make my life an even worse hellhole than he ever had?

I couldn’t escape this, even if I tried.

This man was cold, he was stiff and commanding even as he had his back turned to me. Yet I couldn’t help it, the awefully familiar feeling I felt in his presence.

He hadn’t spared me a glance and I resisted the bugging urge to throw my shoe at him, just any form of chaos or havoc that would end the misery I was about to get trapped into.

“You are welcome to the family, she's all yours. Do as you please, as long as you keep to your end of our deal, of course,” My father said, laughing in a way that I found disgustingly annoying.

They both shook hands and I fought the tears that were dropping nonstop from my eyes when I looked at him but found no remorse.

None of them spared me a glance.

Nothing at all to at least show he felt sad that he was giving out his only daughter whom he claimed to love dearly away for his own selfish gains.

Oh, I’m wrong, he’s never admitted to loving me.

His eyes glittered with joy, the look he always had the few times I was opportune to watch what he was like with others through my window after he met with a few of his business associates.

The look that showed he was proud to have sealed a deal as huge and as rewarding as this.

Is this what being a daughter felt like for everyone?

I wonder what he had sold me for.

I had no way of knowing if the only world I've known all my life is the kind of world every girl my age has also known.

Every ounce in my body told me this was bad.

But I guess I have to accept the fate that he would always treat me this way.

But can I accept this other fate that I'm being forced into without a confirmation from me first?

Twenty-one years of my life I've been nothing but a caged damsel and now this? This man whom I called father is about to marry me off as a trophy!

I watched from the corner as the man I'm to be married to, nodded to everything Father said.

I held up the paper that Danielle handed me. My hands trembling as they stared back at me, scanning the tiny words and not missing the part that indicated I had no choice.

At the top, it read “sign it” like a command I dared not refuse.

The hard-to-ignore boldly written words at the top of it caused a heavy

lump to form in my throat.“MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE’

The remainder of my heart shattered as I read every content, over and over again.

‘Come Natalie, come meet your husband to be.’ Father’s words cut through my heartache.

I almost chuckled bitterly at his words. Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way round?

But instead, I walked over to them slowly, ready to give Mr husband-to-be a piece of my mind.

‘Mr Archie…..my daughter, Natalie.’ Father motioned towards me as I stood there, heart thumping in my chest for every word I was about to let out.

‘Hello….Natalie.’

That voice. What? What’s going on?

I GASPED in bewilderment.

Jamiel or should I say Archie stretched his hand towards me with a smile so deceitful yet clear enough to pass the message.

I’ve been ripped.