1

"I Alfonso de Luca take you Priscilla to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward...." His stiff deep voice said as I zoned out.

Just two days, I was an high school student who finally got asked by her crush on a date, it was a dream come true but a day later, that same dream was crushed when my parents told me a certain man had asked for my hand in marriage and we would be getting married the next day.

Trust me, I would have refused but then this said man was fucking rich and he was like a saviour to my family that had debts upon debt pilling on our necks. I just couldn't let that opportunity slip away when there was a way to finally clear those debts.

My father's company went bankrupt five years ago and since then we've been living our lives paying debts everyday, hardly having anything to eat and going to school on scholarship.

My mom had a small bakery and coffee shop where we were able to earn little money, My father couldn't work because after the company went bankrupt, he had to work at a small factory but then got into a work accident and since then he has been on a wheel chair.

My elder sister, Francisca, works two jobs after school, while I tutor rich kids on weekdays and also do babysitting on weekends. My younger sister, Daphne, sews clothes and she normally gets some jobs that still bring little cash to the table.

Then there is a man who was ready to pay off all our debts as a proposal gift and if I get married to him, he'll take care of my parents and sisters, how could I say no?

My family could finally live a good life and all I had to do was say yes.

This was my reality.

"Do you take her as your lawfully wedded wife?" The priest's voice brought me back to that reality.

"Yes, I do." That darn cold voice.

"Do you take him as your lawfully wedded husband?"

"Yes, I do."

"And with that, I pronounce you husband and wife." The priest finalized and there were clapping and cheering from the crowd.

"You may now kiss the bride." He said and I stiffened.

Who knew my first kiss was going to be on my wedding day?

My breath seized as I watched him inch closer but to my very big suprise he gently pressed his thumb over my lips before pressing his lips on his thumb.

what was that?

My sisters came forward as they both hugged me tightly. I didn't know if I was going to see them again and it scared me.

"we'll miss you dearly." Daphne whined as she hugged me even tighter.

"I'll miss you guys too."

"Make sure you call us if you anything happens or he does whatever you don't like." Francisca said as she brushed my hair.

"I will." I smiled as tears gathered in my eyes, I didn't want to cry today, not because it was a happy day but because my family will feel bad for letting me marry someone I don't know all in the name that he told them that he loves me and would like to marry me.

Someone suddenly cleared their throat as we turned to see Alfonso standing behind us.

"We need to leave now."

"To where?" Daphne asked and immediately he shot her a glare.

"Home." He replied with clenched teeth.

"You better treat her right." Francisca warned as she glared at him.

"And you are lucky she's your sister." He growled before turning to me. "let's go."

I followed him like a lost puppy as we walked towards my parents. My mom was trying to hide the fact that she was crying but her red puffy eyes betrayed her.

"Thank you Mr Williams, it was nice doing business with you. We'll uh--- we'll take our leave now." He said in a calm voice.

what the heck does that even mean? what business.

"Take care of my daughter." My father replied as a tear dropped from his eyes.

"Dad, please don't cry and Mom take care of him too, I'll call you everyday." I assured them as I wiped his tears with my thumb.

Today has been a rollercoaster of emotions and I wanted to be strong till the end. I had prepared myself for what was about to happen next in my life. From what I had seen so far, Alfonso "My husband" wasn't the romantic type, he had made it very clear that he wasn't up for some lovey-dovey shit and this marriage was more of a business proposal than happily ever after.

But then again, I can't help but remember my father's words.

"He truly loves you and would like to marry you but if you don't want, then it's fine."

those were his exact words that day but I'm starting to doubt every inch of it, something was not right and I needed to find out if I was going to be at peace.

we were escorted by about four men in suit, each standing at our front, back and sides. The one at the front opened the door to a clean limousine and Alfonso was nice enough to assist me into it because of my very full ball wedding dress. He entered after me before the bodyguard shut the door.

I looked out through the dark glass as I saw my parents, sisters, family members and friends waving at the car as we pulled out of the field we had used, it was not a big wedding and only consisted of close relatives.

As our car drove farther, I couldn't help but turn back to look at my family for the last time, they all had sad faces but the last thing I remember seeing, which I might never be able to get over was the single tear that rolled down my father's eyes.