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CHAPTER ONE 

 

The living room was filled with tension. The words that were spoken by Mr. Walter, her dad's creditor, gave hope to their hearts.

 

It was as if Manna was thrown from above and Mr. Walter was an angel sent from God. As he kept on talking, Ashley moved closer to the last stairs, which were nearer to the living room, hid from their sight, and continued eavesdropping.

 

"I'm going to forget about the 10 million dollars you are owing me, and I'm even going to help your company get back on its feet." Mr. Walter said, and she could see her dad smiling.

 

"If..." He summoned his lawyer to bring out a file. "Read it out," he commanded the lawyer.

 

"Mr. Walter is going to forget about the 10 million dollars you're owing him, and he's even going to help your company get back on its feet and offer you another five million dollars if you allow your daughter to get married to Mr. Walter."

 

 

Her smile grew broader and broader until it turned into a quick frown when she heard the word after the 'if' statement. That conditional word alone turned the whole conversation into something unpleasant, something that shouldn't be spoken aloud. She couldn't hear the rest, only the fact that she would get married to Mr. Walter.

 

“What?!” Mr. Peter, her dad, exclaimed loudly, which shook the whole mansion, clearly showing his disapproval of the whole ‘if’ statement.

 

“No... No... Not my daughter, please. Not my daughter. Whatever you're saying, please don't involve my daughter; don't involve her." Her mom panicked, shaking her head vehemently.

 

"Think about it. Think about what you're going to gain. Anyways, I'm going to give you folks some time to think about it. Let's say for about two weeks and three days, because that's the time I have left. If after that period you haven't come to a conclusion, there won't be any deal between us." He coughed uncontrollably, which made his bodyguard, who was on standby by the side, rush to his side, giving him some pats and some pills.

 

"Anyways," he continued with a strained voice, "I'll be back in two weeks. I hope you make a good choice." With that last statement, he left, leaving no trace behind—only his voice—for them to ponder on what was said. Ashley ran to her room shivering, not from the cold but from what she heard.

 

All this wouldn't have happened if her father hadn't been so greedy for more money. All these wouldn't have happened if her dad had continued with his business and had expanded it when he had the money instead of borrowing.

 

Her father had borrowed ten million dollars from Mr. Walter to expand his business a year ago, and the loan was a one-year Ultimum. The business expansion failed because the goods they were importing from overseas got lost in the sea. The loan had expired three months ago, but her dad couldn't pay off the money, so Mr. Walter gave her dad a one-month grace and threatened to increase the interest by three million dollars if her dad couldn't pay by that time. Her dad had wanted to sell their only property, which was the house they were currently living in. He had gotten buyers that were ready to buy the house for seven million dollars, but her mother had pestered him to stop because if they did sell their house, they would become homeless. Then miraculously, this morning, Mr. Walter came to give her parents an offer. An absurd offer. An offer that sounded so good until he mentioned it. He had offered to forget about his money and even offer them another five million dollars if they agreed to his offer. Marriage.

 

A knock erupted in her thoughts; the individual who turned out to be her mom didn't even wait for permission before opening her room door. Her mom came in, wiping her eyes off, then smiled at her—the smile not reaching her eyes. She could see on her face that something was wrong. She rose from her bed, shifting to a corner, thereby creating space for her mom to sit. Her mom sat but didn't utter a word.

 

"Mom?" She called but got no response from her mother. She looked at her and realized her eyes were empty and void. "Mom!" This time she shouted her name forcefully, making her mom forcefully come out of her reverie.

 

"Yes, my dear." Kate looked at her daughter, expecting her to say something about calling her name and invading her thoughts.

 

"Mom? What happened? Why the long face?" Ashley asked, pretending to be curious as to whether she didn't eavesdrop. Her mom stared at her with sad eyes. A tear dropped out of her eyes; she cleaned it up and sniffed.

 

"Nothing, my dear, just know that we love you so much. No matter any decision we make, put it in your heart that we love you, okay?"

 

"Mom? What happened? What did the creditor say?" More tears dropped from her mom's eyes; she cleaned them, stood up abruptly, stared at her, then rushed out of the room with a bang, not answering when she called her name again.

 

If Ashley hadn't eavesdropped, she would have been worried, curious, and probably rushed after her, but she did; she eavesdropped. Curiosity,  they say, kills the cat, but in her case, it shattered her, drained her, and left her thinking—for hours.

 

Evening came slower than she expected; it was as if the time had come to a standstill. She was shocked for hours until she realized it was supposed to move. She lazily climbed down the stairs to the dining room and saw her dad sitting on the dining chairs—absentmindedly hitting his spoon on the empty plate before him—while her mom kept going back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room, blessing the table with sumptuous meals.

 

By the time she was seated, her mom had done her little travel and was also seated while she dished the food for everyone. She prayed for the food, her heartfelt prayer, which didn't deserve the undeserving 'amen' from her parents.

 

Soon after, the clatter of spoons and forks was heard from the dining room; no one uttered a word focusing on the delicious meal in front of them; they ate till their stomachs were filled, knowing that after the food, reality would dawn. A belch erupted from the throat of her dad, which made her and her mom laugh. The first laughter of the day, which died almost immediately, was born. They looked at each other with sad faces, as if reprimanding one another for laughing.

 

Not taking it any longer, her dad stood up from his chair, summoning her and mom to the living room. Her mom stood up, following after, leaving her seated on the chair. She shakily stood up and cleared the plates they used to eat, reminding herself to wash them afterward since the maid had already resigned, running for her life.

 

She sat down far away from her parents, her heart not ready to hear from them, not ready to be termed an ungrateful child if she refused their wishes. She breathed in and out heavily, then opened her mouth to say something—anything—but nothing came forth, so she clamped it shut.

 

"You look uneasy, dear. Anything the matter?" Her mom asked her, slicing the silence immediately.

 

"Mom... Dad... I can't. I'm sorry, I can't." She muttered. Already knew what her dad would ask her. She was scared because she didn't want her dad to get angry. Whenever he was angry, he usually turned from the good old dad to a monster—a monster that even beat his wife. Her dad looked at her with a look filled with hatred, and she knew she'd pressed that button already.

 

"You will, and that's final!" Her dad commanded.

 

"Dad! I can't do it; why should I? Why should I be the one to pay for your mista—" Her dad didn't even let her finish before landing a resounding slap on her face. She held her face and stared at her dad with pure hatred.