“No! Mom! Dad! Please,” I cry, staring at my parents, as I struggle with two huge men aggressively dragging me out of my house. “You can’t do this to me! You can’t just sell me off like this!”
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine my life would turn out this way.
I have dreams and goals I look forward to, and I’m happy with whatever life has in store for me. But that doesn’t include being hauled away by several men, and forced into marriage with a mafia boss.
The day starts like any other—actually, better than most.
I’ve just wrapped up my third year in college, now in a taxi heading home for summer break.
Today is better than most days not because I’m going home but because I get to see my younger brother, Andrew again. He’s the one I care for the most.
Better than most days ‘cause I don't have to stuff my face in textbooks.
My college life is stressful and hectic– normally it shouldn't be, but because I have to work twice as hard as top students to maintain my full-time scholarship that funded my whole life in college, it sure was.
It’s not like I spend my whole time reading textbooks. I have a part-time job and a crochet small business I run. But the money I make from it, I save it for after I graduate, hoping to use the money to move out, get a good job, and live the life of my dreams—far away from my family.
And…. maybe fall in love with a kind, hardworking decent handsome man.
I practically have my whole life planned out, but these plans fall apart the moment I step out of the taxi that drops me in front of my house.
The taxi zooms off and I grip the retractable handle of my pink suitcase, ready to pull it toward my house, an old three-bedroom bungalow. But as I lift my eyes from the suitcase to my home, they narrow at the sight of two jeeps parked in the driveway. Their luxurious and sleek designs making my dad’s white old rusted pickup truck look even worse.
“Rich people?” I mumble, my stomach knotting uncomfortably.
Why would a rich person be at our house? A house that I have always been embarrassed to invite friends over because of how tattered and uninviting it looks.
Worse, not one car, but two?
Something doesn’t feel right.
A heavy sense of dread washes over me, as my instincts scream, “Run! Don’t go in there! It’s dangerous! It’s trouble!”
Whatever that is going on inside, it’s definitely trouble. And I do not like trouble. I always avoid it.
But knowing Andrew might be in this trouble, I race to my front door, leaving my suitcase behind to tumble to the ground.
My knuckles barely touch the wood of the door when it swings open, revealing my living room filled with men in black suits.
Startled, My eyes bulge, my chest tightens, my heart racing as I try to make sense of the scene in front of me.
‘Huh’
The men, they’re everywhere, standing like sentinels, guarding something—or someone. Eight of them stand fiercely in calculated positions in the living room, blocking exits.
My eyes sweep across the faces of my family of six, to understand the state of the scene before me.
I stare at my two elder brothers whom I despise, behind the couch, Romeo and George. Their faces are blank and sour. I can barely tell what they are thinking. While my younger brother Andrew, stands a bit shorter and skinnier beside them, his red, filled with tears, his expression a mix of fear and disappointment.
‘This is serious.’
Quickly lowering my gaze to the couches in the sitting room, my parents sit humbly across from a man who lounges on our couch casually, as if he owns the place.
He looks older than the other men, around my mom’s age but slightly younger. His gaze suddenly shifts from my parents to me, his dark eyes sizing me up.
My gaze abruptly flicks back to my parents, desperate for an answer. “Mom, Dad, what’s happening?” I barely manage to ask, breaking the tense silence, my voice small and shaky.
They don’t answer. They don’t even look me directly in the eye, yet I could see guilt in theirs.
“Haha!”
A dark chuckle breaks the silence, pulling my attention to the man on the couch. His cold dark eyes roam over me as a creepy sinister smirk spreads across his face.
“So,” he murmurs, his voice low and rough, “this must be her. Hazel Benson, My new virgin wife.”
A cold chill runs through my blood.
“Wife?” I mutter, barely able to believe the words that come out of his and my mouth.
“Wife?”I must not be hearing correctly, because did I just hear this creepy man, who looks more than twice my age, call me his wife?This isn’t real; this must be some kind of joke. Yes, a prank! Because I will never believe this; I will not accept it.My head instantly snaps in my parents’ direction, searching their faces for any sign of protest, some kind of denial, but all I see is guilt and resignation etched deep in their expressions. My mother avoids eye contact, her hands clutched tightly in her lap, while my father stares blankly ahead.“Mom, Dad, this must be a joke, right?” I ask, hoping they tell me, yes, and this is just some extreme welcome-back party.“It is not, Hazel,” my dad answers curtly, making my eyes widen more than they already are.“Wha… what do you mean?” I ask, my lips trembling, my voice breaking. “What do you mean it’s not, Dad? Who is this man, and why is he calling me his virgin—” I yell.“He is Lennox Zephyr, and you will be getting married to him, Haze
They shove me into one of the luxury vans and My eyes widen, caught off guard by the design I had only seen on TV. Instead of the usual rows of seats all facing forward, two plush seats face each other.They force me down into one of the chairs, carefully binding my wrists. Across from me, the brute man settles in, his men occupying the other seats.“Don’t worry, Hazel darling,” he says, His eyes gleaming with a sick satisfaction. “Your life from now on will be filled with so much enjoyment and luxury. You’ll be crowned the queen of an empire. Just make sure to obey me, and everything you desire will be yours.”"I don't want anything from you but for you to let me go!" I snap.His smirk deepens. “And if I do, where will you go? Back to that family that sold you? The ones who will hand you over to another organization the moment they’re in debt again? You don’t understand the situation you’re in, Hazel. You have nowhere to go, no one to run to—except me.”I hiss, biting back the angry
“It’s time to begin the second part of your day.” Adora's voice greets me from behind. Almost immediately after the extremely attractive man walks out of my sight.I turn on my heel to face her, my brows raised, “Second part?”She nods “Our tour is over. It’s time to check, then clean you up.”“Check?… Clean?”Before I can question further, they whisk me away to another room with a doctor in it. I lie nervously on the hospital bed in a loose-fitting hospital gown. Watching as a woman in a white coat approaches me, her hands encased in gloves.“To make this experience less hateful," she says in a flat tone, "I plead with you to simply follow my instructions.”I stare at her, speechless.Her eyes remain emotionless. “Open your legs wide for me.”My body freezes, and my heart slams against my ribs. “What? Why? What do you want to do?”“A hymen examination.”The words hit me like a punch to the gut. My chest tightens, as my hands grip the sides of the bed. So this is what the check-up is
My mind fills with thoughts as my hair and makeup get done.My body is here, but my mind isn’t, it’s trapped back in that suffocating room where I signed away my freedom and my future, just to protect Andrew.Now i will never be able to escape, because if I try, Andrew’s life will be taken.Kill my dad for all I care, but not Andrew, he’s the one I will do anything to protect.Mr. Zephyr has won.When they finish with my hair, makeup and get me dressed. I stare at my reflection in the mirror, not even recognizing myself. I have never seen myself this beautiful.My tousled light brown hair is styled in elegant French curls, and my makeup is light, enhancing my features. My lashes are darker, longer and thicker, framing my light brown eyes perfectly, nails are perfectly polished. All these are things I never had the luxury to care about.My entire life, I’ve never had enough time or money to care about myself.I was always doing chores in my house, studying, crocheting, or searching fo
The wedding reception officially started at one p.m and the after-party drags on till some minutes to past five.I stay by Mr. Zephyr’s side the entire time, plastering on a forced smile as he drinks and laughs with his friends.My mind keeps drifting to Ryan, my eyes searching for him. Right after we took some family portraits he disappeared from my sight.In a mansion full of nothing but monsters, it feels like he’s the only one who isn’t entirely a monster. It feels like he’s the only one that will listen to me.I need to talk to him.Looking at the round table I sit at in the midst of Mr. Zephyr and his friends. I kno