Chapter 7

Lune dragged herself through the front door, her limbs heavy from the long day of work. She had been trying to keep her mind busy, to distract herself from the impending doom of her future, but no amount of work could stop the dread that clung to her every thought. She dropped her bag by the door and headed toward the kitchen, expecting the usual quiet, but she immediately felt the tension in the air. Her parents were sitting at the table, waiting for her.

Evelyn’s eyes were red-rimmed, and Gerald looked more serious than usual. Lune froze, her heart sinking. Something was wrong—she could feel it.

“Lune, honey,” her mother started softly, glancing nervously at her husband before turning her gaze back to her daughter. “We need to talk.”

Lune’s body tensed, her exhaustion quickly replaced by a wave of anxiety. She moved toward the table slowly, her mind already racing with possibilities. She didn’t have to wait long.

“Arlo came by earlier,” Gerald said, his voice gruff but not unkind. “We’ve set a date for the wedding.”

Lune’s heart stopped for a moment, then began to race in her chest. “What?” she breathed, not sure she had heard correctly. “You’ve set a date?”

Her mother nodded, her expression pained. “It’ll be in two weeks, dear.”

Lune felt like the floor had dropped out from under her. Two weeks? They had planned it without her. She hadn’t even been part of the conversation.

“You’ve already planned the wedding?” Lune’s voice cracked disbelief and hurt pouring into her words. “Without me? How could you?”

“We didn’t have a choice, Lune,” Gerald said, his tone defensive, though he avoided her eyes. “Arlo’s… impatient. He wants this done quickly.”

Lune’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, anger and betrayal bubbling up inside her. “I haven’t even met him! How can you just hand me over to someone I don’t know?” Her voice rose, the betrayal sharp in every word.

Evelyn flinched, tears welling up in her eyes. “Lune, we did what we had to. We couldn’t risk losing everything. Arlo… he offered us a way out. A way to protect you.”

“Protect me?” Lune repeated, incredulous. “By selling me off to someone I’ve seen once in my entire life? This isn’t protection, it’s a betrayal!”

Her mother’s tears spilled over, but Lune couldn’t bring herself to care. The room felt like it was closing in on her. How could they do this? Her parents, the people she had trusted most, had made the most important decision of her life without her.

“I had no say in this. None at all,” Lune whispered, her voice breaking as the weight of their betrayal crashed over her. “You’ve planned my entire future, and I wasn’t even in the room.”

Gerald stood, his face hardening. “We did what was best for all of us, Lune. This is your reality now. You need to accept it.”

But Lune couldn’t. She shook her head, stepping back from the table, her chest tightening. “I’ll never forgive you for this,” she whispered, the sting of their betrayal burning her throat.

Without another word, she turned and stormed out of the room, the sound of her parents calling after her fading as she rushed upstairs, her heart pounding with a mix of anger, sorrow, and fear. She slammed her bedroom door shut and sank onto her bed, the overwhelming reality of her situation finally hitting her.

In two weeks, she would be marrying a stranger. And the people she had once trusted more than anyone had made sure she had no choice.

A few hours after Arlo's visit, Evelyn and Gerald sat at their kitchen table once again, this time with a mix of unease and disbelief. A large envelope, heavy with something unfamiliar yet undeniably valuable, lay before them. It had arrived that morning, brought by one of Arlo’s men, with a note attached in Arlo's distinct, concise handwriting: “For the wedding preparations. Ensure everything is done properly.”

Evelyn gingerly picked up the envelope and looked at Gerald, her hand trembling slightly. She had never seen such an amount of money in her life. Carefully, she opened it, her eyes widening at the sight of the crisp, neatly stacked bills. “Gerald,” she whispered, barely able to believe it, “there’s so much…”

Gerald leaned over his expression tight with a mixture of surprise and discomfort. They both knew this was more than just a gift. It was a message. Arlo wanted the wedding to be perfect, and he was sparing no expense to make sure it would happen exactly as he envisioned.

“He’s making sure we have no excuses,” Gerald muttered, his voice low. “Everything he does is calculated.”

Evelyn nodded, still staring at the money. It was enough to cover not just the wedding but the debts that had plagued them for years. For a moment, there was a flicker of relief in her chest, but it was quickly overshadowed by guilt. This money wasn’t a blessing—it was a chain, tying Lune even tighter to Arlo’s will.

“He wants control over everything,” Evelyn said quietly, closing the envelope and setting it down. “Even the wedding details. He doesn’t trust us to do this without his influence.”

Gerald leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his graying hair. “He’s made it clear that Lune belongs to him now. There’s no turning back.”

A silence settled between them, heavy with the realization of what they had done. The money was a solution to their financial problems, but it came at a price they hadn’t fully understood until now. Lune’s freedom, her future, her happiness—all of it was being bought by the man they had allowed into their lives.

“I just hope,” Evelyn whispered, her voice thick with emotion, “that Lune can forgive us one day.”

Gerald said nothing, but the weight of her words hung in the air as they both stared at the envelope, a physical reminder of the choice they had made and the irreversible path they had set for their daughter.