~~Zara Todd's POV~~
"What do you mean by daughter in law? I didn't know about it. I am not even informed about it. Isn't this the fraud?" my voice stiffens and there is so much fear and anger in it.
What the hell did just happen in some hours?
I was happy. I was so much happy when I knew that I am getting a full paid scholarship all of a sudden and without doubt I had thought that this all happened because of talent I hold.
But what the hell is wrong now?
When did I even agreed to get married? Who asked me for this?
"You don't know about it?" she asks as she raises her brows and stands up from her seat.
I shake my head.
"It doesn't matter. I have already paid your parents the money they wanted to have and there is no return now." Her voice is calm but my heart is beating out louder and louder with fear.
I am just eighteen years old girl who have dreamt her life in so many magical ways. I had thought once I will get out of that house, I will be able to take care of all the things on my own.
I will do this, I will do that but I will be at least happy. This was what I have thought but guess, I was wrong. I am always wrong in this aspect.
Whatever I think never happens and it never goes as per my wishes. I am just the hand of a clock which turns on anti-clockwise direction.
"Parents? I don't have parents. You mean my uncle and aunt?" My forehead creases as my voice starts to break now. Is it the thing that I am thinking right now?
Did my uncle and aunt sell me to them?
I couldn't help my tears to stop. They start to flow like a faster paced flooding river landing on the soft fur of the furry rug on the floor.
How can my uncle and aunt do this to me? They aren't even my far-sighted relatives. They were the most closest relatives I have had.
I remember how my dad had hand over me with trust to them, to take care of me. He made sure that they take care of me like his own daughter and handed over all his property to them.
But they never did what they were told. I was always crying at the corner of the house always deprived of the things, of food, of clothes and everything but I never complained even a once to them for that.
My voice was always suppressed in there and I had accepted my fate like that but now?
Marriage?
I can't even imagine it. What the hell does that even mean? I am just fucking 19 years old and how can I ever imagine about being married with someone.
"Please, can you please let me talk to my uncle and aunt? I don't want this. I really don't want this," I sob with sounds in front of her but I don't think this is going to melt the heart of this woman.
She is beautiful outside but inside she is as harsh as stone and I don't think any thing could just melt her heart.
"Call your uncle and aunt. Make everything sure but there is no returning back now. What is decided is already decided," she places a cell phone on the mini table in front of her and I grab it and make a call to my uncle.
The ring goes on but no one picks up the phone. Same goes with my aunt. She doesn't pick up the phone.
I place the phone on the table with my fearful eyes. I really don't have any hope at all. I really have no one in the world and everyone is free to play with my life.
Isn't my life worse than hell?
I have lived the hellish live in there with my abusive aunt and my perverted uncle who had tried multiple times to touch me and misbehave with me.
But... Still after that why is it that I am the one who is suffering and they would always enjoy their life?
Isn't life so much unfair to me?
My eyes keep on looking at the rug while a warm hand pats on my shoulder.
I lift my gaze towards the hands and the hands are of non- other than of her.
"You don't have to cry anymore. I will not kill you. It's just that you will get married to my son and accompany him with his school and take care of him. You will get everything that you wanted. The money, the power, the education you have dreamt of and a beautiful career but you have to be with my son all time," she says.
Her words even don't excite me. I don't know if I will be happy with money she is talking about, power and the education she is talking about. What career will I make now?
My mind is just so lost and there is no way out of it. I feel like I am in the middle of maze whose way is completely impossible to find out and I will be rotting in this maze till the end of my lifetime.
"I... I don't want to," I mumble with a teary voice.
"If you don't want to then return me back the money that your parents have took away from me. It's two billion dollars and I want you to return it by this weekend," she shouts.
Two billion dollars!
I have never heard of that much huge sum of money in my whole life. Where will I bring it from? I don't have even a single dollar saved for me. Everytime, I used to save they would snatch away from me.
"You can't right. So, just get married with my son," she says with a smile on the corner of her lips. The angelic face which allured me some moment ago feels like that of devil right now.
And there is no way out from here.
"So, what do you decide Miss Todd?" she asks me as she already knows the answer of me. She hasn't left any space for me to reject. I am bind with all the possible worse circumstances that is going to happen in the future.
I don't see a single glint of light at all. There is only darkness in front of me and she right now looks like a devil who is controlling over my life.
I nod my head as the words don't want to come out of my shivered lips.
How could I say, I agree when my heart feels like I should be rather killed right now? It would have been better if I am killed. There would be no pain and no betrayal at all.
"I'm glad to hear that," she says with her joyful voice. I haven't even said anything and she says she hears that.
She is another devil who listens even before telling her anything while my aunt was the devil who never listened to me even after I say anything to her.
Today, I have seen the different versions of devil. Both of them are wicked but their ways of wickedness is completely different. One kills with the harsh words and the another kills with the sweet words.
"Mrs. Jones," she calls and the lady in her mid fourties enters inside the room with a huge grin on her face.
"Yes, Mam," she stands and bows in front of her.
"Take her back to her room and make sure she doesn't lack anything. Give her every single things that she wants to have. She isn't a normal high school girl anymore. She is now the part of my family now. Treat her like royals," she orders and the lady in front of me waves her head.
"Lady, we need to move," she says with a gentle and sweet voice and I follow her.
'Treat her like royalty.'
This thing keeps on ringing on my mind. Just because I am going to get married to her son, I am going to be treated like a royalty.
Just because I am sold by my relatives, I am being given the physical happiness. I am happy that I don't belong to my uncle and aunt anymore but I am not happy I belong here. Not even a single bit of it.
She leads me towards the huge wooden door engraved with so many gorgeous and elegant designs on it. Even the door is so much lavishing with a golden knob which shines like a pure 24 carat gold.
"This is your room miss and here are your keys," she hands me the keys on my hands and I insert the keys on the door.
I unlock the door and my eyes widens like the huge marbles in front of the whole room.
"This is my room?" My eyes flutter as I see the huge room which is almost in the area of the house I lived before and my whole body freezes.
"Yes, lady. This is your room. Would you like to adjust somewhere in the room?" she asks me while I am busy staring at the huge room in front of me.
"No! Holy! What is this?" I mumble.
~Zara Todd's POV~"No! Holy! What is this?" I mumble.My eyes enlarge as I see the beautiful and magnificent decoration in front of me. The room is painted in golden color like it is made up of pure gold.And the pieces are exactly like of some royal movies."You like your room, miss," Mrs. Jones asks me."I love it. But what do I even deserve to get something huge like this?" I ask."You're our lady after our Madam and you are going to be the wife of our young master. Why wouldn't you deserve to have something like this?" she says with a smile on her face.I can see that her face has that smile plastered every time I talk with her. I don't know it's made up or just some genuine one cause I can see the same smile again and again when she is around.I fake a smile as I look around the room. This fancy room surely amazes me. It makes me think that this could even be a dream and not a reality but this isn't what I have ever
~Zara Todd's POV~"You seem troubled dear," Mrs. Jones asks me as she helps me with my stuffs in my room.Why wouldn't I be troubled?I am a eighteen year old girl who is going to get married in four days and sold to her madam from her own relatives.Who would be troubled if it is not me?"I'm fine. I'm just anxious with new environment. Everything here is black for me," I reply."Black?" her brows arch."I mean it was white and now it's black. Contrasting," I amend my words. Isn't it the truth? It was completely different the day before yesterday.I would be doing some chores if I was in the my uncle's house but I am here sitting in a well furnished lavishing room with my heart beating faster and faster with fear."So, I heard it's your birthday today," she says."Yes, it is."My birthday isn't special every year. It's just a day that comes like other usual days. Chores and hard works are the o
~Zara Todd's POV~ I fall asleep after hearing the noises of breaking of stuffs in the house. I don't know what stuffs are those but he continued to do that for almost an hour. For an hour, my body keeps on trembling behind the door while seated on the floor. I bend my legs against my chest and clutch them as tightly as I could.My grips on my legs would increase when I hear the sounds of the crashing of stuff downward as my body flinches with every move. What the hell is he? Why would he do that? Is he a monster? Why is he behaving like a unsocial animal? Just like a monster. Nothing like a human. After almost an hour, the sound stops. I obey Mrs.Jones on this. I don't open the door till she knocks on my door. I wait for her to knock the door so that I can be safe enough to open the door. And I get asleep on the floor while waiting for her. I don't know for how many hours, I have been sleeping on the floor. A
~Zara Todd's POV~Getting married to to-be-Minister is more than just something and going to be the daughter-in-law of the woman he is going to get married is just... I don't know what should I say?Should I feel elated? The man whom the world is trying to reach out now is in front of me.Or should I feel sad for all that happened to me since the morning."Happy Birthday. I heard it's your Birthday," he says. He smiles with his beautiful pink lips as he stretches out his hands to me for shaking them.I don't know what should I do? Should I shake hands with him or not? Should I just try to stand still like I am completely shocked and don't know what to do or should I just shake hands with him."Miss Todd!" he calls me and I get out from my own dream world."What happen? I'm glad I get to attend your party," he says as he shakes our hands and massages the back of my hands some extraordinarily which I feel quite off about.I pull
~Zara Todd's POV~"Oh my God! You look absolutely stunning," Adrian's mouth stays open when I stand in front of them."You're right! She looks absolutely gorgeous, just like a princess," Camilo adds and I smile slightly. She turns me to look at the mirror and even when I look at the mirror, even I couldn't speak for a second."This is me?" I say and all of them laugh for a while."Yes, dear. So we're done here. We will be leaving now and please have a quite good time with yourself first," they say and start packing up their stuffs and walk out of the room.I can't help but stare at my own self. I have never seen myself as like this. Not with the attire and make over like this.The crimson colored velvet gown extends from my wide neck to the floor like I am the real princess if some movies.It's cut off shoulder showing off beauty bones. The golden border around my neck design, below my chest and on the bottom of my flair makes it so s
~Zara Todd’s POV~“NO! No! Don’t do this to me. Please uncle, it hurts. Aunt! Aunt please help me,” I cry for help but there is no one to help me. Jane isn’t in the home and even aunt isn’t in the home. He is my own uncle. Own fucking uncle yet he tried to do something bad to me.I am just fifteen years old, the same age like that of his daughter and I am his daughter too but he did that to me. He tried to sexually abuse me and not only him his friends tried to do the same with me but every time he would try to do that Diva always saved me.I haven’t told this to anyone, not even to aunt just because it might ruin their relationship and somewhere I knew that she would never believe me. So, I always kept quiet. It all stopped when I was at my late fifteen when Jane saw that and even after that she kept quiet and started to bully me even more. I was such a easy target for everyone, for their lust desire, for their em
~Zara Todd’s POV~ “Hey dad!” a cheerful and also the bold voice comes inside the house and this is the first time I have ever heard this voice in the house. I lift my eyes to look at him and I am almost blinded by the beauty of the guy that is walking towards the dining table. He wears the similar uniform as that mine. We go to school together? So, does that mean he is a Xavier? I can’t actually tell but he is completely different from what people have told me about him. He hugs Mr. Andreas and to the mother. “Good morning dear,” she says with a smile and he smiles too and gets seated on the chair next to his dad and catches the fork. I feel like I am non-existent and invisible in front of me. He just can’t see me, maybe. And then suddenly his eyes meet mine and then he smiles suddenly. “Oh! We have a new person in the house?” and then he looks at his dad and mom for the response. “She is going to get married with Xavier. She i
~Zara Todd’s POV~“Get out.”That voice isn’t only a voice to me but it sends the shiver to my whole body. That voice is the most bold voice I have ever heard in my whole life time. It makes me puzzled whether to look at his side or not.I am uncomfortable to look at him but this is the only seat that is available in the whole classroom and I can’t just get out from there just like that.“B…u…t there are no seats elsewhere,” I try to stay as gentle and as calm as I can. I am sure he can sense the fear clearly on my voice.“I don’t care just get the hell out of there. I don’t want anyone sitting right beside me,” he says and this makes me quite infuriated this time.Is he blind? Does he even have mind?He is telling as if I am dying to sit right next to him. I have no choice right now than sitting right beside him.“No!” I say with
Epilogue~Zara Todd's POV~I walk down the graveyard. The day, I have been fearing all this time has finally come up. I never wanted Melanie to leave my side.But what was supposed to happen will always happen. Sometimes we can't just take control of our lives. It just goes on the way we never want it to be.We all stand in front of her grave, all of the friends of our class. She has been such an amazing friend to everyone.The whole class mourns in front of her coffin and you won't believe who is mourning the most right now.Yes, it's Nathan. I can see how much hard it is for him. He has been in love with her in last one month. I never thought that the last wish of Melanie could ever be fulfilled. I thought it was im
~Zara Todd's POV~"What?" Xavier freezes at that same point."You liar! You must be lying," he shouts."Why would I lie at the edge of my death? I'm not a fool to joke with my own life," uncle mumbles and Xavier leaves his hands away from him.He becomes hopeless all of a sudden. He surely hated his mother. She never loved him. She never even cared for him.But how much we hate our parents, how much they don't care about us, it's certain that we won't love to hear any bad things to our parents.I don't know what is it called but it's a special bond that connects us with our parents. Even we don't love them we can't hate them hundred percent and that's because they are our parents.Uncle runs away as he leaves his hands from his body and aunt follows.One more time, it's just two of us standing in the midst of the room, speechless and lost.Before, I thought it was me and at that time, it hurt him.
~Zara Todd’s POV~ She walks away from the room and we are left in the room together. Both of us being unanswered of the secrets that she wasn’t even willing to tell both of us.“Xavier! She said I killed my parents,” I want to stand up and walk to him but I don’t get to stand up from there. My knees feel so much weak right now. I don’t have any energy to cope up with anything right now.I feel like the whole world around me has become dull and even the air isn’t moving around me. I feel both the hot sensation of burning on my skin while the inner part of my body shivers with the pain.“That’s not truth. I am sure she is telling a lie. She is such a liar. She has been lying to me all her life and she is lying to you as well,” he says as he walks to me and kneels in front of me.He pulls me into his arms and caresses my shoulders a little faster than he u
~Zara Todd’s POV~‘You don’t deserve to hold that picture.’That sentence triggers Xavier all of a sudden. He looks at her with a mad eyes and then looks back at me and I know what he is going to do the next.“No! No! Don’t do that,” I run to him and quickly grab the picture from his hands and take it away from him.“Zara!” he calls my name with a soft voice as he sees me holding that picture against my chest and tearing out loud.“What the hell are you doing Zara? What’s going on? Who is this man?” he asks.I know he has the same curiosity that I had some moments ago. We young people are so much out of patience. We want everything to be quick and just to be at the time in which we feel okay with.We don’t like when people try to keep us in dark. We have lots of secrets with us. We can hold a lot of secrets tha
~Zara Todd’s POV~“How do you know them?” I shout at Jennifer. This thing is just knocking the air off me. I don’t understand what the hell is my dad and mom’s picture doing with her. And they are together as well.I only had a single picture of my parents and for the that single picture of them is the world. I don’t remember lots of things that I did together with my parents. I just have some vague memories of them creeping on my mind. I wish I have more of their memories.But still after that, just with a single picture of them, their image is deeply engraved in my heart. Just with that picture I have imagined my mom and dad in so many of my dreams and have cried for them. So, I know the image of my dad and mom clearly.How can a daughter do a mistake in knowing her own parents? I know these person along with her in those eighties picture is non-other than my own parents.“Yo
~Zara Todd’s POV~ “You lied to me. Why did you lie to me?” I ask this question in front of Jennifer without even being afraid. Why would I be afraid?She tried to trick me with her such an unbelievable game which is so much nasty and unfair. Why the hell did she do that for god’s sake.“I didn’t lie. That’s the truth,” she says.“Oh! Please! Would you please stop being fake? I have asked Xavier about all of this and he knows nothing about Jack and the relationship was never fake for him,” I say.“And you believed?” she raise her brows.“Yes. Why wouldn’t I? He is my husband and he wouldn’t lie to me. I have heard every bits of truth from his own lips. Why would I believe in you instead of believing in my husband who loves me so much,” I say.“You’ve gained the courage.
~Zara Todd’s POV~“What the hell are you speaking right now? What kind of hospital? Who is in the hospital?” he asks me with the shock plastered on his face.“Xavier, please don’t lie to me now. I know everything and I ... I saw him in the hospital. Hurt, with so many injuries and so much bandages in all his body. How can you do that? How can you just do that Xavier?” I grab his clothes on his chest as I lean my head on his chest and cry so much on his chest.“I don’t get that. I just don’t get the things that you are telling right now. Just fucking tell me what the hell are you talking about?” he shouts as he grabs me away from his body and fixes his eyes on my face but I just cannot face his eyes. I look down on the floor as the tear rolls down my eyes.“What is it Zara? Just fucking tell me,” he shouts.“I met Jack! I met Jack in the hospi
~Zara Todd's POV~As soon as we enter the venue, the colorful lights welcome us. This all seem to be extravagant to be just a normal high school ending party. This party feels more than just a high school farewell.I can see all the students who has been so much studious and quiet in last few months are all different today.Beautiful dress, amazing bodies, that huge smile on their face for coming out of that locked prison like study compartments, is making them so much happy.They look different. And when I look around I don't see any teacher over there. Seems like this party is just for us. Just for students."Let's get inside," Xavier says as he holds my hands but I just don't feel that warmth from his hands. Is it because now, I know about all his truths which he has been hiding from me? Or is it because I see him differently now?I just nod my head and we walked in. Asher follows us from behind.
~Zara Todd’s POV~I rush to the hospital where Jack has been right now as soon as possible. Everything inside me is breaking into pieces. Everything within me is making me weaker from deep within. I don’t want to believe the single thing that she has told me. Who would want to believe all those things?No girl in the world would love to hear and believe the things that she told me some time ago. I hurriedly walk towards Jack’s room and open the door. And …He indeed is lying on the bed. He has the bandage on his head and there are bruises in his face. His right leg is bandaged and hung on the air as well.“Jack,” I close my mouth with my palms. I can’t believe I am seeing Jack like this right now. And the foremost thing is I can’t believe Xavier did it.It can’t be. It just can’t be. How can Xavier do all of this? He was changed. He is changed. At least I thought t