An arranged marriage

A warmth spreads from the back of her body as a voice whispers in her ear.

- Are you afraid?

An unfamiliar scent lingers close to her, making her shiver, but she doesn't dare make a sound.

Mia Lambert feels the man stop for a moment before speaking again.

- It's not too late to regret.

She clasps her hands nervously and shakes her head, saying:

- No, I don't regret...

She is very young, but...

This night is long and painful...

Finally, in the early morning, the man gets up to go to the bathroom. Mia, tired, gets up, gets dressed and leaves the room.

Downstairs in the hotel stands the middle-aged woman who offered her the deal. Seeing Mia come out, she gives her a black bag.

- This is your payment.

With little hesitation, Mia grabs the bag immediately. Then, with the money in hand, she quickly runs out. Trying to forget the pain in her private parts, she just wants to get to the hospital as soon as possible.

It is still dark. The corridor is silent. In front of the operating room, two stretchers are lying on the floor. The injured on these stretchers have not yet been taken care of, as they are unable to pay their medical expenses.

With a broken heart and a tight throat, Mia says:

- I have money. Please save my mother and brother...

Tearfully, she hands the doctor the money and clutches it in her hand. The doctor glances at it and asks the nurse to count it before calling the staff to take the injured woman to the operating room.

Seeing that they don't take her brother, Mia rushes to the doctor, grabs him and begs:

- And my brother, save him...

The doctor sighs.

- I am sorry, but it is impossible to save your brother's life...

Impossible?

It is a huge shock. Mia is devastated and everything goes black...

It hurts so much, as if someone was stabbing her heart with a knife. She falls to the ground, shaking. Eight years ago, when she was ten, her father cheated on her mother and abandoned her. He sent her mother pregnant, and herself, to a foreign country where they knew no one.

Later, her mother gave birth to a baby. They were already struggling to make ends meet, but her brother was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, and that only made the situation worse. She and her mother were barely surviving, doing odd jobs. But this car accident, in a foreign country, with no family, no money and no compassion, made her totally desperate

She had only one solution to gather the necessary sum: prostitution. But this still could not save her brother.

She suffers, without becoming hysterical. She feels bad and has trouble breathing. The world is turning gray. However, she has to accept it and persist, because she still has her mother.

Her mother needs her.

After the operation, her mother is better. But when she learns of her son's death, she breaks down.

Crying, Mia takes her in her arms, saying:

- Mom, I will always be by your side. Please live for me.

During her month-long stay in the hospital, Jeanne Calment sits at her bedside most of the time, without saying a word. Mia knows that she misses her brother. If she had not been there, her mother would certainly have followed him in death. Then Mia was expelled from college because she had to take care of her mother. Fortunately, her mother's condition improves.

Mia enters the hospital with the meal and arrives at the door of the sick room. She raises her hand to open it when she hears a voice inside.

She knows it well. Even after eight years, she still remembers clearly how he forced her mother to divorce him.

He has never come to see them since the day he sent them here. Why is he suddenly coming here today?

- Jeanne, at the time, you and Mrs. Cosey were good friends and the children were engaged. So it is logical that it is your daughter who is getting married to the man you have chosen...

- What do you mean by that, George Lambert?

Jeanne, who is very thin, struggles to stand up and confront him despite his injuries. He is really heartless.

He abandoned her, her daughter and the unborn child in the middle of nowhere. He never cared about them. And now he's here to marry off her daughter?

- Joseph Cosey, your friend's son, is a handsome man. You know the Cosey family well. If she marries him, she will surely be happy...

At the end of her sentence, his voice falls silent.

Mr. Cosey is a noble and handsome man. But a month ago, during a business trip abroad, he was bitten by a poisonous snake, which paralyzed his nerves and made him paralytic, and therefore impotent.

If Mia marries him, he will never be able to fulfill his marital duty.

- I will marry him.

Mia abruptly pushes open the door and stands in the doorway, clutching a tupperware in her hand.

- I'm willing to marry him, but on one condition.

George looks toward the door and sees his daughter, whom he hasn't seen in eight years. He is lost in thought for a few seconds. She was a ten-year-old child when he sent her here. Now she is already an adult, fair-skinned, but very thin, with a small face the size of a palm. She is skinny and looks weak, as if she hasn't developed well.

She is not as cute as his little girl.

He has less sympathy for her. After all, she is not so beautiful. Marrying an impotent husband would not be such a great injustice.

Come to think of it, George doesn't feel so bad anymore.

- What condition? Tell me.

- I want to go back to my country with my mother. Give us back everything that belongs to Mom and I promise to marry him.

Mia clenches her hands again and again before slowly calming down.

True, she had not been in the country for many years. But ever since she was a child, she had heard of the Cosey family. This family is huge, with a fortune of tens of billions. The young master of the Cosey family could naturally seem an advantageous party. But Mia doesn't think so. Mr. Cosey could be ugly or have a physical handicap.

Nevertheless, this is an excellent opportunity for her to return home. If she makes the most of it, she will be able to recover the dowry her mother brought to the Lambert family.

- Mia.

Jeanne wants to persuade her not to take her marriage lightly.

Mia has already suffered a lot with her. She can't let her destroy her happiness.

Hearing her start to protest, George is afraid that Jeanne will convince Mia not to get married. He interrupts her:

- Okay, if you're willing to marry her, you can go back to your country.

- What about Mama's dowry? says Mia coldly, looking at her so-called father.

When Jeanne married him, she did indeed bring a considerable dowry. It's painful for George to pay it back now.

- Dad, my little sister is certainly beautiful. She deserves better than this. If she marries a disabled man, her life will be ruined. Besides, you and my mother are divorced, so you should return the money she brought to the Lambert family.

George avoids her gaze.

How could she know that Mr. Cosey is a disabled man when she is still abroad?

He doesn't know that Mia is just guessing.

Thinking that she will marry an abnormal man, he grits his teeth and decides.

- When you get married, I'll give them to you.

How could his little girl, as beautiful as a flower, marry an impotent man?

Despite being of high lineage, if he cannot perform the marital duty, he will be a useless man.

George feels better thinking about it.

But deep down, he hates Mia even more, because all she wants from him is money.

George gives her a cold look.

- Your mother didn't raise you right. You're not polite at all!

Mia wants to ask him if he feels responsible as a father, because he abandoned her here and never took care of her.

But she can't say it right then. She's not powerful enough, so it wouldn't do her any good to make George angry.

- Get ready. We'll leave tomorrow.

George leaves the room without hesitation.

- Mia, marriage is an important decision. I won't let you do that.

Jeanne more or less understands what Mia wants to do.

Mia puts the tupperware on the bedside table. As she takes out the food, she says:

- I'm not marrying a stranger. He's your friend's son, right?

- She died a long time ago and I know nothing about her son. I'd much rather you marry a man you love, even if it makes me go back on my word. I don't want your marriage to be instrumentalized. Otherwise, I'd rather stay here for the rest of my life.

Someone she loves?

Even if she ever met him, he wouldn't even give her a glance.

She keeps her head down. It doesn't matter who she marries, what matters is taking back what was taken from her.

Jeanne is unable to dissuade Mia. They return to the country the next day.

George cannot stand them. He does not let them enter the house of Lambert, but asks them to rent an outside lodging until the day of the wedding when Mia can return.

Likewise, Mia does not want to return to her father's house. If she does, her mother will have to confront the mistress who ruined her marriage. Better to avoid an uncomfortable scene.

She is quiet here.

But Jeanne is still worried.

- Mia, if it was a good marriage, your father wouldn't have proposed, even if I had been friends with Mrs. Cosey.

Mia doesn't want to talk about it with her mother and changes the subject.

- Mom, hurry up and eat something.

Jeanne sighs. Obviously, Mia doesn't want to talk about it. Her daughter has suffered a lot with her. And now she has to sacrifice even the hope of a happy marriage.

Mia has cutlery in her hand. But she has no appetite and is nauseous.

- You don't feel well? asks Jeanne with concern.

Mia doesn't want to worry her. So she lies and says she has lost her appetite because of the flight.

She puts down her cutlery and goes into her room.

Once the bedroom door is closed, she leans against it. Even though she had never been pregnant, she had watched Jeanne during her pregnancy. Jeanne was just nauseous and couldn't eat.

And she has the same symptoms now.

A month after that night, she is about ten days late with her period.

She doesn't dare think about it anymore. She was humiliated that night. If it wasn't for her mother and brother, she would never have sold herself.

She gets chills...

- You're six weeks pregnant, the doctor said.

As she left the hospital, the doctor's words still echoed in Mia's head.

She got the diagnosis after going to the hospital without telling Jeanne. She is distraught, not knowing what to do: give birth or have an abortion?

Unconsciously, she puts her hand on her stomach. Despite the shock and humiliation, she finds it hard to let go.

For the first time, she feels the joy and expectation of a mother.

She is lost in her thoughts.

Back home, Mia puts the results of the ultrasound in her bag before pushing open the door.

However, George is there. She immediately takes on a somber look.

What is he doing here?

George doesn't look very friendly either. Probably because he didn't see her when he arrived and she kept him waiting, he says curtly:

- Go get changed.

Mia frowns.

- Why?

- Since you are going to marry Mr. Cosey, you should meet him.

George looks her up and down.

- Are you going to see him like this, in rags? You want to humiliate me?

How does it feel to be in pain?

She thought that selling out and her brother's death had made her numb to pain.

But when she hears George's unforgiving words, she still hurts. She is not numb. He sent her and her mother to a destitute country and never took care of them.

How could she have the money to wear anything but the nipples on her back?

If she had had money, how could her brother have died for lack of medical care?

She clenches her fists.

George is probably thinking about it too. He looks a little embarrassed.

- Let's go, the Coseys are almost here. It's not good to keep them waiting.

- Mia...

Worried, Jeanne tries again to stop Mia. She has already lost her son. Now she only wants to take care of her daughter. For her, money is not important anymore.

She doesn't want her daughter to go back to the Lambert's or the Cosey's.

The relationships in a rich and powerful family are so complex. Moreover, she does not know Mr. Cosey well.

She is very worried.

- Mom.

Mia sends her a reassuring look.

- Hurry up.

George pushes her impatiently, fearing that she will change her mind.

He can't love Mia, and she has no feelings for her father either.

Eight years later, all affection is gone.

Mia is too badly dressed to meet the Coseys. So George takes her to a fancy store to buy her a decent dress.

Once in the store, she is greeted by a saleswoman. George pushes her forward.

- Choose something she can wear.

The saleswoman looks her up and down, immediately assessing her size.

- Follow me.

The saleswoman picks up a long light blue dress and hands it to her.

- Go to the fitting room and try it on.

Mia takes it and goes to the fitting room.

- Joseph, will you marry Miss Lambert?

The woman's voice is full of sadness.

Hearing her, Mia looks into the next room. Through the crack of the door, Mia sees a woman throwing her arms around the man's neck and pouting.

- Don't marry another woman, I beg you!

Joseph looks at the woman and seems a little distraught. This is a marriage his mother arranged for him, and he can't go back on it.

But thinking about that night, he knows he can't disappoint her.

- That night, did it hurt?

A month earlier, he went abroad to a less developed country to visit the site of a new project. Then he was bitten by an extremely poisonous snake. This venom had a particularly powerful aphrodisiac effect. If he had not given free rein to his sexual desire for a woman immediately after the bite, he would already be dead.

It was Leila Fadel who saved him.

He is aware that he could not control himself at that moment.

Everyone knows that when a woman has sex the first time, it is painful at that moment. And since he was not tender, he can imagine the pain he inflicted on her.

But she was so patient. She didn't make a sound. She just shook in his arms.

Leila likes him. He always knew that, but never gave her a chance.

First because he doesn't like her, and second because his mother has engaged him to another girl.

But Leila always stayed calmly by his side. After that, he thought he had to give this woman a place.

Even today, he still remembers the bright red bloodstain on the sheet.

Leila leans against his chest, her eyes slightly downcast, shyly saying yes.

She still loves Joseph and has been by his side all these years as his secretary. But she has not been a virgin for a long time. To pretend that she is and to make Joseph feel even more sorry for her, she paid a fortune to a local woman that night to find a virgin girl and send her to Joseph's room.

Only after the girl left did she go in and create the illusion that it was her that night.

- If you like what you see in this store, buy all the clothes you want.

Joseph strokes her hair, pampering her.

- This room is for VIPs only, you're not allowed in there. Go in the one on the right.

The saleswoman calls Mia to order.

In luxury stores, the fitting rooms are separate rooms, and those reserved for VIPs are even more luxurious, with an inside room for trying on clothes and an outside room where friends can wait or rest.

- Ok.

Mia picks up her dress and heads to the room on the right.

As she changes in the fitting room, Mia thinks again about the man and woman who were there earlier. They mentioned the Lambert family in their conversation.

This man, is he...