Chapter 1

  Emelda's POV  

The hot rays of the scorching sun pierced through the white cotton curtain, smooching my wearied skin as I bent over the kitchen floor.   The kitchen floor was as stubborn as a mule as it laid unyielding beneath the almost worn out brush I held in my hands as I scrubbed away at the stubborn stains on it.   "Arghh!" I let out softly. I was exhausted and my back aches due to the hard chores and labor I had been subjected to by my stepmother. As I scrubbed further, tears rolled down my eyes as past thoughts of how I never had to do anything because my dad would always provide a maid.   After my mother died with my baby brother during childbirth, I became the next most important person in my father's life until he met Juana, my stepmother. And after his mysterious death last year, everything became worse.   My mind wandered back to the first time I met Juana. After years of grieving over my mother, and with the responsibility of taking care of me, my father decided to remarry and introduced Juana to me as his new girlfriend, and from the very first moment, she had been so kind and sweet.   She'd seemed so sincere, so genuine. Over the next few months, she'd showered me with gifts, taken me out for ice cream and movies, making me feel loved and valued. At first I was excited, I thought I'd found a new mother, someone who truly cared about me.  But as soon as she and my father were married, everything changed. The gifts stopped, the outings disappeared, and her kindness turned to cruelty. I was left wondering what had happened to the Juana I'd once known and loved. Probably it was all a plan to get my father into marrying her.   "Well, well!" Juana's voice echoed as she walked towards the kitchen through the hallway, her heels clicking on the tile. Her voice traveled through the air jolting me back to my present.   "Well, aren't you a hard worker?" She spat out again, her voice laced with sarcasm as she sneered  "It's quite unfortunate that your hard work won't change the fact that you are a nobody and would never amount to much."  My heart sank as she continued, her voice dripped with contempt.   "Well, so you know, I've just signed a deal." “And guess what?" She asked rhetorically, her face turning into a sneering smile, revealing how happy she was. "You’re part of the deal, my darling” she said with a smug grin. “You’re getting married.”  Married?   My mind reeled as I tried to process the words that had just left her mouth.    “Married? But…but I’m only 20." I said hoping it was just a joke.  She waved away my protest with a flick of her wrist. “News flash princess," she scoffed, "That doesn’t matter. The old man doesn’t care how old you are, only that you’re a good worker. Also, he is as much of a loser as you are, he just needed a companion and I couldn't resist the good deal he was offering." She added in an annoying dramatic tone.   “But…but I can’t just get married,” I stammered, trying to comprehend the situation. “I don’t even know this man.”   “Who cares if you know him or not?" You will get married and that's final.” my stepmother snapped. “You think I’m going to let you stay here, eating my food, when there’s a man willing to pay for you?”  I felt a lump form in my throat as my cheeks and eyes burned with tears.   “But…but what about me? What do I want?” I tried to speak in-between tears, my voice barely audible.  "What do you want?"  Juana replied, pausing in her track before letting out a hysterical laughter, one which its cold and hard sound filled the kitchen and echoed off the kitchen walls.   “What you want doesn’t matter,” she said, her eyes glinting with malice. “You’re nothing but a burden, a stain that won’t come off my floor. And now I’ve found a way to get rid of you.”  I swallowed hard, my hands trembling as they clutched the scrub brush. “But…what if I don’t want to go?” I said in a small voice, fear tightening my throat knowing how miserable Juana can make my life.   My step mother narrowed her eyes as she stepped closer to me, her face inches from mine. “You don’t have a choice, no one is here to save you.” she hissed.   “The deal has been made, and you will be married by the end of the week. And if you try to run away or cause any trouble, I’ll make sure you regret it.” she threatened.  I cowered before her, feeling small and insignificant in the face of her fury. How could she do this to me? How could she treat me like I was nothing?   I stood still as the world around me seemed frozen. The only sound in the kitchen which was audible was that of my racing heart as I considered my options.   Marry an old man I know nothing about and who I had no atom of love towards or embrace the unbearable life my stepmother would unleash on me?   It was a choice between the frying pan and the fire, a choice between the known and the unknown, and neither option seemed or sounded good.   I could try to run away, but where would I go? I had no money, no resources, and having no idea about my late parents' family, I had no one to turn to. And if I stayed, I would be forced into a loveless marriage, working for a man I didn’t even know.   "So?" My stepmother uttered, bringing me back to my consciousness.  I realized that I had no choice, and my heart stunk.   I would have to marry this man, no matter how much I didn’t want to. It was the only way to survive, the only way to escape my stepmother’s and stepsister's cruelty. Perhaps I would be better fed and taken care of than in the web of my Juana and her daughter.   “I understand,” I whispered, my voice shaking. “I’ll…I’ll do what you want.”  My stepmother smiled then, a cruel, triumphant grin. “I knew you would see the reason,” she said, “Now get back to scrubbing the floor, we have to clean up the house. Your husband will be here tomorrow.   Tomorrow?  My heart skipped a beat.