Chapter 1

I was really serious about him but he dumped me just like that. It looks as if he only slept with me to see what it was like. It's my twentieth birthday today and I got dumped on this very same day by my boyfriend after being in a relationship with him for over a year.

Things never turn out well for me since the beginning. My parents died when I was little, got sent to an orphanage and bullied by other children, adopted by abusive parents. I was sad for some time before I realised that the only way I'll be happy will be if I move away from my abusive foster parents. But I don't have anywhere else to go. The one thing that changed was when they gave me freedom to do whatever outside the house. I met someone who loved me back and we were together, he even bought me expensive things. He was amazing, he always made sure I was okay and treated me nicely so I thought this would work forever. That is until everything turned sour and he dumped me.

"Emily! What are you doing over there? come here and join us for a drink."

Madison, my best friend, beckoned for me to come sit next to her. She is my best friend and she's actually the one person that I could truly call family, other than my adopted parents of course.

"Uhm sure." I answered as I got up from the chair I was sitting on and walked over to them.

"Hey Emily." She greeted me happily as I sat down beside her.

she continued, "Why are you spacing out a lot today? It's your birthday. Don't you want to celebrate?"

"yeah i do." I sighed as I looked into her eyes. "But I'm not having fun. I feel like all of life has sucked today."

she asked, "What happened to make you feel like shit?"

"Connor dumped me." I bluntly said. "I was really excited to celebrate our anniversary with him but guess what? it didn't go as planned. Instead I got dumped by him."

"oh my god!" she exclaimed, "what the fuck did he do?!"

I told her what happened with Connor and why. Madison didn't say anything until I finished.

"Okay, first off, I'm so sorry. and second, i wish he's such a dickhead. But what can we do now? I've never been dumped before so I think I'm kinda lost." She was right. I had no idea what to do either. "Well, let's forget those things and celebrate your birthday today so how about we get drinks and then head somewhere away from this group?" She said while pointing at our friends' gang.

"That sounds good."

We spent the next few hours celebrating with each other. Madison gave me a hug and said, "Girl! there's a lot of guys out here to be in love with you!" It took me a minute, but I finally figured that what she meant was, "There are lots of guys who want to go on dates with you! Which means you have time to get over Connor and start dating them."

I had no idea where that came from. "That's not exactly true," I told her.

She smiled at me. "Oh, yeah, it is!"

But I could tell something else was going on, too, so instead of arguing about it, I asked, "How's your family?"

"Fine," she said, and I could tell by the way she said it, it wasn't fine. She didn't say anything more, just looked down for a second like she was gathering her thoughts before she continued on, "It's time to go home. I'll see you tomorrow in college." And walked away from me after giving me a hug.

And I headed to my house.

When I stepped inside my house, I found my mom on the couch, my dad staring at the TV while drinking his beer. When he noticed that I entered, he put the bottle of beer down and stared at me and said, "We need something to talk with you. Get here." my dad commanded, ignoring me completely.

I obeyed and went into the room where my parents were sitting. my father motioned for me to sit down on the chair across from them. I waited patiently for my parents to speak first.

Mother started, "Okay so i wanted to talk to you about something important." she cleared her throat "this might sound crazy but listen to me. I know you're young Emily but please listen to what I'm trying to say, understand me?"

my father scoffed and said "Get to the point."

she glared at her husband while continuing speaking, "We've arranged a wedding for you and this man…"

"Wait, what?" I interrupted, "Are you asking me to marry someone I don't know? And, I'm only twenty. Why do i..."

Father stood up and cut me off, "Just shut up. You should be grateful that I am telling you. Now, listen to me and listen closely. This man is the perfect gentleman and I believe he will treat you right. So for now, accept this."

"But what about college? I still have one more year to finish. How can I leave it all of a sudden?" I panicked, looking between them both.

Mother answered, "It doesn't matter anymore, Emily. All that matters is that you are going to marry him and start a new life with him."

"But mom…"

Father interjected, "Stop whining and get married to him." and he walked away.

After my father left, I asked my mother, "Please mom, just tell me why I can't continue my education? I need to graduate or I'll lose my scholarship. I don't want to marry anyone right now."

my mother sighed, "Look Emily, you have your whole future ahead of you. The sooner you get married, the better off you'll be. Please don't argue anymore." and with that she exited the room.

I ran upstairs towards my room and locked myself in. my chest hurt as tears came spilling onto my cheeks. I tried hard not to cry but my heart was breaking and the pain wouldn't stop coming. My parents already hate me. They wouldn't give up no matter how much I begged them. What am I supposed to do at this point?

I heard a knock at my door. Since i didn't care to open, my father opened it using a spare key, "Come downstairs Emily." he ordered, "There are people waiting for us downstairs. And, get dressed in something good." He closed the door behind him and walked away, leaving me alone again.

I changed my dress and wiped the tears off my face and walked downstairs. Many unfamiliar faces were sitting in the centre of the house. Why are they here and who are they?

Father introduced me, "Well, this is my beloved daughter, Emily wood. She's a wonderful young woman and very clever. You'll like her for sure."

That was the first time I heard my dad speak about me well in front of others.

A lady smiled at me while saying, "Hello Emily, it was nice to meet you."

I turned to my father and whispered, "Dad, what's happening here?"

Instead of answering me, father spoke to the lady who greeted me, "She feels a little shy." and turned to me and said sternly, "Emily, greet them back."

I turned to the people in front of me and greeted them back like how my father asked me to.

While everyone was talking seriously, I asked my mother, "Who are they?"

She replied, "It's the guy I told you about. You're going to get married to him." She pointed to some guy who was dressed casually while others were in fancy suits. I was shocked to see that my parents actually brought someone over for the wedding.

"Why are they here?" I asked her again.

"Shut your mouth and stand still, Emily." And she smiled at them.

I watched them talking to each other. I couldn't hold it in so my eyes began watering once more.

My parents dragged me outside the house. "Will you stop crying like a bitch?" my father asked. "Your mother and I are very tired of you. You will thank us later by being a good wife to the man we have chosen for you."

my mother added, "Cry all you want but you gotta marry that man."

My hands balled up into fists and I punched one of the car windows. I knew it was a bad idea but I couldn't help it.

"That won't solve anything. What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he yelled, grabbing my hand and pulling me away from the car and said, "I hope you realize that punching the window isn't going to fix this mess! Now get your ass back in the house before I lay my hands on you." he went inside the house taking mother along with him.

When i entered the house, i saw the people who came were trying to leave. They were laughing and smiling but they had a very tense atmosphere surrounding them. It made me feel uneasy. There was something in this air that made it almost impossible for me to breathe. I stood at the doorway for a moment longer, just observing as they all left, leaving the door slightly open, letting in some of the cold evening air. When they left, there was a sense of relief and comfort in the silence of the house.

Mother, "You should be lucky. They like you."

Mother said as she placed the plate down on the dinner table. When I looked at my father, he ate his food without a word.

When I tried to go to my room, Father said, "There's no point in fighting it. Prepare yourself for the wedding. There's not much time for it."

While I was leaving, Father shouted, "I didn't hear anything from you yet."

"Yes, father." With that, I headed to my room.

Blood was already clotted on my knuckles making it hard to wash off under water. As i was cleaning it, i looked into the mirror and thought, 'Why does my life have to be like this? Why can't I ever get anything just right?'