Chapter 3

Emily's pov;

I got up from the bed and made my way to the bathroom. I turned on the light and stepped in the tub, setting my phone on top of the cabinet to charge it before turning the water off and climbing in. I took a moment to take off all my clothes and slip into the warm water. The hot water always feels nice against my skin when I’m feeling too sick or tired. I sighed constantly as the warm water flowed over me. I leaned back further into the bubbles and just sat there, letting my thoughts roam free. I closed my eyes and relaxed. As much as it was relaxing to think about nothing for once it also reminded me of everything that was bothering me. I submerged myself into the water for as long as I needed but eventually decided that I should probably get up before it turns cold.

I climbed out of the tub, and turned on the shower. After stepping out of the shower, I wrapped the towel more securely around my body so I could dry off with it.

Mom walked in and asked, "Why are you still undressed and why's your hair still wet? It's not like some other day. Today is your wedding day. Dry your hair, get dressed and come downstairs quickly."

After she left, I looked at myself and realised that I really didn't want to put on anything besides the towel. I didn't even bother drying off since I wanted to stay in the comfort of the bubble bath as long as possible, but I knew I can't do anything about this anymore. I sighed again and grabbed my clothes hanging from the door handle and changed into it.

When I walked downstairs, mom was already sitting at the dinner table while dad was standing behind her. He was staring at his watch, looking worried.

I sat down at the chair and mom immediately began talking. "Oh god you're late. We have to leave soon." and stood up from the dining table and made her way towards the door.

Father, "Don't try something funny." and tapped me on my shoulder while I was heading to the door.

What does he mean by that?

an hour later, Father, mother and I arrived at the wedding avenue. Mother held my hand and said to father, "I'll make her dress up in a bridal gown." And took me to some room.

After getting changed in the bridal gown, the hairdresser did my hair and left.

I looked at myself in the mirror, admiring how beautiful I looked. I was wearing a purple shade dress, with a white lace overlay on top. It was strapless, and had a slit up the side. I wore black heels, which made me feel taller than usual. The dress was tight enough to show off all of my curves. My makeup was light so I could be more comfortable, but I did wear red lipstick that stood out like the cherry on top. But there was still something missing. It's me being happy about the wedding. There wasn't a smile on my face.

“There you are, you look stunning!” My mother said as she walked into the room, "Your friend's are here to see you."

As soon as she said, I saw Madison and others making their way through the door. My gang was here. They came over to hug me. How did they know?

"You look so amazing, you know?" Madison said.

"Thank you," I replied. I felt bad for not telling them about this wedding until now.

After my mother walked out of the room, I apologised to my friends for not inviting for the wedding. They assured me they didn't mind at all, though they were disappointed about it not happening sooner.

As we were talking, one of my friends, Sarah, asked, "The groom looks really handsome. Thank heavens, you broke up with Connor." and laughed.

This comment brought back memories of when he had broken things off with me.

Madison asked Sarah, "Don't remind me of that dickhead now. What if she feels uncomfortable?"

I said to Madison, "Hey, it's fine." She just rolled her eyes and continued talking to Sarah.

Sarah looked at me, "It's okay if you don't have feelings for him anymore, he can't keep cheating on you. You deserve better."

Cheating? What does she mean by that?

"Sara-"

The event organiser reentered the room and told everyone, "We need to get going. We don't want to be late! Where's the bride?"

He told others to get to the venue and asked me to follow him. When I arrived, I saw my father waiting for me in front of the closed doors. I stood up beside him, he held my hand and looked at the closed doors.

I looked down seeing my hands being held by my father in a way he never did before. It was gentle, warm and nice. When i looked up at him, he was focused on the door in front of him.

A couple minutes later, we heard the organist play the wedding march, signalling us that it was time for us to go inside.

When we entered, there were already a lot of people who congratulated me on getting married. Some of those congratulations were from my old high school classmates, some were from my college friends and the family members. Who invited my friends? Did mom and dad invited them too?

Father whispered, "The man who's waiting for you at the altar is not like me so don't rebel against him like how you did it to me and your mother." and walked away when I reached the altar.

Then the officiant began. He explained the marriage rules and then said, "We are gathered together in these holy grounds, by consent of the groom, to witness this union, before God and the holy priest, and bind them as husband and wife." He then said, "Emily wood, Please join your hands for the vows. Do you promise to always love each other, cherish each other, honour each other... and always make each other happy?"

I wonder if I can do that with a stranger who's standing beside me.

"I do." i answered still avoiding to look at the groom.

"And do you take this person to be your lawful wedded husband? To live, to work, and to love... forever?"

Love forever? Does that even exist?

"Yes, I do." i answered like mother teached me.

When the officiant asked the guy who was standing beside me, "George Hamilton, do you take this person to be your lawful wedded wife? to live, to work and to love forever?"

That's when I knew that guy's name. So his name is George.

The man who was standing beside me held my hands and tightened the grip as he answered the priest, "Yes, I do. i promise and i swear."

Once he finished, the officiant asked for us to kiss each other to seal the marriage.

"With the power vested in me by the state of Wisconsin, I now pronounce you husband and wife. May you both be true to each other and stay faithful to each other. I now pronounce you Mr and Mrs. Hamilton. You may now kiss."

I turned around to face him and he looked at me. The face which i didn't care to catch features a week ago was closer to me right now. His blue eyes stared deeply at mine as he leaned forward and pressed his lips softly against mine. He kissed me lightly, yet passionately. It was like he wanted to memorise every detail of me. He tasted like mint. It was a little sweet and chilly. And a little bit of disappointed. Because I never kissed a stranger before but here I am, doing it.

He pulled away, still staring intently into my eyes. I didn't think he would notice the tears forming in mine. He wrapped his arm tightly around my waist, pulling me closer, giving me a smile.

The crowd clapped loudly, cheering for us. After the ceremony ended, we started walking down the aisle.

My dad stood near the end of the aisle. When I tried to talk to my father, George pulled me into him and made me walk out of the Avenue. He stopped walking once he got far from the crowd and said, "I'm leaving. if you want to stay and be with your friends. you can." and headed to the car. I got into the car and said, "I want to leave too."

An hour later, the car stopped in front of a big house. It looked more like a castle out of a fairytale. The windows were large and the yard was huge. It had to be an older place, but the design looked like something straight out of mediaeval times.

While i was standing in front of the house and admiring the castle like house in front of me, a butler came to me and asked, "Shall i guide you in, Mrs Hamilton?"

I told him I didn't need his help as I walked around. He nodded politely but didn't leave my side. As we were walking down the path in front of the entrance gate, the butler said to me, "I hope you like the house, Mrs Hamilton."

I smiled at him and said, "You can call me Emily."

"We're not supposed to call our masters by their first names, mam."

"Then call me Ms wood."

"But you're married to Mr Hamilton so we're supposed to address you as Mrs Hamilton, mam."

I sighed and asked, "What is your name?"

"You can call me Henry, Mrs Hamilton." he said as he pointed a name tag on his coat.

We arrived at the door. Henry opened it slowly, trying not to make too much noise. Once inside, I noticed the huge chandelier above me that illuminated the whole house. The living room smelled wonderful with different scents coming from different pots hanging on the wall. It's like I stepped into another dimension.

"Mrs Hamilton has arrived, Sir," Henry said.

I looked at George who's sitting on one of the couches. While I was standing with no idea what to say, George asked Henry to show me my room and asked him to escort me to the room.

I followed Henry as he led me through the hallway. At least I hope it's the way. Henry led me up three flights of stairs to a door with a very fancy knocker. He opened the door while saying, "This is Mr Hamilton room. If there's anything you don't like, please let me know and-"

"Thank you Henry," I interrupted, "I'll let you know if I want anything." He bowed and then left.

I entered the room which looked very luxurious. I took a look around the room and saw two windows and some art on the wall. Next to the window was a bed with beautiful soft pillows and blankets. There were even curtains around the windows. It felt warm and cosy.

When i got closer to the window, i could see the garden with flowers growing everywhere. A fountain stood in the middle. When i looked outside more, i discovered the whole estate was surrounded by large trees. There weren't any roads or paths anywhere. I wonder why someone like George married someone like me. Anyways, this is my life I was forced to live. Maybe it'll turn out good since I got away from my abusive foster parents. Maybe I could find my own happiness with his new life.

After about 10 minutes had passed, I heard someone calling me. "Emily?"

I turned around to find a man about 6'2 standing next to the bed. He had dark hair, blue eyes and light skin. I walked to him and stood in front of him.

"I know the marriage happened on such a short notice so we couldn't talk much but anyways, let me introduce myself properly, I'm George Hamilton."

I curtsied and replied, "Nice to meet you, Mr Hamilton." I was slightly nervous to be so close to the man but I knew I had nothing to worry about. This man seems nice.

"It's George," he said.

I just nodded and continued, "Your house looks beautiful. Like it came out of a fairytale."

He nodded and said, "If you don't like to be in the same room as mine, you can change to another room. I don't mind. This house has a lot more rooms." He took some paper from the table and gave it to me while saying, "This is the copy of the contract. Your father forgot to get it from me so don't forget to give it to him."

What does he mean by contract?

He left the room before saying, "If you want anything, don't hesitate to call Henry."

After he left, I took a look at the paper in my hand, read it. It was a two year contract between my father and Mr Hamilton. My father made me marry Mr Hamilton for a sum of money. Did he just sell me to Mr Hamilton?

What the hell is this? If this contract is for two years then what happens to me after two years? I thought this marriage could be the turning point of my life but after knowing this wouldn't stay long, the only thing i felt was disappointment and sadness. Why does my life is so fucked up?

I couldn't believe my parents did this to me. I know they hated me all my life but do they have to do this to me? no it's not fair why can't they leave me alone. Why do I have to suffer when there is no reason for it! Why am I so unlucky?

If they hated me this much, they should have left me in the orphanage. Why did they adopt me and bring pain in all possible ways? What have I done wrong that makes them hate me so much?! Why are they making my life a living Hell?! Even though they forced me to get married, I thought my life may turn out good after this so I married the guy without even knowing anything about him. But guess what, my life turned even worse.