Chapter 1

Olivia

When I woke up, I immediately got up to look at myself in the mirror. My eyes were swollen, which greeted me and brought sadness once again.

I thought it was all just a dream, but it truly happened and my swollen eyes were proof of that. I couldn't believe that the man who I never thought would harm me was the one who put me in a situation I never asked for.

I was once a daddy's girl because I grew up with just the two of us in life. My mother passed away when she gave birth to me because she chose to let me live and sacrificed her own life just to save me from her womb.

I knew that even though daddy and I were together, we were not whole, which led him to addiction to gambling, which brought me to where I am now.

I was made the payment for Daddy's debts, and not only that, they forced me to marry someone I didn't know. I had no choice. I was forced to agree because of my deep love for daddy.

I didn't want him to be imprisoned, so I chose to suffer with a man whose name I didn't even know.

As I took deep breaths, my knees weakened. I slowly knelt down while asking myself why God allowed me to reach this point.

As I asked myself, I was surprised when the door opened, almost hitting the wall because of how forcefully it was opened. I looked towards the door and saw the irritating face of the man I married.

As he entered, he lay down on the bed while I sat on the floor. I just looked at him. Didn't he know that I was also in the room? He lay down straight, with both his palms under his head, staring at the ceiling.

I remained on the floor for a few minutes, watching him. After a while, he turned towards where I was sitting, and his eyes widened when he saw me.

He suddenly sat up and then glared at me. He even pointed at me with his left index finger while speaking loudly.

"What are you doing here, huh? Who gave you permission to enter my room?" he said, then approached me and grabbed my arm.

He pulled me up until I stood, then dragged me out of the room. I couldn't even speak until he pushed me out. He pointed at me again before speaking.

"I don't want to see you here, huh? Just because we're married doesn't mean you have the right to enter here. This is my room. You have no right here."

I sighed and was about to speak when I suddenly heard a familiar voice. I immediately turned to where I heard the voice and saw Uncle Richard, Daddy's close friend, standing and looking at us.

"So, his name is Lloyd. While I looked at him, I continued to take deep breaths. After a moment, he spoke to answer his father.

"This girl right here. She just enters my room without permission." He said, looking in his father's direction.

"Why not? Aren't you already married? So technically, you're already husband and wife, so what's the problem with that?"

"Daddy! You forced me to marry this girl and now you want us to stay in the same room? Are you out of your mind, Dad?"

"That is your consequence for not obeying me. Choose! Will you stay in the same room or leave?"

I swallowed hard as I looked back and forth between them. My heart was beating fast, as if I were nervous and couldn't explain it.

I saw Lloyd scratch his head before answering his father.

"How long will you punish me? How long will you make me feel how worthless of a son I am?" He stopped speaking for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. "Fine! If you really want me to be with her, I'll agree to stay in the same room with her. But don't expect me to treat her as a wife because that will never happen."

After saying that, he entered his room and closed the door loudly. I stood in front of it and after a few moments, I looked at Uncle Richard as if asking him in my mind what to do next.

"Come here, Olivia! Follow me." He said, nodding at me, then went down to the first floor of the house.

Their house was big, and the rooms were on the second floor. It was also double the size compared to our house, so I knew Uncle Richard was really wealthy.

I took a deep breath before following him downstairs. I had to look for him because I couldn't see him when I went down. I looked around until I found him outside their house.

I walked slowly towards him until he noticed me. When he saw me, he gave me a sweet smile, which I returned, then took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" he asked me gently.

I nodded in response.

"Just forgive my son, okay? That's just how he is, but he's kind. You'll get along eventually."

"Will that day ever come, Uncle? Because when I look at him, being kind doesn't seem to be in his vocabulary. I'm not hoping that we'll get along because just based on his attitude, we're not compatible." I said, then took a deep breath.

After I said that, I remained silent. Uncle Richard looked at me for a moment and invited me to have coffee to lighten my mood a bit.