Chapter one

Chapter One 

Irene P.O.V

  For years now, I have lived with my miserable father and my stepmother ever since my mother passed away. Things weren't any different between my father and my new mom, the constant yell, screams and abuse were always there. 

The walls have never escaped those horrid screams of mine when he hurls a beer bottle at me. 

   He was a reckless alcoholic and a debtor who only cared about himself and my stepmother. I couldn't be more glad that I didn't have any siblings because they wouldn't need to go through half of what I experienced.

It made me see why my mom decided to end her life alongside the fetus growing in her stomach. 

  I had drifted far in my thoughts when I heard a loud bang on the door. It startled me so much that I almost fell off the bed.

"Irene!" My father called out for me.

"Meet me in the sitting room" 

   I stood up from my bed, placing my hand on the door knob as different thoughts raced through my mind. What did he call me for? Was he about to take my money again? 

  I opened the door slowly, grimacing on the sound that emanated from the creak the door made. 

  I walked to the sitting room and he was holding a bottle of beer with his legs propped on the table while fixing his gaze on the blank TV.

  He headed his head towards my direction and I froze immediately on the spot as soon as I made eye contact with him. He averted his gaze and downed the whole bottle of beer before putting it on the floor. 

Around a corner in the living room, different bottles of beer were piled up on each other.

I stood beside him with my head lowered down, waiting for him to say his usual words whenever he called to ask me for money but I was taken aback when he told me to raise my head up. 

 I stared at him with surprise evident on my face while he took another beer and downed all the contents before deciding to speak.

  He exhaled out, glancing at me as if he was trying to gather his words together. The way he looked made me curious about what he was about to say. 

It couldn't be any different from asking me for money, right? 

"Why don't you say whatever you want to say instead of keeping her in suspense" My stepmother, Clara, said while coming out of the kitchen with a plate of peeled apples. 

  She rolled her eyes at me as she walked past me, sitting down on the couch beside me while crossing her legs together. 

"Woman you wouldn't dare say a word! You don't talk when I am talking!" My father roared as they both exchanged glares with each other.

"You can't stop me from talking! After all, you live off me and can barely do anything yourself than to be accumulating debts upon debts"

"You are the reason why I don't even want to have a child because you can't even fend for your grown up daughter" Clara raised her voice at him. 

"Don't talk to me like that! You uncouth woman" My father pointed his finger at her while Clara scoffed, glancing towards another direction. 

  My father refocused his gaze back to me and for the first time in my life, my father smiled warmly at me. 

I knew that I should be happy about the fact that he smiled at me but underneath his smile, I could see a feeling of coldness on his face.

"Soon, you would leave this house and go into the abode of others" My father said while my brows furrowed slightly in confusion.

  I was having difficulty decoding what he meant when I was leaving the house. Why would I leave a house that I contributed in paying rent for?

"Leave the house? How? I just paid rent last month"

"It doesn't matter Irene. What matters is that you are going to a better place"

"Better place as how? Father I don't get you"

   My father heaved out a sigh and was about to talk when Clara suddenly cut in.

"What he meant by 'better place' is that you are going to be getting married soon and...." Before she could be done with her statement, my father threw the arm cushion at her in anger.

  My eyes grew wide open on hearing what Clara said. Married soon? Maybe I wasn't hearing right or maybe Clara wanted to taunt me like she always did.

My father and I might not be close but he wouldn't do that to me!

"Irene” He called softly. 

"We have chosen someone for you. Your mother and I deliberated on this and thought that this would be the best decision for you and us"

  I felt every single part of me weaken on hearing the words that fell out of his mouth. For a moment, I thought he was ready to act like a father, I didn't know that he was trying to drive a knife through my heart. 

I was livid! I was angry and I could feel my veins popping out but I was so scared of my father that I bottle everything inside.

"W-What" I stuttered, glancing back and forth at Clara and him.

 I would have to decline this! I don't want to get married. Who the hell gave these two the right to take such decisions concerning my life? How can they do this to me?

"No! I can't get married. Why would I get married are you guys joking right now"

"See Irene. As your mom, I would be telling you the truth! You have to get married, your father borrowed money from this horrible man that he was once working for and since he couldn't pay back, your father used you as collateral. If your father didn't use you as a collateral, that evil man is going to kill us all"

   Tears gathered in my eyes as I stared at my father right in the eye. There was nothing like a feeling of remorse evident on his face! How can he just do this to me?How can he do this to his only daughter?

Was I an Object to him? Why should I pay for his sins?

   Without saying another word, I turned back into my room with my father screaming for me to wait but I didn't listen. Instead I bolted the door, fell on my bed and cried my heart out. 

  I sat upright on the bed thinking about what happened earlier. I have never been this heartbroken all my life, whatever my father and my stepmother said kept coming back into my head. 

What was my sin? Why did I have to be born into such a horrible family where they saw me as nothing? Why should I take the fall for my father's mistakes when I didn't even spend a dime out of the money. 

  I can't do this! I need to leave this house as soon as possible, I need to run away from these monsters who called themselves my parents. 

My mother's warning word 'Don't end up like me' rang like a bell in my head. 

   I can't end up with my mom. If my real mom was alive, she would have protested against this marriage so I need to leave this house and leave them to suffer the consequences of their actions, themselves.

  I glanced towards the window and noticed that it was starting to get dark. That was the perfect time to run and leave my father and his wife to their nemesis.