Chapter Thirty Six

Emily's POV 

“Emily,” he said as he settled down on the chair.

“Father,” I said, my voice soft. “Are you doing well?”

“Yes um—”

“—Where did you go?” I cut him short and he cleared his throat.

“It's no big deal, eat up. You'll need the energy.”

I cleared my throat.

“Well If you don't want to say something, that's also okay.” 

My father gave me a nod and I proceeded to eat with my father in silence. However, it became real uncomfortable for me.

“Father,” I said softly. 

“Emily, how was your life as a slave?” He asked me out of blue which made me look up at him confusedly.

“Father, what do you mean?”

“Did you not learn a thing about how to speak and when to not speak?”

My father's words felt degrading and it made me lose my appetite. I placed down the fork I was using to eat and ran my fingers through my hair.

“I'm retiring to my room dad, if you don't want to talk to me concerning something, then don't.” I stood to my feet and walked to my room. My father didn't even call for me and that gave me an inkling of every single thing that I had to know.

Once I was in my room, I tucked myself in and cried my eyes onto the pillow.

Even though I was back to my family, I felt so alone. 

The next day, I was awoken by the sunlight seeping in through the window. The moment I was awake, I went to the bathroom to clean myself and I changed into one of my old dresses. It was purple and stopped below my knees. It was the perfect clothing but I couldn't wrap my mind around how it was still my size after such a long time at passed. I was putting on makeup in front of the mirror when I heard a knock on the door coupled with some noise.

“Emily, are you awake?”

I let out a breath as I recognized the voice as that of my father.

I looked at the crystal necklace around my neck, the one the elderly woman from the human town had given me. It glowed under the sunlight which made me crack a smile.

“Emily, I know you're awake. I'm coming in, we need to talk.”

I quickly hid the crystal necklace in my dress and turned back to the door, just in time for my father to turn the doorknob and enter my room.

“Father, what would you like to talk about now?” I asked and he sighed, staring at me closely.

“I don't know how you're going to take this but I'm marrying you off.”

“What?” I asked, my eyes squinting in shock.

“Your husband to be is Jacob Galahad. You'll be marrying him as his fifth mate since Lyla Dune is dead.” 

Goosebumps covered my skin. My old friend was dead. And now I had to marry the man who once forsook me and broke my heart because he wasn't ready for me. 

Even when I knew this fact, I knew that there was nothing that could be done about it because in a way, I owed my father for not abandoning me as a slave. He could have turned a blind eye to me, but he didn't. It was only fair I repaid his kindness even if it was through a marriage that I did not want. My only hope was that there was a silver lining that would appear in my life and help me bail out Fayne.

“Emily, are you even listening to me?” My father asked.

I swallowed nervously. “I'll do it father,”

“Good,” Father turned around to leave but I stopped him in his tracks.

“Father,”

He turned to me, “What?”

“I’ll only marry Jacob Galahad on one condition.”

“What condition?”

“I want a slave.”

Father's eyes narrowed. “A slave? Who is it?”

“A human named Fayne.”

“Fine.” He said. “I'll have the slave released to you. Your wedding dress will be sent to you soon. Make sure you don't do anything stupid.”

The moment father said that, he left my room and I let out a sigh of relief.

I laid back on the bed, counting the lines on the ceiling.

Even though I was technically in a bad spot by getting married, I was content knowing that I could set Fayne free.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. I sat up on the bed quickly.

“Come in,” I said, and the door opened revealing the maid who served me yesterday.

“Miss,” she said with a bow, a heavy box in her right hand.

“Why are you here?” I asked her.

“I was sent to deliver your wedding dress.” She handed me the box which I collected gingerly from her hands.

I opened the box and was in awe by how expensive the wedding dress looked. It was the most expensive thing that I'd ever gotten in my entire life. But it had no meaning to me now.

“Oh miss, the dress is so pretty.” She said, staring at me enviously.

I said nothing in response. When she saw that I was not having it, she walked over to me and smiled.

“Let me help you dress up.” She said, which made me shake my head.

“No it's fine.”

“Okay…”

When I was finally left to be by myself, I stripped out of my clothing and put on the wedding dress. It was white with diamonds encompassing the whole material. I put on a veil over my face and put on one of the black heels in the shoe rack.

Then I stepped out of the room. 

I saw my father down the hallway and the moment he saw me, something flickered in his eyes but I couldn't discern the type of look that it was when he suddenly switched back to a grumpy unhurried look.

“Father,”

“I already had your slave released. He'll go with you to the Galahad clan.” 

I swallowed nervously. So he honoured my words.

“How about you, father? Aren't you coming with me?” I asked him.