ELIZABETH
I plopped down on my bed, my chest still heaving. I don't think I had ever been more stunned in my entire life. Yes, the kind of relationship I had with my parents was unstable and disheartening, but I never thought it would come to the extent of my father putting me up in exchange for millions of dollars. I felt used, like a mere commodity. He hadn't even thought twice about it. And without my consent? And he expected me to be okay with it all? Like getting married was such a great achievement. It made me see the reality that my parents really didn't care about my wellbeing. They didn't care about my health, or my happiness. If it was easy for them to sell me out into marriage to a complete stranger for money then what couldn't they do?
I scoffed, feeling my heart squeeze in my chest. If I had doubted it at first, now it was real. Everything hit me in the face like a wake-up call. No one cared about me. All I had was myself.
My fingers dug into my skin. I had no idea what to do now. There was nowhere to go, no one to call. Nothing. As I let myself fall onto the bed, I heard my door push open. I didn't need to look up to see that it was Mom. She hesitated at the door for a few moments deciding if she should come in or not. And I didn't bother looking up either. After a while she wordlessly made her way to the bed and lowered herself beside me. I saw her fiddle with her fingers and I inhaled deeply to stop myself from lashing out at her. She was always like this; she never spoke up, spoke her mind, disagreed with any decisions Dad made. And it made her just as bad as him.
"What do you want now?" I asked sharply. I didn't feel bad for snapping at her. I just wanted to be left alone.
"Beth, please. I know your father made a mistake."
"One that you supported," I shot back.
She grimaced. "I never did. I tried to get him to—"
"But you did! You act like you're the considerate parent, Mom. But you're not! You are just as bad as your husband so please, quit being a hypocrite and pretending that you care about me."
She reached out to grip my hand but stopped midway when I glared at her hand. "Beth..."
I gripped my hair. Even when she called my name her voice was weak. "Just leave, please. Like I said before, I will play no part in this scheme you both came up with. So I'll advice you go find a suitable young woman for your benefactor."
"If your father doesn't complete his end of the deal by the end of today, he will be required to repay double the money in a week," I heard her whisper after a while.
My eyes widened as I whipped around to face her. "What?!"
What the hell had be been thinking. He knew all of this and that he would never be able to repay and he had gone ahead with it? How could he be so selfish.
"Beth, please. You know we can't afford that much. Please.."
I stared at her wordlessly. "I am sick and tired of bearing the brunt of your mistakes. I'm tired... I'm so tired, mom.."
"I know, Beth. P-please do this one last thing, I beg you. Your father—we made a mistake. And it might end up being a good thing, you know. He'd from a good, wealthy fami—"
"Can't you see that I don't care about that?!" I cried. "You are unbelievable!"
She bowed her head in response and continued to fiddle with her fingers. I had never felt so overwhelmed.
The first tear dropped from my eyes. "I-I can't get married. I still have a lot I want to do, things I want to achieve. And then to a total stranger? Why..."
I let myself sob quietly for a while. I was powerless, helpless. If I refused, my entire family would be ruined. And that would only be hurting myself further. I had no one to turn to. Reminding myself that I had to be strong, I wiped my face with shaky hands. The only way I could fight this union was from the inside. For now, there was nothing I could do to stop it. And it hurt, but I swallowed it all back and stood.
I followed Mom down to the hall where Dad was waiting for me. The triumph on his face made me want to revert my decision, but I didn't.
"Beth," He said quietly, reaching out to give my shoulder a squeeze. "You're making the right decision."
I saw mom nudge him lightly but still I didn't say a word.
"The young man is Enrique Monteiro," Dad announced, giving a dramatic silence that made me wonder if he expected me to say something.
"You've heard of him right?"
I only gave a blank stare. The name rang no bells.
"He is all over the news," Mom added, her brows furrowing in surprise.
Of course my parents didn't know me enough to know that I didn't have time for things like celebrity news and gossip.
"Well, uh," Dad coughed after a while. "He would like to meet you, to discuss the details of your..." He trailed off.
I laughed bitterly. "Marriage? Business? Project?"
No one said a word.
"Just let me know when and where you'd like to introduce me to my husband," The venom in my voice made mom bow her head even lower.
"Beth..."
"No," I stopped him. "I'm doing this, not for either of you or for myself. I'm doing this because that's the only way out. This is the last time I will ever clean up your mess."
"Beth..."
"All I feel for the both of you is pure disgust."
I watched them flinch.
"From the moment you sold me without a second thought, I ceased to be your daughter. The only time we are allowed to acknowledge ourselves is when we have you keep up appearances with your benefactor."
The silence that followed was almost piercing.
Giving another bitter laugh I began to trudge up to my room.
"And oh, dad?"
He faced me.
I gave him a thumbs up. "Thanks for ruining my life."