"No! Please stop! D—don't kill me!" Joseline screamed and tossed on her bed, finding it hard to breathe. Someone was strangling her. First, it was a masculine hand and suddenly it turned into a lady's hand.
The pain became more unbearable as she struggled to loosen from the tight grip.
"I will kill you!"
"You survived it!" These two different voices rang in her ears again as they continued strangling her, making her eyes bulge out.
"No! Stop!!!" Joseline screamed again and her eyes flew open.
'Where am I?' She asked internally, feeling the spark of the ache in her body from what happened to her last night. For some minutes, she was heaving heavily until she calmed her beating heart and realized she was having a bad dream.
Looking around, she felt the soft bed under her skin which was better than the rough material she slept on before. She heaved a sigh of relief but that didn't stop the memory of what happened to her the previous night from resurfacing. And the bad dream was related to it.
She remembered she had fallen unconscious trying to escape only to wake up now and find herself in her room. Realizing that she was now in her room, her eyes flew wide.
Joseline made to stand but her legs wobbled and she ended up staggering into the stool beside the bed. She whimpered and saw herself on the floor.
A hot and sensible sharp pain stroke between her legs as she made to stand again. Staggering, she successfully pulled herself back to the bed looking for help. Luckily for her, someone opened the door and she saw her sister run hastily into the room.
"Lily," Joseline managed to speak between the cracks on her lips.
The door opened gently again and Jefferson entered staring at her in sober eyes.
Lilian was the first to run to her bedside sobbing, "Josie, thank goodness you're awake. I thought that I would lose you. I will make sure the people who did this will pay for it. I swear I will make them pay for it." Lilian jumped into swearing already with gritted teeth.
"How are you now? It's a good thing we were able to trace you through your phone." Jefferson came closer to her and patted her cheeks tenderly.
"Luckily, my ribs were not broken but I feel much pain in my body," Joseline replied and saw the guilt on Jefferson's face and not only on him but also on Lilian whose expression was filled with a mixture of fear and guilt.
"Jeff, Lily," Joseline called in a pain-filled voice. "I'm okay. You don't have to be sad. I will recover soon and it will be a thing of the past."
"Josie, it's all my fault." Jefferson took her hand in his and brought it closer to his face making Joseline feel his burning cheeks in her palm.
"Jeff, don't blame yourself for this." Joseline tried to console him.
"No Josie, I was supposed to be protecting you. To make sure that you're safe, but what have I done? I left you in the hands of the evil men and was busy protecting others."
Jefferson tried to control his pain-filled heart but remembered that last night when Joseline had called for his help, he was busy hunting werewolves attacking people in the province.
"I'm sorry, Josie. I never knew that Roland wouldn't help at that moment. I thought that he would come to rescue you but he disappointed us."
"Oh, Josie this shouldn't have happened to you," Lilian added wiping her tears.
"That's enough you two, stop it already." Joseline's tears now streamed down her cheeks.
"What day is it?" Joseline blurted as if she suddenly realized something.
"It's a day before your wedding day." A voice from the doorway answered her question.
Looking over Lilian was the piercing-shape glare coming from the eyes of her father Pedro, striking a deep fear into Joseline. She knew he was not here to fulfil all righteousness, but to reprimand her.
"This is a big disgrace to this family. How can you let the family name be ruined like this?! What do you think people would say when they hear that Raymond will be marrying a raped woman? Do you still think he would accept you in this state?!" Pedro seethed in anger, casting a disgusting look on Joseline that almost made her shriek.
That hostile expression was glued to his face again. It was not the first time he held this look on her. She knew he just had this emotional ambivalent about her and Joseline understands perfectly well. Her frail nature was enough for one to despise her as a daughter.
And staring at those hostile eyes now were as if she had never seen the amount of darkness in it and she couldn't help but shrink her body behind Lilian.
"Dad, that's not important now," Lilian said, coaxing Joseline into her arms as if she was protecting her from another danger.
"Lilian, what do you mean it's not important? It's all her fault that she's clumsy and careless all the time!"
"Dad, do you blame Josie for her poor health again? Is it her fault that she falls sick?!" Lilian asked almost in a tear-filled voice.
'I got into this trouble because of my carelessness?' Joseline questioned inwardly as tears marred her face.
She was sure of the usual short root she takes to get home quickly when coming back from the market, and it had been a warm evening the previous day since the afternoon sun was hot making the weather retain its warmth till evening and it was safe for her health.
Though she still needed to keep her medicine close, she had not felt the need for it for a month now since the weather was favourable for her health condition.
But that didn't make her forget to take her medicine while going to the market. But she ended up losing it when she was busy stuffing the things she bought into her bag, not knowing her medicine had ended up falling off while she was bringing out her debit card to pay the lady she bought something from her shop.
In these years she had felt so close to her medicine like it was more than a friend to her. But yesterday, her ill-fated life still had something to make her more miserable. She had taken the short root only to end up on a dangerous road unknowingly to her.
"I'm sorry Dad, I didn't mean for it to happen." Joseline hung her head low.
"You know how important your union with Raymond is, Joseline. If he ever backs out, I will make you pay daily for it!"
"Dad is that marriage more important than the life of your daughter?!" Lilian shot Pedro a resentful glare.
"Lilian, you stay out of this!" Pedro gritted his teeth as he continued to speak, "This marriage is important to me, to you, and to everyone in this house!"
Joseline shuddered to feel the intense glare from her father and she subconsciously continued to shrink her body behind her sister.
"Dad, tell us why. You keep saying that marriage is important to us but you never told us why. Why does Josie have to go through this since you claimed before that she can't stand it? I can remember vividly you went against her relationship with those men back then."
Lilian was seething in anger. She continued speaking, hoping her words would sink into her father's ears, "You told those men that Josie was not fit and ready for marriage. You told us it's better she stay unmarried because of her health rather than ruin the name of the family.
You were ashamed that your so-called rich friends would ridicule you because of her inabilities, because of her clumsiness, and her s—sterile nature.
You claimed all these even when Johnny came for her hand in marriage and you reached to the extent of telling Johnny about her sickness. So tell me, why is it that important that you want to lead her into marriage now?
If Raymond truly loves her, he would take her for who she is! Raped or not raped Dad, he would..."
"Lilian, I say that's enough!" Pedro roared.
"Lily, that's enough." Joseline tugged her sister's hand to stop her. She didn't like it when others got in trouble because of her.
"No, Josie. I need to make him understand all these."
"Tell me what has she to offer you and me?! You were able to get into the PRS security agent. You made good grades in your academics. You have done so many things that have lifted the name of this family, but what has she done? She is the reason why I lost my wife at her birth."
"Dad?! So, it's all about all these again. Please, Dad, it's not her fault that she suffers this fate. It's not her fault that all these had to happen through her." Lilian was so affected by her father's words that a tear left her eyes.
"Then it's my fault, huh?" Pedro made gingerly towards Lilian.
"No Dad, that's not what she meant." Joseline shuddered as she pulled her sister to make her stop.
"Lily that's enough now. Please stop talking already."
Pedro stood right in front of Lilian and Joseline, they could feel the heat of his anger when he spoke,
"Make sure that no one hears about this. Raymond should never discover that you have been deflowered. Him knowing about this must be after your marriage with him tomorrow. Do you understand me?"