"You're lying!" She was back to raising her voice impudently. "They'll never do something like that to me, you are lying."
Olive relaxed back into the chair and crossed his legs.
"You would be surprised when I tell you all the other things, they had done to you." He chuckled sadistically and Khalilah felt herself freeze immediately. "Why do you think you were left alone on the night I came to take you?"
Khalilah fell silent as she tried to recall the incident, yeah, she found it weird as well, they threw her a welcome home party and made her eat and have fun, and then all of a sudden, everyone else took the night off, including the workers of the estate.
There was even a single bird in sight.
"I-If what you're saying is true then why are you just telling me? Why didn't they tell me anything?" She was still doubtful, but somewhere in her heart, she could sense his claims were genuine, Olive shrugged before he passed her two pieces of letter.
One of them was from her mother and the other from her grandmother, Rose-Anne had begged him to give it to her, and as the final request, he thought it would make her realize it.
"You are nothing but the collateral of a debt your family refused to pay back." He announced as her shaky hands reached for the paper, she opened them and tears streamed down her face as she read.
Olive was disgusted by her crying form, he hated weakness, and seeing someone cry continuously and openly was very disgusting.
"It was disappointing I was given quite the crybaby," He muttered as he dropped the goblet on the table again. "I would have preferred either of your elder sisters or anyone of your cousins."
Her eyes shifted from the letters in her trembling hands, and then they locked on Olive, she pursed her lips again, and the action irked him so much, that he wanted to smack the arrogant look out of her face.
"After all these things, what if I still refuse to marry you?" She asks softly, her voice was barely above a whisper. "What will happen then?"
'I'll force you to marry me," He stated confidently. "I don't care what dirty method I use. You don't have a choice in this, you have no say and you have no right to refuse me."
"But I wasn't aware of this, I wasn't even informed, who the hell makes a living person a collateral?" She queries, her voice fading off. "This isn't fair!"
"I don't care and I would advise you to give up, so you don't get hurt." He told her sternly, Olive's jaws tightened at the stubborn look on her face and if after all these explanations she was still willing to defy him, Olive tightened his fist, he didn't think he would be so patient anymore.
"But I don't want to get married, I just finished high school, I thought I would go to college in the city until I was brought to Grannie Rose's place, I want to bake cake in the shop and stay with my family." She rambled on, fat tears streaming down her eyes and nose, and Olive rolled his eyes in anger. "I don't want to stay here any longer, you can tell me how much they owe you and I will work hard, I promise to pay it off."
He chuckled… what a stupid girl.
"I'll give you two weeks to make peace with whatever thoughts you have." He started making it crystal clear that he wasn't ready to compromise. "We'll be married in the palace in two weeks, I hope I have given you enough time."
Khalilah felt her heart sink, she still found most of these things unbelievable, just a few days ago, she was leading a normal life, but now, she was in God knows where arguing with this stranger about how she couldn't marry him.
"Guards!" Olive yelled making Khalilah jolt in fear, two of them, the men who had mercilessly hit her upon his orders, rushed in. "Take her to her chambers and see she is fed even if she has to be forced!"
Upon Olive's orders, she was escorted back to her room, a lot of emotions and thoughts going through her head right now.
As soon as she entered her assigned room, she was served lunch by the parading maids, not that she had any appetite but she remembered Olive's strict orders of being forced and that was the reason why these guards were here right now.
She didn't want to be forced to do anything anymore, so she sat and ate reluctantly. Even though her body was rejecting the food she swallowed down every last bit of it.
Her mouth was very bitter as she felt miserable, and for the very first time in her life, she felt a strong hatred for her family.
'How can they do this to me?' she asked herself.
She was fooled, they pretended to love and care for her, but that isn't what happened, they used her. She was of no value to them, that's why it was so easy to give her up this way.
"What's with the letter Mother wrote to me?" she whispered to herself as she grabbed it again and read through it, she hoped it was the shock that made her see things.
"Khalilah if you're reading this, I can already guess how much you hate me.'' She scoffed at the first paragraph of the letter.
'You have no idea how much I hate you right now, Mom. You don't have any idea how my hatred is burning through my body.' She thought to herself, tears slipping out from her eyes.
"But I'm sure you'd have figured out that it was for the better; there is nothing anyone can do about it. If you weren't so stubborn and selfish, I would have probably told you earlier and taught you how to be a good wife to Lord Olive. I also know you must be fighting stubbornly hard to come back home, it's very shameful to say this but we think you should accept your fate and just stay there."
'Really mom?' Khalilah's eyes scanned to the last of the letter and she cried for a few more minutes.
Getting even sad that even a farewell letter wasn't so loving, she was called selfish and stubborn and her only crime was wanting her mother to love her just like she did her sisters.
Fresh tears made their way to her eyes again.
"I hate you." She said out loud making the maids in the room jolt up in surprise.
"You'll be doing our family a lot of help, we know this is asking too much, but that's the only way you can pay us back for taking care of you up until now. I'm sorry if I couldn't love you like I did to your siblings, I'm also aware that you've had it rough So as your mother the only thing I can do for you, is to wish you happiness where you are now."
Khalilah blinked back in disbelief; her mother didn't even apologize properly! Khalilah wasn't so sure if she meant the apology or if she was mocking her, she didn't know if she was truly sorry about not loving her enough, she didn't know anything, and she was never aware of anything.
Even though Khalilah wanted to believe it was a lie, she knew quite well that this was her mother's seal and her handwriting.
'I won't ever forgive them for this,' she assured herself as she wiped away the tears from her nose. She threw her mother's letter across the room, gritting her teeth in anger, she had never been so angered like this, she had never felt so many negative emotions all together at once like this before.
She picked up Rose-Anne's letter and wondered what was in it, Khalilah found herself more disappointed in her grandmother, Rose-Anne had told her, that she loved her and even cried on her behalf several times.
Was that also a lie?
Her bottom lips quivered as she tore open the letter properly, her heart wouldn't take it if it was the same discerning message her mother had left her.
"Khalilah darling, forgive me for being a bad grandmother." Tears dropped on the paper in Khalilah's shaky hands. "I can't even imagine how sad you must be now, I know it's unbelievable but I tried my best to tell you the whole truth, but I just couldn't."
"Why?" Khalilah asked the paper. "Why didn't you just tell me?"
"I believed you were too innocent for what we were about to do to you, you're so kind and gentle, and you were the greatest blessing I got since Joe died."
Khalilah sniffed as she proceeded
"I wanted to tell you, I tried so many times, but I didn't want to stand in front of you as the failure that I am, However, Khalilah I am also very selfish, I have a final request from you."
'Do you even have any right to ask for anything?' Khalilah wondered tears blurring her vision as she proceeded.
"I've seen how Lord Olive is, he is unkind and merciless, please do not on no condition make him mad, I want you to do your best to survive. Even if you're not here with me, if I know that you are alive and safe somehow, it is okay for me."
Khalilah chuckled, what is with their fake concern now? But she was right, this so-called Olive is very unkind, and proof of that is her swollen and stinging face.
"Please do your best to live a long and healthy life, my precious grandchild."