I sat there thinking about all the reasons I should say no
1. I don't know Daniel Whitney.
2. He's dying and I wouldn't know what his death would mean for me especially if I have his baby.
3. He could be completely awful to deal with.
4. He could be amazing and I could fall in love with a man just to watch him die.
It felt as if there was a storm in my head, I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose, I could feel a migraine coming on. The only thing I could see clearly was little Olivia, I knew I could not bare to bury one more family member and especially her, she was my baby sister but she had also become my child, she even called me mama and I would do anything for her. Julia went to stand up and without lifting my head, my free hand grabbed hers and before I even knew what I was doing I heard myself say: Okay… I'll do it, I'll marry him.
I heard her laugh quietly through her nose as if she had won an argument before saying: You wont regret it. First thing you need to do is quit your job. I wont have a Whitney working as a waitress. You will move into Daniels mansion with him. I'll send some movers over tomorrow to move you and your sister over, after you're officially married.
"The wedding is tomorrow?" I looked at her shocked but her face didn't change as she replied: Oh Daniel is much to sick for a wedding, we will do a small ceremony in his room and then you both will sign the certificate and then the $250,000 will be sent to your account and that will be that.
I inhaled deeply unsure if this was a mistake but I didn't care, not if it saved Olivia's life, I'd worry about that tomorrow.
I called my job saying I got food poisoning and that I couldn't come back in. I wasn't going to quit my job until I saw the money in my account. I picked up Olivia and brought her home, we spent the evening getting ready for tomorrow, I painted our nails and put our hair in curlers which Olivia loved and I even pulled out my mothers wedding dress to try it on. This wasn't the ideal situation but my parents were devoted to each other to the end and if I was going to marry this man, I wanted to be just as devoted till the day he died.
In the morning I was helping Olivia get dressed when there was a knock, I opened the door and there was a man in a black uniform and drivers cap, you could tell he was bald underneath and he had slanted grayish blue eyes and a round face: Hello mam, I'm Jerry, your driver, here to pick you and your sister up for the, event!
"Um, okay, can you give me a few moments and I'll meet you outside?" I smiled at him nervously but he bowed his head in a quick motion and turned to leave. I put the finishing touches on my makeup and put my wedding dress in the diaper bag and lifted Olivia to rest on my hip. I took a deep breath as we walked out of the apartment and to the limo out front. Jerry stood at the door waiting to open it for me. I stepped inside holding Olivia in my arms as he drove out of the parking lot. We drove long enough for Olivia to fall asleep and drool all over my shirt until we pulled into a gate. We stopped in front of a massive doorway with french glass doors that opened up to a massive foyer with glass windows that lit the entire room. Julia stood in the doorway of one of the rooms and said: Hello Miss Denny, would you please come with me so we can get this started?
I was shocked at how cavalier she was acting and she noticed my expression making her face soften instantly as she added: Unless you need a moment. She smiled as she gestured to another door. I nodded and walked through into a bathroom. The bathroom was about as big as my apartment living room. I changed into my dress and freshened up mu makeup. I took Olivia and returned to the foyer to have Julias expression turn Icy as she plastered on a fake smile and said: Oh, you look lovely. I followed her to the doorway she was in when I first arrived and we walked through. This room was different then the rest, it was warmer, the décor and the color pallet seemed to be picked out by someone completely different then the rest of the house. As I stepped inside I saw a large four post bed made out of solid wood with ornate carvings on the posts and head board, it was beautiful. My eyes drifted until they met a pair of green eyes. They looked tired but brilliant all the same, Daniel Whitney had a larger frame that seemed to have withered due to illness, you could tell he was once an extremely attractive man but had been ravaged by whatever illness that was slowly taking him.
His eyes brightened as they met mine and a slow smile played on his lips as he spoke: Hello Miss Denny, it is wonderful to meet you. I looked at him feeling it strange to be introducing myself right before marriage but greeted him anyway: Hi Mr. Whitney, it's lovely to meet you as well. We smiled at one another as I stretched my hand out to shake his and was met by both of his hands embracing mine and pulling me two steps closer to him, his hands were warm and soft and for a split second I wondered how they would feel caressing my face. The truth is I hadn't had time for a relationship since my parents past away, I was lonely in so many ways and desperately craved the touch of another human, I shook off the feeling Don't get too personal with the dying man Lizzie, you will only get hurt I smiled as I let go of his hand and took two steps back.
"Who is this?" He said smiling as he noticed Olivia holding onto the hem of my dress: Oh, this is Olivia, she's my s… my daughter. I debated what I should call her but decided its easier to say she is my daughter then to explain why I have custody of my sister which always resulted in being pitied and after being smothered with pity I detested the feeling.