"Marry who?" Laura asked in a creepy tone as her nerves heightened.
The oldest in the Miller family, Laura's adoptive grandfather looked at the tense Laura and immediately called out to her. "Laura, dear come here." He said patting the space on his left hand side.
Laura tried to organize her emotions as she walked towards him. "Grandfather, who do you guys want me to get married to?" Her voice was almost a whisper as she sat beside him.
Morgan Miller, Laura's grandfather looked guilty as he stared at his favorite granddaughter. She was the most obedient one out of all.
She was also the smartest. Most caring. She was just amazing..... He loved her dearly. He wanted her to be happy.....
But at the end of the day she wasn't his biological granddaughter. And he couldn't give up his biological granddaughter to a marriage contract from years ago due to the promise he made to a friend of his who saved him.
"Laura, you know grandpa loves you a lot right?" Morgan asked in a gentle voice.
Laura, whose breathing was slightly ragged, tried to put her emotions together as she nodded.
"Jane is still too young to get married and the only other way is....." Morgan tried to explain in a low voice.
"She's a year older than me." Laura cut him off her voice holding a layer of cold bitterness and some other emotion Morgan couldn't tell...
"I know that... But you're more mature than...."
"More mature?", Laura cut him off again. "She's smart enough to scheme but she's not mature?" Laura asked as she fought back the tears in her eyes.
She would never give Jane the satisfaction of making her cry.
Elaine Miller, Laura's adoptive mom looked at her with annoyance.
"You owe us this much. We saved you from the orphanage. You would probably be on the streets by now and not in a fancy mansion like ours." Elaine spat venomously.
Laura felt an invisible yet unshakable lump in her throat. "I know I'm an orphan. You don't have to spell it out Elaine. You know what... I'll get married to whoever you want me to but.... Only on one condition." She said in a rather defined voice.
Elaine had a look of shock for being called by her name.
Morgan looked at Laura with hope.
Laura folded her hands into fists. "If I get married, I and the Miller family will have no more connection. I'll come back only once. For the after wedding ceremony. But I will not come back after that." Her voice quivered at the end.
Morgan felt a pang of pain in his chest. "Laura I'm sor....."
"No problem. That's settled. You'll get married in 2 weeks." Elaine said in disdain before she left.
Laura smiled mockingly. She mocked the Miller family for using her as a sacrifice....
Jane looked at Laura with a provocative smirk.
Laura just stared at her with empty eyes. So empty, the longer Jane looked, it felt like she was falling into an abyss.
Startled, Jane immediately looked away and immediately followed after her mom.
Morgan looked at Laura. "Laura..."
"Who am I getting married to?" Laura asked without looking at him. She was staring at her fingers and counting them. That was the only way to stay sane right now.
"Ethan Blackwood...." Morgan said.
Laura nodded. The name sounded familiar. But she couldn't pinpoint where she heard it before.
Laura immediately got up and left ignoring Morgan's calls.
Morgan sighed sadly. He picked up his phone and made a call.
Adam Blackwood answered the call and said in an enthusiastic voice. "Did the little girl agree?"
Morgan sneered. " She did but I'm the one paying the price!" He yelled.
Adam frowned. " How?.."
"Her condition for marrying your grandson was that she'll never speak to this family again." Morgan said tiredly.
Adam chuckled. "Don't worry. I'll fix that for you once she comes over after the wedding."
"Did you just laugh?.... I'm telling you Blackwood, I will....
******
NEXT DAY
WILSON COLLEGE.
CAFETERIA.
Laura sat in the cafeteria of the college as she ate a sandwich and drank a vanilla milk shake.
Lila who was wearing a yellow sundress ran to her immediately.
Laura looked up when she saw a person's shadow. She blinked twice at Lila.
"You're not wearing red..." Laura murmured in confusion.
"Nahhh. I hate the color red." Lila said as she took a seat beside her.
"I remember. I remember you..... But that's never happened before... I just remember you." Laura murmured further.
Lila froze. That murmur sounded familiar. "Laura.... Do you have level four anxiety?" She asked.
Laura looked at her before she looked down at her fingers. She hesitated before she nodded.
Lila gasped a little. She had met only a handful of people with level 4 anxiety while she was abroad receiving therapy. She felt they really suffered a lot.
But now..... Laura. She looked so young and kind.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Lila asked gently.
Laura shook her head.
Lila smiled. "Okay then. Ummm... Did something happen yesterday?" She was trying to approach the topic as carefully as possible.
"They want me to get married to someone on behalf of my step sister."
Lila didn't move. She just looked at Laura. "Everything will be fine.... I don't know how but it will be fine." She said in a whisper.
Laura looked at her. "I can't believe I remembered you. I never remember a person after a first meeting. I have a bit of face amnesia." She said with a surprised chuckle.
"Oh.... Then I'm just special." Lila giggled.
They talked and laughed all day long as they went from class to class. They finally exchanged contacts on all social media platforms.
******
At the end of the day...
"Bye Laura." Lila said before getting into the car that came to pick her up.
"Bye." Laura said before getting into the Miller family's car.
Immediately she got in her mood took a 180 turn.
The driver shivered a bit before saying. "Ma'am Elaine said you have a date with your groom."
Laura smiled at him. "Okay."
The driver immediately felt pity in his chest. He started the engine and drove off into the evening.
***
OCEAN VIEW RESTAURANT
HEART OF THE CITY
5:00PM
Laura walked into the venue for the date and went straight to the reception.
The receptionist smiled politely at her before asking. "Ma'am what's your reservation for tonight."
"The platinum room..?" Laura asked more in a questioning tone. That was what she was told. The platinum room.
The receptionist's eyes glowed with respect.
"Blackwood reservation?" The receptionist asked.
Laura nodded.
The receptionist smiled widely. "Here's the pass card. Enjoy your evening." She said and went back to work.
Laura moved to the elevator and went to the second to top floor. There were two private rooms there. Gold and platinum.
She inserted the pass card in the door and went in.
She walked in slowly....
Suddenly she froze at the sight...