"Can you please stop? Why do you always treat us like commodities in the open market? Everytime I stop to think you might actually love me as your daughter you disappoint me".
Mr Adams looked at her with no emotion on his face. "I will not have this conversation with you, in 7 days you will be married to Lucian, you do not have a say in this matter". Lisa was broken, how does she not get a say in her own marriage, this man was going to be her husband, how would she cope in a loveless marriage.
"Mom,say something, you cannot let Dad do this to me. Please Mom, please" she begged her mom hoping she would stand for her, hoping she would say no to her dad and it would all be over. But even her mom was in tears "sweetheart you have to marry him,we are at war and he's the only one that can help us win. We've tried everything,we didn't want it to come to this but there's nothing we can do". Lisa wasn't having it so she pushed further, "there's always something Mom, please you can't let him take me". She begged and begged until her Dad walked out of the room.
Lisa could no longer hold her tears so she let it all out,she knew there was nothing she could do,her father already said it was decided and everyone knows no one dares to go against the Benjamin's. All her life she had wanted to be loved but now she was being shipped of like a commodity to a man she knew as nothing but evil. Her father was selling her off to win a war,she was devastated but she knew she had 7 days to run.
Her Mom looked at her with tears in her eyes. "My baby, I wish there was something I could do to help you, but this is your fate now and you have to accept it. I didn't love your father at first but I grew to love him and even though we were never in love we worked out and we're still together, you're very smart and I know you will find a way". Mrs Adams sat to console her daughter,she knew it wasn't going to be an easy journey,she was once wearing these shoes and she hated her family for years. Seeing her daughter go through the same fate broke her heart. She had tried talking to her husband before now and even though she hated the idea,she knew he was saying the truth. This was the only way to save the family.
Lisa allowed herself to be comforted, she cried her eyes out,her tears wet her mother's lap and she kept on thinking to herself "Why wasn't she born into a normal family? Why did she have to be the sacrificial lamb?
She had to plan her escape because she would never marry him. If she wasn't in the picture she was sure her father would find a way to save the family. She had 7 days to run away.
***********
Morning used to be Lisa's best time of the day, she was always so full of life and knowing so much could happen in just a few hours made her so happy everyday. But today was different,all she had to look forward to was the one thing she dreaded the most. She sat on her bed trying to figure out a way to leave the big mansion she no longer saw as home. There were guards everywhere and escaping without being caught was almost impossible,but even while knowing how hard it could be, she still had little glimmer of hope that there would be a way. Escaping had never really crossed her mind before even though her father was almost unbearable so she knew she had to start searching for an escape route,flaw or blind spot in the compound. She was deep in thoughts until she heard a knock on the door and it was her brother Matthew, her only friend in this prison called home.
"Hi princess,miss me?" Matthew said with a gentle smile on his face,the smile he shows only her. To everyone else he's the ruthless Mafia prince of the Adam's family but to her, he's just a sweet human. He never showed his dangerous side to her, she felt loved and safe with him. But seeing him now with wounds all over his body broke her heart.
"Matthew, what happened to you? Who did this?" She asked with tears in her eyes. She could see he was weak,the war was taking it's toll on him and knowing she could end the war but didn't want to, broke her heart even more.
"Don't cry princess, I heard you cried your eyes out last night. You need to stop crying, seeing you cry is more painful than these wounds so don't do that to me, clean your eyes".
"I don't want to marry him Matthew,he scares me".
Matthew hugs her to stop her tears " You don't have to , I don't support Dad's decision, we'll find another way to win the war, so you don't have to be scared". Lisa broke away from the hug to look at him.
"I am, what if there's no way. I'll run away or I'll kill myself. I can't marry him,his name alone scares me, even if I were to bear a loveless marriage, not with Lucian, the stories people tell of him are terrifying. I just can't ".
" You can't kill yourself, think of what that will do to me,Mom and Dad would be devastated "
Lisa sighed" You know Dad wouldn't care if I was dead"
"He would, and escaping by yourself is same as suicide because if you're caught it'll be worse than death. You know I tried running once and Dad did unthinkable things to me, I still live with the trauma to this day "
"So you're saying I should marry him?" Lisa asks confused, because if she remained in this house she would definitely be married off in a week.
Matthew laughed lightly " No I'm saying you should wait for me to help you escape, you can't do it by yourself, you know nothing about the grounds but with my help a successful escape might be possible".
Lisa was glad, her heart was filled with joy. Finally, there was hope, she could really get out of this marriage, she smiled ear to ear until a thought crossed her mind and her face quickly turned sour. She looked at Matthew with worry and asked,"What if Dad finds out you helped me, we both know he would eventually and he'll kill you. I can't put you in such a position".
"Princess, he won't find out and even if he does I'll gladly accept whatever he does to me as long as you're happy". Matthew's phone rang in his pocket and he turned to leave " I have to go now princess, wait for me and don't do anything drastic I'll get you out of this mess, I promise". He opened the door and left. Lisa felt happy and relieved, she wasn't as as scared as she was at when she thought of escaping alone, now she had her elder brother in her corner,she was sure they could pull off an escape. Trusting her brother she encouraged herself and decided to think of what she would do after the escape, how her life would be being free from the shackles of her Dad.