by S. G. Sonysa
I opened the door to his room and slipped inside silently. My granddad was sleeping peacefully. I sat on the empty chair beside his bed and placed my hand on his fragile one. His hand used to be so tough and strong, but now, it felt soft and lifeless.
When I looked at his face, he opened his eyes and stared at me. He moved his hand up and removed the oxygen mask from his face.
“Granddad, why did you remove this?” I asked him, trying to make him put it back on his face.
“I want to talk to you, son.” He stopped me from putting the oxygen mask on.
“Okay. I’m listening, Granddad,” I said.
“Chase, I have this friend, and we made a promise to arrange… arrange a marriage between our first grandchildren.” My granddad stared at me.
I didn’t know what to say at that moment.
“I want you to marry his granddaughter. This is my last wish, son,” he said, clutching my hand.
“Granddad, I…” I was about to remind him that I’m still in the last year of my bachelor in business administration but he cut me off.
“Please, Chase. Do this for me. I want to see you married before my death,” he said.
At that night, I made the decision that would change my life forever.
Chapter Two
Did I Make The Right Decision?
Hailey
I woke up after hearing the constant knocks on my bedroom door. Groaning, I sat up on the bed and rested my head against the headboard then shut my eyes to block the light. The knocking on the door stopped, and I sighed in relief.
I felt an immense pain in my head. My eyes were sticky and swollen. I cracked open my eyes and tried to clear my throat but ended up coughing violently because of the dryness. I ran my tongue over my lips and felt the cracks on them.
Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around my room. My eyes went to my pillow, which was damp with tears and just like that everything that happened last night came crashing. I wanted to sleep again when I recalled what happened last night. I never wanted to wake up again.
Last night was like some horrible nightmare that turned into reality really fast. Everything was still vivid in my memory. I hoped that I could forget everything and continue with my boring life but even that seemed hard to do at the moment.
Yesterday, I found out that I lost my real mother the day she gave birth to me. And the one that I had looked up to as my mother for the last sixteen years was not my real mother. I was not her real daughter, her flesh, and blood. Even more so, I turned out to be the product of my dad’s infidelity. And lastly, the revelation that my biological mother’s death was because of me left me in so much pain.
If I had died with my mother that day, I wouldn’t be in so much pain right now. I got up from the bed feeling my muscles ache and made my way to the vanity table. I stared at myself in the mirror, and I cringed at how horrible I looked. My eyes were red and puffy from crying all night. Even my face looked a little swollen, and on top of that, I had a runny nose.
Did I make the right decision last night?
Even my inner voice didn’t answer my stupid question.
I recalled the time I had spent here in this house with this family. I wondered why they were so kind to provide me a house to live in, instead of leaving me at some orphanage or giving me up for adoption. Even Melanie, let me called her Mom. My dad did his best to provide me a great life. He put a roof over my head. He provided me with clothes and had me educated.
Then I heard the knock at the door again and went to open it. I found mom or should I say stepmom standing outside.
“Can I come in?” my stepmom asked.
I nodded my head, and she entered my room. I shut the door and looked at her, suddenly feeling nervous in her presence.
“I came here to apologize for my behavior last night. I’m sorry that you had to find out about your mom and dad that way,” she said.
I felt somewhat happy after hearing her apology and thought she might be here to tell me that I didn’t need to marry anyone to repay her.
“And I just want you to know how grateful I am for what you are doing for your sister. She really appreciates your sacrifice and is thinking about forgiving you for what you and your mother did to our family,” she said, and my hopes died.
I nodded my head solemnly.
“Your dad and granddad are not happy with my idea. They want to tell his friend’s family how young you are so they won’t pursue the marriage and wait for a few more years. But now, it’s your responsibility to convince them and make them lie about your age. My daughter and I cannot live with the constant reminder of Michael’s infidelity anymore,” she said, making my heart froze.
She wanted me to ask my father and grandfather to lie to other people about my age. I opened my mouth to tell her that I couldn’t possibly convince my dad and grandfather to do it, but she took hold of my hand.
“Hailey, I know it’s difficult, but you have to do this for your sister. Tell them how you enjoy the idea of early marriage, and happily ever after with your husband. Convince them that this is what you want, and you are not doing this because of me. I know you, Hailey. I know your words have magic on them. Do this for your sister and me,” she said, kissing the center of my forehead.
I felt the tears brimming in my eyes at her words. She really wanted me to leave this house.
“I will try to convince Dad and Grandfather to lie about my age,” I said, and she hugged me.
“You will look so pretty in your wedding dress. I am sure of it.” She then left my room.
For the first time in my life, I saw admiration and love for me in her eyes. I didn’t know if she was pretending, or it was real, but I liked the feeling it gave me.
In sixteen years of my existence, she never showered me with love like she showered Emily, but she didn’t abuse me either. She would always glance at me with disappointment in her eyes and taunted me with my appearance, but I thought it was because she cared about how I looked.
Emily and I were never close, and I thought it was because we were so different from each other in looks and mind. While I loved studying, she hated it. I loved being in comfy casual clothes, but she despised them. Even her nightgowns were fancy and made up of silk with frills.
She never treated me like a sister, but in my mind, I admired her because of her beauty and perfection. She was always confident, which I lacked tremendously. Emily acted like a queen in school, and people worshiped the ground she walked especially the boys.
Because of her, other kids started bullying me. One day, she pushed me on the floor in the hallway for other students to see and laugh at my misery. The other students started pushing me too, and that was how “push Hailey” trend started in school. Amazingly, other students were more creative. They would make me trip in class, in the bathroom, in the cafeteria, and how could I forget the school grounds.
I was always a timid and submissive girl. I never liked fighting back for anything even if my life depended on it. With each passing year it got worse, and soon other students started playing horrible pranks on me, which left me with injuries. Each day at school became hell for me, and I wished death upon me than attending school.
I had to hide all the abuse from my parents and grandfather because Emily blackmailed me. If I would ever open my mouth, her friends would cut my tongue. She was a senior, and she had a lot of friends especially scary boys.
Until the fifth grade, I was able to hide all the pain and traces of abuse on my body. But, when sixth grade rolled in, I was beaten by a few guys and girls in the parking lot. I was waiting for my dad to come and pick me up and that was when those boys and girls attacked me. They told me it was my punishment for telling my dad that I didn’t want to go to school because other students treated me badly.
It was Emily who found out and punished me by sending her friends to beat me. They broke my right leg, and my jawbone got fractured. I had a head injury too, and that landed me in the hospital for weeks.
My dad was the one who found me broken, beaten, and unconscious on the school grounds, bleeding to death. I was rushed to the nearest hospital, and during the checkup, doctors found many old bruises on my body and informed my dad.
After that incident, my dad forbade me to go to school and hired a home tutor for me. I was a shy girl, but getting homeschooled turned me into an antisocial, awkward girl or as Emily liked to call it; a freak. Whenever Emily’s friends would come over for a sleepover, they called me names and told me how ugly I was. They told me I look fat and I should lose some weight.
At first, I didn’t believe them. But slowly, they successfully drilled it into my head, and I started believing that I was a freak. I stopped making an effort to change myself and do something to look beautiful because I realized a long time ago that whatever I did, it wouldn’t stop people from calling me ugly, fat, and freak.
Between Emily and me, she had always been everyone’s favorite and in the spotlight because of her beauty and style. I tried a few times to mingle with the family, but they always pushed me back by making a snide remark on my clothing or on my awkward communication skills. They would make jokes about me and laughed while I sat there in front of them with a fake smile on my face.
They never realized that they were breaking me from the inside, breaking my confidence, my will to speak, and my ability to interact with people. Later, I stopped talking to anyone. I would just nod my head in answer or did anything they wanted me to do for them without complaining. It saved me from the pain.
I used to think that I was useless to this family, but now, I knew how important I was for my mom and sister at this very moment. She asked me for the first time ever to do something for her that would make her proud. And I wanted to do it for her, to make her happy and proud of me, even if it meant getting married to a stranger.
I was always the extra ugly piece of their perfect house. If this was their way of throwing me out, then I should accept it. Also, I didn’t have any right to stay in this house anymore. They didn’t even want me. I knew their lives would be a lot better without me in the picture.
Sighing, I made my way to the washroom and decided to take a shower. After the shower, I changed into my sweatpants and a baggy shirt. Then I combed my hair and put them in a high ponytail. I heard knocks and made my way to the door. I opened it and found my grandfather and dad standing outside with grim faces.
Smiling brightly at them, I opened the door wider and invited them inside.
“We are here to talk to you, Hailey,” my dad said.
I nodded my head and waited for them to say something.
“Hailey, I love you, and I know you are hurt at the moment. That’s why you made that decision last night,” my dad said, and I grew still.
“You don’t have to do anything that you don’t wish to do. I will talk to Melanie and ask her to change her mind. If she cannot accept you after all these years, then you shouldn’t stay in this house. I can rent an apartment, and we will shift there.”
I wanted to hug him and ask them to take me away from this house and this life, but my mom’s word reminded me what I needed to do. I needed to convince them instead of agreeing with this.
“No, Dad you are getting everything wrong about Mom. She is still my mom, and I love her. This morning she came to apologize to me and told me to do whatever I want. She was the reason why I said yes to this marriage last night. But now, I’m taking responsibility for my decision. I have always wanted to get married at a young age, and now, I have the opportunity,” I said, trying to look convincing.
Both of them shook their heads at me.
“I cannot believe this. You are lying, Hailey,” Dad said.
“Dad, I don’t want to stay in this house with you, Emily, and Mom. I want to make a new life with new people. Let me get married to this guy so I can try to become someone on my own. I am sure grandfather’s friends are nice people and won’t hurt me,” I said, feeling my heart bled.
“They are nice people, and the boy is great, too. But I don’t think you should make this decision so soon.” Grandfather rose to his full height.
“Your friend doesn’t have much time left. And I’m not making this decision under any pressure. It just feels right to do,” I said, feeling my voice crack at the end.
My grandfather looked pretty convinced, but dad had doubts.
“Hailey, you need to understand that whatever I did in the past, I did to protect you,” my dad said, sounding guilty.
The hurt and guilt were clear in his voice, making my own heart ache for him. I wanted to hug him and tell him it was alright, but it wasn’t. I was still hurt. Not even in my wildest imagination had I thought that one of my parents would turn out to be my stepparent.
My body stilled, and my hands hung loosely on my sides. It was difficult to tell them how I felt about this situation, but I tried.
“Dad, I forgive you. I understand why you did it. I am just in shock, and really hurt that you hid something so important from me for this long,” I said. “But, I still love you, and I am happy to know that you are my real father,” I said the last part with a small awkward smile.
A sad smile graced both of their faces.
“I will inform them that you agreed to get married to their son. You are still young, so they might change their mind and decide to wait. I’m sure you will change yours with time,” grandfather said.
“Don’t tell them that I am still sixteen. Lie to them. Tell them that I am eighteen.”
They looked at me with horror.
“Why?” they both asked in unison.
“Dad, I want them to think I’m an intelligent, young girl and not a high school girl. Please, dad, granddad. Do this for me.” I begged them while tears flowed from my eyes.
They looked at me in shock when I started to cry, but I was desperate to get rid of mom and Emily. I knew if I stayed here, they wouldn’t let me live in peace.
“Okay. We will tell them that you have recently turned eighteen,” my dad said, wiping my tears.
I hugged him.
“It looks like I have a wedding to arrange,” Grandfather said, leaving the room.
My dad and I smiled. I felt like my granddad knew why I was doing this, but he didn’t really want me to stop.
“Thank you, Hailey, for forgiving me. You are the best daughter a father could ask for,” Dad said.
I nodded my head, controlling the tears.
“They are really nice people and rich too. I met them last week. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have two sons and two daughters. The son they want to marry off is twenty, and his name is Chase. He is a handsome young man and is studying in NYU. It’s his last semester before he graduates. I have heard a lot of good things about that family and their son. I’m sure they’ll keep you happy and safe,” my dad said, and I hugged him again.
“I know Dad. And I’m glad you and Granddad accepted my decision.”
Deep inside, my heart broke into tiny pieces knowing that there was no escape now.
Chapter Three
Wedding
Hailey
[Two weeks later]
I stared at myself in the full-length mirror. The girl staring back at me didn’t look like the plain girl I had known all my life or like the girl I was just two weeks ago. She was different from my boring, plain self. She looked beautiful with her brown hair tied up in a chignon. A few tendrils framing her heart-shaped face, and her lips were painted in a beautiful shade of pink, making them look naturally fuller. Her face was healthy and glowing, making her look fresh and beautiful. Her cheeks were rosy, giving the appearance of natural blush.
She was dressed in a pure white chiffon and lace dress. The bodice was made up of lace, wrapping around her chest like a second skin, while the skirt was flowing down to her feet in a silky mess.
I looked at the girl in the mirror, and my eyes caught the shiny pendant dangling from the white gold chain clasped around her neck. Unintentionally, my hand mov
ed up to my neck, and I gripped the pendant while still staring at the girl in the mirror who was no one else but me.
I was the one dressed in an elegant wedding gown. I was about to get married and start a new life with a stranger in just a few hours. The mere thought scared me, causing my grip to tighten on the pendant as if seeking some kind of support. The presence of something that was so special to me instantly relaxed the turmoil inside me.
This piece of jewelry was valuable to me because it belonged to my biological mother who gave birth to me sixteen years ago and wearing it today made me feel that she was here with me, hiding somewhere but watching me take the biggest step of my life.
My bedroom door opened, making me turn around to see my dad.
“Dad, how do I look?” I asked him.
He smiled at me lovingly, and said, “You look beautiful like your mother.”
“You really loved her.” I saw the emotion in his brown eyes.
“I still love her, and I love you. Don’t ever think that you are an unwanted child because I am glad that I have you as my daughter,” he said and placed a kiss on my temple.
My dad grimaced as a tear rolled down from my eye, leaving a wet trail on my face.
“Please, honey. Don’t cry. It will make your eyes red and puffy. It wouldn’t look good when we take your wedding pictures,” Dad said, picking up the tissue from the vanity table and drying my face.
I gave him a watery smile.
He smiled, and said, “Let’s go. We need to leave for the chapel.”
I nodded my head and held out my arm to him. He led me down to where others were waiting for me. After we were all settled in the car, the driver took us to our destination. When the car stopped, my dad and Emily helped me in getting out of the car without ruining my dress.
Emily arrived a week ago when she heard that she didn’t need to marry anyone and no one was forcing her anymore. She decided to come back and see for herself if it was true.
