A Y A
"You are to marry the son of the Tiu Family, and that is final!" My father declared as I stormed out of his office.
"Final or not, I still wouldn't marry him!" I shot back as I turned around and glared at him. "We all know why you wanted to marry me off to that man! It's because I am of no use to you, Father! You think that I cannot lead this family as well as Kai could!"
"And what do you think you could do for this family if not marrying the son of the Tius?! Do you really think you could lead our family business when all you do is sew tapestries and paint in your room?! You never even bothered to join in your brother's lessons whenever the mentor is here!" He replied as I saw my stepmother's lips form into a smirk.
I looked away. It's true. I have never even bothered to join in my brother's lessons because of that damned sly fox. If he only knew why I have never even once set foot in that class...
"It's true that I have not set my foot in that class but it was all because of that woman's fault!" I responded as I pointed at Cora, my stepmother. My tears started to run down my cheeks as years of pent up frustration exploded in me. "She stopped me from coming into my brother's class because I was the daughter of your late wife!"
My father turned to Cora to which she immediately said, "That's ridiculous, my dear! I treated her and my son, Kai, equally. It was HER who didn't want to go in the first place." She then grabbed her handkerchief and pretended to wipe her own non-existent tears. "She told me that she will never ever treat me as her own mother and that I am only after your wealth, my dear!"
"Gosh, Cora, still up to the same tricks, I see. You never changed." I responded.
"Enough!" My father's voice boomed along the hallway. "You will not disgrace our family by not marrying the son of the Tiu's! Your engagement party will be held on your 18th birthday and that is final!"
"What?! That's supposed to be my day of entering womanhood!"
"Which makes it even more perfect for you to be engaged to Kaden Tiu!"
"I hate you!" I hissed at him and then went into my room, weeping for my remaining days of being unmarried and free.
--
The upcoming days went on like a blur. Everyone but myself seemed to be fussing over my engagement and birthday party. At this point, I just feel numb already. I wish there is some place or world that I could be a part of without having to worry about getting married off to some random guy that I didn't even know, let alone, be in love with.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"I'm so glad that you and your family made it!" Cora gleefully greeted the Tiu family. I watched them from afar as they all took their seats by the coffee table.
"I'm guessing you don't like tea and biscuits too, huh?" I looked to my right and saw Kaden smiling at me. He is a tall man that has small, dark-brown eyes, dark hair, and a tanned complexion. He was wearing a navy blue suit which complimented his fit built.
"No, I just don't like the people who I'm gonna have tea and biscuits with." I replied and Kaden put his left hand on his chest and pretended to be hurt.
"Well that hurt." He chuckled. "Look, I know neither of us are prepared to get married to each other but..." His smiling face turned into a worried one. "...but for the sake of each of our parents' happiness, let's just do it for them."
"Do it for them?" I scowled. "You've got to be kidding me." I stood up. "Listen Kaden, I only want my marriage to be built upon the foundation of love and trust, and not over some business agreement between our two families."
"We could try, y'know." He said casually while smiling playfully. Any woman would melt right away when he said that while looking like that but not me.
"Nice try, romeo, but I'm not some cheapskate woman who would throw myself to the likes of you." And with that, his facial expression darkened. "I am well aware of your affairs, Kaden; that's why I'd rather become the family's spinster than marry someone like you."
Kaden stood up from the swing and towered over me with his cold gaze, "You know, you're doing more harm to your family with that selfishness of yours." He grabbed my elbow and smiled cockily. "Even if you try to turn me away, you still have no choice but to marry me. You will end up with me, no matter what because your family needs me... your family needs us, the Tiu's."
"What do you mean?!" I asked.
"What I mean is, your family's business is soon gonna go bankrupt if we do not get married. To them, our marriage symbolizes the union of the Sy's and the Tiu's in the business world. So if I were you, you should just accept your destiny of being married off to me." He shoved me away and fixed his cufflinks. "After all, you're a woman. Your purpose is to pleasure me and give me an heir."
I slapped him right across his cheek.
"Just who the hell do you think you are to hurt my son?!" Pamela Tiu, Kaden's mother, said with a furious tone in her voice as her and her family rushed over to their pathetic son's side. My parents were also there and they even started apologizing on my behalf. "If this is how your daughter's gonna act towards my son, then I suggest we call off the wedding!"
"I think that would be unnecessary. Everything is already set. I'm sure Aya didn't mean to do that to her very own fiance, am I right, Aya?" Cora then viciously pinched my lower back.
--
My 18th birthday came and everyone, apart from me, were very happy because it is also the day that I became engaged to Kaden. I sighed and went into my mother's library, which by the way was nearly destroyed by my own father but good thing I was able to stop him by begging on my knees.
"Mother, am I still doing the right thing?" I asked while facing at her big portrait by the entrance. If only I could just escape into another world and be who I really want to be... love whoever my heart decides to do so then I'd happily live my life to the fullest.
Just then, I saw a red light from my mother's collection of scrolls. I went towards it and found one of her scrolls glowing red with red magical dusts coming off of it. I opened the scroll and it revealed a painting of a crimson bird similar to a phoenix.
"The Vermilion bird..." I read the words next to the picture. Suddenly, the clashing colors of red, gold, and orange burst out from the page itself and pulled me in, with the feeling of warmth while falling into a vast space as my last memory.