S t o i c [h.s]

Three

The next three days I didn't manage to be productive at all. My days were filled with eating ice cream and watching TV. I talked to Scarlett over the phone, she landed a job in London and was finishing up on moving there. Yesterday my mother invited me over to have dinner with her and my father. I knew there was the need to talk about all of this. I had a little hope my father would reconsider and my mother wouldn't let her only daughter marry this unknown man my grandmother so precisely picked, but the rational side of me knew my father would blindly follow my grandmother even if she led him to the grave. As disappointing as it sounds, my father never really showed any signs of love or adoration towards me. He was always busy with work to pay any attention to me. He would speak to me as if I were merely one of his staff, often asking me to do tasks and scolding me when I would do something out of proportion. Over the years I grew cold towards him, no longer hoping for any acknowledgement. I knew I was done over and thus I dreaded meeting them tonight realising it would bring news I wasn't ready to hear. I had to pull myself together, trying to make an effort to look put together, as I'm sure my father would point out if I hadn't done so.

The drive to my parent's house was long and uneventful, my helplessness slowly turning into anger the more I was thinking about it. Parking at the front gate I composed myself, straightening my skirt and pulling my jacket on to walk to the front door. After I knocked I patiently waited for the maid to open the door for me, greeting me with a polite smile and a greeting. The sound of my heels echoed through the long hallway as I made my way over to the dining room connected with the living room. There, I greeted my father and then my mother, sitting next to her on the leathery couch. She embraced me in a welcoming hug before leading me to the dining table, where three sets of plates were arranged. Soon the exact maid that greeted me brought our dinner and my father started speaking of the elephant in the room, which I was dreading at most.

"Ela, I met with grandmother today and we discussed the issue of your marriage." I glanced at him waiting for what was about to come. "The date has been set to the 18th of January at the St. Johns Church and the reception in Hotel Avalonne. Many business guests and family acquaintances will be invited so you better behave yourself." He paused as I gaped at him. "You've already set the date and place? I haven't even met the man, father!" I raised my voice at the end getting annoyed with him treating this as if marriage wasn't a life changing decision, that was supposed to be made by me. "Now young lady, you will meet the man don't you worry." he continued, dismissing my distress. "You will have two days to pack your bags and on Monday Henry will be driving you to the hotel. You are to meet Mr. Styles on Tuesday to work on your agreement at his office. I'll send you the address later." He spoke monotonically making my insides turn with anger. "And until 18th you will have to buy a dress. Loretta, the stylist, Will help you with the choosing and get you some hair and make up people to have you ready at the Chapel at 11:00 am sharp. I'm warning you, if you even think about hazarding with this event, you will be praying you weren't born!" he threatened making me shrivel in my seat, no longer having appetite for eating. "Father, what about my apartment and my car?" I choked out. "Don't you worry Ela, everything will get sorted out. You just need to focus on your behavior and appearance." He said wiping his mouth with the cotton napkin sitting on his lap and leaving me with my mother.

I moved my glance to her expecting some sort of reaction. I raised my eyebrows at her when she remained silent picking at her vegetables. "Ela, sweetheart-" she started but I cut her off. "Mom, you will seriously let him do this?" She looked incredibly guilty. "Listen El. There is something I need to tell you and I hope you will understand my and your father's reasoning" My silence only encouraged her to continue. She sighed deeply "I have pancreatic cancer in the terminal stage."