Arranged: Betrothed

chapter 4

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It had been a week since her parents had informed her about the betrothal. She still went to college, wanting to enjoy the last couple of weeks before summer holidays began, but instead of staying with her friend group she occupied an empty room throughout the day. She avoided all of them, except Mary. Zahara only spoke to her about her problems.

"Is it okay if I come over?" Asked Zahara softly, looking at her friend hopefully.

Surprise took over Mary's face. "Of course. My parents love you. They would love to have you around more often." She agreed with a smile. Zahara's parents didn't allow her to go to her friends house, it was a reason that she never understood, but she never questioned them either.

It made Zahara even more upset. She never ever questioned their rules and restrictions and they couldn't even agree to something as simple as going to University. It's not like she asked them to pay for it, or take any responsibility for her future. She was happy to take out a loan and pay it back as long as she had her degree at the end of three years.

For the first time during the 5 years of friendship, Zahara went to Mary's house. Her parents adored her, took care of her and fed her thoroughly. She couldn't help but feel envious, it was obvious that Mary's parents cared a lot about her and her future, whereas her parents were going to get her married as soon as she entered adulthood.

They watched a few movies together, drank juice and ate ice cream. They didn't realise that it was past nine o'clock and it was very dark outside now.

"I should go." She mumbled. She had so much fun staying at hers, part of her wanted to stay the night.

"Do you want a lift. I can ask dad to drop you home." She suggested.

"No. I-I'll go alone. If I'm old enough to get married, surely I'm old enough go to my friends house and come home alone." She frowned, averting her eyes.

"Danger doesn't discriminate."

Zahara shrugged, not seeing the point in looking after herself anymore. "Okay. Only if you're sure."

Zahara nodded and pulled her shoes on before looking at Mary, her eyes glistening with tears. "I had a lot of fun today. I wish we can do this again, if it's alright with you." She wrapped her arms around Mary, crying softly.

"Don't be upset. I'm sure it won't be too bad. We will definitely do it again." She promised, hugging her tighter and then releasing her. Zahara nodded and wiped her tears, stepping away from her.

"Bye." She whispered. After hearing Mary's response she made her way out. The streets were lit dimly and she finally took out her phone. There over thirty missed calls from her family and forty text messages inquiring about her whereabouts. She ignored them and began to navigate her way home. She went to the nearest bus stop and waited for the bus. There wasn't much traffic anymore, which meant she would reach home in less than an hour.

Reluctantly she unlocked the front door, knowing that she was in a lot of trouble now.

Her parents eyes snapped towards her immediately and stood in front of her. Her mothers eyes were red and puffy, whereas her Father looked furious.

"Is this an appropriate time to come home?" He questioned calmly, but she could see it in his eyes; the anger at her rebellion.

"And you care since when?" She retorted sarcastically.

"How dare you speak to me this way." He yelled, his body tense. Zahara was taken aback, she had never been yelled at before, only because she was always obedient.

"I'm an adult. I figured since I'm old enough to get married, I could stay out for some time." She shrugged, not caring whether her actions had upset them.

"Not if you live under my roof. You will follow my rules, not make up your own." He growled.

She couldn't help but scoff. "Well, you won't have to worry about that very soon. Then I'll be free to do as I please."

She shoved past both of them and bolted up to her room, pushing her bed in front of the door again. When she looked around, she noticed a beautiful dress hanging in her open cupboard. She'd never seen in before. It had a red blouse with gemstones over it and the bottom was separate, a matching skirt with an intricate border.

She quickly realised this was her wedding dress. Her lip trembled, even after their argument they still didn't stop and listen to her. It was getting too much for her. How could she convince them to stop this? If they had her wedding dress that definitely means they have a date too.

He didn't know who they had invited. How embarrassing would it be if they invited her school friends to whatever ceremony they were planning to hold and then having to apologise for her archaic customs.

Who even gets betrothed anymore? Who wants to get married to a stranger? It's not like her questions were unreasonable, they were genuine concerns. Nowadays couples that have been together for years don't know their partners that well and she was expected to accept  a strange man. She knew nothing about him. Not his age, what he looked like or where he lived.

She changed into her pyjamas and laid down, thinking back to all those times she should've realised something was not right.

Her parents always made her do majority of the chores in their house. They even gave her the responsibility of cooking a a big family dinner which she executed successfully. Even though she had an older sister, they had never even asked her to do such a thing. All her other siblings did basic chores, like cleaning every once in a while or folding up laundry. But she had to do all the hard work, and she had mastered everything by the time she turned sixteen.

She sniffled into her pillow, ignoring the knocks on her bedroom door and closed her eyes. She had no choice... unless she ran away. There was no where she could go to hide. They knew they would mainly check Mary's house and she didn't want anyone else to be involved. She cursed at herself for being such a coward.

She fell into a restless slumber, tossing and turning through the night. She had to avoid her family, the people that she thought loved her.

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H

ey!!!

Here's the next chapter. The next one will be more exciting for sure. Where we will meet the man.😈😈😈😈

I think this book will be around 20 chapters. Quite short IK. I hope that's okay.

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Z.A.B