Arranged to Him

Dancing with the Devil

"Ah, so for sure forced then. Looks like you fought quite valiantly. Who did this? Your father?" He asked, his dark eyes flashing dangerously seeing my bruised arm, the marks seeming to anger him more.

"Cousin. Abus." I admitted in a whisper, pulling my arm back from him. He exhaled slowly and gave a short nod to Waverly, who seemed to understand and pulled over immediately. I immediately grabbed my bag of things, expecting him to toss me out of the car, but before I could move, he slammed the door, walking a bit ahead of us on the dark road. He leaned on a bridge railing and didn't move, seeming to get lost in a dark and deep thought.

"You should probably talk to him." Waverly offered kindly after a few minutes when he didn't return, smiling at me in the mirror. I didn't want to, but I got out and went to the bridge, knowing I must look crazy in my dress and my tattered bag of possessions.

"I will leave. I'm sorry for the trouble," I said, hoping he would tell me to stay instead. He seemed to have a temper, but he had yet to hit me, and I knew I would get the beating of a lifetime back home. He sighed and shook his head, his expression dark.

"I trusted my best friend to arrange this marriage. I figured he knew me better than anyone else. I wanted a woman who could battle the world with me and hopefully love me as much as I love them. A loyal woman. I am not prepared to handle a woman with such a harsh upbringing. This wasn't what I signed up for, a forced marriage. I wanted an arranged marriage with an equal, someone my age, someone with something, anything, in common with me. I had a great childhood, and my parents are practically saints. How could I possibly relate to you? What was Joseph aiming for with setting us up?" He ranted, turning to face me, his darkness morphing into desperation. He wanted this to work but didn't think it could, and that burned more than if he had just asked for an annulment outright.

"I will pay you twice what he offered your family to return home. They get their money. You can try to get a love marriage or a more suited arranged marriage, and we can both pretend this didn't happen." He said, his hand into his mid-length black hair, stressed and his confidence vanishing slightly.

The entire wedding, he seemed full of himself, confident, and like he owned the world, but I finally got a glimpse into who he was. I saw his vulnerable side, and I was enticed.

Why was it that the fact that he didn't want me made me like him more? I should have taken the money and run, but instead, I smiled. He scoffed, seeing this.

"Fine, what a bitch, three times the offered price, Anaya, but that's my final offer." He snarled, glaring at me, angry again for my greed.

"Oh, so what? You get married and realize your best friend is an idiot. Is that my fault? I think not. I'm not divorcing you. So what if I'm not perfect, neither are you. You clearly think everything is about money. You can't buy me, and if you want to sell me back to my family like the crooks they are, you will have to beat me worse than they did. As you said, I put up a valiant fight. I am done being a commodity to be bought and sold at idiotic man's whim." I folded my arms and matched his glare, waiting with nervousness. He would indeed beat me, but I also hoped he wouldn't, and he would keep me. Even going back with that much money, my family would probably kill me for bringing such shame to the family. It was stick it out or nothing.

He ticked his tongue and looked at me up and down, but approvingly, it seemed.

"Maybe he knew what he was doing after all."

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously, but he walked by me with a smirk and got in the car, apparently ready to go wherever we went. I had to exhale and give myself a moment to calm down because I had been sure he would beat me and send me back, and he was a very tall and well-built man, unlike my cousin. I was shaking a bit, and my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest.