Fixed Marriage [A Michael Jackson Fan Fiction] ♥

Chapter 6: Danielle Wilson

‘Wake up you brat!’ her father screamed at her. When she only grumbled and stirred, he gave her a hard slap across the face. Her eyes immediately shot open as she felt the painful hit across her left cheek. ‘Ouch!’ she exclaimed as she sat up on her bed and felt the sore spot where his hand had made contact with her cheek. ‘Serves you right when you I tell you to get up! Now get your ass downstairs ‘cause I gotta show you somethin’!’ he yelled as he walked downstairs. She sat on her bedside and brushed her blonde curls. Tears began to form in her bright blue eyes as she touched her sore left cheek with her hand. ‘Why does he do this to me? Why can’t he get over it? It wasn’t my fault’ she thought to herself as the tears rolled down her cheeks. This was her life. Being badly beaten by her father and being treated more like a slave than a daughter. Ever since her birth, she was shunned by her father and even her grandparents. Her mother had died while giving birth to her. She also had a twin who died shortly after birth. Ever since then, her father had blamed her for her mother’s and brother’s death. She took the blame and tried to live with the guilt. She felt as though she was the most hated person in the world. She had no real friends, no one to talk to. There was no one who she could tell her sorrows to. She kept them all to herself and tried to live with it for the 23 years of his life. And to add to her miseries, her father even told her that she didn’t deserve to live and that she should have died with her mother and brother. He would often call her a “murderer” or a “killer” which was all that Dani could bear. That was definitely a heartbreaking and torturous experience for her. At 12, Dani began working as a waitress at a local diner called “Java Man” to support her studies and in order to pay for her studies. Her father didn’t want to spend his precious sum of money on his unwanted daughter. He thought that she was unworthy and would rather stay at the house. But Dani had a different perspective. She wanted to fulfill her dream so that maybe her father would learn to love her. Just a little bit. She wanted to run away but considered that she didn’t have anywhere else to go. Her grandparents hated her and her aunts and uncles tried their best to avoid her. Even her cousins were told not to speak to her for she was, according to them, “a bad omen”. She had finished high school while working at the local diner. The money she was paid there was barely enough so she had gotten multiple jobs in order to finish high school. She had gotten a scholarship and had gone to UCLA for college. There, she finished her pediatrics and graduated with the highest of honors. On her graduation, there wasn’t a single family member who came or even congratulated her. She was truly heartbroken but she tried not to let it show. As Dani stood at the microphone stand, she spoke about her struggles and pain. How she strived to be where she was today. She told about the many jobs she had done in order to support herself through college. ‘Don’t give up on your dreams no matter what. It comes with struggles and pain but in the end, you’ll know that it’s all worth it. Keep believing in yourself’ she spoke softly in front of over 500 other graduates and guests. By the time her speech was over, everyone’s eyes were damp, including hers. Everyone was truly inspired by her life. Dani was received with a standing ovation and a warm round of applause. Her fellow graduates gave her a warm hug and congratulated her. From that moment, she knew that all of the pain she had gone through was truly worth it…

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As she walked downstairs, she saw her father at the dining table reading his morning paper. The table was already set up and a plate of pancakes was already prepared. She was surprised. Her father had never prepared something for her before. Usually when he did kind things to her there would be something he would be hiding. At that moment, that was what she thought. She sat down and eyed her father in suspicion. ‘Morning dad’ she spoke. Her father didn’t reply and continued to read his paper. She grabbed the plate of pancakes and began to eat. It was awkward between them. They didn’t possess the father-daughter bond. She felt like she didn’t have a father at all. After eating half of the pancakes, her father finally looked down from his paper and stared at her. His green eyes pierced through her blue ones with a blank expression on his face. ‘Dani, I need to tell you something’ he spoke in a low and soft voice. ‘Oh God I knew it. He’s hiding something again’ she thought to herself and sipped her steaming hot coffee. ‘Yes dad?’ she asked curiously as she set her cup down. ‘You’re getting married’ he spoke calmly and continued to look at her blankly. Dani almost chocked from the pancakes she was eating and looked at her father in shock. ‘What?!’  she burst out. ‘You’re getting married’ he repeated and continued to read his paper. ‘Who? Why? How? When?’ she asked. So many questions were running through her mind. ‘I can’t tell you who. Let me just say he’s a very famous and wealthy man’ a sly smile crept across his face. Dani looked at her father in disbelief. ‘You set me up in a fixed marriage?! Why didn’t I know about this?’ she raised her voice and slammed her hands on the table, making her father jump. ‘I didn’t tell you because I knew you would disagree. And besides, you’re 23 now Dani. It’s time you raise a family of your own and move the hell out of here. And don’t worry, the guy’s mother is paying a good price for you’ he smirked. ‘Oh don’t worry. I’ve been planning to move out of here for a long time’ she thought to herself and rolled her eyes. Ever since she had found a job as a pediatrician at a local clinic, she had decided to move out of the house. But her father always took advantage of her always managed to take her paychecks before she even got to spend them. Every single money she earned was always given to her father. She suddenly looked at her father in horror. ‘So you’re doing this for the money?! You’re selling me like a puppy and letting me marry some stranger?! How could you?!’ bitter tears once again formed in her eyes as she started to walk away but her father grabbed her wrist tightly. She tried to struggle free but his grip on her was too strong. He pushed Dani against the wall. ‘Listen you little brat. We are in need of the money right now. You will marry the guy I’ve chosen or you’ll be in hell. I’m going to kick you out onto the streets and I wouldn’t give a **** with what would happen to your ass out there. Got it?’ he stated angrily. He grabbed her face and she only nodded in fear. Her whole body shook in fright. This wasn’t the first time that her father had taken his anger at her. He would usually beat her when she didn’t obey his orders fast enough. There was even a time when he attempted to burn her. Dani’s whole body was covered in bruises from the endless beatings that she had received from her abusive father. She tried her best to cover the bruises on her face with carefully applied makeup and she always wore long clothes to cover the scars on her face. ‘You will marry him whether you like it or not!’ he screamed at her face. He threw her across the room and her whole body was thrown back to the door. She hit her head badly as the tears continued to flow. She stayed there for a few moments and continued to weep. ‘How could he do this to me? I can’t survive living with a man I don’t love. I’m not ready for commitment’ she pondered to herself. A few minutes later, she stood up and walked back upstairs. She found her father in the living room watching television and also found a few empty bottles of alcohol under the couch. She rolled her eyes and went to the bathroom to get a long and hot shower. She began to undress when her phone rang, ‘Hello?’ she answered. ‘Good morning Dr. Wilson. I just wanted to inform you that patients are beginning to arrive at the clinic. What time will you be in?’ her secretary, Josephine Watson, informed her. ‘I’ll be there in an hour Ms. Watson. Thank you for informing me’ she replied and hung up.

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After an hour, Dani took a cab to the clinic and called her secretary again. ‘Hello Ms. Watson, I’m on my way to the clinic right now. How are the patients?’ she asked as she rummaged through her bag and looked for her purse. ‘They’re getting a little impatient Dr. Wilson’ Josephine spoke softly, her tone worried. ‘Don’t worry. I’m almost there’ Dani replied professionally and hung up. She put on her glasses that made her look very professional with her blonde curls tied up in a bun. She had on a long-sleeved sweater that accented her coke shaped body and also hid her scars. It was concealed under her long doctor’s coat. She also wore jeans that covered her long legs, and a pair of high heels. She was an attractive young woman no doubt but she didn’t have the time to see all of that. She was simply too busy saving the lives of children to be admiring her figure. She arrived at the clinic a moment later and paid for the cab. Before entering the glass doors, she closed her eyes and sighed. ‘Forget the drama. Right now, this is more important’ she thought to herself and walked inside… <3