Forced promises

Lost

I pushed through the heavy double doors and out into the cool night air, my chest heaving with a mix of anger and disbelief. The moon hung low, casting a silver glow over the sprawling estate, but the beauty of it was lost on me. I couldn't stop replaying Aries' words in my mind, each syllable feeling like a fresh betrayal. Did he really expect me to abandon everything I'd worked for?

The crunch of gravel under hurried footsteps reached my ears, and I didn't have to turn around to know it was Aries. I slowed my pace but didn't stop. If he thought he could just smooth this over, he was about to learn how wrong he was.

"Vivian," Aries called out, his voice low but firm. "Wait."

I stopped, but I didn't turn around. My hands balled into fists at my sides, knuckles white from the tension. I could hear his steady breath behind me, feel his presence closing in.

"What?" I spat, still facing away from him.

There was a pause, as if he were choosing his next words carefully. "You can't keep walking away from this."

I spun around, eyes blazing. "Walking away? I'm walking away from you trying to control my life, Aries. Don't you dare act like I'm the one being unreasonable."

Aries stood there, his jaw tight, his hands clenched at his sides. For a moment, he looked like he was going to say something harsh, something cutting, but he hesitated, his eyes flicking down to the ground before meeting mine again.

"I'm not trying to control you, Vivian," he said, his voice sounds annoyed. "But you knew what this marriage meant when we agreed to it. Our families are bound together in this. There's more at stake than just us."

"Is that what you keep telling yourself?" I asked, my voice dripping with bitterness. "That this is just business? A duty?"

Aries' eyes hardened, but there was something else there too—something deeper, more complicated. "We both made choices. This marriage was never going to be simple. But we owe it to our families to make it work."

I shook my head, feeling the weight of everything pressing down on me. The expectations, the obligations, the suffocating sense that my life was no longer my own. "I can't be what you want me to be, Aries. I won't. And if that's a problem for you, then maybe we need to rethink this whole arrangement."

Aries stepped closer, his voice low and controlled. "This marriage is happening, Vivian. Whether we like it or not. And I'm not asking you to be anything other than what you are. But you need to understand that there are sacrifices that come with it. Just like I've had to make mine."

I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest. There was something in his tone, something that almost sounded like regret, but I couldn't be sure. For a moment, I wondered what sacrifices he was talking about—what burdens he was silently carrying. But then I reminded myself that it didn't matter. He was asking me to give up everything, and that was something I wasn't willing to do.

"If you think that's what marriage is," I said coldly, "then maybe you should marry someone who's willing to play by your rules. But it won't be me."

I turned away from him, my mind spinning with everything that had been said, with everything that was still left unsaid. Behind me, Aries remained silent, and for a moment, I wondered if he would follow me again, try to convince me one last time. But when I heard nothing but the night breeze, I knew he was letting me go—at least for now.

As I made my way back to the guest house, the weight of the upcoming wedding hung heavy on my shoulders. A union built on duty, obligation, and tension—it was nothing like the marriage I had once imagined for myself. But whether I liked it or not, the countdown had begun, and soon, I would have to decide how much of myself I was willing to sacrifice to survive it.

And right now, I didn't have an answer.