A kiss for Ree

Chapter 27: Bethroned?

.....

I tore through my room, flipping through old notebooks from previous school years in a frantic search for a dictionary. There had to be one somewhere. I was sure of it. I had to check the meaning of marriage, maybe it's changed since when I've seen it.

My mind spun in a storm of confusion and rising panic. What could he have possibly meant by marriage?

Eventually, I gave up the hopeless hunt, standing amid the chaos I'd created, papers scattered, drawers flung open, everything in disarray. A hollow laugh bubbled from my throat as I took in the mess. All that for something I probably didn't even own anymore.

Who doesn't know what marriage means?
But I'd be damned if I let myself be forced into it by that cruel, ruthless, shameless man.

All this drama began because my mom allowed herself to be married to him in the first place. She and I had lived a miserable life because of that arranged marriage.

There was no way I'd let the same thing happen to me-not after everything I'd been through, not after what my mother endured. To think my own children might go through the same pain? Never. Not on my watch.

My body was a wreck-drenched in tears and sweat, my puffed-up hair tangled and frizzy, the edges wild and unkempt. My mind and soul were in an even worse state: chaotic, broken, and restless. Sad. Confused. Exhausted.

The room around me reflected the mess inside me. The broken desk still stood like a monument of defeat, its contents spilled across the floor, untouched and disorderly. The more I looked around, the more I hated this place. This room felt like a cage-like everything wrong in my life had settled into the walls.

My weak, trembling legs carried me to the bed, leaving the mess of books and papers half-buried under the wardrobe where I had been searching in vain.

My stomach let out a faint, hollow growl. I clutched it, trying to suppress the ache. My life was unraveling, and my body dared to ask for food? There were far more urgent things to worry about.

What's going to happen to Lila?

How is she?.

How is Levi?

How are we supposed to get our clothes and belongings from Lila's house?. And worst of all... are we seriously moving in with this man?
Is he really planning to force me into an arranged marriage?

The thought made my stomach twist with disgust. Arranged marriage?. With who? I didn't even want to know. All I knew was it wasn't going to happen. I would rather die than let that happen to me.

And school! God, my final exams were right around the corner. Was he even going to let me finish school in peace? I had to. I had to study. I had to pass those exams and get into a good university. I needed to. So I could earn enough money to pay that bastard back whatever he think we owe him.

Boom!

The door flung open again, just as violently as it had the first time. But I was too lost in my thoughts to flinch.

Then came her voice, the aunt I never knew I had.

"Make her hair. Make it long, all back, and very beautiful. If she resists, let me know, okay? Call and see me when you're done."

I looked up.

A woman entered the room confidently, walking toward me while the so-called aunt, Mr. Bolade's sister, stood at the door like some silent warden. I refused to call her my aunt.

From what I could gather, she'd brought someone to style my hair. To make me look like a picture-perfect bride.

I scoffed inwardly.