Forced Into Your Life

4

"You're doing it wrong! I said left foot first, then right!" Krolia shouts as I almost trip again, holding onto Kolivan's arm as we practice walking down the isle. "Seriously, this is the tenth time. Don't you want this wedding to be perfect?"

"I didn't ask for this at all." I mumble under my breath, looking up to see Kolivan's disappointment as he shakes his head at me. "What?"

"Why are you purposely messing up? The sooner we finish, we can move onto the next part." Kolivan squints his eyes at me as I roll mine, glancing over to the left side of the area; looking at the massive amount of Serrano-McClains seated and chatting with Lance. "Are you distracted? Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about if no one will listen? I'm fine, let's just get this over with." I sigh, feeling him lightly squeeze my arm as we begin to walk flawlessly.

"Good, good. Perfect! Now Alejandro, I need you to extend your hand and... perfect!" Krolia squeals as he turns to me effortlessly, smiling gently as he offers me his hand; Kolivan placing mine in his, squeezing it gently as I step onto the podium. Talking his other hand, I look at our feet; feeling very uncomfortable.

"You should probably look at me, I think Krolia's starting to get a bit pissed." Lance warns as I glance over to her to see her glaring at me harshly.

Sighing, I pick up my head and blankly look at him; severely unamused. "Alright. Then the rest of the ceremony will proceed and instead of witnessing the marking, that will be done on your honeymoon!"

"Aren't we too young for a honeymoon? And we have school next week." I deadpan as she smiles brightly.

"I paid the school enough to politely ask them to close for the week. I also took the liberty to invite all of them. I know how much you'd want your friends here." Krolia beams as I gape at her. "You're welcome, I'm waiting for a thank you."

Releasing Lance's hands, I jump off the podium as Krolia and Kolivan scream as I run back down the isle and away from the area; ignoring their calls.

~

After 15 minutes of running, I began to slow down at a park; walking as I try to catch my breath as tears threaten to fall. "Why the hell would she do that? Why did she do any of this?"

He lets the tears of frustration drip down his cheeks as he sits on a bench, biting his lip as he wraps his arms around himself.

His phone constantly goes off as he pulls it out of his pocket, scrolling through the messages from classmates he was forced into speaking to over the years as one catches his eye and breath.

No one: So this is why you wouldn't let me court you? After years of asking, you're just going to get hitched to some prince. You're a fucking slut, lil omega.

Turning off his phone, he leans back as he looks up at the evening sky as footsteps rush up to him. "You really shouldn't wander around at night, Keith."

"Fuck off." I mumble as he walks behind the bench where I'm sitting to look at me from above. "Move, I'm looking at clouds."

"The sky is too dark for cloud watching right now. How about we head back? I'm sure you're hungry." He tries to plead as I glare at him, sitting up and instead staring forward. "What happened back there? Did you feel nervous? I already promised to-!"

"This right here. All the assumptions. I didn't ask for any of this. And then all you people think you're doing me a favor and that I should be happy about this. What's to be happy about? They literally sold my body in exchange for money. That's illegal. Plus you're still a minor, so there's that." I roll my eyes as I allow my shoulders to slump. "I don't want to give up, but with everyone breathing on my neck... what other option do I have?"

Silence wraps around us like a thick blanket as crickets make their sounds in the night. Cars horn and lights flash as we sit in awkward silence before he speaks. "I can't promise to ensure your happiness. I know you're not exactly excited about being married to me. And also, in Korea, aren't I technically one year old than in America? I'm not a minor by that reasoning."

"How'd you know I'm from Korea? Kolivan's European and Krolia's Japanese." I whisper as he chuckles, shaking his head.

"You have a certain dialect that comes from a specific region in South Korea. Plus anyone can tell from how you act with Kolivan that he isn't your real father." Lance deduces as I nod, understanding his logic. "So what happened to your real father?"

"He died... I lived with him up until I was 8 because Krolia was focused on her businesses. He had sole custody of me, so I didn't even have a green card. Before they could put me in the system, she came back for me and took me in. She apparently cheated on Kolivan and lied to his entire family about me being his." I explained as Lance hums. "But that has nothing to do with why I ran, so I don't understand why you even want to know..."

"I said I wanted to learn more about you. And I stand by that. As much as I'd love to sit here and talk with you all day, we've been gone for more than half an hour. We really should head back." Lance smiles softly as he stands up, dusting his pants off before offering his hand to me. "Come on."

Hesitating, I reach forward for it and allow myself to be dragging back to the area.

~

"Where did you run off too?! We were worried!" Krolia shouts, rushing over to us as she scans me over. "Are you okay? Did someone touch you? Do I have to call an ambulance?"

"I'm fine, leave me alone." I look away from her as she grabs my arm harshly, earning a hiss from me. "Mom!"

"Your manners are horrendous! I'm just trying to ensure your safety and you resort to running? What is wrong with you? I didn't raise you like this." She scoffs as I pull away from her, rubbing the area that she grabbed as I glare at her.

"You didn't raise me at all. So I don't understand how exactly you expect me to be fine with-!"

"Yeah, okay that's nice dear. You've wasted enough time, so come and let's have dinner." She turns her back on me as she walks over to Kolivan, my jaw clenching as my fists shake.

Feeling a hand on my fist, I look up to Lance to see him smiling warily at me. "Calm down, please. I know she's work, but you can't blow up on her."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do."