“You are an ungrateful, reckless girl,” he muttered. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve given you? The life I’ve built for you?”
I stared at him. “A life built onyourrules, not mine.”
He studied me for a moment too long. Then he gave me a smile that wasn’t a smile at all. “Fine,” he said.
My brows pinched. “Fine?”
He straightened his cuffs, calm as hell. “There will be a wedding next Saturday.Yours.If you defy me, there are consequences for every choice.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you threatening me?”
“No,” he said smoothly. “Threats are for men without power. I don’t threaten, Princess. Ipromise.”
That sent a chill down my spine, but I didn’t flinch. My hands trembled ever so slightly as I stepped back slowly, nodded once, and said, “Enjoy the rest of your day, Daddy.” My chest tightened when I turned and walked away.
That night, I sat on the balcony in my robe with a glass of red wine. Legs curled up under me. I looked out over the city, as if it might offer answers I didn’t have. Everything looked peaceful from the hills. Streetlights glowing like fireflies. The hum of uppity bullshit. But peace was a lie. I could feel it coming… a storm was coming.
I took another sip and closed my eyes, letting my head rest against the back of the chair. Then, the balcony door opened behind me with a soft knock. I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
“I’m fine,” I voiced, slightly rolling my eyes. “You shouldn’t be here, Ma.”
“I had to check on you,” she said with her voice low.
I finally turned to face her. “You’re here to convince me to obey?”
She hesitated. “I’m here to tell you that I love you, Princess. And if you want to cause a problem between you and your father… well, that’s up to you.”
I studied her face. My mother, who had never spoken out of turn, never raised her voice, and never once mentioned leaving. “You knew about the deal with Don, didn’t you?” She didn’t deny it. She nodded once, softly. I felt that bitterness rise up in my throat again. “And you… just went along with it?”
“You think I don’t know what it’s like to be trapped, Princess?” she said, her voice low but sharp enough to cut through me. “I’ve been making choices I didn’t want to make since the day I said ‘I do.’”
I blinked back the sting behind my eyes. “Then why didn’t you leave, Ma?”
She turned her head, resting one trembling hand on the window ledge as she looked out past the glass toward the city skyline, her eyes searching desperately for answers. “Becauseleaving isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when the walls keeping you in look like blessings from the outside.”
She shook her head softly, her fingers tracing aimless, anxious patterns on the worn paint. “Big house, nice clothes, and church title. People envy a life they don’t understand, but they don’t see the bruises on your spirit and the ache that never leaves. Not to mention, returning home to my parents isn’t an option. What would I do without your father?”
“I don’t know. Live?”
Silence sat between us, thick and punishing. She stepped forward, her hand trembling slightly as it covered mine. “Just... follow the rules, honey. Soon, it’ll all come to an end soon.”
I swallowed hard, brows bunched in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Her eyes flicked to mine, and for a moment, I saw through the quiet, wholesome wife she always was. I saw something snap and come back together as she smiled softly. “Just get some sleep. It’ll be a long week of preparing for the wedding.” She gave my hand a squeeze, then she got up to head back inside.
I sat there long after she was gone with my wine glass cradled in both hands. I wondered what the hell she meant by “it’ll all come to an end soon”? I couldn’t figure it out, so I just finished off my wine and went to sleep, thinking,this issomebullshit.
