Hey There, Delilah

The Martyr

Song: the weeknd lofi playlist by Ivy Station Records

Lilah was no fool. She knew that arranged marriages in wealthy circles still occurred. She just got a little too comfortable turning a blind eye to it that she forgot it could happen to anyone.

Including her family.

Lonnie sighed. She had weighed the pros and cons. Considered all her options. Met with Adrian on multiple, secret dates to hash out the agreements outlined in the marriage.

Financially, it was a more than ideal arrangement. Not only would it benefit her family now, but for the future generations as well. It was a no brainer and her mind was made up. The wedding would take place and the families bitter rivalry would finally come to an end.

All Lonnie had to do was make sure that she was the pawn to be sacrificed.

Kiki was originally the first choice. Lonnie had an issue with that considering he was gay, still in the closet, and dating Vincent. She refused to let him marry Juliet Radcliffe and have him trapped. Juliet was a stupid bimbo that only offered to marry him because she had yellow fever, so, yeah.

Hard pass.

Caius was a sophomore at New Haven and too young to get married. He was also going through a bit of a hoe phase but she neglected to inform anyone about that part.

Lilah, bless her sweet heart, wanted to marry for love. There were moments when she would get dark and bitter. But she could never hide the way her eyes went gooey whenever she saw old couples slow dancing. Romance movies especially brought out her mushiness.

Lonnie knew that her baby sister would crumble in an arranged marriage. She adamantly refused to let her ever enter one.

Besides Mattie, all their other cousins were either too young to get married. Or already engaged to well respected members in their circle of wealth. Once she gave Mattie a heads up and got her out of the country with a valid excuse, the only one that was left was Lonnie.

"I don't know." Lonnie chuckled but her smile didn't quite touch her eyes. "Carmichael and Radcliffe sounds like a good name for the new firm. Don't you think so?"

Mrs. Carmichael chewed her bottom lip. If she were any other mother she would transform into some kind of monster and outright forbid it. Fight her own daughter tooth and nail until Lonnie either ended up going no contact with her. Or hating her for the rest of her life and calling her a controlling mother all in one go.

But Mrs. Carmichael wasn't like that. She'd worked hard to break the cycle of being an overbearing mother in her family. She raised her children with the one thing she and her siblings never got to have.

The freedom to choose their own path in life.

She had forgotten about her own mother, though. The matriarch of the Carmichael family may have mellowed out with age. But she was still a business woman first and foremost. Her last goal before dying was to secure her family's future as well as she could.

If Lonnie chose to continue on this path, then Mrs. Carmichael would keep her mouth shut. She'd support her daughter's decision even if it killed her on the inside.

Lonnie swallowed thickly and ignored the sudden throbbing in her broken leg. "Can we talk about this later? I really wanna take a shower."

Mrs. Carmichael nodded, accepting defeat for now. She kissed both women on their foreheads, lingering a little longer with Lonnie.

"I love you, Lonnie. Please don't ever forget that."

The lump in Lonnie's throat grew bigger. Lilah was as stiff as a board in her arms. She felt the small tremors that her younger sister was fighting to hold back. She knew that she had to get their mom out of the room ASAP before she fell apart.