"Can we talk, Gracie?"
It's been ages since he called me that. He used to call me that when I was a kid. He stopped calling me when I started to grow up, and he became more and more busy with his work. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I blinked them away. I took a deep breath to calm myself. I wanted to say no and walk away, but I just couldn't. I just couldn't turn my back. I closed my eyes and took deep breaths again. He smiled at me when I turned around. I was surprised to see him smiling. I don't remember the last time I saw him smiling in my presence.
"Can you hurry up? I need to be somewhere," I said sternly, not looking at him.
"Let's go to my study,'' he said with that smile still on his face. I followed him to his study. I didn't bother to sit and kept standing with my arms folded around my chest.
"Please sit. I promise I won't take more than ten minutes of yours," he said when I refused to sit. I bit on my inner cheeks and sat on the empty seat in front of him with my hands still folded around my chest. He pulled the file from his drawer and kept it in front of me.
"Read it," he said while sliding the file to me. I didn't say anything and opened it to read it. My eyes widen when I start to read it. It was a contract. My heart started to beat fast when I saw his sign on it.
"What's this?" I asked and looked at him in disbelief.
"I know you don't want this, but I don't have another choice. I need to save our family. Everything is at stake. I can't let my family suffer. I have made a decision on your behalf," he said while looking at me. His face didn't show any other emotions.
"To save your family, you go and sell me?" I asked in disbelief, blinking as I shed tears.
"You are my family too. I'm doing this to save them all. Save your business. This contract is only going to last for two years. After that, you will be free from him. I promise I will take care of everything," he said while putting his hand over mine to assure me. I pulled my hand out of his hold. He had promised me that before, and my life turned upside down. I won't let that happen again.
"No," I said, moving my head in the negative. I don't want to do this.
"I will find another way to save my business. I will not marry him," I said firmly, and I stood up from my seat to get out of here. The chair fell back because of the impact.
"We both know there is no other way. This house will be auctioned if you don't sign the deal, and next will be our business. We will be homeless in a month. Will that make you happy?" he said when I was at the door. He was right. I don't know any other way to save me.
"Your sister will be suffering the most if this deal breaks. We will all be ruined," he said, making my whole body go stiff. I was doing my best to hold back my tears until now, but I couldn't anymore. I slowly turned to look at him with that disbelief look still in my eyes.
"What about me? Won't I suffer after marrying Erick, the man you disdain so much? Have you given a thought to it?" I asked with tears falling from my eyes. His face turned bitter when I said that. He walked to me and took both my hands in his firm hold. I wanted to yank them, but he held them firmly.
"You have always been my strong daughter. I promise I will make sure you don't suffer. I will make sure you are free from him after two years. Just trust me and sign the papers. Think about Sabrina. She is still so young. She fell sick only at the thought of changing her school. Think what will happen to her if she comes to know that our house will be cushioned too. Do you want her to suffer?" he said, and more tears fell from my eyes. Sabrina is a fragile child. She has been protected all her life. She doesn't deserve this, but so do I.
"Do it for her and not for me. We need your help," he said pleadingly, and Sabrina's face flashed in front of my eyes. He was pleading with me to save his other daughter. To save his family. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to be mad at him. I want to yell at him and ask why he is not caring about me. But I don't think I can do that because, a very long time ago, I stopped expecting things from him. At a very young age, I understood I was nothing in his life. My head was hurting so bad. I wanted to say no once again, but that word refused to fall out of my mouth. I can't let Lily and Sabrina suffer when I could save everything by sacrificing my two years. They don't deserve to face misconduct for my father's deeds. Both of their laughing faces flashed in front of my eyes. My life had already been so miserable that adding two more miserable years wouldn't change anything. My mind kept agreeing and disagreeing with my thoughts. I'm not ready to get married to him, but I know I don't have any other choice.
"Please," my father said, pleased for the second time. He has never said a please to me before. It's always been him commanding things for me, and I ended up doing it. But today he was pleading with me to save his family. He looked so helpless. He told me how badly he wanted me to sign the papers. My heart was beating fast, and more tears fell out of my eyes. I know my answers are going to make my life more bleak. I knew it was the worst decision of my life. I took a deep breath to calm myself. I'm making the biggest mistake of my life.
"I will sign the papers."
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Bed of Nails
Romance"Get out," I said in a firm voice, but it shook a bit at the end. The muscles in his jaw tensed when I said that. Instead of getting out, he closed the door and started taking calculative predatory steps toward me. His eyes moved all over my length...
