MARRIAGE

In a room filled with darkness, a man who appeared to be in his late forties sat quietly on a sofa. The room was as quiet as it was dark with long black curtains shielding the daylight peering from the floor-to-ceiling windows. 

In front of the man was a well-polished coffee table made from the finest marble. The man glared at the table as his hands balled into fists and uncurled repeatedly in a cycle. Blowing a breath out of his almost purple lips, he reached for the glass of blood on the table and brought it closer as if to inspect its content but in actuality, his skin was burning in silent fury. 

Swirling the glass in his pale hand back and forth with the blood staining the sides of the transparent glass red, he finally brought it to his lips and downed it slowly.

With every gulp he swallowed, the purple of his lips began to gradually fade into a pale pink. 

Licking his lips when he was done, a smile crept up his face and he clicked his tongue. That child of his, he thought to himself with amusement, all traces of initial anger disappearing.

Jerking forward to an upright position on the sofa, he dropped the glass back on the table and reached for the brown envelope lying innocently on the table.

Tearing it open, he slowly revealed its content. Running his tongue over his fangs, he chuckled as he skipped through picture by picture. 

But then a certain picture caught his interest and he brought it closer, his eyes widening slightly. The next picture was even more interesting than the previous one leaving the man extremely pleased. He finally had that devil of his driven to a corner.

With an accomplished smile, he reached for his phone in his pocket. Things were about to take an interesting turn.

***

By the evening of that same day, Laleen was helping her parents in their bakery shop that was only a few blocks away from their house.

It was finally closing time and Laleen was assisting them in cleaning up. As she bent to pick up something that had fallen on the ground, she rubbed her arms with a sigh.

Chores were still a great challenge to her and she felt dead tired. 

"Stephanie dear"her mother called out to her and she swiftly turned in her direction. After what happened the other day, the air around the both of them had only turned awkward.

"Yes?" She answered questioningly. The look on her mother's face made her frown slightly as she straightened up.

"Come here" she ordered in a sudden stern voice. Blinking away her confusion, Laleen let her mother lead her to the nearest table where her father was already seated.

Noticing the tense expression on her father's face was enough to make her worry. What was going on?

The silence hung in the air like a blanket, settling in, until her mother finally broke the silence. "I'm guessing you have an idea why we've called you here" Her mother began, confusing Laleen even more.

She actually had no idea. She looked towards her father's direction but he looked away, refusing to meet her eyes. Swallowing to calm herself, she let her mother continue.

"It's about Oliver…" She let her words drag on as she gauged her daughter's expression. Realizing her daughter was confused made her anger rise and it was evident in her next words.

"... your fiance" She gritted out while glaring at her.

 Laleen froze at the word 'fiance'. It wasn't the first time she was hearing about this but it had completely slipped out of her mind. Her eyes widened to the maximum as she looked towards her father's direction again but like before, he looked away. 

Her mother continued after clearing her throat, "After your unfortunate accident…" Her voice was raised higher at her last word, glaring even harder at Laleen who recoiled into her seat.

For a second, it seemed like her mother thought that her accident was done on purpose but alas, there was no way Laleen could know if it was true as her life only began after the accident and not before it. 

Snapping herself back to reality, she heard her mother say, "But thankfully, we'll be speeding things up with the wedding preparations starting next week. I've already spoken with Oliver's parents and we've agreed that we've wasted too much time".

All the while as she spoke, Laleen just sat quietly, probably processing her words. She blinked repeatedly, suddenly feeling like the walls were closing in on her.

Her? Married? The same thing she rejected in her previous life? 

"No" She muttered all of a sudden, surprising the two people sitting in the room with her.

"No," she said again, her eyes fixed into space as she shook her head.

Looking up at her mother's surprised face, she swallowed as she muttered, "I don't want…"

Her mother suddenly rose to her feet, slamming the table with her palms in anger. "We're not talking about this anymore! You are getting married to Oliver. That's the end!"

Turning towards her husband who had remained quiet, she folded her arms as she questioned in disbelief, "Do you hear your daughter, Julius?".

He responded with a tired sigh as he raised his hands to pinch his eyebrows.

"Laura please calm down" He finally spoke, his words offending his wife in ways he never intended.

"I am calm!" She screamed, raising her voice more than usual.

"No, you're not!" He screamed back, shocking his wife. It was the first time he had ever raised his voice on her.

With a softer tone and filled with exhaustion, he whispered with an air of finality, "We'll continue this at home "

That was Laleen's cue to stand up from her seat and help with closing the shop, her mind still a bit disoriented.

Home. She dreaded the outcome that awaited her once she got there.

Getting married and in just a week was too much for her. And to think she had gushed over how today must be the happiest day of her life with Mr. Degavon's coat still neatly tucked near her bedside.

The evening chill of the night breeze raised goosebumps on her skin and she rubbed her arms as she shivered while following closely behind her parents who remained mute to one another.

Marriage was the last thing she'd ever want to do at this point in her life. Hell, she didn't even know if she could ever get married! 

But Laleen had no idea…things were going to take a huge turn starting tomorrow.