The real monster

Adalyn's eyes moved from her mother's face to her father's. She was stunned by the statement her mother uttered and knew very well that she didn't hear wrong.

Silence reigned in the room for a minute before her parents continued. "I know you must be thinking about a lot of things but…"

Adalyn stopped her mother from speaking. "...you don't even care about my mental health. You didn't ask why I hadn't eaten anything since morning but you are here to tell me…" Adalyn was still utterly surprised by her parent's action, and it being unbelievable and overwhelming, she had to take a breath in and continue, "Why? Since when…since when did you plan this?" She looked at both of them, feeling betrayed.

She knew that her parents didn't really care about her like they did for her younger sister but she never knew that they'd go this far. Why was she the unfortunate one?

"How could you do this to me, Mom?" The pain she felt became very obvious to Erica because it was visible in Adalyn's eyes and her voice.

"We have no time to waste. This is the fifth marriage, Adalyn? Aren't you ashamed? How can five men refuse you?" But they felt no remorse for her because all her life, they believed she was nothing but a bad omen, especially when Adalyn appeared to be mentally ill.

Frustrated, Adalyn spoke. "I don't know. You gave birth to me, you should know. You should know why I'm cursed!!" Adalyn's voice increased in volume, alarming her parent's of how damaged she was on the inside but the harsh truth was that they could see her hurt but couldn't sympathize with her.

She was the cursed child and all they wanted was to get rid of her once and for all.

"You are getting married in two days. Get yourself ready for that," her mother announced and took Phillip's hand as she left the room.

Adalyn, furious and unable to control herself, grabbed the pillows on her bed and tossed them around the room.

She gripped her hair into her fists, groaning and she let herself scream.

Erica and Philip stood outside her room, scared of what they were hearing her do. "She sounds just like a monster," Erica uttered with a shaky voice. "I guess this marriage wouldn't be called off like the previous ones because he is also a madman," her gaze drifted to her husband's eyes after her statement.

"I can't wait to have her out of our lives,"Philip uttered and walked away. Erica followed him.

Soon, Adalyn accepted her fate just like she did last night but the pain in her heart still lingered. She couldn't stop wondering why her life was so different and upside down. Her sister's life was the prettiest. No one ever thought that Diane could be anything negative but Adalyn was always the bad and ugly one.

The pain of being John's ex made her stalk his profile on the internet only to realize that the lady she saw in his home yesterday was his ex-girlfriend.

"So he used me…" she whispered to herself as she struggled to hold back her tears. It was hurting her throat and giving her a big headache but she kept on holding back her tears.

"I was always a tool and will always be a tool," she uttered to herself but didn't stop checking the internet about John even though it was killing her slowly.

Adalyn spent the whole day in her room without having to eat anything. She was supposed to be at work but due to the events going on in her life she couldn't face her pupils in school.

Adalyn was a teacher. She teaches nursery classes and was loved by her pupils even though the school and the parents of her pupils all distanced themselves from her as if she was a monster.

If she had gone to work, she wouldn't be able to lie to her pupils about being fine because they would notice her unusual mood.

Apart from that reason, Adalyn was already having suicidal thoughts but one thing she knew for sure was that she wouldn't die even if she tried to kill herself.

She had tried three times but ended up waking up in the hospital faster than a usual person would. She had even had several therapy sessions but they never made an impact in her life.

"Perhaps, I'm really a monster," it sounded like a self-acceptance statement the moment she uttered those words.

The next day, Adalyn's parents forced her to the wedding venue as she had to be prepared for the day her parent's would finally get rid of her. Adalyn couldn't call that day her wedding day because it only marked the beginning of her misery.

Adalyn refused to eat anything since the night she ended her relationship with John, hoping that she might just collapse and die soon. Besides, she did not feel hungry but she was losing strength and energy, which she was glad about.

At the wedding venue, there was a motel for the family members who are joining hands in marriage. The wedding wasn't even due to business because the Rose family didn't want anything to do with the Hudson family. All they wanted from the Hudson's was for them to accept their daughter and then forget that they ever encountered the Hudson's or Adalyn.

Adalyn stayed locked in her room until her mother entered with a few ladies. It was when those ladies entered that Adalyn realized that it was the special day her parents had been waiting for.

Those ladies dressed Adalyn up and made her look beautiful and less ugly by applying heavy make-up on her face. They also made the gown she wore look sexy on her so that the groom wouldn't have anything to say about her appearance not being satisfying.

The wedding took place on the 29th of March 2025 at 12 pm. Adalyn walked down to the altar alone because her father couldn't handle more humiliation by supporting a monster like her.

The wedding looked like a beautiful one where the bride is happy to be wed to her groom. Perhaps she would have been happy if nothing happened between John and her.

Adalyn could say that every voice and noise she was hearing were background sounds to her because she was already feeling light from starving herself.

When she reached the altar after struggling to make use of her legs, she had completely lost her stance but the groom was alert and grabbed her by her wrist back to her feet.

'Maybe he thinks I'm beautiful,' she said inwardly as things began to appear double in her eyes that were covered by the veil. The groom brought her to stand with him at the altar.

'Once it's sealed, there's no turning back…' Adalyn lowered her head and warned the groom internally because she couldn't handle such care from a stranger. No one can be nice to her. She was cursed.

Adalyn could hear people murmuring and she knew that it was mostly about her miserable life.

She did exactly what the priest instructed and so did the groom. In a few seconds, the groom was told to lift his bride's veil.

Adalyn, even though she was feeling light and weak, smiled to herself. 'He would be shocked to see that he's getting married to the monster daughter of the Rose family. I bet he'd cancel the wedding and maybe sue my parents. While I'll keep starving myself until I die,' it sounded like a good plan to her as she watched the groom lift her veil.

The veil covered her sight for a moment and when it was finally off her face, her heart stopped beating and she also held her breath as she widened her eyes to the man in front of her.

'This can't be,' Adalyn was utterly shocked that it even affected her legs, making her almost fall but the groom wasn't going to let her stumble.

"You may kiss the bride," the priest declared.

Hearing this, the groom leaned closer to Adalyn who hadn't recovered from the fact that she had just married Logan Hudson. The Logan Hudson, who everyone in the whole country knew was a crazy man who was involved in black magic.

Adalyn swallowed hard as realty dawned on her but then, she felt his mouth on hers.

She was wrong, Logan wouldn't reject her, she was the one who couldn't marry the real monster.