Fixed Marriage

The rain droplets scattered all over the glass window. Peaceful and warm, that's how she felt as her eyes were busy staring outside. Admiring the natural beauty of the surroundings, the mild wind helped the flowers and trees to dance freely. The garden outside looked very lively and happy with the sudden rain. Her guts were shoving her to go outside and play. But she was too comfortable and lazy at the moment. She was enjoying the aesthetic ambience when a continuous soft knock on the door had her interrupted. After moving the comforter, she stood up and went to open it. She found her mother standing outside, with a worried expression. "What's the matter, Mom?" Everyone admired her calmness and soft voice. Others have even called her an angel, not just because she had a soft voice, but also a golden heart. "Gail.. your sister had run away. This will be a big problem for us. Come with me, your father and I need to discuss this matter." Her mother, Olivia, held her hand and they both walked downstairs. 'Guen had run away?' she had remained silent although her thoughts started to bother her. Complicating the situation now was not in her vocabulary. She saw her father, Patricio, facing back and forth in the study room. He then gestured his hand to sit after he had seen them. "Did you have any information about Guen, Patrick?" Gail's mother often called her father, Patrick, instead of Patricio. The man was in his 40's and so did her mother. "No. I'm sure she had run far away to escape the arranged marriage!" 'arranged marriage? I didn't know about this.' confusion had eaten her thoughts. Now she knew why her twin sister had run away. Guen wouldn't just say yes to it. Who would want to be married to someone whom you never met? The fact that her twin sister was an itinerant, not to mention how hard-headed she was. Gail grew up being obedient and kind, but her twin sister had the opposite traits. Guen loved to go partying and shopping with her friends. While Gail was the introverted one, she barely went out of their mansion and sat around her garden as she read books. If her mother hadn't forced her to attend some of her relatives' birthday parties, she wouldn't have wasted her time. She had just loved the peacefulness of her life. "This is not good, Patrick! Collins would be disappointed if they found out the truth! We need to find a solution! It will take a year to find your brat daughter!" Her mother had panicked from the tension. Gail was tapping her back in order to relax. Her mind had begun to think of ways to settle the conflict. " No. Calm down, Olivia. They won't know about this. I already have thought about it some other way. " Gail's heartbeat started to pound faster when her father looked at her worriedly. She didn't know why she was starting to feel nervous at the moment. "What do you have in mind? It couldn't go wrong. Collins were highly respected people, we had agreed to the agreement." Oliva spoke heavily, part of her wanted to regret why they acceded to the contract. Five days ago, they were having a conversation with the Collins couple, about arrangements. It was their oldest son who arranged marriage to one of their daughters, Guen, her twin sister. The benefits had made them overwhelmed and they agreed upon it. They had talked to Guen afterwards and she said yes, but the lady's decision was changed and she ran away. "It won't go wrong if Gail gets her sister's fixed marriage. That's the only way I could think, there's no time left." Her expression was shocking. She had never felt suffocated and hot seated before. But her father's words echoed like a bomb in her ears. " No! It won't work out! I know our daughter more than you, Patricio! Gail was different from her twin sister! She couldn't handle the madness outside of the world. If we can't find Guen, then we will cancel the arrangement!" Her mother blurted out. Olivia couldn't imagine Gail being married to a stranger, she was more terrified after knowing what kind of a man the Collins son was. Her fragile daughter will just end up broken. " You can't just take what we already agreed, Olivia! It will bring a big destruction of our business. Collins were powerful enough to bring down what we have! They can just snap their fingers and the hard work we had will be gone." Her husband has a point. Withdrawing their agreement will finish their business. Collins was way more powerful and affluent. " It's okay, mother. I will take Guen's place. Don't worry about it anymore." Gail's lips were trembling as she spoke those words. She didn't want to see her parents freaking out about what her twin sister had done. As long as she could help, then she'd willingly take the responsibility. Although she was not sure if her peaceful life would be the same again. "No..Gail. You're too innocent about the outside world. You don't know how complicated it was." Her mother's voice had cracked. She felt useless and at the same time guilty for doing the business. Gail was too weak to face the rudeness of the world. "Mom, It's fine. I will be okay. As long as I can help. Guen won't come back if this conflict isn't solved." She could already feel how her life would start to change. But she didn't have a choice. If the situation got worse, then she could only blame herself for not doing anything. She doesn't have any idea how to face it but she needs to start expecting unexpected changes afterwards. Her life has been good and peaceful for about 23 years already. Maybe it's time for her to take another chapter and begin with a new journey. It was scary but she needed to be strong and ready.