His Uncle's Possession

Blind faith, is never good!

She clutched onto the hem of her dress and murmured something underneath her breath.

“You have nothing to say about this matter? I wasn’t expecting this from you at all.”

Amanda sighs and looked down at her hands.

“If my real mom was alive, then she would never have allowed something like this, ever.”

“So what if I married you off even after knowing everything about him?” Lizzy shouted, getting up from her seat.

Her eyes seething with rage and anger.

“Your dad is useless, he has wasted all the money in the stock market and has no way to earn the money back. How was he going to keep his business still unless Steve wanted to help him out? Your sister is in high school only. We can’t live in poverty, and beg on the streets just for some money can we?”.

“What’s wrong if he has affairs and is a player? Do you know how much money he makes per month? Do you know how prestigious their family is? No, you don’t have any clue at all.”

Amanda’s eyes widened, and she blinked several times, to comprehend whether what was going in there was real or not.

“You are, just a stupid girl, who’s just seeing his affairs and is not looking at the good side of the coin. The amount of money he has, it’s enough to keep you well-fed and content. What else do you even expect other than that?”.

“We didn’t marry you off to a begger that you are accusing us like this. And you came back home just to talk about this? Nonsense.”

“If you have nothing better to do, then just go back home. I’ll call your in-laws' house.” Lizzy went to pick up her phone, which was lying on the dining table.

She picked it up and dialed its number, Claudia. Before it rang, someone grabbed her hand.

She looked behind to see Amanda. She snatched away the phone and cuts off the call, and placed it on the table.

“What’s the meaning behind this behavior of yours?”.

“Why did you cut the call?”.

“You ruined my future just because of your benefit!” she growled at her mother.

“And you dare call yourself a mom?”.

Lizzy pushed her away. Amanda hits her back against the wall. She barely saved her head from hitting the wall.

“Ouch….”.

Amanda looks up to meet the cold eyes of her stepmother.

“Just by wasting a single person’s future, I saved the future of all three of us. I think that’s quite a good deal, and you should just adjust yourself to your new life. That’s the only option you have.” She spoke in a gruff voice.

The word adjustment rang in Amanda’s ears. Her nails dug deeper into her palm when she heard those words from her stepmom.

Lizzy placed her hands at her lips and tilted her head sideways, watching Amanda facing her back against the wall, as her lips curled upward into a frown.

“Look here, Amanda. There are many things that I, nor my father couldn’t give you. There are many things that you desire, and want to possess, but could never have. The only person who can fulfill them is Steve only. So, don’t hate him just because of his nature only.”

“See how many things you can achieve if you can make this marriage last? You understand what I am saying, aren’t you? I just…..want what’s good for you. Nothing else.”

“I’ll divorce Steve,” replied Amanda, shifting from her position and making no eye contact with her mom.

Hearing that, Lizzy walked up to the side of Amanda and slapped her hard right across the face.

“You don’t understand what I am saying? Steve is the source of our well-being. There’s no way I am going to let you divorce him so easily. Do you understand that?” she yelled in a hoarse voice, her veins becoming visible to the naked eye as she yelled.

Amanda caressed the side of the cheek that Lizzy had hit her. The pain is still stinging.

She somehow stopped her tears from spilling out from the corner of her eyes.

She gritted her teeth and looked up with straightforward eyes.

“There’s no way I am going to listen to you. You are just a fake mom who only knows her good.”

“I’ll divorce him, and I’ll prove it to you.” She yelled back.

Lizzy’s lips curl into a smile, but a sinister one.

“Where will you go to, after divorcing him?”.

“What do you mean?”.

“If you divorce him, you won’t be welcomed into this house any longer…..and neither me, nor your sister Melody, nor your dad, is going to keep any relationship with you. You’ll be all alone in this world, with no place to go. Will you work without having a roof above your head? Can you get by like that?”.

“A divorced and single woman will have a hard time surviving in this world. What if anyone tries to take advantage of you? What will you do after that?”.

“Sounds scary, right? So, instead of that, go back to the place where you truly belong, besides Steve. Be a dutiful and obedient wife, he’ll love you more than anyone.”

“Get the thought of divorcing him out of your head. That’s for your good. And good for us as well.”

She patted him on Amanda’s shoulder and gave a fake smile back.

Amanda’s face went pale hearing that. She stood there like a lifeless doll. A manipulator is ruling her life, without her will.

“You should have lunch and go back. They will be worried about you. What do you want to eat? I’ll make it.” Lizzy went to the kitchen, leaving Amanda alone herself.

Amanda sits down onto the carpet spread beneath her feet, and hugged her knees closer to her chest, sobbing quietly, not letting Lizzy hear.

She wanted to break out in tears that were overflowing within her. All the emotions which were deeply lying within her heart were coming to the surface.

Her heart is broken now, just like a shattered mirror, with no way to glue them back together again. All her family and relations crumbled down right before her very own eyes cause they were the ones who stabbed her in the back.

The ones whom she always used to think of as her allies have proved to be her enemies, full of greed and deceit. While having lunch, her step-mom made it clear that her father was also into this marriage and he also knew everything beforehand.

He agreed to marry her off cause he needed money. She said that this is her contribution to her own family, and she should do it willingly without complaining.

Amanda became quiet after that, she spoke nothing and ate nothing, and left the house after her mom finished talking. But before leaving, she went to her room and stared at the picture of her real mom for a couple of hours.

When Lizzy came to disturb she left from there without meeting her sister and dad cause it's pointless to meet them.

She wanted to be left alone, so instead of taking a taxi, she started walking onto the deserted streets by herself.

Whenever she recalled Steve, she recalled seeing her with a stranger woman in bed, which made her blood boil every single time.

Her stomach growled in hunger, but she didn't feel like eating anything.

She passed by a couple, who were ready in their wedding clothes happily holding onto their hands. The expectations she had in her mind concerning their marriage ended. She can never be happy in life, ever.

Her phone beeped. She didn't want to pick it up, but the call went on for a while.

In the end, she had to pick up the call. She took it out of the purse and checked the number on the screen. It was of Steve’s mom, her mother-in-law.

“Why’s she calling me now?”.

“Hello.”

“Why aren’t you back home already? I am waiting for you to come back and eat with me. Where are you now?”.

“Me….well….”.

She paused for a moment.

“Are you listening? Hurry up and come home, as early as possible.”

Amanda snapped back to reality hearing her yelling in the call.

“Uh….I am still at my home, I’ll be late to come back. You eat up and don’t stay starved. I’m hanging up now.”

She hangs up without letting her mother-in-law speak anything.

“Shall we head back then?” she glanced up at the afternoon sky above her head. The warm sunlight hit her skin and eyes, making it harder for her to see.

“In the end, I’ll have to keep acting the part of a dutiful wife, don’t I?”.

“Cause I have no place to go back any longer.”

The image of the stranger sleeping in the hotel room flashes before her eyes. She clutches her chest recalling that.

“No matter what……I can’t let Steve find out about my secret. What happened that night, is nothing but an accident, nothing else.”

“I should forget about it, and continue with my unhappy life.”