NO ONE ELSE COMES CLOSE

I CAN SEE YOU ARE FEISTY

When Isabella went out of the hospital, she saw a bench on the other side of the road, opposite the hospital. She sat on the bench sadly while feeling sorry for herself. Her life had changed in a matter of days. She didn't even get to say goodbye to steve and she probably never will. Isabella did not realize when tears began dropping from her eyes.

An older lady who was passing by, saw Isabella crying and came to sit beside her on the bench. "Why are you crying my dear?" When Isabella looked at her, she realized she had been crying in a public place and quickly wiped her eyes. "Thank you very much for your concern" she replied, "but please don't worry about me."

"It's fine my dear, the woman said. Go ahead and share your grievances with me, I'm sure you will feel a lot better."

"No, I won't feel better" Isabella said. "I am very sad, I feel this tightness in my chest which I cannot explain and from here on, my life is only going to change for the worse. I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders."

The woman sighed and said, "I am so sorry about what you are going through. I may not understand how you're feeling right now but I want you to always remember this; everything happens for a reason and no matter how bad our situation may be, there's always a silver lining."

Isabella looked at the woman and said "thank you so much once again, I have troubled you unnecessarily."

"No my dear, it isn't a bother at all," the woman replied. Isabella then stood up and said,

"I want to get food for my parents. Please excuse me." She walked away, went to a restaurant that was close by and bought three plates of food with water before going back to the hospital.

Isabella went back to the hospital and convinced her parents to eat while she did the same. She knew starvation was not going to solve any of their problems as they all needed food in order to function. Her father pleaded with her once more to go back to London and reject Angelo's proposal.

"My mind is already made up dad, so please stop trying to convince me otherwise, you will only be making things more difficult for me," Isabella said sternly to her father.

Since they didn't have any where else to go, Isabella and her family made use of the hospital's facilities. She had a few relatives in Panama but they refused to show their faces or lend a helping hand because they were afraid of becoming Angelo's targets.

Isabella didn't blame them, afterall, her parents wanted her to do the same thing. They all spent the night at the hospital, in Isabella's father's ward and she woke up very early the next day and sent a message to the number that was written in the folded paper Angelo had dropped before leaving.

"I accept your proposal," she said in the text message. "I will meet you at the marriage court, be sure to come prepared."

After bathing and brushing her teeth, she wore a simple white gown and allowed her long hair to fall freely on her back. Her parents had a sad expression on their faces as she left but she assured them that everything was going to be fine.

Isabella got in touch with her father's Lawyer and had him draw up a contract which clearly stated that her marriage to Angelo was on the condition that her parents would get back all the money and properties they had lost and they would be reinstated to their former positions in the society.

She couldn't completely trust Angelo so she pleaded with her father's Lawyer to be present when she signed the contract. At 9a.m, Isabella met Angelo in front of the marriage court with her father's Lawyer by her side.

He regarded her for a while and couldn't deny that she was extremely beautiful with her perfectly fair skin and long hair. However, she seemed petite and fragile as opposed to his big and sturdy frame.

"Before going ahead to get married, we will sign a contract first" Isabella said confidently, while bringing out the contract from her bag. Angelo shook his head and said,

"miss spoilt princess, I call the shots here, not you. So I decide when the contract will be signed, where it will be signed and what would be included in the contract. And I say the contract will be signed after we get married."

"Then I guess we have no deal," Isabella said proudly and turned to leave. Angelo laughed and said, "hold on, I can see you are feisty. This makes me more eager to marry you.

Yes princess, I will have so much fun taming you. Fine, let's sign the contract right now, however, we will sign the contract I have drawn up and not that thing you have in your hands." He went to his car, took out a file that contained the contract and handed it to Isabella.

Isabella read through the contract and noticed that the benefits that would be accrued to her parents upon her marriage to Angelo was the same as what she had stipulated in her own contract.

However there was a big disparity between the two contracts. According to Angelo's, he had the final say over her life. She was expected to obey him at all times and could never leave the marriage except he got tired of her and sent her away.

Isabella couldn't help but squint her eyes when she read this part of the contract. She dug her nails into her palms, determined not to show the anxiety she felt. After composing herself, she handed the contract to her father's Lawyer. His face turned white after reading the contract.

He took Isabella to the side and said, "the contract is in order. However, if you sign it, you are resigning yourself to s*****y for the rest of your life. Think about this carefully."

"It's okay uncle," she replied. "I am willing to die for my parents if I have to but I'm sure it won't come to that. I can take care of myself, just forget about how hefty Angelo looks, I will handle him."