I stood there with that petty piece of paper in hand, the only piece of explanation Selena had left for us.

"TO MY FAMILY" I kept re-reading those three shitty words over and over again; those words had never sounded so toxic or felt like lava burning up my tongue.

My whole being felt like it was going to erupt from immense anger in a few minutes. No, I am not stupid for not knowing what this trash contains.
It's like those movies where they just leave you without having a proper conversation about things.

when they know their actions would not only hurt you, but they'd break you completely. We just finished taking about 2 hours ago; why do something so stupid all of a sudden? Why didn't she even tell me? And what happened to

'We'll think of something in the morning'

 I know the duty being given to her to shoulder is heavy, but that's what you're meant to do, right? It is right! Because it is the burden you have to take on for our family! And we are meant to do anything and everything for family; you don't turn your back on family, and she just...

felt it was alright to just run away.

Pfft! How egoistic

"Freya! What is going on here? I heard your screams. Are you and Selena fighting again?" I heard mom say as she walked into the room with her night gown and those time-consuming 24 skin care routines all carefully applied to her face.

It is such a shame, though, because she's about to make it rain tonight.

"Freya? Where is your sister?" She asked me when I didn't respond to a word she said.

I think it's the overwhelming shock of what you've silently prayed shouldn't be the situation, but then it turns out to be, and that's what's happening to her.

"Where is your sister? And why aren't you talking to me? Have you suddenly gone deaf?" She hurled at me as she walked towards me and dragged the letter from my palms.

In less than 3 minutes, a fountain of bitter tears came streaming down her face. I couldn't do anything; heck, I didn't even want to do anything at all.

Who is to blame for all this bullshit in the first place? Is it her? Why not her?

She knows her husband has a thing for liquor, yet she lets him while away with all his money, drinking at every bar and cursing his adversaries and the supposed young man who duped him.

She could've done better; she could've gotten the traders to listen to her and give us some more time; she could've begged the bar tenders to never release beer to her husband ever again!

She could've contacted us in time; we would have come back and brought a better preposition for the bank to hand us a loan! I'm sure they took one look at Father and knew instantly that he wouldn't be able to come up with the money in time.

Papa, on the other hand, would have tried to abstain from beer this whole time! He knows that whenever he gets merry, he drinks a lot, and whenever he gets down and depressed, he drinks a lot more.

It is a problem that he hasn't tried to deal with; now see where it has landed us! And the worst part is, all this blaming wouldn't solve a damn thing!

We are all to blame for making this situation seem like a walk in the park; if we were ever in this situation ourselves, I'm sure we wouldn't act differently. No one wants to be sold off to a stranger at such a young age.

Oh, who am I kidding? I was trying to have empathy for my sister when she made it all come to this! She was the most likely one who could've done this for us. Now guess what? Her self-righteous actions will get her father killed, and we will possibly still have to pay this huge debt all by ourselves.

"What is wrong with you, Abigail? Freya? What happened to your mother?" My good old pa decided to stroll in and warm us with his presence.

"Look at what you've done! You've scared my daughter away! She's never coming back now! This is all your fault." My mother cried as her tiny fists went straight for my father, hitting him as hard as she could.

"What is wrong with you, woman?" He shouted, but it still wasn't enough to stop her from continuing her petty act. He picked up the paper that was already lying lifeless on the floor, waiting to bear its bad news to whoever would entertain it.
…
"No. This can't be happening," he finally said. He dropped to the ground with a low thud. At this point in time, we were all doomed; honestly, there was nothing that could save us unless...

"You have to do it," he said as his bulging eyes looked at me, already filled to the brim with tears. One little blink, and they'd all come falling down.

"I should do what exactly?" I heard myself say, This was all his fault, and now he's looking for someone to pass the burden down to.

"Please, for my sake." For our sake, you'll have to marry Mr. Sukuna's son!" He pleaded as he grabbed my arm in his, squeezing ever so tightly, like if he let go for one second, I might disappear.

As much as I wanted to rip my palms away from his, that name just made me feel suddenly cold inside. Sukuna… He must be a terrifying man, indeed.

"Would you shut it?" My mother ripped his arm from mine, saving me the trouble.

"You already made Selena run away; now you want me to be childless? Is that it? This is all your fault! She screamed

"You think I don't know that? But what am I supposed to do now, Abigail? Tell me. What am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know! Okay… I just... don't know." Mother finally calmed down. Honestly, hearing their little banter made me want to run away too; I really was getting sick of these people.

"What do you say, honey?" Will you do it?" He smiled at me. I turned from him to my mother; she couldn't bear to look at me; she covered her face as she cried for the sole child who just abandoned us, and they think I would give up what I have now just to please them?

"The answer is no," I said with no single effort of emotion. I feel so dead inside right now, and nothing will change my decision.

"But… Why? "I thought you understood."

"Yes, I understand! But I stand to lose too much from this, more than Selena. I would lose my whole life's dream, my freedom, and most of all, Michel! Father, I cannot lose Michel, not now when he's about to propose."

"But he hasn't!" "You have been together with him for five years now, but he still hasn't done or said anything about getting married."

"He's just waiting for the right time! We are! So, no, I'm not going to do this. Go find another way to solve your problems." I hissed as I wanted to walk out, but he grabbed my arm.

"I'm your father," he pleaded.

I shuddered as tears fell from my eyes. "And you're asking too much of me."

"You might not know this, but I got a call from his assistant. His supposed meeting got cancelled, and since he's still in town, he has decided to come see us tomorrow. The wedding will push through when his son arrives in the country."

"And when is that?"

"Next week," he sighed.

"Oh God!" Mum exasperated

"Then you have less than a week to find Selena." I shrugged; that's simple logic. I don't see why he can't understand this.

"Alright then, but will you do something for me? Just one thing, my dear; that's all I ask, and nothing more, I promise." When he didn't hear me speak, he continued.

"Please pose as Selena tomorrow before we get a search team to find her." "I beg of you until I figure things out, please."

"Fine," I sighed. There's no need to get hot-headed all over again. They know where I stand in this, and they have no option but to look for Selena.

"I'll be going now," I said as my dad squeezed my palm gently, leaving something inside.

I didn't give too much thought to what it was; all I wanted to do was sleep. Tomorrow would be Day 1 of all this madness, and Day 7 if I were to count down to the days of Selena's marriage.

I lay down on my bed and finally opened my palm to see the letter of doom my sister had left for us.

TO MY FAMILY...

I'm sorry I left on such short notice; just know that I've weighed all options and this was the only way we could all survive this, that is, if I get married to this stranger. But no matter how hard I tried, I could never see myself stepping down the aisle with someone I didn't love.

Someone who isn't Joe
I wanted to tell you about him, Freya, but that would only complicate things. I've gone to be with the love of my life, and I sincerely hope this stranger understands my decision and pitifully lets Papa go.
Yours truly,
Selena.