3

CHAPTER THREE 

 

By 2:35 a.m. in the morning, Ashley woke up to proceed with her plan. She stood up from her bed and walked towards her wardrobe to bring out her luggage from where she kept it. She took it and opened it to remove all the unnecessary dust. Then she began throwing in clothes that she would need for her little escape.

 

She packed little clothes, so carrying them wouldn't be a problem. By the time she was done packing, she picked up her phone to check the time. Good, it was 3:01 a.m. She quickly changed her clothes, and soon she was ready to depart. She was ready to run away, to escape.

 

She tiptoed out of her room towards the sitting room. She looked around to be sure that no one was awake. She was sure that no one would be awake by this time. She didn't say anything to her mother, so her mother wasn't aware of her running away; she had already made up her mind, and that was what she would do. She couldn't get married to that old man; now she preferred getting married to any young man. How she wished it was a young man she was getting married to, not some old fool. She won't ruin her life to please her father.

  

As she was about to open the door for her escape, a deep, angry voice made her stop on her track.

 

"Where are you going, now?" She heard the voice; the voice sounded so angry that it could kill her if she didn't retreat her steps.

 

"Dad?" She called out to be extremely sure, but she was sure that he was the one.

 

"I asked you, Where the heck are you going to this night with your luggage?" Her dad fumed.

 

"Dad..." 

 

"Get back into this house, right this instant!" Her dad roared, rage sipping out of his veins.

 

"Yes, yes, dad." She shivered as she entered the house and closed the door.

 

"Are you planning on running away?"

 

"No... No... I... I..."

 

"I would slap the life out of you if you didn't open up and tell me the truth. Do you think you can run away?"

 

"Dad, why do you insist on making me marry him? I won't marry that old man. I won't, and that's my final answer. No amount of persuasion can make me change my mind."

 

"He'd spoil you. They're bastardly rich, and they'd save us from the mess we are in. Think about it."

 

"No! I refuse! You're too selfish, dad!" She screamed out loud, making her mom wake up from her sleep.

 

"What's going on here?" Her mom asked.

 

"Your daughter wants to escape. I just can't imagine what sort of child you gave birth to. I tried to explain to her the reason why she'd be marrying Mr. Walter, but she refused to listen. Don't you know that marrying him will enable you to even go to school? Where do you think I'd get the money to pay your school fees when we have a huge debt on our heads? Why can't you be reasonable for once? You should be happy Mr. Walter likes you; if not, it would be another story we'd be talking about; perhaps we'd leave this house and become homeless." Her dad hissed. She looked at her mom, wishing she could convince Dad. Her mom was her only option now since her plan of escape had failed woefully.

 

"Mom, please...." She held her mom's hand as her mom tightened her robe, looking between her and her dad. She was torn about who she'd go for. She just hope that her father would see the reason why she can't marry an old man.

 

"We owe them a huge debt. Mr. Walter is doing us a favor, and it's best we grab it now."

 

"But..." 

 

"I understand why you're scared, my dear, but you don't have to be. Mr. Walter has a young heart, and if you look at him more closely, you will know he's young. If you get married to him, he will also offer our company another chance to bounce back to how it has been. There are lots of benefits you'd enjoy in this marriage. Look at the bright side." Her mom spoke, and her heart tore into pieces; even her mom was in support of her dad. She just couldn't understand why her mom wouldn't stand up for her.

 

 

"What, old man?" Her dad asked, quite confused.

 

"Mr. Walter, I won't marry him." She stated it angrily, which made her dad laugh.

 

"My dear, sit down." Her dad tried to cajole her into sitting and hearing him out, but she refused. She knows the moment she sits and gears her dad out, he'll convince her into marrying Mr. Walter, so she refuses.

 

"Dad, I'm not getting married to him. I'm not! Why will I ruin my life to please you? How will I get married to an old man, obviously old enough to be my father?" She spat, which made her father laugh. "Dad, it's not funny; I won't marry him. No never!" 

 

Her dad laughed more loudly this time as he held his chest. She didn't know what was making her dad laugh so hard to the extent of holding his chest. What she said wasn't funny and didn't require any laughter. She wasn't putting on a comedy show.

 

"Dad!" She screamed, and her dad immediately stopped laughing. "My life is about to be ruined all because you plan to sell me to an old man."

 

"No, no, my dear, I can't. I'm your father, and even though I don't show it, I love you so much."

 

"So that's why you want to sell me off to Mr. Walter?"

 

"Yes, but no. I don't want to sell you; I want to marry you off so we can pay our debts."

 

"Dad! Why?! And it's not even a young guy that's around my age; it's, it's..." She wondered how she would cope with marrying an old man. Just the thought alone was already making her want to throw up.

 

"You are not getting married to Mr. Walter; you are getting married to his son, Mr. Michael Walter." Her dad threw the bomb at her, and she became extremely shocked.