On graduation day, Brenda, who disowned me five years ago, suddenly called me home. I thought she regretted kicking me out, but the moment I walked in, I saw that 50-year-old bachelor from our old town. “Ashley,” Brenda said, her eyebrows knitting in impatience, “you’re not getting any younger. I called you back for your wedding. I’ve found you a good husband.” The old man, Frank, his face a mass of wrinkles, grinned and reached for my hand. I recoiled, backing away, staring at Brenda and my sister, Brittany, in disbelief. “Why are you doing this to me?” Brenda’s eyebrows shot up, her face instantly filled with annoyance. “What’s wrong? Mr. Frank is being very generous with the wedding money. Aren’t you satisfied?” It was all about money. My last shred of hope shattered. Looking at my family, eager to push me into this abyss, I swallowed my tears and forced a faint smile. “Fine,” I said. “I’ll marry him.” The Mr. Frank my mom and sister kept talking about, was Frank Donovan. He used to be married. But his drinking, gambling, and domestic abuse literally drove his wife to her death. After that, every family in town with a daughter avoided him like the plague. Yet, my mother was practically begging to marry me off to him. Frank flashed his yellow teeth at me. “So this is my little bride, huh! Look how soft her skin is! Come here, let me get a look at you.” I stood frozen, unable to process what was happening. Seeing I didn’t move, Frank got up and started walking toward me, intending to grab my hand. I backed away repeatedly, staring at Brenda and Brittany in disbelief. “Mom! Brittany! How can you do this to me!” “I thought… I thought you regretted kicking me out of the house when I was just a kid and couldn’t even survive on my own. I thought you called me back to make amends.” Brittany snickered, as if she’d heard the funniest joke. “Are you stupid from all that studying? Kicking you out was the smartest thing Mom ever did.” Brenda’s face hardened at my words, her tone icy. “What did we do to you? Haven’t we been good enough?” “You’re not getting any younger. We saw you couldn’t find a husband, so we helped you find one. And here you are, picking and choosing!” “You ungrateful brat, you haven’t given us a single dime in five years. Now you marry Mr. Frank, give us the wedding money, and we’ll be even.” Even? But I never owed this family anything. Looking at my family, eager to push me into this abyss, I swallowed my tears and forced a faint smile. “Fine,” I said. “I’ll marry him.” Growing up, Brittany always got everything good. If I wanted a piece of cake, I’d get beaten with a stick. Brenda would say, “How dare you try to take from your sister?” When it was too cold in winter, I secretly took an old jacket Brittany didn’t want, but Brenda made me kneel outside in the freezing cold as punishment. I was just the extra one, Brittany was the family’s darling. It was pathetic how I still harbored a shred of hope for this family.
“That’s right!” “Why would I hurt you? Just follow your Mr. Frank and enjoy life.” “Look at your classmates, working hard to find jobs after graduation, but you won’t have to! Mr. Frank will take care of you, how great is that! Others would kill to be in your shoes!” Brenda slapped her thigh excitedly, unable to hide her grin, as if my pain was invisible to her. Brittany spoke up smugly from beside her. “You fought so hard to go to college in the city, but now you’re still coming back to town to get married. And you caused trouble with Mom, got nothing better to do!” Frank rubbed his hands together, his gaze on me greasy and unsettling. “You don’t worry,” he said, “after we’re married, you’ll have two kids in three years!” Then he tried to grab my hand again. I subtly dodged him, and he grew visibly angry. “Bitch! You agreed to marry me, what’s wrong with a little touch? Just you wait until we’re married, I’ll teach you a lesson!” I smiled politely, my eyes cold as I watched them. Frank called his mom, asking her to come over and check me out. I just sat there quietly, listening to them haggle. “My daughter is a college graduate, young and smart! Eighteen thousand is too little! Her kids will be smart, too! It has to be two hundred eighty thousand dollars!” Brenda stood there, arms crossed, her eyes sharp, engaged in a verbal battle with Frank. Frank wouldn’t back down. “We agreed on eighteen thousand! Why are you trying to haggle now?” “You’re unreliable! You think I won’t just call off the wedding?” “There are other college graduate daughters around here, not just yours!” Brittany quickly interjected, trying to smooth things over. “Mr. Frank, please don’t!” “Just tell us, what do you think of my sister? Is she to your liking?” “If you like her, you have to pay a fair price.” Frank scanned me up and down, his smile sickeningly sticky. Finally, he relented. “Wait for my mom to get here! She’s the one with the money, whatever you can get from her is your problem.” When I went to school, my family didn’t support me. Brenda outright kicked me out and disowned me, precisely so I couldn’t ask them for a single cent. Now, it was for money again. She called me back to ruin the rest of my life. Just then, the sound of a baby crying came from the house. Brittany and Brenda were completely unfazed. I looked at them, puzzled. “Mom, what’s going on? Where did a baby come from?” Brittany, thinking of something, couldn’t hide her delight. “It’s your nephew, of course! We’re just waiting for you to get married. Once I get the money, I can finally live a good life!” So, Brenda and Brittany were selling me to Frank, using the money to fund Brittany’s wedding and raise her baby. Brenda cut Brittany off and turned to me. “Tomorrow, you’ll go to City Hall with Frank to get married.”
My heart skipped a beat. I tried to sound calm. “Mom, isn’t that a little too fast?” I subtly started massaging Brenda’s back. “Marriage is a big deal. Being so rushed isn’t good.” Seeing Brenda ignored me, I felt a pang of anxiety. “Mr. Frank, why don’t you just come to the city with me? I just found a job, and I make twenty thousand dollars a month!” Frank immediately refused, glaring at me menacingly. “No way! What if you dump me once we’re in the city?” “You’ll stay here with me in the countryside, like a good girl! You’re not allowed to go anywhere.” “If you try to run, I’ll break your legs!” He was clearly terrified I’d escape. Brenda’s eyes were practically glowing as she looked at me, reconfirming. “Is that really how much you make?” “You’re not trying to fool me, are you?” I pulled out my phone to show them. “Of course not! Look, all the terms are clearly written here.” “This company is a global public enterprise; promotions and raises won’t be an issue in the future.” Brenda snatched my phone, her eyes fixed on the “twenty thousand” salary. Her eyes lit up with greed, and she muttered to herself, “Twenty thousand a month? I only save ten thousand a year.” Then, like a fierce mother bear protecting her cub, Brenda shoved me behind her and yelled at Frank with newfound confidence. “Now you’re not good enough for my daughter! If you want to marry her, it’ll cost you at least a million dollars!” Brittany stared at me, green with envy and disbelief. “Twenty thousand a month? You, that loser? No way!” “Mom, don’t let her fool you!” “She just wants to escape back to the city; then we won’t be able to do anything about her.” Brenda looked at me skeptically, then switched off my phone and put it in her pocket. “I doubt you’d try anything funny.” Frank’s gaze on me turned vicious, his greasy facade of innocence dropping. “Her making twenty thousand is her money. If she goes to the city, will she really give it to you obediently?” “You should still marry her to me. Once she has a baby, she’ll be tied down, then you can let her go to the city to find work and support the family.” “Then we’ll be one family, and we’ll all share whatever she earns.” Brenda thought about his words for a moment, deciding he made sense. Then she started yelling at me. “I almost fell for your tricks! Dreaming of running back to the city? Never!” “You’ll marry Frank first, have a baby, and then you can go out and work.” “When you go back to the city, you’ll take me and your sister with you. We raised you for so many years; now it’s your turn to repay us.” A cold laugh bubbled in my chest. Repay them? Did they really have no idea how they “raised” me? At 15, I weighed only sixty pounds, severely malnourished, a stark contrast to Brittany. If it weren’t for my schoolteachers taking pity on me and secretly slipping me food, I doubted I would have even grown up. I continued to play along, affectionately looping my arm through Brenda’s, faking sweetness for the first time. “Okay, Mom, I’ll do whatever you say.” “I really missed you these past five years, not being able to come home.” As I said it, I felt a surge of nausea. I reached for my phone, but she slapped my hand away. “What are you doing!” “You can’t have your phone back yet. Get things settled first, so you don’t try any funny business.” I had no choice but to give up and wait to see what would happen. That night, Frank’s mom arrived. Her back was hunched, her body stooped, but her eyes were unnervingly clear.
Brittany eagerly led me to stand between Frank and Ms. Donovan. “Ms. Donovan, look, this is my sister. Isn’t she beautiful!” Ms. Donovan scrutinized me from head to toe, her expression disdainful. “She’s fine, but too thin. How can she have sons with such a small butt?” As she spoke, she reached out and pinched my butt. Just as I was about to lose it, Brenda slammed a cup on the table. “How dare you look down on my daughter? My daughter is a college graduate; is your son good enough for her? The eighteen thousand we discussed before is off the table. I want two hundred eighty thousand!” “What!” Ms. Donovan was shocked by Brenda’s outrageous demand. After all, in this town, a family that could produce eighteen thousand dollars was already considered wealthy. Let alone Brenda now demanding two hundred eighty thousand. Frank quickly stood up, went to his mom’s side, and whispered something to her. Ms. Donovan looked at me again, her expression different now. Then she took off the cheap jade bracelet from her wrist and put it on mine. I forced a smile and accepted it, feeling nauseous at the sight of these ugly faces around the table. Finally, they impatiently set the wedding for two days later. After dinner, I wanted some fresh air, so I took a stroll around town. Just because I was outside for half an hour, Brenda slapped me the moment I returned. “Were you trying to run away?” Brittany fanned the flames. “You walked out right after dinner, what else would you be doing if not trying to run?” I tried to defend myself, but Brenda didn’t listen and continued to punch and kick me. I looked up at them, my eyes filled with hatred. Brenda shivered under my gaze, then kicked me again. She then tightly bound me with rope and roughly shoved me into the room. I was locked up for a full day and two nights. During that time, I begged, I cried. They didn’t even give me a bite to eat or a drop to drink. Why did I come back to torment myself? On the morning of the supposed wedding, I was finally untied, shaking my numb hands. “You little bitch, if you dare to run again, I’ll break your legs!” Brenda’s shrill voice rang out. I didn’t respond. “I’ve already given the money to your sister. Don’t blame me for being cruel. Your sister needs that money more than you.” Brittany chimed in. “Exactly.” I ignored Brittany and turned to Brenda, unable to keep my thoughts to myself. “Why are you pretending? Didn’t you call me back just to sell me off and give all the money to Brittany for her wedding?” Brenda glared at me, righteous fury in her voice. “We’re your family! You make a fuss over us spending a little of your money? You’ll never be done complaining!” I froze, no longer willing to humor them. “If I remember correctly, five years ago, you were the one who kicked me out.” “And this time you called me back, just to sell me for a good price, so why bother with these grand words? You’re so hypocritical!” Brittany rushed toward me, snatching my bag and rummaging through it in front of me. She didn’t find a single dime, stomped her foot, and walked off. Brenda’s face was beet red, furious. “How dare you talk back? I’m your mother! I can treat you however I want!” “I’m telling you, if your sister’s wedding gets messed up, you won’t have it easy either! Hurry up and help your sister get the money!” Just then, Frank walked in, and Brenda’s tirade abruptly stopped. Brenda then dragged me into the car. Puzzled, I asked, “Aren’t we having the wedding? Where are we going?” Frank’s lecherous voice answered. “To get our marriage license, of course. We’ll be back just in time for the ceremony.” I was too weak from hunger to resist, responding coldly to his words, calmly looking out the window. This farce needed to come to an end. At City Hall, Brenda held my arm firmly, whispering a warning in my ear. “If you dare to say anything to the staff, don’t blame me…” I forced a smile and nodded, walking determinedly into City Hall. Frank was practically beaming, and Brenda gave me a satisfied smile. Then the clerk double-checked the computer, then looked at me, confused. “Ma’am, aren’t you already married?”
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