Married To The Beast

Sophie (9 years old)

I was ready, while waiting for my uncle Charles talking to his lawyer, watching my cousin playing outside the house, Louis ran screaming and laughing with his friends that I did not know, it was a long time that I did not see him, all because my father had fought with uncle Charles and even though that he was Mom’s brother we never saw each other again.

And now I was there being delivered to Uncle Charles, because he would now be my guardian until I turned twenty-one and all this because my parents had died in a boat accident.

Yeah, I was only a kid, but It was hard to believe that they had left forever, a week ago they had gone on vacation to Europe to celebrate their wedding anniversary and I stayed with my nanny. I cried at night when Jenny came to me and said that my parents have become stars in the skies, I knew something horrible have happend, because was the same tha my parents told me when my grandma was gone.

They thought I still didn’t understand what was happening there, why they took me to my uncle’s house, but I had listened to the conversations, a nine-year-old hears a lot.

"Sophie dear, you have to eat something." My nanny arrived insisting by the Above time for me to eat, but I hated fish and all I had for lunch was seafood.

"Why did my parents have to die, Jenny? I just wanna be with my dad and mommy, I don't wanna be here" I felt a pain inside my chest that didn’t seem to go through anything, and every time I saw something and wanted to tell my parents, I wanted to cry even more.

"Oh my dear, I am so sorry for what happened to your parents. But it was an accident and accidents happen, to anyone." She tried to comfort me, but she couldn’t.

I heard her telling my uncle that it would take me a while to understand what it’s like to be an orphan, so she should stay with me for a while. I just knew I could never see my parents again, thats was all I needed to know, nothing more will be the same in my life.

"But it didn’t happen to anyone, it happened to me."

"You’re still a very lucky girl, your Uncle Charles will take care of you now, until you can take care of your father’s companies." I wanted to scream, say I didn’t want my uncle, I wanted my parents, but instead, I nodded in agreement with her.

I didn’t have many memories of Uncle Charles, but now we would have to learn to live together since I would be stuck there.

"Honey, why don’t you go play with your cousin?" I raised my head looking at her again. "Maybe you’ll learn to like it here."

I doubted a lot, but I needed to be a good girl as she had repeated several times, so I got up and went up to the lawn.

They were shooting a football, which fell very close to where I was.

"Throw the ball brat!" one of the boys who was with my cousin screamed smiling.

"Can I play with you?" I asked shy when I caught the ball, was trying as Jenny said, it all starts with a first step.

"No! Because you’re a girl and girls are boring and weak!" was my cousin who screamed as his friend ran to where I was.

"Go play with the dolls, you idiot!" he pulled the ball out of my hands and I wanted to hit him.

The others started laughing and in the same instant my blood boiled with anger for being laughing at me, for being all together and for their perfect lives.

I ran into Jenny’s arms, crying and hating everyone in the place I hid in the one place that was still familiar to me. I cried desperately wanting to die with my parents in the accident, so we could all be together forever.

But that was just the beginning of my personal hell, the beginning of my torment.

Patrick (25 years old)

I was happy, after two years with Emily, she finally said yes to me and agreed with Marrie me. This was the best day of my life, I was going to marry the girl I love and no one could deny my excitement.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I can still help you run, man, really, I got a car in the back just waiting for your order and we get you out of here." I was just finishing up my bow tie when Chris came up behind me in the mirror.

I pushed my best friend away laughing at his insistence on making me give up of the marriage. I was eager to spend the rest of my life with her, my heart felt like a horse galloping desperate just to imagine her coming in dressed as a bride.

"Emily is the best girl I could meet, beautiful, hot, comes from a good family like mine. What more could I want?"

"I don’t know, man. Maybe wait another ten years? You’re only twenty-five, you have a whole life ahead of you!"

"A life that I want to share with the most perfect woman I’ve ever met." he rolled his eyes away and I couldn’t help but laugh at the idiotic expression on his face. "One day you’ll understand Cris, I assure you."

He made the sign of the cross moving away in search of the rings, which were on the chest of drawers.

"I assure you that will not happen. But I will no longer insist that you run away from this madness, because it is too sweet for my taste and will end up saying more romantic nonsense if I keep talking."

I turned to the window staring at people in the garden, everything there had been my future wife’s choice, she did not ask my opinion on anything, but I believe that all women are like this, after all it is their day.

I never imagined I could be so happy, not until that day, until the moment I would put the ring on her finger and declare to the world that she is mine alone!

"Come on, it’s time." My dad broke into my room taking me out of trance. "Are you still sure about that? I’m sure she’d expect you a year or so from now."

"Even you, Dad?" I asked checking my appearance one last time in the mirror. "I’m more than sure she’s the woman I love and I don’t want to miss another day without having her as my wife."

I just had no idea I was making the biggest mistake of my life that day.

"You’re marrying Mr Carter and there’s no more arguing, Sophie!" that was Charles' final word.

I should have given up trying to convince him otherwise, but I could not give up so easily, it was my life and they had already destroyed it all these eleven years.

"But I can’t marry a man I don’t even know! I don’t even know who the Carter’s are."

"It just shows how ridiculous you are." Magie, my uncle’s wife spoke with sheer disregard, throwing her blonde hair back. "They are simply the richest family in the country, their jewelry sells around the world."

"Why would a man like that want to marry me? He can have any woman in the world, you have to have another way to close this deal!" I insisted, I wouldn’t let him sell me like that.

Charles walked around the table facing me. I had learned to fear the man over the years, learned to lower my head and swallow the things he spoke, because it meant less beat