Helen, Jessica's eldest and most toxic daughter, reluctantly agreed to lend Kate some of her old clothes after much pleading from Jessica. Kate loathed Helen, finding everything about her irritating. But Kate had no choice; she had to comply. If toxicity and abuse could be embodied in a person, it would be Helen. She was a devil disguised as a human, sent to torment and frustrate innocent people. Helen was the type to purposely dirty something just to make you clean it up repeatedly, and she'd subtly manipulate you into doing her bidding. A bully through and through. Sometimes, Kate even preferred Kelly, Helen's sister. However, the saying "birds of a feather flock together" rang true – they were equally cruel.
After collecting and putting on the clothes Helen practically threw at her (with a stern warning not to stain them), Kate left the house with Jessica, heading for the popular Louis Vuitton store in France. There, Jessica showered Kate with gifts: clothes, shoes, handbags, and makeup. Ironically, Jessica seemed to know Kate's size better than Kate herself, making the clothes-fitting process easier and less stressful.
This sudden generosity and abundance of goodies were intended to create the illusion of Kate being a sophisticated woman for Jackson. However, they wouldn't hide the scars from the numerous beatings Jessica and her household had inflicted. Knowing this, Jessica instructed Kate to lie to Jackson if he ever noticed the scars. She told Kate to fabricate a story about a terrible accident, anything to avoid revealing the truth.
Kate, filled with fear, simply nodded at Jessica's instructions. But she wondered how she could lie to Jackson without getting caught and facing the usual beatings. She knew she was trapped, with no saviour in sight. It was either marrying Jackson or facing the even harsher reality of life on the streets.
"Please, ma," Kate pleaded with Jessica, her voice trembling. "You can punish me any way you want, just don't make me marry Jackson. I might die because of him." It had taken years for Kate to muster the courage to speak these words, finally voicing her fear for her life.
Jessica's response was a look of disgust and disdain. "One more word from you, and I'll throw you out before you even meet your ruthless husband. Shut your mouth and follow orders."
"You should be grateful I'm doing you a favour, you dumb lady," Jessica added.
Kate had no choice but to remain silent and face her grim reality. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she longed for her deceased mother to return and save her, or even take her back. Life for Kate was a living hell, with no one offering her an ounce of kindness.
Throughout that day, Jessica's household treated Kate like royalty. They even helped her pack her luggage, filled with new clothes, jewellery, shoes, and makeup – all to impress Jackson. Despite the facade, Kate went to sleep that night with tears in her eyes, dreading the upcoming day.
"Kate, wake up!" Kelly screamed, jolting Kate awake with a hot slap. Kelly stood there, a dishevelled figure with messy hair and an unpleasant expression, resembling a botched plastic surgery meme.
"How long are you going to sleep?" Kelly barked.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to oversleep," Kate stammered.
"I am SO sorry, I DIDN'T mean to over-sleep," Kelly mimicked in a loud, mocking voice, rolling her eyes and sticking out her tongue like a child.
"Get your lazy body downstairs to clean the living room. And stay awake! I don't want you sleeping again until your husband arrives," Kelly ordered, slamming the door shut behind her.
Kate sighed heavily and checked the time. It was still 2:00 AM. It seemed Kelly thrived on depriving her of sleep. Whenever Kelly was around, a good night's sleep was out of the question. Even in the dead of night, Kelly would wake Kate up to start cleaning and force her to stay awake until dawn.
As instructed, Kate went to the living room to clean. Afterwards, she sat on the floor, tears streaming down her face, battling the urge to sleep. She remained awake until 7:00 AM when the others woke up, and that's when they ordered her to start getting ready for her "husband."
Looking in the mirror, Kate was filled with despair. Dark circles shadowed her eyes from lack of sleep, and her face was still bruised from Kelly's earlier slap. Fortunately for her, Kelly told her that she was going to wear makeup, to cover the fingerprint marks on her face, and also warned her never to disobey her, if she didn't want more prints on her face.
*******
Kate ate the food they gave her which was not so big, took her bath and wore the cloth Kelly specially chose for her, a long red gown with a slit up to the thigh, and then black heels with a red handbag.
When she came out of her room, Jessica helped her to comb her long black and curly hair, truth be told it was the first time Jessica had touched her hair in a less aggressive hair, normally she drags her hair when she wants to abuse her, but today she was so gentle and caring than the person she knew initially. It was like a temporary transformation for Jessica, which was at the same time fake. Kate knew what Jessica wanted and she was going to use her to get it.
After combing it, she let it stand free without packing it for her and then whispered into Kate's ears....
"The beauty of a lady lies in her hair, and don't forget if you don't marry him, it is over for you. And if you ditch us at the back, it will be worse. So you must cooperate with us for your good, see it as paying me back for the good things I have done for you"...
Kate didn't listen to Jessica's threat at that moment, she was going to suffer anyway so she decided to admire herself for the last time before she went into hell.
**********
For the first time in her life, Kate loved and admired herself in the mirror, even without the makeup, she was still looking very hot and beautiful. Naturally, God blessed her with a curvy backside portable breast size, and height. She was an average woman who within her, knew that men would love her stature. Her face was oval and she was created with long lashes and brows with a pointed nose and pink lips. To crown it all, she had dimples and a little gaping teeth which made her complete. And she looked so young, like a twenty-year-old lady, but was in her early twenties, twenty-five years old to be precise
Kate smiled at herself and was proud of her mother who she was a carbon copy of. Her mother was an epitome of beauty and she was so thankful for looking exactly like her mother.
However, after some minutes Kelly took her to her dressing room and gave her light and beautiful make-up. Nobody had a choice other than to dress her to look good, which she was, because she caught Helen stealing some glances at her, and quickly removing her eyes when caught. Even she was intrigued by Kate's beauty.
Funny enough, Jessica and Helen weren't left out in the moment of truth, as each stole some glances at her, they never believed that she could be that beautiful, and never wished her to be. It was like a fatal blow that they will never recover from, at least for now, Kate wished.
ESTÀS LLEGINT
My Mysterious Husband
Literatura romàntica"The moment I laid my eyes on you, I knew that you weren't her real daughter, a real daughter wouldn't have five fingers print on a face caused by a slap, and she wouldn't have let me marry you without a white wedding, please don't ask me how I knew...
