Chapter 1: Prologue

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"How could you do this to me!?" Eva's voice was filled with disgust as she stared angrily at her Stepmother. 

"You're going to get married to him, Eva. I already sold you off to him to pay the debts".

"I'm not getting married, Katherine…"

"Oh yes you are! He already paid the debts. You just have to fulfill your own part of the deal".

"I never agreed to any of this…"

"Well, I don't care if you agreed to it or not, Eva. You're getting married to him and that's it!"

"I don't even know who he is! I've never seen him before!"

"Here. This is him". Katherine said, handing over a picture to Eva. 

It was a picture of an ugly, old fat man with a protruding belly.

"But… he looks old enough to be my grandfather! I have a boyfriend! Surely you can't do this to Stephanie, your daughter!"

Suddenly, Katherine planted a hard slap across Eva's face.

"You fool! He already paid the debts! And, I already collected $60,000. You must marry him!"

"You're meant to be happy that someone even chose to marry you, Eva. Just take a look at yourself". 

Stephanie said with a wicked grin.

Eva ignored her and turned to face Katherine.

"I'm not going to get married to some old man! I'd look for how to pay your stupid debts instead of subjecting myself to such fate".

After saying this, Eva stepped out of the house angrily. 

The rain poured heavily outside, but Eva didn't care. She wanted to scream- her emotions were all over the place. 

With her arms folded to her chest, she walked under the rain, shielding herself from the cold.

The heavy rain drenched her, and this was her opportunity to scream.

She screamed so loudly, and cried. Her tears mixed with the rain.

Liam. Her boyfriend. She needed to see him. He always had a way of calming her down in these moments. He was wealthy too. Maybe he could help settle her Stepmother's heavy debts.

His house was just a few blocks away from hers.

As she walked towards his house, her mind wandered off to her family- how everything became torturous.

Her mother had died seven years ago from a ghastly motor accident, and that's when her nightmare began.

Eva's father drowned himself in drinking. 

Three years after her mother's death, and in one of his sober moments, he met Katherine and remarried.

Katherine was nice at first. She came with her daughter; Stephanie. 

They were both good to her, and her father stopped drinking. He cared for them all. They were happy together as a family.

But soon enough, her father was back to his old ways. He neglected his family again and resumed drinking.

It was in this moment that Katherine's true colors showed.

Eva became a slave in her own home. Her Stepmother and Stepsister never lifted a finger. Katherine made her do all the chores- all the work.

Her father never cared. He was always so drunk to stupor.

"Shit! My f*cking phone!" She cursed, as she noticed her phone wasn't with her. "I have to go back home to get it".

The last thing Eva wanted was to go back home. It wasn't a home anymore- at least to her.

She was really drenched from the rain. Her teeth clenched together because of the cold.

With her arms still folded to her chest, she went back home- shivering.

******

"Are you back here to finally accept your fate?" Stephanie teased.

"I'm only here for my phone, Steph. And, I want to get some of my stuff too".

"Take a look at yourself, Eva. You look so pathetic".

Eva was not ready to exchange words with Stephanie. It'll only attract Katherine's attention. She just wanted to get her things to go see her boyfriend. 

"Please, I only want to take my stuff".

"Fine. Go and take your stupid stuff". Stephanie said coldly. 

"Thanks". Eva said, and headed inside. 

She picked her phone, and packed some of her clothes. She wasn't planning on spending the night here. Instead, she'd spend it with Liam.

She changed out of her wet clothes, and put on something more comfortable. She cleaned her eyes, and put on some makeup.

When she was done, she went outside. The rain had stopped falling already. It was only drizzling.

Eva dialed Liam's number, but was disappointed when it went to voicemail. 

"Voicemail? He's always quick to answer my calls. What's going on?" She muttered to herself. 

She walked over to Liam's house, and placed a soft knock on the door, and Caleb, Liam's flatmate answered. 

"Hey, Eva". He greeted her.

"Hey Caleb. Um…Is Liam around? I want to see him". Eva said, still shaking. She felt cold because of the rain.

"No. He's…he's uh… busy with something".

"Oh. Can I come in then? I can wait for him. I'm not in a hurry to go home".

"I… I don't think that's a good idea, Eva. He'll be back late".

"Oh.. okay then. Thanks". Eva said, and attempted to leave.

"Wait, Eva". Caleb called. 

"Yes?"

He stared at her with a sad look on his face, before turning away.

"Nevermind. It's nothing".

"Are you sure?" Eva asked. 

"Yeah".

"Please, tell Liam I stopped by to see him".

"Sure. I will".

Eva hadn't been so disappointed. She didn't want to spend the night in her home, but she had no choice now.

She heaved a long and heavy sigh before heading back home.

When she got home, she noticed Katherine was out already  as her car wasn't parked outside.

Eva heaved a sigh of relief. She only had Stephanie to contend with.

As she approached her room, she heard voices, as though people were in her room.

And then, she heard her name.

"Liam baby, when are you going to dump Eva and make me your girlfriend? I'm tired of waiting! Dump her already!"

Eva hoped so bad that what she had heard wasn't really it.

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