My name is Emily Miller Bastos.

I have been married to the Bastos family for almost two years through a marriage contract.

I say this because I have never met my husband, I know that his father handles everything.

This is my husband's father, Augusto Bastos.

He is kind, and has always treated me like a daughter.

I have silly thoughts that I think I married the father, lol, because in the marriage certificate, the name is Augusto Basto Filho (Son).

But since I never met the groom, what saves it is the word Filho (Son), which changes something, because the son's name is the same as the father's.

Well, today I am happy because there are only ten days left until the end of this marriage contract, and I am anxious for it to end soon, I will visit my mother, and live there with her, in France, at least that is my greatest wish.

I already sold the house that belonged to my father, which he had left to me, I also sold the cars, and kept the money, because here I have a driver, security wherever I go.

And Mr. Augusto gave me an unlimited card, but I don't use it, it is kept the way he gave it to me.

I got a job at a company, and I'm in the board area, I'm the financing director.

It was the only thing I asked Mr. Augusto, he accepted on the condition that I would go with security and the driver, I accepted, and here I am, working hard.

I got up, did my morning hygiene, and got ready to go to work, we will have a business dinner, and I will have to participate, it is an American group, that is coming to invest.

I went down the stairs, the table was set for only one place, I thought, today is another day that I am here in this huge house, alone, having my breakfast, and if it weren't for the employees, who I became friends with, and being able to go to work, I would go crazy.

They say I'm married, but I think I'm a widow of a living husband. Lol.

What to do, the way is to laugh so you don't cry, good thing there is little left.

I finished breakfast and went to work, as I do daily since I entered this house.

Well, I'm going to talk about how I got into this marriage story, how I ended up here with a marriage contract, in my hands.

It started when my mother married a widower too, his name is Luis Roberto Gomes, his wife had passed away two years ago, he is fifty years old, and he ended up meeting her, and getting married.

My mother was widowed five years ago, my father died of a heart attack, and left a pension and a beautiful house for us, he was a public servant, we lived well.

At the time I was seventeen years old, I suffered a lot with his loss, but life goes on, I finished high school, I started college in business administration, I focused on studying, to forget the pain of losing my father.

At the time, I was twenty-two years old, and I had already finished my business administration degree.

And my mother's marriage, in the beginning, they lived well.

This is my mother: Telma Lins Gomes, she was forty-eight years old.

This is my stepfather, Luis Roberto Gomes.

Although she wouldn't let me go live alone in the house my father left us.

I didn't interfere, it was she who chose him, this man, I never saw him assault my mother, but he offended her with words, but a few months ago, he started a different treatment.

He and his daughter, who barely looked at me, started to change, I found it strange, but those two were fickle, I tried not to care and take care of my life.

My mother started going out to dinner with him, even to the movies they went, he gave her a bouquet of flowers a few times.

He said he wanted me to start using his name as a daughter, so he would leave me with some shares in the company, and I would be treated as a daughter.

I talked and said no, and I didn't agree to remove the name of my father, which was the last name Miller, and I will continue to honor him.

He agreed, but said, then I need you to sign this health plan document, and your mother has already signed it, I don't want to miss out and you and she are left without a good agreement.

I signed it, and I didn't even read a letter, I just signed it, and my mistake began.

When I moved into Mr. Luis' house, I found out that his daughter was going to get married as soon as she turned twenty, due to a contract signed (five) years ago, when he was with the company about to go bankrupt.

The Bastos family lent the money, on the condition of a marriage of the children, and twenty percent of the company.

Everything was signed, and it had already been four and a half years, soon the wedding would take place.

This is Andressa Gomes, my stepfather's daughter.

The company started to grow again, with the money invested, and everything was going well, until a few months ago I heard that the groom has health problems and is said to be deformed, where my stepfather's daughter no longer wanted to get married.

But I would, and I would have no way out of this marriage.

My stepfather's daughter's name was Andressa Gomes, it was one day before the wedding, I was off, I got up, did my morning hygiene, put on sweatpants and a T-shirt, and left the room.

When I noticed my stepfather dragging two suitcases out of Andressa's room, she was gone, at least I hadn't been in three days.

Soon my mother was in her room, I went to call her to have breakfast with me.

It was difficult to spend time with her, but since Mr. Luis had left, I went to see her.

I called her, she told me to come in, asked me to sit down, I did as she asked, and she asked me a question.

Telma: Ari, did you sign any papers that Luis asked for?

Ariane: Yes, Mom, what's the problem, he said it was a health insurance contract, why, and why are you crying?

Telma: I'm crying because you signed a contract assuming Andressa's place, getting married tomorrow, daughter.

I already called the lawyer who was a friend of your father's, he said if there is any way to prove that you were coerced into signing, but it will still be difficult.

I have also filed for divorce, I am not going to stay married to a man who set a trap for my daughter.

Dayana: Mom, I don't believe this, he fooled me, Mom, and now what do I do, I started to cry, right away, I wiped my tears and said:

It was my fault, I signed without reading, I shouldn't have trusted him.

Did he sign the divorce or not?

Telma: He said he'll sign after the wedding.

Ariane: No, he won't fool us again, Mom, where is the divorce paper, and the copy of the marriage contract, get it so I can read it.

Telma: Yes, it's here.

Dayana: I took it, I read everything, I had an idea of all the requirements of the contract, as I had already signed.

I said, Mom, let's get all our things and put them in the car as quickly as possible, and go to Dad's house.

Take your passport, and a suitcase and go to France, and we can't waste time.

We packed everything quickly, put everything in the car, and went to the house my father had left us.

We arrived there, I left my mother's car in the garage, and we took my things, as quickly as possible.

I took her to the airport, bought two tickets, the first to the (United) States and one to France, and my mother boarded for France, I gave her the money from my pension.

Which I received from my father until I was twenty-one and didn't touch, I passed everything on to her, and made it clear that once the contract, which will be two years, is over, I will go live with her, and that she shouldn't worry that I would be fine.

I will never let this man cheat again, because after I'm married, he's going to use my mother to get money from the Bastos, but it's not going to happen.

I went home, packed my mother's things to send to her later, and left my things organized because tomorrow I'm getting married to Mr. Bastos.

I put everything I had in my car and left it in the garage.

I took my mother's car and went to Luis's house to talk to him and settle this matter.

Upon arriving, I entered and saw him with a glass of whiskey in his hand. I took the opportunity and spoke:

"My mother said that I will get married tomorrow, and I will agree to be the substitute bride on one condition."

Luis: He turned to me and asked, "And what condition would that be?"

Dayana: "Sign this divorce petition from my mother right now, which will happen, you know I have everything ready to run away.

And I know you have a lot to lose because if I don't show up tomorrow, you will have to live on the street with your beautiful daughter due to the fine you will have to pay, so what do you think?"

Luis: "And what's the guarantee that you won't run away tomorrow?"

Dayana: "I give you my word. I'm not like your daughter who ran away and didn't help you.

Well, I don't think it was an escape; it was all planned by the two of you, but that's beside the point now."

Luis: "Give me those papers; I'll sign. But if you don't show up tomorrow, I'll find you even if it's at the end of the world, and I'll finish you off, and then I'll go after your mother."

Dayana: "I handed him the papers, he signed. I said, 'It won't be necessary, I need you at two o'clock in front of the registry office, as the party has been canceled.'"

He asked where his mother was, and I replied, "If you tell me where your daughter is, I'll tell you where my mother is."

I was at the door when I heard the sound of a glass breaking right by the door. He was furious that he would no longer be able to use my mother to get money from the Bastos family.

I heard that the company is going through difficulties again because the Bastos family sold their shares, and some contracts were canceled after they left.

He thought of using me and my mother, and now he is lost and doesn't know what to do.

But it's not my fault he's a bad manager.

I left that house as fast as I could and went to the office of the lawyer my mother had hired for the divorce. I delivered the signed papers. The lawyer said everything would be resolved in five days.

And he said that everything was signed, so she wouldn't need to come; he would take care of everything from here.

I agreed and went to work and quit. I went back home and ordered food, which I ate because it was already past four in the afternoon, and I hadn't eaten anything yet.

After eating, I lay down on my bed and fell asleep from exhaustion.

I woke up; it was almost three in the morning. I got up and thought: 'Well, let me go have a coffee at the nearest coffee shop and order lunch.'

After all, I'm getting married today. I got up, did my morning hygiene routine, put on a dress that I had set aside to wear in the morning, and went out to a coffee shop where I had a strong coffee and ate toast with butter.

I ended up crying, clinging to the pillow, not knowing what to do. I knew I couldn't go back, and now I was the one facing this situation alone. I said to that empty room, Dad, if you hadn't died, I wouldn't have to go through this.

Crying there, I ended up falling asleep.

Suddenly my cell phone went off, I woke up and it was already ten o'clock. I got up and thought: well, let me go have a coffee at the nearest cafe and order myself some lunch.

After all, I'm getting married today. I got up, did my morning hygiene, put on a dress that I had set aside to wear in the morning, went out and went to a cafe, where I had a strong coffee and ate some toast with butter on the grill.

I went back, showered, ordered lunch, ate, went to my room, brushed my teeth, put on light makeup, a dress, and fixed my hair.

After getting ready, I took the dirty clothes and towels and the other things I used yesterday and today, put them in a bag, and stored it in my car.

It was already 1:30 p.m. I got in the car and headed towards the registry office. I arrived five minutes to two. I went in and saw Mr. Luis, his lawyer, and the Bastos family lawyer.

And Mr. Luis began to breathe heavily, letting out air. We went into the room, I signed the papers, the Bastos family lawyer took the stamp and stamped it, then signed. Mr. Luis' lawyer signed as well, and everything was settled.

We left the registry office; the lawyer asked me to follow him in my car. We said goodbye to Mr. Luis, and off we went.

Upon arriving at a place with an enormous iron gate, we stopped where the security guard instructed us to.

The lawyer went ahead and stopped further on, got out of the car, and walked towards us.

The security guard addressed me and noted down my car’s license plate number, my name, and identification.

The lawyer reached the security guard and said, "This is the lady from the Bastos family, entering today. She is Mr. Augusto Bastos Junior's wife."

The guard nodded and granted me entry, apologizing.

It was a beautiful mansion, but it gave an impression of solitude, and I was going to live there for two years.

We stopped in front, and the lawyer waited for me to get out. He said that for the time being, only the staff would be in the house, that he would introduce me to everyone, and that this was a good place.

I thanked him, and we headed towards a large door, where we were greeted by an elderly gentleman who introduced himself as the butler of the Bastos family. The lawyer introduced me as Mrs. Bastos Junior.

I greeted him, shaking his hand and smiling. He smiled back, and I said, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Further ahead, there were four more employees together in the room. The lawyer told everyone that I was Mrs. Bastos Junior, that I would be living there, and that I would be the lady of the house. I thanked the lawyer and added, "It is a pleasure to meet you all."

A lady came forward and said, "Welcome, ma’am. The pleasure is ours. Do you have any luggage to be taken to your room?"

"Yes, please, if you could do me the favor of helping me, I would appreciate it," I replied, handing her the key.

"Don't worry, ma’am, it's our job," she said.

The lawyer said goodbye and left.

"Is your name Maria?" I asked, and she confirmed. "May I ask a favor? Please call me Ariane, or Ari, because ‘ma’am’ makes me feel very old," I said with a smile.

Everyone agreed, and Maria said, "Ma’am... I mean Ariane, we can only call you by your name when Mr. Augusto is not around. He demands that the staff show respect to their employers."

"That’s fine, but when he’s not around, I'm Ari or Ariane, okay?"

Everyone nodded. Maria showed me around the house, and we arrived at my room, which was beautiful.

As soon as I entered, I noticed how beautiful my room was, where I would live for two years. I got to know the rest of the house. There were no restrictions on any room; I could go to the library, use the office.

Everything was at my disposal. I just wouldn't meet my husband, and it was as if I had been left at the altar; he didn't even show up at the wedding. Well, if that's what he wants, I'm not going to think too much about it.

Days went by, a month, two, and I was there, living, eating, drinking. Not even my father-in-law came to meet me. I started to frequent the kitchen, helping to prepare food. I enjoyed talking to Maria and Lena. There was also Marcia and Julia, who took care of the house. Maria organized the clothes and took care of the house's running. Then, I asked, "Where is the gentleman who welcomed us? Wasn't he the butler? Where is he? It's been a month since I've been here, and he hasn't even shown up to say good morning!"

They looked at each other and smiled, and then said, "He is your father-in-law, and he asked us not to say anything unless you asked about him."

"Oh my, why didn't he introduce himself as my father-in-law?"

"He wanted to see how you treated the staff first because he said the young lady from the Gomes family was frivolous and mistreated people.

But at the last minute, her father switched brides, and he didn't know who you were.

That's why he wanted to observe you first.

He saw you, and he was going to introduce himself the next day, but he had to travel early the next morning.

He will be back tomorrow, and then you will meet the Bastos family. They are good people, and they only agreed to the marriage because of the father, who practically sold his daughter. To get the man to stop, your Augusto accepted, but then he realized that by doing so, he would never have peace.

If that man married his daughter, he would always have to give in. So he said that his son was sick and deformed, and he managed to make the girl run away. He was going to give up the penalty clause and even sold his shares so he wouldn't have any connection with that man.

But suddenly, he ends up signing the contract as a stepdaughter. He had to accept it and get married in his place. He only found out the day before.

Now he's going to meet you tomorrow, and he knows you're a good person. You've made friends with everyone in the house.

He said that if a human being does not know how to take care of another human being, regardless of their financial condition, they do not even deserve to be called human.”

I agreed with what she said, and I told her everything about the contract and how I ended up in this marriage. She was left open-mouthed at what the man and daughter had done.

And she said, "So you were tricked, and your mother was going to be used, and then they would take money from the Bastos. Lucky you acted fast; otherwise, your mother would be suffering at the hands of that man."

"True, and I wouldn't know what to do; I would be in his clutches too."