Chapter 2

Young Petra sat on the sofa in the living room, silently watching as her father spoke with Mr.  Miller, a man she had never seen before.  The words her father spoke were hard to hear, but Petra noticed the serious expression on Mr.  Miller and wondered what was going on.

Suddenly, Petra's father looked up and looked at her.

— Daughter, I have great news for you. — he said.  — You're about to get married.

Petra was shocked and disbelieving.

Her father explained that Mr.  Miller, was the father of Bryan Miller, Emma's fiancé.  However, due to the accident, Emma didn't want to get married anymore, Bryan needed a wife, so he had offered Petra to become his sister's surrogate bride, and marry Bryan.

Petra was outraged.  How could her father be so insensitive, forcing her to marry a man she didn't know.

She protested and tried to reason with her father, however, he was not open to negotiations, he had already decided everything.

She refused to be "sold" in this way, and began to argue with her father.

— Why does Emma have the right to choose and I don't? — asks Petra indignantly.

— Because Emma is already an adult, now you, you are a minor, I am responsible for you, so I command you.  — he says in a serious tone as he approaches Petra.  — and if I'm saying you're getting married, that's why you are.  The conversation ended.

So Anton leaves, leaving his daughter there, still processing what had been said by her father.

Petra runs up to her room and throws herself on the bed, she starts to cry.

— I see you already know about your fate.  — says Emma entering the room and staring at her sister who was lying on her stomach while sobbing.

— Go away. — Says Petra without looking at her sister.

Emma laughs and sits on the bed.

— Accept your fate dear little sister, you will forever be at the side of an invalid man. — she says, laughing.  — while I'll be traveling the world, spending money and buying whatever I want.  You will spend the rest of your life pushing your invalid husband in a wheelchair.

Petra could no longer bear to hear her sister's words, she got up abruptly from the bed and slapped her face, the impact was so strong that it made Emma fall out of bed, over her arm.

Anton appeared in the room and his gaze went straight to Emma, ​​who was writhing in pain on the floor as he held onto her arm.  He ran to his daughter and helped her up, Emma was crying as she said that her arm was hurting a lot.

The two directed their contemptuous gazes at Petra, but they didn't say anything, they just left, but Petra ended up hearing Emma say that she would take revenge.

Petra knew that her sister was capable of anything, so she was a little scared.  But now she had bigger problems, the damn marriage.

She had recently turned seventeen, and was already scheduled to be married, if that wasn't worse, she didn't know her fiancé.  Maybe he didn't even know about her existence.

Heartbroken by all these thoughts, Petra continued to cry as she wondered what would become of her life.

.  .  .

The sun was almost down, Petra walked slowly through the garden, her feet gliding smoothly over the stones in the path.  She looked around, noting the lush flowers and the cool breeze that blew across her face.  She wondered how she could feel so much sadness in such a beautiful place.  For a moment, Petra stopped and looked around, taking in the vibrant flowers and tall, stately trees that surrounded her.  It was such a beautiful place, she thought, and yet, she felt so trapped there.

It was hard for Petra to think about her life without feeling a wave of despair.  She was a teenager, but her life was governed by other people.  Her father especially seemed determined to control her in every way.

Petra sighed as she thought of the subject that troubled her the most.  The wedding, in which she was subjected to being a surrogate bride.

She never saw the man in question, but learned that he was a very rich man that her father had chosen for her sister, however, as a result of the facts, it would now be hers.  Petra didn't have much say in the matter-her father was very clear that she should marry him.

— It's like I don't have a choice. — Petra muttered to herself as she looked up at the sky.  — I feel so helpless.

Petra's father always did everything to make her feel powerless, rejected, humiliated.  Her mother died during childbirth, and since then, her father has mistreated her, because according to him, she is to blame for the death of Stella, the great love of his life.  So, since then, Anton can't stand his daughter, because Petra is very similar to Stella, and that makes him even more angry with her.

But, as Petra knew only too well, there was nothing she could do.  She just had to accept her fate, and try to make it at least bearable, so that she wouldn't suffer any more than she already was.

Petra had no idea what the future held, but for now, she focused on the present.  The beauty of the garden and the feel of the sun on her face helped her feel a little better.

So, she stayed there for a while, until she saw her father's car pulling up in front of the house.  Petra sighed tiredly and started walking towards her house, she knew the torment would start, but as long as she was living there, she would have to endure it.

That's why, in the midst of so many bad things, she saw in that marriage, a chance for her to escape that mediocre life she led.  But also, she was very afraid, afraid of leaving a bad place for a worse one.

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