Married To My Enemy

"I take you Lila to be my lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in..." Peter read out loud to the hearing of the entire congregation.

I never wanted to marry him. So why should I be the one to marry him?

Peter doesn't love anyone. Everything he does is for his selfish ambition and I can prove that.

"Lila" The priest called out.

"It's time to say your vows" he added with a dry smile.

The irritation I felt that morning couldn't be suppressed.

I can't believe I'm getting married to the man I swore to punish.

My misery started that fateful day I got back from work.

Walking down the passage way of our three bedroom apartment, I overheard my parents arguing.

I had the urge to stop by their room to find out what the problem was, but on a second thought, I decided not to.

Days later, I found out what the whole argument was about.

"No way dad!" I exclaimed with hot tears running down my cheeks.

"I can't marry Peter. Why me? Why not Shayla? After all she likes him. What about Missy? She's had a crush on him since forever." I cried as I yelled at my dad.

"Calm down hunny" my mom said, bringing me into her embrace.

"Your father is sick, and we don't have the money the doctors are demanding. Peter is willing to help,but at a cost" my mom said with pity written all over her wrinkled face.

I felt sad and disappointed at the same time. I get that my dad needs a huge sum of money for his treatment plan, but why am I the sacrificial lamb here?

I'm the least qualified. I'm the last child and I'm just 24 years. My sisters are more mature,sophisticated and experienced, so why not them?

I love my dad, and hard as it may be for me, I have to marry Peter to save his life.

I lost my pinky finger years ago because of Peter, and that has been the foundation of my anger towards him.

How could I forget?? I was only 15 when this happened.

Peter used to crash over at our house after school, because his parents were too busy at work to be home with him.

He became the brother I never had, or so I was made to believe by my mom, as she would always say:

" Hunny Peter is your brother, and I want you to see him as one"

I believed that lie, and took Peter as my brother. He was so mischievous for most of his stay with us. He taught us weird and nasty things.

Missy was his age mate, and she really liked and jumped on every idea he brought up.

She has had a crush on him since they were 18, and sometimes I wonder why.

Shayla on the other hand just liked to see him around, and was always willing to hop on any challenge he suggested.

"Missy don't you think Peter is being too nasty and bad for us??" I asked Missy one evening as Peter was leaving.

As we stared at him walk away through the window pane, Missy was all smiles, stroking her hair and biting her lips.

"Did you hear me?" I shouted as I snapped my fingers at her face.

"No! He's our brother remember?" She replied with a mischievous smile plastered on her face before storming out of the room.

I just didn't like it when he was there. My sisters seem to admire him so much and I got irritated.

He on the other hand would always throw glances at me in the middle of games, with a weird smile that I interpreted to be "I'm coming for you smile".

One Friday afternoon after school, my sisters were no where to be found,so I walked home alone scared but still composed.

As I reached the front door of our apartment,I heard sounds. I was confused; at first I thought someone had broken into our home, but then as I paced around the front door thinking of what to do? I heard a clearer sound.

"No way!" I exclaimed, immediately covering my mouth with my palms.

Those were not just any ordinary sounds. Those sounds were from my sisters and supposed brother.

I really hoped and prayed it wasn't what I was thinking, but I guess that was one unlucky day for me.

I stormed into the house and saw them in the act, right on the couch in the living room.

I screamed for them to stop. It was so irritating to see my sisters stark naked on Peter's body, so I turned around and asked them to put on their clothes.

I stayed in that position for about 5 minutes before asking:

"Are you..." before I completed that statement, I felt a strong push from behind me.

Peter was dragging me to himself, and my sisters giggled as they stared at me.

"Let me go please" I pleaded with Peter with a remorseful look in my eyes.

He was staring with me with a weird smile on his face, that I interpreted as "I got you smile".

At that moment I prayed that my sisters would stop him, as he was moving so fast on me, unbuttoning my skirt.

I guess it wasn't my lucky day. Missy got up to bolt the door, while Shayla stayed back smiling and biting her lips.

I lost my virginity to Peter, my high md mighty brother that day. There's no way I'm forgetting that.

As I cleaned up myself in the bathroom, Shayla walked in

"Hey, mom and dad cannot know about this, okay?" She asked me with a serious look in her eyes.

I could sense her fear, but I said nothing in response.

She walked out after waiting in vain for me to reply.

I cried heavily that day, and never left my room even after my parents got back.

The next day, I feigned sickness in order to escape school. It worked so I stayed home.

At the close of school,my siblings came home all happy and chatty. I refused to leave my room, but that wasn't going to happen.

Peter came for me , took me out of the room and asked me to join them in their "truth or dare" game.

I lost my pinky finger while playing that game.

Peter sliced off my fingers with his clear eyes; yes he wasn't drunk.

Missy was dared to cut off my fingers,but she couldn't, and so Peter did her the honours and cut it off.

The blood was all over the table and just then, the doorbell rang.

As they scurried to clean up, the door opened.

What?! That was the last thing I heard before I fainted.

"Lila Lila Lila" The priest called out to me, jolting me back to reality.

"Your vows" the priest whispered urging me to say my vows to Peter.

I obliged.

"I take you Peter to be my lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death do us part" I recited with zero joy.

For the rest of the ceremony, I couldn't act fine and so it was pretty clear to all who cared to notice that I wasn't fine.

"Please smile ,ma." The photographer called out to me.

What exactly am I to smile for? The fact that I'm married to this devil? Or the fact that I would be identified as a rich man's wife? No! Not enough reason for me to give away my smile on this horrible day.

I posed for the camera and gave a very sickly smile. That picture made the ugliest picture of myself.

As the day dragged by slowly, I could only wish for everything to stop.

My sisters seemed most happy. They danced and ate so much that I got angry.

I thought we all hated Peter together, why do they seem so excited? Missy even took over a hundred pictures with Peter, holding onto him so tight.

I looked away, I was pissed. I glanced around until I focused my gaze on my mom.

My mom sat still, unresponsive to her surroundings. As I stared at her, I knew something was wrong.

She never forgave Peter for what he did to me, but she couldn't let her husband die.

That day she got back and saw the blood, she screamed "What happened here?" She asked as she ran towards me who was now on the floor.

"Call 911" she yelled at nobody in particular.

Missy took the phone and dialed the number.

I woke up in the hospital hours later, with my mom by my side, and Peter's parents standing at the foot side of my bed.

"We're sorry about what happened Mrs Peels, Peter would be punished for this" Mrs King said as she moved closer to pat my mom on her back.

Peter never visited me at the hospital, and he never came to our house anymore. Everything was back to normal for me.

I enjoyed spending time with my sisters, and they felt remorseful,so they cared more for me.

They never spoke to Peter again, atleast not in my presence. They avoided him like a plague just as I did. We would walk past him without staring at him or even saying a word to him.

But why they are so happy today, I don't know. Missy has been all over the place since she got here. You could even mistake her for the bride, except that she's not on white gown.

My dad couldn't be here. He's been in the hospital for the past 3 months battling for his life. Peter has been funding all the hospital expenses.

This is the main reason I'm getting married to him.

As we drove home that day in Peter's Benz, all I could think of was a revenge plan. I'm not interested in growing to love him like Shayla adviced me.

I want to bring him down and that's all I care about.

As I pondered on these, I noticed Peter move. He started moving closer to me,and before I could ask anything, his voice came up

"You're my wife now" Peter said to me in his baritone voice

"You're finally mine, my woman and you'll do my biddings now" he chuckled as he said.

I was silent. Angry and sad at the same time.

He touched me, gently moving his hands around my body and sniffing as he called out "my wife"

I shoved him off as I cried "let me be"

He didn't stop, he held me by my neck tightly as he turned my head to his direction, forcing a kiss on my lips, I struggled to break out,but got myself injured as he bit my lips.

"You don't always have to be stubborn Lila. We were made for each other, you just have to accept that fact" he stated and moved away from me.

I said nothing, and for the rest of the journey home, we said nothing.

He is rich, really rich. As we drove by I looked at the houses built in this part of the country where he resides.

Everything screams wealth, from the cars that shared the road, to the magnificent houses that stood tall and beautiful.

Peter never really suffered as a kid. He had everything he needed and now, he runs one of his father's company as the CEO.

Peter is my husband now. As we stepped into his apartment, he shoved his wealth at me, giving me a tour of his apartment

"We'll be staying in the same room,so bring in your bags to my bedroom" He called out as he moved towards the bedroom.

I couldn't move, I was stuck and before anything, I started crying.

"My whole life is about to end" I thought

Reality was setting in now and sadness overwhelmed me.

"What are you doing standing there?" Peter asked, raising a brow

"Nothing" I replied sharply as I wiped my eyes.

"Then come on, it's going to be a long night" Peter replied and continued moving.

I followed gently behind Peter, fixing my gaze on nothing in particular.

"Welcome to where you deserve to be" Peter said smiling at me.

He walked slowly towards me and placed his hands on my shoulders.

"Here, when I say bend, you bend. When I say squat, you squat. When I say stand,you stand. You do everything I say here" He said with a commanding tone.

"Can I survive this?" I questioned myself as I broke down in tears.

Peter drew me close to himself and cleaned my tears with his thumb, then gently he placed my head on his chest and wrapped his hands around me .

"Sheesh, don't cry princess" he said scornfully.

"This can work, you should...." He was cut short by the loud ring of my phone.

As I reached for my phone, he held my hand back and collected my phone.

Peering into the phone, he seemed to be dissatisfied by who the caller was.

Out of fury, he smashed my phone.

"What did you do that for?" I asked surprised.

He pushed me away and turned around, pacing .

As I bent to pick my phone, he came running to where I was and grabbed the phone from the ground.

"Oh Peter! Don't be crazy. Give me my phone" I said angry as I moved towards him.

"I want you to delete Jerry's number and never speak to him again" Peter said with fury.

" I can't do that. I still love...."

Before I could finish my statement,he slapped me and pushed me to the floor.

"You're my wife now. And in this room, you do whatever I say" Peter yelled and walked out leaving me on the floor with tears dropping down my cheeks.

Peter never returned to the room that night. It was cold and I felt so uneasy. I didn't want him to be there with me particularly, but I needed someone, anyone to share the room with me.

I curled myself up on the bed, covering myself with the very thick duvet as though I wanted to squeeze out every iota of cold.

My heart raced, and I couldn't block the thoughts that kept flooding in.

"How do I forget about my one true love, Jerry?" I thought.

Jerry and I have been together for 2 years, and I have grown so attached to him.

I can't forget him. I love him. I adore him.

We made plans together.

He had to be out of town for a business trip for two months, and then here I am married to someone else.

"Oh poor Jerry" that was the last thing I said before I drifted into sleep.

I woke up to the piercing eyes of Peter directly on me. He was well dressed in a suit and a tie as though he was going for a very important occasion

I shifted quickly, jumping out of bed.

"Good morning" I said while looking down at my toes and peeling off my finger nails.

"Trust you slept well princess" he said looking at me as though he searched for the answer from my facial expression.

"I did, thanks" I said without raising my head to look at him.

"Good. Clean up and get dressed. I have a meeting and you're coming with me. And please wear something classy" he said squeezing his face.

"Okay, I will" I said as I moved quickly to the bathroom.

I haven't been so scared of anyone in my life as I was of Peter right now.

There's this repulsive force I feel when I'm with him. His voice sends painful chills down my spine giving me a spasm.

As I washed up in the bathroom, I prayed silently

"Dear God, please let all this go away. Wake me up from this dream, please God" .

God didn't seem to hear me or maybe I wasn't the kind of person God would associate with.

I stepped out of the bathroom to see Peter sitting on the bed.

"Why?" I thought

"I would like to change into my clothes,can you please excuse me?" I asked with a shaky voice, uncertain of what his response or reaction would be.

"Excuse me, I should leave the room?" He asked.

Without waiting for my response, he added

"You're my wife and I don't see a reason why I can't see your body"

He started moving towards me, as he got to where I was, he took off the towel from my body.

And for few minutes,he stood staring at me as though he had never seen a woman naked before.

"Hurry up. Get dressed" he said finally as he returned to sit on the bed.

I searched through the wardrobe until I found something.

A red gown with little roses at the breast region. It had a very long slit that exposed most part of my thighs. It had a perfect fit on me, exposing my cleavages and giving me a perfect figure.

Peter seemed to love this outfit, but he said nothing. He simply just threw glances at me as I did my makeup.

"I'm done" I said turning to look at him.

For the first time since last night, I looked him in the eye. I could see the admiration in his eyes, but there was something else.

I couldn't quite decipher at the moment what it was, but it was pretty obvious by the end of the day what it was.

"Beautiful, now let's go" he said

I was reluctant at first, but on a second thought, I followed him.

"Don't worry about breakfast, we'd be served at the meeting " he said as we stepped into one of his cars.

For a young man, he had a lot of cars. I was impressed. I couldn't help but admire him.

I still don't like him, I just admired his wealth.

"Good morning sir. Good morning ma, can I move now??" The driver asked.

"Morning Chris, sure move the car please " Peter responded.

As we drove, I couldn't help but notice that Chris was constantly staring at me. I couldn't understand why.

"He is a young man after all, he probably just admires the wife of his boss" I thought.

I brushed off the thought and focused my gaze on the beautiful things I saw on the road as we drove by.

"Chris can you make a diversion here? I need to pick up something at the mart" Peter said.

"Yes sir" Chris responded and diverted.

We got to the mart, and Chris pulled up. Peter stepped out of the car, without saying a word to me or Chris.

As we waited, I noticed again that Chris was staring at me. This time I stared back, not shifting my gaze.

As I stared at him, I noticed all the beautiful features on his face. His perfect nose, his well carved eyebrows and well trimmed hair.

"You're really beautiful " Chris said at last after what seemed like a lifetime of stares.

I said nothing, I just stared at him unsure of how to respond.

"Do you love him?" He asked again this time, I could sense the concern in his voice.

I raised a brow as I stared at him. At that point, I felt the tears coming.

Before I could stop it, it dropped. Immediately,I wiped it off and shifted my gaze to the glass window the car staring into blank space.

Peter came almost immediately, and the journey continued.

At the meeting, everyone looked sophisticated. I figured that was why Peter wanted me to dress classy.

I knew nothing about what was being discussed, but I sat still as the wife of the CEO.

At the end of the meeting, there were so many meets and greets. Everyone was smiling at each other and probably me, I was unsure.

"Hello I'm Clara" someone walked up to me with a very beautiful and wide smile.

Before I could respond, Peter stepped in.

"Hi Clara, you've met my wife, Lila. I'm so sorry she can't spend a little more time with you, we have to leave for other engagements" Peter said hastily as he dragged me away.

I turned back to look at Clara as he dragged me away. She had this very mean look on her face.

We stopped to greet few other people. I sighted Chris from a distance speaking with Clara. They seemed to be discussing about Peter and I.

"I need to ease myself" I said breaking off from Peter's hold.

I hurried to the convenience wishing and hoping that Clara would come after me.

Clara didn't come for me, so I got tired of waiting and stepped out.

As I opened the door, I saw Clara outside, hands akimbo. She said nothing to me .

"Hi Clara" I called.

She brought out her card and handed it over to me

"There are so many things you don't know about your husband and I'm willing to share with you " she said as she laughed.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Call me" she replied. And just then, Peter showed up.

He seemed really displeased, so I hid the card that Clara gave me. He walked towards us and dragged me away from Clara.

I could sense that what Clara had to tell me was really important and tense.

"To the car now!" Peter yelled.

I obeyed and scurried away.

Through the ride home, Peter said nothing to me, he just looked away most of the times.

"What could be so wrong?" I wondered.

I was determined to call Clara to find out.