Obligated wife

"I'll go get some flowers to make you look pretty," commented Emma, her best friend.

She nodded, leaving her alone. The only company at that moment, her reflection, looked at her with a beaming smile. She smiled. A message on her phone breaks her concentration. Looking down, she picks it up. It was resting solitarily on a low table.

As soon as she felt the coolness of the screen, her fingers slid nimbly over it. She opened her eyes in surprise, it was a message from the lab.

She had been feeling unwell for the past few weeks. She had visited the doctor, wanting to know her present malaise.

As she opened the mail her heart raced in a hurry. An hour slipped from her forehead. He had not expected the diagnosis. The word "cancer" was the first thing his eyes noticed.

She didn't believe what she was reading.

"It can't be... it can't be," she said over and over. Tears came down.

She felt a hand on her mouth. She was in no mood for jokes. Surely her friend was. As soon as she wanted to remove it, believing it was Emma, she couldn't do it.

Next to her eyebrows, confused. She wanted to say something, but the words couldn't come out of her mouth. It was imprisoned against her hand.

She tried to remove it again and again. To no avail. She couldn't move it an inch.

"You will come with me, Miss Alma."

She did not understand; she had never heard that voice in her life, thick and deep.

She was now really frightened, and worst of all, sad. When she was able to free herself, she looked over her shoulder and saw a man. He was wearing large sunglasses and an impeccable suit.

"Who are you? "she asked doubtfully.

"Who I am need not concern you... but you must come with me. "

"I don't know you! And I wouldn't... I wouldn't go with you... Why would I...? "she asked more confused than ever.

"You have to."

"I won't do it," she commented with a frown.

The guy gave a chuckle, and took her hand. She could not utter a word. As they left the room, two more men were waiting for them.

She wanted to say something, but they covered her mouth with tape.

"Mmm...!"

They forced her to slip away, escaped through the back door. She didn't want to do it, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of the groom in the distance. Adrian, wearing a beaming smile. He was waiting for her and she was unwillingly running away on her wedding day.

They got into a vehicle, at least they hadn't blocked her view, but she reluctantly sat down on a black leather seat.

"Relax, you'll understand everything when we get there. "

She couldn't respond because of the tape. As they began to accelerate, it was removed from her mouth.

"It hurts! "she protested.

"If you hadn't stood still, I wouldn't have done it," said the guy.

"You're kidnapping me, do you want me to thank you? "he asked in an ironic tone.

"Maybe you didn't want to get married," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

She rolled her eyes. Not believing the cynicism.

Not knowing the time, her sight but remained impregnated in the window. She bit her lips again and again, trying to think who might have wanted to kidnap her.

"Some business of my father's?"

Slowly, a large field grew larger. The car stopped. They parked in front of an abandoned gate.

"What is this? " asked a little uncomfortably.

"You'll see, it's just an exterior facade," her kidnapper said.

She nodded, not very convinced. Little by little they entered a rather abandoned road, it was even a little difficult to move forward.

Many potholes. Even weeds thrown on the ground. It had not been maintained for a long time, but after 15 minutes of slow driving, she was surprised.

A huge mansion, appeared in his sight. Not only that. A leafy park, without any brown space. Unlike the sad sight she had seen before.

The vehicle parked, and she got out in surprise.

Her parents were rich, but as soon as her dad passed away, he had left a million"dollar debt and on top of that, he had married a lowly person.

Or tried to.

Not knowing the method to settle the inherited debts. She advanced, being pushed by the subjects.

She entered and was greeted by a slightly plump lady.

"I am Maria, a pleasure to receive you, I was wondering if you would like to take a shower."

"No... I don't want that. I want to know what I'm doing here, and why I'm being dragged here on my wedding day."

"Everything has an explanation, Miss. Save that behavior; it will be worse for you," Maria murmured, holding her hand.

Something in her conveyed confidence to Alma, but she took a step away from Alma, still distrustful.

Maria lowered her head a little sadly. She was not pleased with her boss's decision.

Alma had to walk towards the stairs and she had to do the same. Not of her own free will. Those bouncers were still behind her, stalking her.

Alma rolled her eyes, incredulous at the men's insistence.

Her feet touched each step. The men, stood at the bottom of the stairs. Alma was inwardly grateful.

Alma had to deal with the kidnapping. The uncertainty of the incoming mail and her thoughts were spinning over and over again.

She bit her lips, and her eyes filled with tears as she reached the room.

It was an exact replica, to her previous room. Every single piece of furniture was white with pale pink handles.

The bed, had a canopy, hanging over a warm white capitone back; even the coverlet was the same, she was so surprised she was speechless.

"The master, he thought it all out. He's a very good person, he has nothing to be afraid of."

"This... is incredible," she commented stammering, unable to believe the wonder of the place.

"It is, please rest, when he arrives he will give you all the explanations you want."

Alma nodded. She was not entirely convinced. Her doubts were affirmed, holding the golden knob, she did not give in.

"He left me locked up... Damn it!"

She rolled her eyes, guessing she would be left locked up. She turned on her heels. She gently caressed the mattress. So comfortable. Unlike the thin corner where she slept.

A tapping woke her. Without realizing it, she fell asleep. Her torso on top of the right edge, she was about to fall.

She was still in the same wedding dress, and her hair was now disheveled.

She ran to the door, meeting the most attractive man she had ever seen in her life.

He was tall, chin lifted, lips parted, detonating her surprise.

Warm, fire"colored eyes looked at her without a hint of curiosity. He had a very elegant nose tip, even his square jaw, he was powerful. His hair, a coppery blond.

"In the sun it would look orange?"

His muscles. They were even noticeable under that blue"colored suit.

She couldn't tell, she'd never seen such a beautiful man in all her life.

Would he be just another bodyguard?

"Hi, I'm Esteban," he commented, lowering his eyes, and she looked at him curiously.

"Is this for real? "she asked, not knowing what to say.

"Of course, although... I don't know what you mean, what else couldn't I really do?"

"It's just that... I can't believe you're actually here. I don't even know what to say."

"Be quiet."

She smiled.

"I'm..."

"I'm not interested in your opinion. The only thing I wanted to tell you... "He mentioned and Alma's smile disappeared, "You have to deliver lunch, breakfast obviously, and dinner. You have to do it with me, not alone. I'm not interested in your spoiled girl attitude.

"I..."

"I know what you've had so far.

"I'm sorry. I'm not a spoiled child," she said angrily.

She folded her arms, and looked at him defiantly.

The guy ignored her and turned away.

"Wait... I want to know what I'm doing here," she commented as she followed him, dragging her feet.

"You don't even know how to walk, why should I try to explain anything to you? "he asked without turning around.

"I can walk, I'm barefoot! "she exclaimed.

"You look like a baby crawling," she said.

" Hey, please tell me an explanation."

Esteban locked himself in an office, and she followed him.

"I didn't give you permission to enter! "She commented without looking up, as she dropped her body.

"I... want explanations," Alma protested.

He had found courage, she didn't know she had any.

"You're just my wife and that's it.... Anything else? "she commented.

"I don't know you! I never married you, and..."

"We've been married since you were a child," he suddenly mentioned and she felt her heartbeat pounding in her throat.

"What the hell are you talking about? That's nonsense and impossible," I exclaimed.

"When you have money it's not impossible," he said and this time he looked up.

As soon as she saw his eyes, she recognized him. Those fire"colored eyes, she had seen them before when she was a little girl.

She was playing with a boy, about her age. They both liked to run around the park, while their parents talked about things they didn't understand.

She took a step back, exasperated.

So she had always been married to him, but.... Why had her father never said anything to her?

"Well... I want a divorce," she commented, turning away.

"You can't, we're officially married now."

"Well... I want a divorce," he exclaimed again, as he shrugged his shoulders.

"All right, if you divorce me, I'll take the last of what you have left."

Slma opened her eyes like saucers, she had paid every single debt by selling even her own branded clothes, so as not to lose the most precious thing she had:

A small house, she grew up with her parents, they were not rich before. Rather they were lower class, but his father had had an incredible invention, he had led them to fame and later to wealth.

That home had always been her love nest, her parents were good to her, when her mother passed away; her last days of life were in that little house.

There she had grown soul.

Her eyes filled with tears, and with pain, she nodded and simply disappeared from the room.

She did not want to lose the last memory she had of her parents, and of her happy home.

Although anyone would tell her, it was only a house.

For souls, it was a place full of memories. She liked to visit that place, on her vacations. Losing herself for hours in a small lake.

It was the last thing he had left, and despite that, it was very dilapidated.

It needed too many repairs to be able to live there. Since his father had been left without his mother, he had become so depressed that he had not repaired it.

Alma had been left penniless, it was her favorite place.

She made her way to her room. She sank to her knees, cursing her bad luck. She began to hit the mattress again and again, closed her eyes.

He stopped. In his chest, a pain was born, strong. Too much. He closed his eyes, his body dropped to the carpet.

She was covered by a blanket, and confused she wondered:

"Hadn't I slept on the floor, I...?"

She decided to ignore that. Alma stood up.

She slipped on a pair of new slippers, placed at the side of her bed. She kept walking, little by little until she finally made it down the long hallway.Narrow.

He could even swear, he was not going any further. He had been awakened by the sound of bells. It sounded like she was in a church, she carefully descended each step.

She was now dressed as a bride, but the dress was slim in fact it was the cheapest thing she had gotten, and it was also comfortable.

Esteban was sitting at the large end of the table. He stood up as soon as he saw her; to her surprise he took her hand gently and moved her chair.

"Thank you, are you nice now? "he asked.

"I'm always nice," he said and stepped back, "It's just that your presence doesn't help," he commented.

She wrinkled her eyebrows.

"If you hate me so much.... You can give me a divorce," he proposed.

"I won't give you that bit of happiness; I'm not happy that you were chosen as my wife either. You are not for me, you are little," he commented as he began to drink his soup.

"And what about you? You're just an egocentric millionaire who...."

"If you want to continue, but that nice room I prepared for you, I'll burn it," he said looking her straight in the eyes.

Alma felt fear for the first time. With her head down, she continued eating. She squeezed the spoon hard, felt a slight burning in her palm.

She had cut herself, but disguised it perfectly.

When her plate was empty, she carefully removed it in front of her.

Esteban watched her wince and approached. Alma, feeling his presence close, stood up. She turned around, something stopped her.

He held her palm, wrapped with a white silk handkerchief.

"I don't know... what you're doing."

"I don't want you to stain the carpet," he commented and simply disappeared from her sight.

Alma protested, but he didn't hear her.

"He's a bastard, cynical and annoying!" she said as she climbed each step of the stairs.

In spite of that, all she wanted at that moment was to get out of sight of that guy, and to think that maybe at some point in her life, she would be able to make him disappear.

As she reached her room, her heart felt broken, not only because she was in an unknown place, but also because she didn't know what to do.

Chapter 3

The next day, he gets word that the boss had left for work. The house, it's so big. She is afraid of getting lost.

Maria, she brought her breakfast. Even lunch but her appetite did not wake up.

She felt that if she drank a glass of water, it would soon be dissolved in some toilet.

She thought, "Surely... It's nerves."

When she went outside, no one stopped her. This time she did have on a more comfortable dress, had bathed, and changed. Her new husband had bought a whole store for her alone. Expensive, colorful clothes, scattered all over the furniture.

It was so strange, such soft fabric on her skin. She didn't deserve it. She felt a little guilty about being comfortable. It had been a long time since she'd had that kind of luxury, let alone been at ease.

The last few months: she had been surrounded by debt, incessant phone calls. A lot of stress, and nerves that never ended.

For the first time, she felt calm, august in one place.

She looks wistfully outside, realizing, possibly, she had a lot to think about.

Her heart beat sadly. Partly, she wanted to go back to her husband, her ex"fiancé rather. She stood up, and started to run, without looking back.

She heard some guards shouting:

"Stop!" they ordered in the distance.

Alma felt a slight burning on the soles of her feet. She put on her slippers, held them in her hands, and continued to move through the dry leaves of the forest.

She had not planned to escape, the absence of provisions denoted it. He had carried nothing, but as soon as he quickened his pace, his feet did not stop for an instant.

"I can... I can... I can," he encouraged himself, jumping over a rather thick log.

He did not know his destination. He wanted to get somewhere, anywhere. As he moved forward, he stumbled into some brush.

"Damn it!"

Her sight shifted to the south, realizing: her kidnappers were far enough away.

Relieved, she moved forward, but she couldn't make it.

In front of her, a black panther gazed down at her. His back so large, his feet and muscles showed greatness.

Soul's eyes opened wide. The creature was with two cubs. She took a step back, and the panther growled at her.

"Relax, I'll leave and you won't remember me," he said as he continued to take nervous steps backward.

The panther watched her precarious movements. It didn't seem to want to listen to her. Despite the way he spoke to her, she didn't budge. His growls were fiercer.

"Please..., don't eat me," he said and the panther growled again.

"Really, I'm not very appetizing," he repeated.

The animal ignored her.

"Please don't eat me! I don't have good meat for you to eat, it might make your children sick, I have cancer," she said amused, but this time the panther growled louder.

Frightened, she started to run. She turned her head backwards, not seeing that ahead there was a cliff.

She fell face first to the ground, and began to hit herself again and again, with the dirt in her path.

Finally he hit his head on something, and was knocked unconscious.

He felt cold.

Strangely, she could feel the sting of something. Alarmed, she sat up suddenly.

A great dizziness came over her, she rubbed her eyes. She was not in her usual comfortable bed.

Paying attention to her surroundings, there was no sun. It was quite dark. Luckily he had his phone.

He turned on the flashlight. She couldn't see anything, and it dawned on her: her dress was torn pretty badly.

She walked, not knowing where to go. A road appeared in front of her eyes. With a smile, she started walking, and a vehicle stopped behind her.

Alarmed, she wanted to run away but realized it was a rather old lady.

"Hello, girl, how are you?" she asked worriedly.

"Yes, I just want to go to the city, can you take me there?"

"Sure, come on!"