The Arranged Marriage: Breaking Secrets

"Quinn, darling," Olivia sighed. She was more focused on herself in her hand-held mirror, applying lipstick. She lay across the sofa, making sure there was no room for anyone else to sit. Quinn stood in front of her mother and father, tears running down her face. 'This cannot be happening!' Quinn thought to herself.

Her father, Ben Astor, sat next to Olivia in his fancy, antique chair, staring at the T.V. He had a crystal glass with whiskey in one hand, and a cigar in the other. He looked over at his daughter, his glasses at the end of his nose. He took a long drag of the cigar, letting it out with one big huff.

"Quinn," Ben coughed. "We are doing this for your own good," he continued, before he said under his breath, "And for the company, and your mother's selfishness with money." His gaze went back to the T.V., leaving the rest of the conversation between Olivia and her.

Olivia finally smacked her lips, snapping the mirror shut with her hand. She then turned her head towards Quinn. To her, her daughter in front of her was a pathetic sight to see. She scoffed at the sight.

"Darling, you must marry Jake Lannister. He is a good-" Olivia stopped herself, midsentence. She was trying to think of things to say that was good that they had heard about Jake Lannister. The Lannister's were one of the most powerful and richest families in the city, Sisco.

"Mom, Dad, please! I just graduated from college! I want to live my own life, find my own relationships, make friends!" Quinn pleaded with her parents, hoping that somehow, they can try and support her, for once. "I haven't even got to get into a career yet."

Olivia's gaze was as if she was bored with the conversation. She then whipped her hand up in the air and tilted her head away.

"No matter, you are getting married at the end of the week and that is final!" She then gave a side look towards Quinn and smiled.

"Tell me why!" Quinn yelled. She already knew why, she just wanted to hear it from them and if they told the truth. Quinn felt that she was being targeted, like always. Her parents never liked Quinn at all. They loathed the day that they had her. Quinn's brother, Lucas, was the favorite of the family. He was all the Astor family wanted; a handsome, smart man, who was next in line in becoming the CEO of the Astor's company. Olivia and Ben only wanted one child; however, Olivia became pregnant with Quinn, and they hated the day since. They felt that she would take too much pride and joy away from their son, Lucas. Quinn has always been tossed aside, and never given the love and affection that her brother did.

Olivia glared at Quinn, wondering why she would ask a stupid question. Ben finally looked over at Quinn again, taking a gulp of his whiskey.

"Quinn, they are wanting to help us with our company. In exchange, they wanted you to marry their youngest son, who has yet to marry." Ben spoke, sternly. "And also, because your mother wants and needs more money." He burped out as his gaze went back to the T.V. once more. He took another drag of the cigar, ashes falling on top of his big, round belly.

Olivia looked over at her husband in disgust. They never loved each other, either. Their marriage was also an arranged marriage.

"Darling, it is better this way, it will be good for you!" Olivia clasped her hands together as she looked over at Quinn. When she realized that Quinn wasn't going to change her mood about it, her smile turned into a stern look.

"Obviously, your father or I didn't raise you right, and you have forgotten that we are noble, powerful, and rich families who tend to make arranged marriages, more so than you go off and marrying some lowlife." Olivia finally cut the crap with her innocence.

"Jake Lannister is no better than a lowlife, from what I hear. He's all tatted up, has no stable job, and he lives in the shittiest part of Sisco." Lucas chipped in, walking into the room, and passing Quinn. He gave her a shriveled smirk. "But that sounds like its perfect for Quinn!"

Lucas wore his leisurely business suit, his brown hair was slicked back, and he wore a luxury watch. As he walked into the living room, Olivia held her arms open to him, waiting for his embrace. He then sat down next to her, looking Quinn up and down.

"Why am I being married off before Luke!?" Quinn became furious, with the realization that he hadn't found a suitable bride yet. Besides that, he was the older one of the family!

Ben rolled his eyes before setting them on Quinn.

"We haven't found a suiter who can benefit the company, whereas we have with the Lannister's, but they only have sons." Ben said, irritated at this point. "I don't want to hear it anymore, you're getting married, and that is final!" He then banged his fist against the tea table next to his chair. Quinn didn't flinch, she just stood her ground before leaving towards her room.

"You're gonna love being married to the lowlife!" Lucas yelled behind her, laughing with Olivia.

Quinn hid in her room. Her sight was blurry from her tears, yet headed into the bathroom. When she saw her reflection, she began to criticize and hate herself. It was no stranger to her, the feeling of self-hatred and disgust. Even though she was very thin and petite, she saw herself as fat. In reality, she is beyond words for beauty. She never needed makeup, yet she can't stand her own reflection.

Feeling disgusted with herself, she pulled the razor out of the top drawer next to her sink. She stood there and watched as the blade swiped across her wrists. Blood trickled into the sink. A few slashes more before she sat down on the bathroom floor, letting go of the razor. She steadied her breathing, hoping to calm herself down. She didn't care if the blood got in her long, black hair that draped around herself.

She began to try and look at any bright sides. But she couldn't think of any.

Quinn woke up, her head feeling groggy. She looked at her surroundings and found that she had fallen asleep on the bathroom floor. The blood from her cuts led to small puddles on the ground, all dried up. She quickly grabbed her phone out of her pant pocket to check the time. It was 2am.

Relaxing for a moment, realizing that it wasn't morning yet and that she didn't have to deal with Olivia nagging her to get ready for the wedding. Quinn remembered that Olivia told her the schedule for the next few days before then. Olivia wanted to take her dress shopping the following morning.

Seeing that Quinn had time, she got off the floor and wrapped her cuts with bandages. She then proceeded into her room, turning off her bathroom lights. She didn't care to clean up the blood that had dripped everywhere.

Quinn changed her clothes into gym clothes. Sneaking into the villa's gym, she began to work out and start practicing her punches on the punching bag.

To Quinn, depression was an old friend. She knew how to cope with it well on her own. With no one else left to turn to in her life, she had to rely on herself to get through in life. Her biggest coping skill was working out and learning self-defense. Every day in college, she would hit the gym early in the mornings, before anyone else had shown up. Once people started coming was when Quinn would take her leave. She didn't want others to know that she was good at being active in this way.

A few hours had passed before Quinn called it quits before heading back to her private bathroom and taking a long shower.

Once she was out, she looked at the time on her phone once again; 5:53am. Olivia will be coming to get Quinn in less than 3 hours.

Her body began to feel drained again, she dried off her silky, black hair before stumbling into her bed, drifting into a deep sleep.

*** *** ***

"Quinn, dear," Olivia's innocent voice was showing this morning. She was the most excited about this wedding. She didn't care about her daughter or what she would end up like, she just wanted the money that was coming from Jake's family afterwards.

"I'm waiting to see this dress!" Olivia continued to chirp. The fitters were working hard on getting the gown to fit Quinn's slim, yet curvy body. Almost all of the dresses that were at the store would have to be altered to even fit Quinn without falling off of her.

Quinn felt her breathing become labored, as they tightened the lace on the back of the current gown, making it like it was a corset. When they finished the fitting, Quinn walked out of the private fitting room and towards her mother, who was lounging on a sofa.

Olivia looked up, noticing that even though her daughter was one of the purest beauties, she never admitted it, nor cared to tell Quinn. She examined the dress. It was a strapless dress that flowed down to a mermaid flail. Critiqued lace designs were throughout the dress, and a silk lace and corset was built into the top.

After looking it over, Olivia went back to looking at her nails before saying, "It would look better if you didn't make yourself look like a wounded dog with your cuts and scars. What is your new husband going to think if he see's that on your wedding day?" She motioned with her hand towards the cuts on Quinn's wrists. To which Quinn lowered her head.

Seeing this, Olivia stood up and walked over to her daughter. She lifted Quinn's arm, revealing all of the scars that were made on her skin from the previous night. She looked at her in shame and disgust.

"What is this, a pathetic cry for help because you're getting married? Get over yourself, Quinn! You are a part of a noble family! You should be acting like one, not acting like an attention whore!" Olivia yelled at her, before taking a couple of deep breaths and calming herself before making herself look like a fool in public. Before turning around to sit back down on the couch, she released Quinn's wrist.

"Have you ever considered its because of you and dad and Luke? Have you ever thought that maybe you all are the problem, why I was diagnosed with severe depression? Or how about the fact that my own family doesn't treat me like a human being, and that I got the short end of the fucking stick all my life?" Quinn began to become frustrated. She didn't care if it was a scene in public that Olivia was worried about. She wanted to know why her own family never loved her.

Olivia stopped in her tracks. She looked over her shoulder, coldly at Quinn.

"You want to know why?" Olivia hissed between her teeth. "It's because I couldn't get an abortion and get rid of you, no! Noble ladies deal with the consequences dealt to us," she then started walking slowly towards Quinn. "I wanted just one child! I wanted to be able to watch him grow and give him the world. He was the true heir of the Astor family! Then one stupid fucking night your father got too drunk and- "

Olivia trailed off, remembering that night. Ben had come home after going to the bar with his colleagues. He reeked of the smell of booze and whores. But the ladies he had already spent the night with weren't enough. That night, Olivia was forced by Ben. That was the last night that they had ever slept together. Ever since then, they had been more miserable together than ever. This was one of the known traits of the Astor family: they cheat and can't stay away from sleeping around.

Quinn stared at the ground. Her mother's words wound her more than ever. She had finally found out that she was and always will be the unwanted child.

"I want to cut all ties after the marriage."

"I want to cut all ties after the marriage," Quinn said to Olivia, almost in a hushed voice.

Hearing this, Olivia could no longer hold back her rage, slapping her across the face. However, Quinn didn't even flinch. The cold expression upon Quinn's face began to scare Olivia. How was she so calm and relaxed after a slap in the face? In Olivia's eyes, she was weak, until now.

"How dare you say that after all- "Olivia began to threaten Quinn, only to be interrupted.

"Cut the crap, you nor dad have ever done anything for me! I'll accept this marriage, but only because it is my way out of this fucked up family!" Quinn began to yell. She couldn't hold back her pain any longer. "I am tired of living a life, wondering when I will ever be good enough for my parents. I went to college, I got a degree, a week after my graduation, I was sent to return home to this!" Quinn's eyes began to fill with tears, she then continued between sobs, "I just wanted a family. But it can not be with the Astor's anymore..."

Olivia looked at her daughter, for once showing some kind of gratitude and affection towards her. But that all faded away within seconds. She shook her head towards Quinn as she turned and started pacing back and forth. Although it would be nice to have no connection with Quinn, the money and company alliance that was part of the wedding may not happen and could bring down the Astor's business.

She stopped a couple feet away from Quinn, looking her up and down.

"We can't do that, this marriage is important on the alliance and the company. Your father and brother would never not allow you to get married." Olivia explained, no longer showing her dazed and caring act. She walked around Quinn, looking at the dress she was wearing. "I think this dress is wonderful. It shows off your pathetic scars and cuts anyways," she said as she slapped Quinn's wrists. Again, there was no reaction from her.

*** *** ***

The Astor family all walked into the church. They were the first and only ones there so far. No other guests had shown.

Quinn wore the dress that Olivia had chosen at the dress shop. Her long, black hair was in a loose braid, leaving some strands to come loose into curls. Her make-up was lightly done as well. Truly, even her family knew that she looked stunning and beautiful.

She looked around the church, her eyes landing on the altar before them. In less than an hour, she was getting married. However, with no one else there, the family began to wonder when and if there was a wedding.

"Where are the Lannister's? They should have been here by now," Lucas said, glancing at his watch on his wrist. Olivia and Ben both replied with a grunt or huff.

"Everyone knows how the Lannister's are. They show up when they please and do as they please. Plus, we barely know anything about this 'Jake Lannister' besides that he is a lowlife." Olivia said, looking at herself in her mirror. She was right, the Lannister's almost hardly acknowledged much of Jake towards others. The Astor family has never met the children of the Lannister's.

After waiting for a few minutes, the doors abruptly opened, shining sunlight in. Only the shadows and shapes of figures were seen through the light. Quinn squinted curiously towards the two people, trying to see who and what they looked like, until finally she was able to.

A tall, muscular man and a beautiful woman stood before them. The man wore a black tux, showing off his muscular body and figure. His hair was long, but slicked back, and dark, blue eyes that looked like deep oceans. The woman next to him had short, wavy hair and wore a bright purple dress that had a small train behind her. Her bright, blue eyes shined in excitement and joy. She seemed to be excited.

Quinn had a feeling that the man standing in front of her was Jake Lannister. Her gaze was looking him up and down, admiring his stunning looks.

"Hello," the woman began to say. "My name is Lila Lannister; I am Jake's half-sister!" Lila introduced herself excitedly, as if she was the most joyful woman in the room. Olivia and Ben looked at the woman in astonishment.

"Half-sister?" Olivia began to question, "Where is Mrs. and Mr. Lannister?" She was worried that Lannister's end of the deal wouldn't happen!

Lila looked at her and laughed.

"They won't be here," Jake spoke up. His voice was deep, yet gentle. "I'm sorry that we were late, I had to pick up Lila before coming." Quinn's gazed was fixed on Jake, while the rest of the Astor's were looking at each other, confused.

"But they were supposed to be here too- "Lucas began to say before being cut off.

"I don't care about the business you have between my parents. You all can do that on your own time, not on my wedding day." Jake sternly said to the three of them. His eyes filled with disgust towards them. He began to understand that these people were greedy, just as expected.

His gaze softened as he turned towards Quinn who was in her beautiful, white wedding dress. Her long, black hair stunning to him, as he looked at her up and down as well. Yet, Jakes eyes suddenly fixed on the cuts on her wrists. They were almost unnoticeable at first because Quinn held her uncovered arms close to herself. She looked scared, yet confident.

Quinn noticed his gaze towards her wrists and quickly hid them behind herself, lowering her head in disappointment. This was Olivia's plan all along was to make her feel this way. She wanted to make sure that Quinn was unwanted everywhere.

Jake instantly went to Quinn and gently grabbed her hands from behind her and looked at the scars. He saw that there were the recent ones, and scars from many, many previous times. His gaze saddened as he wondered why she had done so to herself. Jake looked up at Quinn's eyes, seeing how beautiful and innocent they were. Jake felt that Quinn was completely different from her parents.

He then gestured toward the altar and said, "Shall we?" Holding Jake's arm, she nodded as they began to walk. The rest of them followed towards their seats. Lila sat from the opposite side of the isle as the rest of the Astor's. She wasn't interested in meeting or getting to know them. She was here to support her brother, one of the most important people in her life.

As they exchanged vows, Quinn would look up at Jake, still in a daze. She couldn't help noticing how much taller he was compared to her, as she looked over his handsome figures. He had a neatly groomed, short beard. Even though his eyes were daunting in any other direction that he looked, his gaze had softened for Quinn when he looked to her. Once vows were said and they said their "I do's," Jake gently lifted Quinn's head for the kiss, brushing her lips before they met. Her entire body stiffened, yet quivered. This was her very first kiss.