Chapter 5 : Eunice

• Mom went inside my room the next morning. No one bothered me the whole night and I liked it. I actually wished daytime would never come because I don’t want to be reminded of the nightmare that dinner caused me.
• “Eunice, let’s talk,” she said as I was still wrapped around my blankets.
• I don’t want to talk. I can’t do what they want me to do. I can’t do it. Why do they want me to do it?
• I wasn’t a rebel child.
• I was an obedient daughter, as a matter of fact.
• So why are they doing this to me?
• “Eunice…” Mom’s voice was soft. I know she’s trying to comfort me right now. She stroke my shoulder and I sighed, defeated.
• “Mom…” I said in a raspy voice. “I don’t want to get married.”
• I would definitely reconsider if the man’s not that arrogant. But he’s not. He’s the most arrogant man I’ve known.
• And I know a lot of arrogant men in the underground.
• “Eunice,” Mom was already almost on her pleading voice. “Please get up and we’ll talk.”
• I shut my eyes and slowly sat up from the bed.
• My head is aching and I’m a little dizzy. Last night, the girls and I got drunk to the point that Mitch couldn’t even walk back to her car. We were all drunk and wasted that we had to stay in until we were sober enough to get out.
• Mom looked at me with her worried eyes. She’s not dense. I know she knew that I was out to drink because of the merger.
• “I’m sorry, Eunice,” she said in a soft voice as she caressed my hair.
• I took a deep breath. “Why do I have to get married, Mom? Do we badly need their company?” Bitterness dripped inside my throat as I spat those words.
• I’m sure we’re not leaning to bankruptcy. I’m sure our business is going well. So I don’t understand why we need to venture into a different business field when we’re doing fine on our own.
• Mom looked at me, sadness and anguish evident on her expression. She knows me well. She knows for certain that I don’t want to be dictated on how I run my life. And she supported how I wanted freedom. I’ve always appreciated how supportive she is to me—dad, too—so, I never thought they’d sell me like this.
• “Your father just wants everything for you,” she said.
• I chuckled weakly. “He wants me to have a husband.” I spat bitterly.
• “He wants to give you everything,” she added.
• I shook my head. “He wants to give me a husband,” I replied, looking at Mom. “He should have gotten someone with a better character, Mom.”
• Mom’s eyes widened. “Josiah is kind, Eunice. You should not judge someone you just met.”
• “Touché,” I said. “So, how’d you know he’s kind, Mom?”
• She narrowed her eyes at me. She knew I was already mocking her.
• Well, she’s unfair. She’s telling me not to judge someone I just met, but she did think that he’s kind without even knowing him. She can’t just say one thing and then contradict her statement the next second.
• “I know his family’s reputation,” she stated. “I’m pretty sure he’s raised in a nice environment.”
• I stared at her blankly. She’s already breaking what she just said. “Now, you’re the one judging.”
• “That’s complimenting based on given facts, Eunice. Judging is saying observations that are not really pleasant.”
• Now, I looked at her, confused and questioning.
• “Mom, judging is based on your observations. It’s the truth you believe.”
• “Or is it just the truth that you want to believe in?” she asked with her brows raised. “You can’t judge him badly if you haven’t known him.”
• “You don’t know him, too.” I said.
• “I know his family. I trust that they raised him with a good morale,” she retorted.
• I sighed and pursed my lips in a thin line—trying my hardest to no spat something that could anger my mother.
• Okay, so, she knows his family. And because of that, she thinks that he’s a person with a good morale.
• Morale.
• Big word.
• When I think about how he looked like someone who would kill everyone on his way, I almost get chills. It makes me think about all the gangsters I’ve seen…only, he’s worse. He’s more ruthless. He’s more imposing.
• I don’t know.
• Maybe, that’s why I can’t stand his presence. Maybe, that’s the reason why I keep saying that he’s cocky.
• “You should give it a try, Eunice. You will do it for me, right? For your father and I?” Mom asked in her very convincing voice, like I had no choice but to agree.
• I stared at her and saw how she’s so desperate for this to happen. She looked so helpless. She looked like this is a biggest decision she ever made in her whole life.
• I sighed and slowly nodded.
• Mom knows where to hit me. She knows I will not fail her and Dad. She knows I will not retaliate.
• She smiled and hugged me tight. “Thank you, Eunice. You don’t know how much this means to our family.”
• I stared at my hands and sighed.
• Family, Eunice. You’re doing this for this family.
• ~*~
• Mitch looked at me with a meaningful stare. Mona just stared at me like she knows something about me. Nanette was already laughing when I sat across her.
• We’re in the school cafeteria, waiting for our classes to begin. They all look normal now. There are no traces of our wasted night.
• “Looks like your mom has won you over, Eunice,” Mitch commented.
• I looked at her and sighed. “Is it that obvious?”
• They all nodded.
• “Well, even from afar, I can see you pouting,” Nanette laughed. “Not that it’s funny though…”
• I narrowed my eyes at her.
• “You’re going to marry him?” Mona asked as she looked at the direction of the double doors.
• I looked back and straightened when I saw Josiah and his friends entering the cafeteria.
• “They are handsome,” Mitch chimed.
• “Hot,” Nanette added.
• “I don’t think Josiah would agree to this marriage,” Mona said and I looked at her, questioning, but also hoping for it to be real because that’s the only card I have left. “I don’t think Eunice is his type.”
• I pursed my lips in a thin line and rolled my eyes at her. “Are you saying that I’m ugly?”
• Mona shrugged and then looked at Josiah again. “Don’t you think he’s kind of…imposing?”
• “Imposing? No, he’s…” Nanette thought for a moment. “…an alpha.”
• Mitch threw her a piece of her fries and Nanette threw it back to her. “He’s not a werewolf, Nan,” she spat.
• Nanette shook her head. “But he seems like it.”
• “He looks ruthless,” I commented and they all looked at me. I blinked. “What?”
• Mitch smirked. “You look like you’re going to fold for him.”
• I narrowed my eyes at her. “I’m not,” I replied as I looked at Josiah’s direction.
• Only this time, I was surprised because he’s also looking back at me.
• Anger filled my system the moment his eyes met mine. I clenched my fists and looked away to calm myself.
• “You’re intimidated,” Mona told me and I almost gritted my teeth.
• “I’m not intimidated…” I trailed. “I’m angry.”