The Billionaire's Unwanted Bride

Anna's POV

I didn't know when I slept off while crying last night. It is when I open my eyes to see it is morning already that I realize I didn't wake up throughout the night. I slept like a baby, even though my heart was aching from the revelation of last night. My heart is still aching.

I can't believe my father left us. My mom had always told me he was dead. He died in a car accident. Why is she saying something else now? Why did she lie to me all these years, making me feel unfortunate for not getting to meet my father?

I can barely remember what he looks like or anything about him other than the fact that I used to have a father figure in my life until he disappeared into thin air and I didn't ask of him until I began to see my mates in school talk about their father and see their fathers coming to pick them up from school.

Why did my father leave? What did mother do to him? Will he come back someday? Why does she want me to marry Aidan if it's not because of the money he has?

I can't find any answers because my mother has suddenly become unpredictable. I know she is telling the truth about letting my baby know who her father is but I am just being stubborn because of how arrogant Aidan is.

How can I marry a man like that? Besides, we don't love each other. We can't be staying in the same house as enemies. I won't let him use me the way he likes just because I want my baby to have a father.

I heard mom crying yesterday too. I feel bad for making her cry but I still don't want to be married to a man who doesn't love me. I know nothing of Aidan and I have no idea how I will be treated when I eventually become his wife.

A knock jerks me out of my thoughts. I know it must be my mother or Pamela. I don't intend to go to school today, I just want to stay in bed and think of my pathetic predicament before concluding. I know I have to be wise also, whatever decision I take, I need to apply wisdom.

"Anna?" I hear my mother's voice.

I don't feel like talking to her, so I keep mute.

"Anna?" She calls again. I refuse to answer her until she breaks down into tears. I can't withstand her tears.

"I'm sorry, Anna", she says. I get off the bed and walk briskly to the door. My head is banging and I hope to go back to sleep after having breakfast. I am hungry already. I pull the door open and see her on the floor, crying. I have never seen my mother this vulnerable.

I haul her up and move into my room. I help her to the bed and go back to close the door. Then, I walk back to the bed and sit, watching her. I am no longer angry at her but I still have some questions to ask her before making my decision.

She wipes her tears and gazes at me. "I'm sorry", she takes my two hands.

"It's ok", I nod at her.

There is a short silence. I am trying to think of how to present my questions to her in a calm manner. I don't want to blow it out of proportion like I did yesterday.

"Mom, why did you lie about my father?" I finally ask.

She looks away and sniffs, without saying anything. I want her to talk and tell me what happened.

I want to know why my father left when I was still young and why he didn't bother to look for me now that I am grown up. I want to know what happened and how it happened.

"Mom?"

"That will be a story for another day, Anna."

"No, mom", I object.

She watches me for a while before saying.

"He just left, I have no idea why."

"What? Just like that? Something must have prompted him to leave, mom", I say, wondering why he would leave just like that, without any tangible reason.

I can see how uncomfortable mom is and I decide to change the topic. I want to let her be till she is ready to talk to me about it. I know she didn't plan to mention him last night but she did anyway, out of anger. "Why do you want me to marry Aidan?" I ask her. This is another question troubling my mind and I need an answer before making a decision.

"I want you to marry him because of many reasons", she answers.

"What are they?" I demand.

She let go of my hand and caress my cheeks with her two hands. I can see tears swelling up in her eyes again and I don't know if it is as a result of my former question about my father or it is about Aidan.

"I want your child to have a father. I want your child's fate to be different from yours. I want you to be able to achieve your dreams and I know I can't help you achieve them. I want you to be comfortable and getting married to him is enough assurance that you will be comfortable and be able to achieve your dreams. You've spent half of your life living in this slum with me, Anna. As much as I want to treat you like the princess that you are, I can't because I can't afford what other parents can afford for their kids. We have bills piling up already and I am damn scared it will affect your academics. You are graduating soon and I don't have any penny saved up for your last year. The rent of this house is going to expire in the next two weeks and I don't even know if my salary will cover it up, including other bills. If I can't pay for our shelter and feeding, how then do I pay your fees?"

"But things have changed a bit, mother. We now have enough groceries in the house. We can plead with the landlady to give us two months to gather the payment and...."

"What about your school?" She cut me short. I reason with mom but I don't want us to rely on Aidan to solve our financial problems.

What if Aidan didn't come into the picture, aren't we going to survive the difficulties? We will and now that he is already in the picture, we can still survive it without his help.

"Mom, I can get a part-time job to help with my fees", my voice is now raised. I don't see myself agreeing to all of this because of money.

"What? In your state?" She questions me in disbelief.

I remember the day I first brought up the issue of starting a part-time job to help mom and she blatantly refused. She said she doesn't want me to work. All she is asking of me is to get good grades in school, graduate, and get a good job so we can move out of the slum. My mother is ambitious and I know her ambition is tied to the issue of my marriage with Aidan.

Should I sacrifice my happiness for her then? Should I agree to this bullshit because the woman before me has been raising me since I was little, struggling in the cold, night and day to get me food, keep me safe, and send me to college?

Is this sacrifice too much or too little?

What will happen to me when Aidan and I keep fighting after our marriage? Am I supposed to pretend to be happy when I am not happy? How do I keep up with the pretense when it is apparent that I am not good at pretending? Is this my fate? What will be the result of all this then?

"I am doing all this for your comfort, Anna?" She says, as though seeing through my mind and hearing out the questions I am silently asking myself.

"But mother, we don't love each other. I don't know if I would be happy....."

"It's just for a few years", she mutters.

"What?!" I exclaim loudly. I don't understand what she means by a few years. "What do you mean?"

"You are not getting married to him forever, Anna. It is just for 6 years", she smiles with bright eyes.

"What?!" I exclaim again in disbelief.0000000‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒