It was Saturday, a day meant for relaxation.
I felt torn between the decision to assist a person I hardly knew and the necessity of saving my dad's life.
I sat on my bed with my hands cuddling my pillow.
I wasn't sure if I should scream or not.
"Should I end my life?" I thought to myself.
As the thought ran through my mind, another one came in: "If I were to end my life, who would have taken care of my dad?
No one expressed their opinion."
As soon as I had the second thought, I stood up from my bed and walked to my dressing table. I grabbed my eyeliner to create a pretty look on my upper lash line. But I ended up making a mess on my face.
As I was about to drop the eyeliner out of rage, Marya walked inside and gave me a huge hug.
My vision blurred as tears filled my eyes to the extent that I started to cry out loud.
Marya picked up my eyeliner alongside my makeup kits and began to give me a nice makeup look.
While Marya applied the makeup, she kept encouraging me.
Marya told a story about a young lady. Her stepmother pressured her to marry a man who was 30 years older.
The stepmother married the lady off to the man, thinking he would mistreat her. But he treated her very well instead. The stepmother became very jealous.
She tried many times to end the marriage, but she failed.
"Flora!" Marya said while she dropped the makeup kits and turned to Flora, holding her hands.
"Many people had tough experiences with their stepparents. But your dad made sure you didn't face that. He wanted to protect you from people who mistreated you."
Marya continued, "Your dad loved you so much, so don't ever think he doesn't. No one wished for any of this to happen. Look at how your dad was in such a terrible condition because of all this.
"Still, I was scared of all these. My dad's condition made me feel so weak, and I should marry someone I didn't know anything about. I said to Marya.
Marya held her hand up and told me that my dad wouldn't have agreed to this if things had been different.
Marya then came up with the idea to play truth or dare so she could get the marriage stress off my mind.
So we began to play. When it was my turn to pick between truth and dare, I picked dare, then she dared me to listen to my dad, which I agreed to.
When it was her turn, she picked truth, then I asked a very important question: "If you were in my shoes, what would you have done?"
Marya cleared her throat, adjusted her dress, and spoke,
"First of all, I knew we were all humans, Marya."
I would have cried on hearing the news of marriage to someone I knew nothing about. After crying, I would went online and search for him since he was a billionaire.
I would have gathered all the necessary information I needed about him.
It was that information that I would need to know if he was a good person or not.
If he turned out to be a bad person, I wouldn't marry him. I would give my dad clear reasons why. He would understand.
Then, we would have found other ways to save the business at all costs. If things were different, I would have agreed to marry him. We would have fallen in love over time, leading to a happy marriage.
I was so amazed by the response because it made a lot of sense. I couldn't control my emotions again, so I had to tell her that her words were heartfelt.
Marya wasn't a friend but more like a sister. She had always been there for me, even when everyone left. She was someone I could never forget in this life or the next.
The moment Marya left the room, I began to remember all she had said to me. She hadn't said what she would have done but also advised me in the process.
She advised me without even meaning to. I was deep in my thoughts. I began to cry. I cried so much that I ruined my makeup. I began to feel my whole world was falling apart. I felt everyone else was lucky and doing better in life.
I sensed that some people would struggle in life, and I believed I was one of them. The weight of all this felt heavy on my shoulders.
Despite having a best friend who was always there for me, I still felt incomplete within myself.
After many tries to feel better, I grabbed my comb. I parted my hair and began styling it with care. Marya could have styled my hair, but she didn't quite get it right. So, I preferred to do it myself.
And I wouldn't risk giving her my hair to style on my big day, even though I wasn't happy. It was still my wedding.
After styling the hair, I looked at the mirror, smiled, and admired how beautiful I was.
I was more beautiful than usual, I thought to myself.
I picked up my phone and played some songs. All of a sudden
I felt someone was whispering to me.
The moment I turned, I saw my dad in a wheelchair.
I couldn't believe my eyes; my dad was already discharged. Though he couldn't move, I gave him a very tight hug.
The nurses who came along with him said I shouldn't have allowed him to go through stress.
Seeing them come along with Marya surprised me since she had left my place.
How could she have gotten to the hospital in such a short time and brought Dad along? She didn't even hint that he was coming home sooner.
I wasn't sure if I should be mad or grateful and happy my dad was back home with me, and Marya was always there to help.
I immediately showed my gratitude to Marya because it wasn't easy to be so supportive.
I was forever grateful for the love.
My dad felt excited to see me in my wedding dress.
He was happy it happened this way, but still, he was happy because he had always wanted to see me in a wedding dress.
This was the moment he had always anticipated, and it was finally here.
When the nurse took Mr. Wilson out in his wheelchair, Flora said my dad wasn't discharged. Instead, he came to see my wedding.
I got to know that my father was having a stroke. A doctor told me it was high blood pressure. Now, his health was getting worse, which could lead to a stroke.
After hearing this, I was so determined to get married to Jackson.
I had already made up my mind, and I was certain; in fact, I was desperate to get married to him.
I gripped my pillow and said to myself, You would marry that man at all costs.
"I had to save my dad at all costs," I thought to myself.
I lay on my stomach on my bed and began to sob. As I was sobbing, a call came in; the call wasn't an ordinary call; instead, it was a call from a strange number.
I decided not to pick up because I didn't save the number, and True caller did not identify the number.
I dropped the phone back on the bed after refusing to pick it up. It wasn't up to five minutes, and the call came in again from the same number.
I still let the phone ring and refused to pick up because I couldn't risk picking up a call from a strange number.
I still lay back after dropping the call, but the call came again. I was already beginning to worry.
Who was this caller, and what did the caller want from me?
I thought to myself.