Arranged to be Yours

Chapter 3

"Katherine? Katherine, honey, wake up."

I mumbled something incoherent that was in the lines of 'Five more minutes' before I turned on my other side and snuggled deeper under the covers on my bed, sighing in content as I found a comfortable position to get a bit more time of shut eye. That is, until a very bright light exploded behind my eyelids and I groaned in frustration, sitting up slightly as I tried to shield my eyes from my bedroom light, shooting my mother a glare in the process. She merely sent a smile my way and came to sit on the edge of my bed.

"How do you feel, honey?"

I plastered on my sweetest face that I could muster whilst answering her, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "Like I could go on a murderous rampage."

"Oh come now, honey, don't be like that."

I groaned once more as I stretched my arms above my head, rolling my eyes, a habit I seemed to have picked up lately, or rather, since I'd come to visit my parents.

"What'd you expect Mom? That I'd just smile and wave when I get a wakeup call like this? Not happening. Besides, what's the time even?" I reached for my phone and nearly threw the smartphone through the window when the numbers showed 07:00 sharp. Great, so I basically got just a little bit more than three hours of sleep. So much for beauty sleep before your wedding.

Dammit! That's right. Today is my wedding day.

I cringed with that thought. Wedding day. Surely this was some sort of nightmare because it sure as hell couldn't be a dream, that's for sure. My cringe didn't go unnoticed by my doting mother though.

"Katherine, are you alright? Do you have a headache?"

Amongst other things. But I also have this wedding that's happening today that's a pain too, but this one just happens to be a pain in my- Nevermind.

"Yes Mom. I have a headache. Do we still have some painkillers in the kitchen?"

Ever the mother hen, she nodded and rushed out of the door with a hurried, "I'll be right back!" and left me alone with my thoughts for a few minutes.

It's today. And I have no plan whatsoever. Last night I came back home because a handsome stranger made me realize that somehow I have to make this right, but at this moment I realized that I never planned on how to actually achieve that feat. I couldn't just tell them 'no'. Been there, done that, failed miserably. They just don't listen to my objections- wait a minute, that's it!

I have to object to my own wedding. What's the line again? 'Speak now or forever hold your peace' or something like that? I am assuming that my parents will still have a pastor there to wed their only daughter, that they would not compromise on that aspect, despite it being an arranged marriage, so when he asks then I can merely object and state that I was never consulted in regards to the marriage. That should be enough to stop this madness, right? Well, it had to be. I am not counting on my groom to be my knight in shining armor, so I will just have to save myself. Every man and woman for themselves.

At that moment, mom came back into the room and handed me a small white pill with a cup of tea. I gratefully accepted it and drank the painkiller, now ready to face this day with my head held high.

I was still sipping my tea, idly staring at the photo's on my wall, when I noticed my mom eying me rather suspiciously, her brows slightly furrowed. It gave me a kind of eerie feeling when she looked at me like that so I asked, "Is something wrong?"

" 'Is something wrong?' " She mimicked me, an action that annoyed me endlessly ever since I'd been a little girl, before continuing, "Yes, darling, something is wrong. You have bags the size of Mount Everest under your eyes. Didn't you sleep at all? You're supposed to look your absolute best today."