Betrothed

➸ 1. Betrothed

Mother didn't tolerate anything but a calm and proper exterior from me. I was to act as if things did not bother me, even though on the inside I was bursting at the seams. That was word for word what she expected of me since I could remember.

I felt the fires calm around the atmosphere to a flickering flame, hearing her inhale slightly before releasing a calming breath of her own. "Thats better." Her cold and proper voice had me glancing up at her in fear, watching as she pursed her lips.

"Don't worry, I wont punish you this time because I know you are in shock. That, and I want you to look your best tonight. We don't want you in pain on the night you meet your future husband do we?" She gave me an evil smirk before narrowing those snake-like eyes at me again, "No puffy eyes, Sienna." Her icy gaze told me she was not joking, which was something she also never did.

I was meeting my fiance for the first time tonight, her birthday present to me. All she ever thought about was herself, I was just her property that she could do with as she pleased. I didn't want to meet this man who was going to ruin the rest of my life. Who would even arrange a marriage for their child? That has to be the cruelest thing anyone could do to the child they gave birth to.

Why couldn't I have a normal mother who loved me?

This woman has never even said such words to me. Not in all my eighteen years have I heard the words, "I love you", aside from Priscilla, my Au Pair who was more loving towards me than the blonde jackal standing five feet away from me in her black gucci stilettos.

I watched her eyes turn back to a soft amber as she gracefully sat down on the edge of the plush cream sofa, smoothing her form fitting, black cocktail dress around her pale legs. "Now Sienna, you sit down and listen to everything I tell you. This is important." Her tone was stern.

I submitted to her request, willing myself not to cry and sat quietly opposite of her, still reeling from her 'birthday gift' to me. My back straight, head held high, I focused on my own heart beat as I watched her assesing my form, scrutinzing me from the way I crossed my legs to the way my hands folded in my lap, as proper ladies do.

Finding nothing to pick on me over, Mother rose a brow and her painted lips formed what I assumed was her "smile."

"So we have already established that you are to be married in two months. You are betrothed and have been since you were six months old." She seemed happy about this but my eyes only widened at this information. Betrothed? As a baby? Honestly...

Mother did that thing where she turned her nose up in the air, her 'i'm better than anyone' expression. "Your betrothed and His family are coming over tonight to have dinner with us for you eighteenth birthday and your betrothed's birthday as well..... and to discuss the engagement and the wedding." I paled even more as she eyed me with more scrutinity.

His birthday?

"Your fiance will be so pleased to see you, so you need to look your absolute best. You will not disgrace our family with any of your little outbursts and you will be gracious. He is a fine man. Handsome and very wealthy! It's been some time since you've seen him, but he is even more handsome than he was back then." She actually half smiled this time as an emotion, unknown to me, flashed through her eyes.

Frowning, I accidentally interrupted her out of impulse. "But I don't even know him." My voice was wavering.

I waited through the breif silence, finding that the cream carpet actually was quite interesting with it's different shades off-whites.

"Sienna..You have met him, but it has been a long time. You two share a birthday, his is today as well, so you are his gift, as he is yours." She made it sound like it was the best thing to ever happen to me.