It Destroys You

Chapter 1

"God doesn't send you problems you can't face or people you can't handle." 

1. Beautiful Stranger

In life, an individual was supposed to meet someone that would make them see the world differently, in a better light. One who would cause butterflies to erupt within their stomach and smile just at the mere thought of that very special someone. They'd fall madly in love, get married, then possibly have beautiful children that would make them proud. It was just how it was. 

But if that was the traditional way of life, then fate sure had a way of knocking me down. 

Today marked a very special day for my family and I. I was going to be engaged and then in less than three months, I was scheduled to marry a total stranger. 

I wasn't exactly sure how I was supposed to feel because there were both pros and cons to my very peculiar situation. My pros were that my family would be stable, safe and happy for the rest of their lives. No more struggling had to be endured and that thought alone instantly lifted my mood. My cons were that I'd be separated from my family: my roc and that I'd also be marrying someone who I didn't know or had even seen. It would be like being reborn into a totally different world. 

I frowned and shook my head, trying to shake the mess of thoughts running through my mind. I swiped lip gloss on my lips and straightened my high-waisted black midi skirt from Primark that I had matched with a loose black vest top that I had knotted at the front and thrifted from my local charity store. As you can see, my family didn't have enough money to purchase designer labels from Ralph Lauren or Nike or any of that but I was okay with it. I looked classy though so it was all right. 

My stomach nearly hit the ground as the doorbell rang, only two times.

It was them.

Him. 

I gulped and took a breath before plastering a fake smile on my face that didn't quite reach my eyes. I prayed for guidance as I stepped out of the bathroom and timidly walked towards the door, with shaky knees. 

"Delante," a man's deep voice boomed. "This is Eva, your fiance." 

Shyness consumed me almost instantly as I raised my head and met the stranger's eyes. Our eyes locked and I froze for a second or two. My smile had now completely vanished. 

He was gorgeous, like nothing I'd ever dreamed of. He had beautiful chocolate colored skin with a strongly defined jaw and large brown eyes. He wore very unprofessional clothing for an occasion like this but sure as hell pulled it off. Dark blue jeans sat on his waist and were paired with a red, black and white American baseball jacket left open, a black shirt and black Nike shoes. A thick silver chain sat on his neck and his left ear was pierced with a large diamond earring. 

"Cool?" he muttered in a deep, smoothe voice that instantly made my shiver. I sighed. He used slang, a common form of vocabulary that was popular with British boys and I hated it with a passion. His mother's head snapped towards him instantly and she gave him a disapproving glare that he and his father ignored. Like father, like son. 

My mother noticed the tension in the air and guided us all towards my living room that was probably the size of their dog's kennel. 

"So, let's start with briefly getting to know you and your family, shall we, Eva?" We were now squashed into our front room and I was trying not to laugh at the obvious distaste of Delante's father and our front room. He obviously wasn't a happy camper. I cleared my throat and smiled shyly. If only I had more confidence. 

"Um, I'm sixteen and in college and I plan to be an event planner in the future." 

"That's great." Delante's mother replied, sounding very enthusiastic. "Well, we haven't formally introduced ourselves to you yet but my name is Vanessa Smith and this is my husband, Kaleb." She waved her hand at her husband but continued to throw questions at me that had me stuttering until she finally moved on to my mother. I sighed in relief and then after a few minutes, completely zoned out of their conversation. 

I played with my fingers and admired my newly painted purple nails as I thought about random things but the burning stare on my face didn't go unnoticed. 

My thoughts drifted to the day that I'd been approached on the streets by a man who I'd never seen before. I was on my way home from work after an early morning shift and felt like I was going to drop from exhaustion. He'd given me a piece of paper (which I'd kept to this day) and asked me to give the number that was printed on it a call. So I did and now, three months later, here I am. It was funny because I thought that arranged marriages only existed in the Middle East or Asia and were done by religion but I guess not because Kaleb was Ghanaian and Vanessa was Spanish. 

"I appreciate what you're doing, Eva. You will never understand how much." my mother whispered as she threw her arm around my shoulder and I leaned against her. We were sat in my front room in the dark. My three siblings had gone to my uncle's house for the entire day and night and it had only been a few hours since the Smith's had left. All paperwork had been completed and I was leaving tomorrow afternoon with my bags as I was staying in an apartment that had been purchased for Delante and I to 'bond'. 

"It's okay, mum. It's my choice." I smiled at her and felt my chest twist as tears casacaded down her cheeks. It hurt to see my mother cry because she rarely did. She was strong and held her head high. She was someone who I was so proud to call my hero. She was a single mother that had been disowned by her family when she'd fallen in love with my father as she's Asian and my father is African. Her parents hoped for her to marry someone of their nationality who was wealthy and intelligent. My father possessed neither. He's an absolute idiot because he cheated on my mother and left her with four children with no money and no roof over our heads. It's been two years since I've seen him because he left when my mother was pregnant with my beautiful baby brother Michael. 

"No, it's not okay, babe. I feel like I've failed you," she sniffed and wiped her tears but continued to speak, "You're giving up your freedom, your ability to be a teenager and live to aid us, your family and I can't thank you enough." She hugged me tight. "My baby girl's growing up," she whispered as she tenderly smoothed down my hair until eventually, I fell asleep with my head on her lap, feeling like her little girl again. 

ineedthis.