Aaron is a close family friend of mine. We have known each other since he came back to our home country, when he was a few months old.
And we've been close ever since.
When Aaron's parents died we took him in for a while, until a wild, no-good uncle of his showed up and took him back.
That's when my mum and dad and his uncle came up with the clever idea for us to marry. We had money and he had a British passport and so it was a win-win situation for everyone, except the two teenagers who'd known each other all their lives and loved each other too, but never that way, and it destroyed them and their friendship forever.
We said our wedding vows at gunpoint, and my mascara ran down my face in streaks as dark and bleak as my heart that day. I remember my hands shaking from fear.
And my mum had acted as if nothing was wrong and had smiled and laughed as if it was the happiest and proudest day of her life.