Living Someone else Life
The room seemed to close in on me, the air thick and suffocating. I could barely process what she was saying. Marry Gavin Slade? The man who had everything, who could have anyone, and he wanted me? It didn’t make sense.
"Mom, no," I croaked, shaking my head. "You can't be serious. This is insane. We are talking about the Slades here. You must be getting scammed by a fake one.”
Her eyes were pleading as she finally met my gaze. "I know it sounds crazy, but he’s serious. I am serious. He said he would pay for everything—the treatment, the hospital bills—if you agree to marry him. And... and we don’t have any other options, Harper. This is your only chance."
I felt the tears welling up, blurring my vision. How could this be happening? How could my life come to this? "Why me? Why does he want to marry me? The Slades family, no one knows what they would do to me there. They are at the top of the food chain, I am at the lowest. Come on, Mum, if I don't die of sickness, then maybe I will die there."
“Oh, Harper, please, I promise you will be safe. If you don't do this... if you don't take this chance, you might not make it. Please, just think about it."
I closed my eyes, taking one breath at a time. Then I looked at her, “How are you sure it's the real Gavin family? How did you even get their number?”
My mother gulped, she shuffled through her pocket and brought out a name card. I stretched my bony hands to take it. Indeed it does have the Slade logo. Personal business card. I looked at her waiting for her to explain.
“They owe us a life debt. Your dad…you know he died during the car accident…well he wasn't just hit by the drunk driver. He could have survived but a car was incoming, if he hadn't taken the impact, the people in the car would have died. There was a little boy in the car. Just about your age, being the self man he was, he took the brunt of it. Saving that family.” Tears were flowing down her eyes as she spoke, she sniffed, using the back of her hand to wipe away the tears. “We were compensated. That's what I used to push you through school, he had given me his contact information and told me to ask for anything. But I hated them. All of them. So I never contacted them, but I had to last night because the doctor said you won't live another month if you don't get this…treatment.”
She broke into tears and I reached out and hugged her. Her body trembled. I held her close as she cried, tears soaking my shirt as she did.
Desperation was a curse and she knew it.
I turned my head away, staring at the wall as if it could offer some answers. Gavin Slade. The name echoed in my mind, bringing with it images of a man I'd never met but knew all too well. He was powerful, wealthy, and dangerous. The kind of man who could crush you without a second thought.
And now, he held my life in his hands.
"I don't have a choice, do I?" I whispered, my voice breaking.
My mother squeezed my hand, tears still streaming down her face. "No, sweetheart, you don't."
In life , we were meant to have choices. Mine had never been like that, I had never been given a choice. But this was an opening for me to keep on fighting regardless. So even though my guts tells me to say to hell with it, my heart tells me to go to the other.
So this was it. My life, my future, all of it tied to a man who was practically a stranger. A man who wanted me for reasons I couldn't understand.
"I'll do it," I said finally, my voice hollow. "I'll marry him."
As I stepped out of the car, my legs felt like jelly.
I hadn't been out of the hospital for months. The sun felt too bright and I felt too weak. My mother, still clutching my hand, gave it a reassuring squeeze, though I could feel the fear in her grip. We stood in front of the Slade mansion—a sprawling estate that exuded wealth and power in a way that was almost suffocating. The towering columns and manicured lawns seemed to mock me, reminding me that wearing a beautiful dress from lost and found, doesn't hide my shame.
We were ushered inside by a butler who barely glanced at us, his stiff demeanor adding to the already cold atmosphere. The grand foyer was all marble and chandeliers, with portraits of stern-looking ancestors lining the walls. My breath caught in my throat as I realized just how real this was. I was about to meet the family of the man I’d agreed to marry.
Gavin’s mother, Genevieve Slade, was waiting for us in the drawing room. She was the epitome of icy elegance, her silver hair pulled back in a tight bun, her sharp eyes taking in every detail of my appearance. The way she looked at me made my skin crawl, as if she were evaluating a piece of meat, not the woman who was about to marry her son.
"Harper," she greeted me with a cold smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "I trust the journey wasn’t too taxing?"
"Mrs. Slade," I murmured, forcing myself to meet her gaze even as I felt the urge to hide away. "It was fine, thank you."
My mother, sensing the tension, stepped forward and introduced herself, but Genevieve barely acknowledged her. Instead, she focused entirely on me, her gaze hard and unforgiving.
"I must admit, I was surprised when I was told about this... arrangement," she said, the disdain in her voice barely concealed. "But I suppose we must all make sacrifices to the less privileged.”
Before I could respond, a deep, voice resounded in the room.
"Genevieve, that’s enough."
I turned to see an older man entering the room—Gavin’s grandfather, Victor Slade. His presence was commanding, his posture straight despite his age. He fixed Genevieve with a stern look, one that made her visibly recoil.
"If it weren't for her father," he said, his voice low and filled with warning, "you wouldn't be standing here, and neither would I. Neither would your son. Show some respect."
Genevieve’s lips thinned, but she said nothing, simply inclining her head slightly in acknowledgment. Victor turned his attention to me, his expression softening just a fraction.
"Welcome, Harper," he said, his voice kinder than I expected. "I apologize for my daughter-in-law’s behavior. It seems she forgets her place sometimes."
"Thank you," I managed to say, though my voice trembled slightly. It was me who seemed to have forgotten her place, not Mrs Slade. I gulped as I felt goosebumps appear on my skin.
Before I could dwell on it
further, the door opened again, and Gavin stepped into the room.
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