Sold to my crush

Lily’s POV

As I stepped out of the bedroom, I made my way down the stairs. The way I was feeling at this moment could he likened to an Indian movie star. I felt like I was in a movie scene where the main character was just walking through the street in slow motions and the wind caressing her hair.

All eyes would be on her and she would just have a charming smile on her face even when some people looked at her in envy.

Some maids who were cleaning up paused and greeted me softly as I walked past them and I responded with a curt nod and a side smile. I continued walking and not for once did I halt my movement even when Susan and Tiffany had their tea cups hanging in the air with their mouths agape, their conversations cut short and their eyes green with hatred as they saw me.

I scanned the parking lot trying to decided from the fleet of cars which I would be taking. If the family I married into was rich then I might as well be enjoying the benefits.

“Are you going somewhere Ma?.” Mr Mark had arrived as soon as I had decided on taking the white Benz.

“Yes, I am”. I responded with a smile.

“Alright, I can see you already made your choice.” He said as he gestured to the white Benz I was ogling at. “I’ll get the car ready”. He walked off towards the car. It seemed Mr. Mark was my assigned driver as he always took me wherever I was going to. It’s not like I was complaining cause I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t drive but I guess it was something I had to change really soon.

Once the car was ready, Mr. Mark called out to me as held the car door for me and helped me inside. He made sure I was comfortable before staring the ride.

I didn’t really have anything or anywhere planned for today. I wanted to look for a job or something that would get me out of the house every day but the grumble from my stomach thought otherwise.

I kindly asked Mr. Mark to take us to the nearest restaurant so I could eat. The ride to the restaurant was silent except for the small noise that came from the news on the radio. I wasn’t in the mood for that, I was beginning to even get irritated when a song started playing from the radio.

“Please turn the volume on”. I said excitedly to Mr. Mark almost bouncing on my seat as ‘Born to Die’ by Lana Del Rey came on. I loved the artiste so much because her songs were incredible. She wasn’t just singing whatever she wanted or whatever she thought we would want to hear. Her songs sounded like she sat down, writing down her feelings or feelings of others, things that had happened to real life people or to her. It was exceptional.

I knew the lyrics by heart and so I continued singing along to the song and in few minutes we had gotten to the restaurant. Mr. Mark got down from the car and helped me out.

“Are you not coming in?”. I asked Mr. Mark when I saw him going back into the car and realized that he wasn’t coming into the restaurant with me.

“No Ma. I’ll just wait for you here.” He responded with a smile.

“You’re coming in with me Mr. Mark, it’s still quite early so I’m sure you’ve not also had something to eat”. I pressed.

“No, it’s really alright Ma. I can just wait here”. He waved me off.

“I insist Mr. Mark and besides are you just going to let a pregnant women sit alone all by herself having breakfast. That’s too depressing.” I said while faking a sad face.

“Oh no. I’ll come with you.” He rushed out. A smirk formed on my face as he followed behind me.

I knew that would work. It always did.

We got into the restaurant and took a seat at the back. I chose that place so I could look over the restaurant and see everything that was going on.

“Hello, Good morning. Welcome to Sally’s. What would you like to order.” A chirpy waitress walked up to our table as soon as we were settled.

“Hello, Good morning. Thank you. I would likeee …”. I scanned the menu as I tried to decide on something. “I’ll have pancakes, no syrup please, scrambled eggs, hot dogs and hot chocolate please”. I smiled at her as she took them down before turning to Mr. Mark. “What would you have ?”. I asked him.

He scanned the menu before dropping them down. “I’ll just have the same with her but with syrup on my pancakes and tea.”

“Alright. It’ll be right up”. She responded and walked away gingerly.

She seemed to be a very energetic and bubbly person. I loved the way she spoke to us so nicely. But then what if she only spoke to us like that because that’s what she had to do. She was just using her customer friendly tone on us but on another day, in a different setting she wouldn’t be nice to us.

These are some questions that go through my mind daily about life. What if certain things happened to us or certain people treated us in a certain way because of the circumstance, if the roles were reversed, would it be the same?.

The restaurant was a bit empty. It was still quite early so I wasn’t entirely surprised by it.

I continued scanning the restaurant, watching the workers move about attending to the few persons there. Life was really funny and strange. We all have a story. Every one of us were just going around being humans. Some were living while others were merely surviving. Some of us moved around with our true emotions on our sleeves while some masked their true feelings.

We all move past strangers each day without knowing their thoughts or what they were going through. It could be that the man simply buying a cup of coffee had just lost his wife or the girl sitting alone just got her heart broken by a silly boy or just failed her finals. The nervous man buying an extra cup of coffee could be getting one for his office crush and the other man who seemed to be in a rush could be buying breakfast for his new bride.

We would never actually know.

A family of three was seated on one corner eating quietly. As I watched them I tried to figure out their story. It was either of these two for me. They were on a road trip and they stopped for a quick breakfast before they continue their journey or I was staring at a case of abduction.

There were no hints of either. They were all just eating calmly expressionless even the child th at looked to be not more than five. But maybe I was mistaken. Maybe they were just a normal family having breakfast.

We would never actually know for sure.

I looked outside and watched other people go about their day. I continued looking around until my eyes landed on Mr. Mark who was sitting quietly in front of me.

What was his story.

He always seemed very quiet and calm. He barely talked to anyone and seemed very lonely but I found it a bit strange for a man of his age. He looked to be around my father’s age or maybe a bit older but old enough to have his own children. I never saw anyone around him or maybe they weren’t allowed to bring family into the premises.

Regardless of my thoughts, I knew that look. He looked empty and lost, like he didn’t have any zeal to continue living or doing whatever he had going on. And there were only two places that look came from. Grief and loss.

But I guess I would never know.

I struggled to keep it in, I really did but the flesh was weak and so I succumbed to the urge.

“What’s your story?”. I asked in a firm voice.

“Excuse me?”. He asked looking confused.

“What’s your story?.” I asked again leaning back on my chair and placing my hands freely on he table.

“What do you mean?”. He asked leaning forward to the table with his hands clamped on the table.

“Everyone has a story. Tell me why you’re always like this. Quiet, calm, alone. Tell me Mr. Mark”.

“Why would you want to know that?, it shouldn’t be of any concern to you. I’m just a mere driver.” He said with a shrug.

“You intrigue me Mr. Mark and you’re not just a mere driver. You’re like a father to me.” I drew nearer to the table and touched his hands.

He stiffened a bit as I touched him but relaxed after a minute. He stared at our hands for a while in silence before looking at me my eyes. I nodded in encouragement and rubbed his hands softly before pulling away so he wouldn’t get uncomfortable.

“My wife was my first love”. He started talking after a long silence. “Her name was Gabriella. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. He hair was black, long, soft and silky. Her hair had some natural waves that framed her beautiful face. She had these pretty big brown doe eyes with very long lashes. Those enchanting eyes that made me bend to her every will. Her lips were pink, plump and full. She was a captivating goddess and I was so lucky that I could love her.”

His eyes long distant, lost in a beautiful memory so kept quiet as as i allowed him to continue. I didn’t want him to lose what he had now.

“The first day I set my eyes on her, I knew she was the bane of my existence. I knew that all i had been doing had been counting up to that moment. I was merely a post man then, delivering post cards and letters. I had just delivered some letters to a mail box when I heard the sound of a door pushed open. There she was running out of the house in a yellow sundress bare footed. It seemed she had been expecting a letter so as soon as I had dropped them, she ran out.”

“I didn’t move, I couldn’t. I just sat in my worn out bicycle watching the angel before me. She was bubbling with excitement as she rushed through the letters searching for a particular one. As soon as she had found the one, her brown eyes brightens and her cheeks reddened. I almost lost my balance on my bicycle cause she had taken my breath away.”

“She read the contents of her letter in excitement and it was only when she had finished that she noticed I was there. The moment her eyes met mine, I knew that if she had asked for anything, including my life, I would have given it to her. She introduced herself to me and I remember the way I struggled to even of the same”.

“We chatted for a while or would I say she did because I couldn’t generate a correct sentence without stuttering or blabbing so I decided to be quiet and nod my head when necessary. The way she talked to me that was as though we had known each other for a long time. It came so easy”.

“We kept seeing each other every other day after then and as time went by my love for her grew beyond bounds so I knew I had to have her forever. I asked her to marry me and to my surprise, Gabriella the goddess allowed me to be her husband”.

“You must have loved her so much.” I said giggling. I loved hearing beautiful love stories like this.

“I loved her endlessly. It was one the most happiest days of my life. I was so thrilled but my joy was cut short when her father refused to give her to me. I was just a mere post man he said, and I wouldn’t be able to take care of his daughter. He was right in many ways except one. I loved Gabriella so much and I was ready to do anything to make sure she was happy and comfortable.”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“One night she came crying to me, her father was about to marry her off to someone else and she suggested that we run away. At first I was hesitant but when I realized that would mean losing my Gabriella, I agreed and we eloped and got married.”

“Life with her was so beautiful even more than I had imagined. She was full of life, energetic, kind and she had an aura that made it impossible for anyone that crossed her path not to love her”.

“We were married for over ten years and we were yet to have a child. I wasn’t bothered about it, I was more than content with having her in my life but she wanted more. Gabriella wanted a family so kept trying until it finally happened.”

“I was so thrilled when I heard the news that I was going to be a father. I was even more happy that Gabriella would finally get what she had always wanted and not worry so much again. Those nine months were one of my most treasured moments with my wife.”

“She became more beautiful everyday as she grew bigger and bigger with my child. If only I had known that those were the last days I would spend with her. On the day of the delivery, we had some complications so we had to choose between her live and that of child’s. Gabriella was conscious and so she made me promise to take care of our daughter as she decided to give her life for our child.”

“I’m so sorry Sir.” I gasped and held his hands.

“It’s alright.” He said and chuckled awkwardly but his eyes were saying another story. Nothing was alright. “I cried so much that day. It felt like a huge part of has seized to exist as I watched her drift away slowly into the after life. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do with myself and even our daughter.”

“I slowly made peace with her death as I watched our daughter grow as beautiful as Gabriella. She was like exact photocopy of Gabriella except with brown hair. She liked the same thing as her mother, she did everything the way her mother did. It was somewhat scary.”

“You must love her so much. So where is she now?”. I asked.

“Gone.”