I stood frozen to my spot. My breathing was unstable and came out in silent gasps. The 2 guests, Mr and Mrs Hayes had bright smiles plastered across their faces as they slowly approached me.

I remember them, I always will. They were like my 2nd parents. When my mom had remarried, I was 7 and my stepdad had family friends, The Hayes. I was sent to their house most of the days after school with Christy. I would hang around their house or either help Mr and Mrs Hayes while Christy and her friend, Adrian would play together leaving me out since they were in the same class. After all, I was 4 years younger than them both.

"It's finally time I meet you again." Mrs. Hayes engulfed me in a hug. "How are you doing sweetheart?" She cooed in my ear soothingly. A tear made its way down my face. I missed them so much. So much that I didn't want to see them again. I was afraid that I would lose them, again.

She released me from her hug after a few seconds and kissed my cheek. "Why aren't you answering me? Don't you remember me?" A frown etched onto her face, it reflected hurt. My throat went dry as I held back my words.

"Of course she remembers you, Dola. Even me, don't you Violet?" Mr. Hayes smiled and asked me whilst placing a hand on his wife's shoulder affectionately.

All I could do is nod. "Violet won't speak to anyone these days." Mom intertwined, putting a fake, sad expression on her face. "It's because of..." Mrs. Hayes' voice trailed off. My face paled as silence followed.

Please don't talk about it. Please don't talk about that terrible day.

"Well Violet, hopefully you remember Adrian. Here he is, come on son." Mr. Hayes ushered him in up front so that now, he stood directly opposite to me. My mind was all over the place. I couldn't think about anything other than the man that stood in front of me. A devil.

I gazed up at him and my hands were shaking as my vision was blurring. His face didn't change since I had last seen him, except he only looked older. He resembled his father's features with the same sapphire colored eyes and blond colored hair that was neatly styled. But he had a straight nose that identified like his mother's. He was wearing a formal dark blue colored suit with a white crisp shirt and red tie beneath.

The past pulled back to me. I can remember it clearly.

My 11th birthday. Him. Stepsister.

His blue eyes bored into mine with a surprised and regretful emotion held in them. My eyes reflected pain and sorrow, all of the tears that I've shed because of him and my stepsister. His lips curled up into a straight line as he stepped closer to me.

I felt him wrapping his arms around me uncertainly, as if he was confused at his own actions. I shivered and flinched away from him immediately. Everything about him made me want to cry. My stepsister and him are nothing but monsters.

"Let's start dinner shall we?" I could almost hear the irritation in my stepdad's voice. I moved away from all of them, taking several steps back whilst everyone walked past me and into the living room. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Christy whispering something into Adrian's ear while literally clinging onto his arm, looking at me with devilish smirk playing on her lips. Adrian took a peek at me from below his eyelashes as they left the entrance hallway shortly after.

I made my way into the living room and through to the kitchen. Mom had her eyes fixed on me the moment I stepped into the kitchen. "Serve the food and don't mess it up." She hissed and left the kitchen, leaving me to do all the work.

I gathered the plates and set them out onto the dining table that was situated in the far left of the living room. The house wasn't too big, we didn't have a separate dining room since it's connected with the living room. Then I headed back into the kitchen and carried the food that was stored in large bowls. I served the food to everyone around the table with wobbly hands. Mom sat in the head chair, stepdad to her left and Christy sat beside him.

Mr and Mrs Hayes sat opposite to stepdad and Christy. Adrian sat next to his mother, his gazed fixated onto the plate as he fidgeted with the utensils.

When I had reached him after serving the food to everyone else, I expected him to tell me what he wanted to eat but instead he shook his head and turned away from me, not uttering a word since he arrived here. Everyone stared at us both. Mom glared venomously, stepdad watched me with cold eyes and Christy was munching away on her food, chuckling.

"He'll have what I have sweetie." Mrs Hayes smiled at me, helping me escape from the intense scene. I thanked her with a soft smile and then I hesitantly served him the food. Once I finished my work, I faltered my way towards the kitchen, to wait until everyone had completed their food as my family had instructed.

Suddenly a warm hand grasped mine and prevented me from stepping a foot further. "Aren't you going to have some food with us? Have a seat." I turned around and saw Mr Hayes sitting in his seat whilst gazing at me with a smile. I shook my head and he furrowed his eyebrows. "Why no-" Mom cut him off. "Violet has other important things to do. Don't you, Violet?" Her burning eyes daring me to say no.

I nodded my head and dashed out of the room, petrified. Hopefully I don't get into trouble, I didn't mess up anything.

I decided to clean the dishes that were placed in the sink, needing to be washed. My hands scrubbed a dirty plate as foam started forming around my palms. I gazed out of the window which was located above the sink and had a small pot containing a plant on the sill. The night sky's shadow glazed the darkness outside. Everything looked peaceful and calm, in the darkness.

I was so lost in my own thoughts that I didn't have time to realize that something was placed on my shoulder. I twisted my head to my side, I noticed that Mrs Hayes had placed her hand on my shoulder. Maybe she needed something. I tilted my head to the side. Mrs. Hayes was a few inches shorter than me. She took a deep breath and spoke, her voice resembled velvet. "Violet... Are you alright?"

Am I alright? Am I even okay?

Is my life okay?

I slowly nodded my head while I dropped the scrubber and plate from my hands into the sink and washed my hands. Then I turned around, so that I fully faced her. "You know you can talk to me honey? Don't be afraid. You can trust me." She caressed my cheek gently, gazing at me with shining eyes.

"He feels guilty for what happened in the past. He feels ashamed... for what he did to you."

I shook my head and fought back a humourless chuckle.

As if he ever was

I had wanted to say but I kept my mouth shut. "You'll forgive him, won't you?" She asked with a pleading emotion in her eyes. My eyes teared up.

Never.

Not now, not ever.

I looked away from her with my eyes shut, not being able to answer her. To forget and forgive her son would be impossible for me to do especially with what he did to me with my stepsister.

Mrs Hayes placed a finger under my chin, making me open my eyes. "I'm sure you will darling. I mean look at you, you're all grown up and beautiful, you'll make the right decisions when the time comes... I promise that he'll redeem himself... after all you 2 are destined to be together." She said and whispered the last few words more to herself rather than to me.

Before I could even react to Mrs Hayes' words, footsteps stomped into the kitchen. Turning away from Mrs Hayes, I saw Christy perched upon the counters whilst chewing on a packet of crisps noisily. Christy paused and glanced at me for a second before smirking.

"Too busy discussing tell tales, are we?" She snarled at me, taking a crisp out of the packet and biting it. I shook my head at her and felt something being thrown at me. "Christy, that's no way you treat your sister." Mrs Hayes lectured Christy, earning a eye roll from Christy. I looked down at the ground to realize that Christy threw the packet of crisps at me, there was still a few crisps in there that littered onto the wooden floor.

I immediately crouched down and started cleaning the mess up. It wasn't a huge mess anyway, compared to what I have to deal with this family everyday. It's safe to say that I'm used to the treatment coming from my family.

"Sister? As if." She snorted and walked up to me. "Clean this mess. You piece of sh*t."

I proceeded to pick the crisps up as Mrs. Hayes stood beside me, trying to console Christy for her actions towards me. But as usual, Christy walked out of the kitchen door making sure to slam it shut.

I'm definitely facing some consequences later.

Once I had finished cleaning up the mess I stood up and emptied the rubbish into the bin. I cleaned my hands once more, and finally turned back to Mrs. Hayes and grimly smiled.

Mr and Mrs Hayes both probably knew the torture I experienced with my family. Well they knew from that specific day. They don't like my parents, however they have kept their relationship with my parents only because of the purpose of Adrian and Christy. The thing I didn't understand, was why they returned to this town since they left this town to another a few years ago.

Why did they return now?

"Don't worry. You'll be out of this mess in no time." She paused as her eyes glimmered under the light, then continued. "You'll be perfect for him, as you always were."

I raised both of my eyebrows. What was she talking about? "Violet! Dola!" My stepdad's voice called out to me and Mrs Hayes. "Come here!" He once again yelled however, I kept my focus on Mrs Hayes.

Mrs Hayes held my upper arm, gently. "Come on honey, let's go." Without another word she swept me out of the kitchen and into the living room. I quietly observed everyone. My mom, stepsister and stepdad sat on one of the couches, while Mr Hayes and Adrian sat on the other, only a table separated the two couches that opposed each other.

Mrs. Hayes took a seat in the empty space beside Adrian and looked at me with a small smile, and patted the space beside her for me to sit on. A throat was being cleared, and it belonged to my stepdad. He saw the connection me and Mrs Hayes had and he didn't like it. I turned away from Mrs Hayes and gazed at my stepdad. "Violet dear, sit here." He narrowed his eyes at me and pointed the seat in between him and mom.

I hurried to the empty space and prepped myself awkwardly between my parents. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to stay away from my parents as much as I can.

Mom leaned over and placed something on the table. I looked either sides of me, my mom kept an intimidating stare on me, my stepdad was smiling at the Hayes, and finally at my stepsister who was smirking.

I fidgeted with my fingers until I had heard Mr Hayes speak up in the silence that covered the room like a blanket. "Violet, a few years ago, myself and Dola came up with a... contract with your parents." He nodded his head towards the thing that mom had placed on the table.

"You can read it." Mrs Hayes informed me. I lifted up the bundle of paper, it was like a booklet. Before I could turn a page, it was snatched from my hands. "I think that she doesn't need to read this." Mom said. "But Audrey, she's the one involved in this contra-" Mrs Hayes started but was cut off by my stepdad. "No. Now, let's just explain the contract to her. Carry on Henry." Stepdad commanded Mr Hayes.

I looked between them in confusion. I wondered what was going on. "So the contract was about... well, it was about you and Adrian." Mr Hayes had folded one leg over another, clearly feeling uncomfortable talking.

I just kept a confused face on because I couldn't understand him. "When you turned 20 we were supposed to do this but we decided that you needed more time." Mr Hayes exasperated then continued. "You have to umm... well you-" he got cut off by my mom.

"You have to marry to Adrian."

I sat there frozen to my spot. There is no way that this was happening. Were they joking? Or was I having another nightmare? This made no sense.

Tears welled up in my eyes at mom's statement. My eyes snapped to Adrian and he already was staring at me with intense eyes. I looked away from him and at my mom. I saw her slam the contract on the table. "Now sign this sweetheart." Her words dripped like rotten and tasteless honey. I spun my head towards the table and again gazed at an opened page of the contract.

I read the page slowly as my eyes shifted between the words, not believing it. It was a contract, a small one that had no other information than it stated that I had to marry Adrian. It was signed by Mr and Mrs Hayes, Adrian and both of my parents.

My eyes darted back to my mom and shook my head in disapproval. No way was I agreeing to this disaster.

I felt fingers wrap around my neck, the fingers belonged to my stepdad. "Won't you do this for us?" He asked me and I looked up at Mr and Mrs Hayes as they gazed at me with grim faces. Stepdad's fingers dug into the delicate and soft skin of my neck. "Sign it." He whispered harshly in my ear, piercing my skin with his fingernails.

I didn't answer yet, and he kept digging his fingers into my skin making sure that blood was leaving my skin. I winced softly, assuring that no one could hear me make a painful sound. I closed my eyes as tears left them. I could feel the blood on my neck.

I nodded my head agreeing to sign the contract, giving up due to the awful pain I was receiving near my neck. A pen was shoved into my hand from my mom as I looked down at the contact that sat on the table in front of me. I clutched onto the pen while my hands shook. I leaned down to the bundle of papers and then closed my eyes and finally signed it, the fresh new tears left my eyes and fell onto the contact like little droplets of rain.

After a few seconds I heard a loud slam on the table. My eyes snapped open as Adrian stood to his full height from the couch, breathing heavily and clenching and unclenching his fists.

"There is no point in this contract." His low and dark voice gritted. I felt chills when I heard his voice for the first time since in ages. "I don't love her," He glimpsed me in the eyes for a millisecond before looking back at his parents. "And she doesn't love me. I consider that this contract is invalid." He stormed away from the living room.

Tears once again blurred my vision as I heard the Hayes and my parents leave the room. Mr and Mrs Hayes bid me goodbye before leaving. I was too traumatised to realize that they had left and that I was left all alone in the living room, as my parents had switched off all the lights in the house and made their way to their own bedrooms and slept, a peaceful sleep.

Tears gushed out of my eyes as I ran up the creaking staircase and into my room. I fell down on my knees and clutched onto my chest as my breathing got heavier and harder.

Why me?

Quiet yelps and sobs escaped my mouth, I felt my heart being crushed.

Why was it me that my parents and Mr and Mrs Hayes wanted to marry to Adrian? Why didn't they choose someone else for him? Like Christy. Why make my life more miserable than it was? I never wanted to marry a man that I despised and hated with all my heart.

Can't I do anything to stop this misery?

Can't I stand up for myself?

My body and mind gave up as I fell straight forward from my previous position and onto the cold floor. My only thought before the darkness consumed me was none other than the beast and devil himself.

Adrian Hayes.