Violet's POV

I sat upon the bed, curled up within the blankets for warmth although, I was frozen for what felt like eternity just listening to him. If I wasn't uncomfortable before, I was now. "What do you think?"

It had been a week since I last met Darcy before he left. Adrian visited me several times during the week to check up on me and my wellbeing. I ignored everything he was saying cause I didn't care about him.

I knew that I had to be respectful towards him cause he covered the costs of my debt alongside Darcy's, but how could I possibly stay happy knowing that he ruined my chance of seeking freedom from this hell of a life?

There were still no signs, messages or appearances of my family that have been accounted so far by the police. I should've been happy with the information since I wouldn't be enduring torture under their filthy hands, but my family would've already tried to reappear and clear their names off the claims aimed at them. It was very weird that they were hiding. No sightings, nothing.

"Good mornin' you two!" I swatted my head to my side as a rattling sound had emerged from behind the curtains. Heather strolled in holding a tray of food. She placed a bowl of grapes and strawberries before me, on the mini table that was connected to the bed. "Good morning." Adrian greeted Heather softly and rubbed his hands together, trying to generate some heat in this cold room. I didn't understand how he held up in his thin blue jumper.

I peered down at the grapes, silently hoping that I could skip them but I couldn't. Heather moved up towards the monitors that were stationed next to my bed, which pounded at a steady beat. "All good, doin' good. Oh my, do you need help with eating?" She questioned me as an uncomfortable expression rested on my face.

I shook my head and she sighed. I carefully plucked a grape from its stem with my wobbly hands and bit into it. It was sour and cold, I paused for a second cause of the bitter feel on my tongue and then continued to chew. And then I slowly ate the strawberries as well.

"Does Violet not speak or is she just silent all the time?" Heather asked Adrian as she stared the monitors. I stiffened and side glanced at Adrian, he was watching me carefully as if I were to crack. Noticing my attention on him, he cleared his throat and looked away. "Umm... well," His tongue twisted at a loss of words. Heather spun around and faced Adrian. "Sorry dear, I was just thinkin' cause she's not mute."

I gulped and sunk back into the gentle pillows that surrounded me, the truth had to be told. I obviously wasn't mute but I was too afraid to speak and I would rather stay silent than speak anymore. Adrian gaped at Heather with a frown creased on his forehead. "No, she can speak. I-I don't know, she prefers to stay that way probably. Maybe she's just shocked from... I think you know already."

Heather placed a hand to her chest and stared at me with a guilty look. "Oh yes dear, I heard the reports. It's very sad news." I was boiling with fury on the inside as they both conversed about me as if I wasn't here. I was even more angered at the remembrance of my family's doings.

I clenched the blanket in a fist as I could feel myself go red. But my feeble hands never complied to the emotions I was serving. When I finished my meal, Heather removed the trays and left the room. I coughed and collapsed back into the bed, my back facing Adrian. I didn't want to see him.

But my pleas weren't answered as Adrian decided to stride over and sit on a chair, facing me. "Violet, I need to know your response. If you want to keep the baby then you may, but think quickly, they might admit her to the hospital." I nodded and looked at his face.

His blond hair was a little longer than the last I saw him, it reached outward to his ears. His forehead lines were stiff but had no effect in contrast to his luminous face and blue eyes replicated the ocean waves.

As much as I hated to say it, I admired his eyes. "You say yes?" He asked and stared into my eyes. For a moment I didn't know what to do. I was locked in a trance with his eyes. I nodded again but this time more confidently.

Adrian grinned and clapped his palms together. He looked handsome grinning. Adrian strives with good looks. "I'll let them know," He paused and pursed his lips. "I have to talk to you about-" A loud ringtone started playing and my eyes closed at the volume.

Adrian fished his phone out of his right jeans pocket and looked at it. "Sorry, I have to take this. But we'll talk after, alright?" I nodded my head and he left the room. I yawned, feeling drowsy, I dropped my eyelids and smiled for the first time, thinking about how it would be like to take care of a child.

It might be hard, but I think I'll learn how to along the way.

With that I leapt of into the comfortable sleep, imagining myself bouncing the baby in the air as she giggled.

———

Third person's POV

Violet, at the age of 10, sat on the ground in the sunlight. She had her knees buckled underneath her and gazed pointedly at the headstone. She pushed back the long strands of hair from her face when a warm breeze rushed at her.

Violet closed her eyes and listened to the sweet chirping of the birds who nested themselves upon nearby trees. She felt as if her dad was singing to her, as he always did when she had trouble sleeping at night.

But that was four years ago from when her dad was buried under the tombstone she sat on. Her fingers grazed the smooth carvings on the stone.

Violet's lip quivered but she refused to tear up. She was angry with her dad, cause he left her all alone. Although it had been four years, Violet still grudges about feeling lonely and trapped in her life.

"Dada?" She gently whispered, her voice as angelic as the angels themselves. She fumbled at her side for a bundle of flowers she bought from a shop earlier. The bundle consisted of lilies, roses and her Dad's favorite, Violets.

"These are for you." Violet placed the bundle in front of her mulishly. She proceeded to glare at the carving, as if her dad was right there.

"Dada I'm mad at you."

Violet sighed and leaned onto the stone, the cold surface shivering her. "You left me a-all on my own."

"Mommy hates me. She always hurts me and says mean things to me."

She frowned and thought of her family. "Stepdad and Christy don't like me too. I'm scared, do you also hate me dada?" Her question was followed by a calm silence of rustling leaves.

"I m-miss you, I have no one except you to talk to." Her mind lingered onto Mr and Mrs Hayes but she shook her head, they were not the same as her dad. Violet reached her arms out so that she was hugging the stone, but her small arms never extended all the way around.

A comforting feeling washed upon her, she felt as if her dad was right there, and she was hugging him. A distant holler disturbed Violet from her cherished moment.

"Hurry up, will you!"

Her stepdad jammed his hands in his pockets and looked impatiently at Violet with a scowl on his face. Violet sighed and released herself from the grave. She placed a soft kiss on the headstone and smiled. "Bye dada, I'll see you next time."

Violet turned and walked towards her stepdad and her stepsister who sat on a bench nearby. "Finally! Let's go home." Christy stood and marched off. Violet's stepdad did the same, without passing a word to Violet.

Violet glanced at her dad's headstone once more to see a bird fluttering onto the headstone and staring at her.

Violet laughed and twisted her head away.

———

Violet's POV

I was strapped tightly against the wheelchair when the doctor approached me. "You are good to be discharged, your fiancé is waiting outside." The doctor smiled at me warmly, then peered behind me. "Heather, will you-" Heather waved her hand assuringly. "Onto that, no need to worry." The doctor smiled once more at the both of us, then walked out of the room.

Heather pushed my wheelchair out of the hospital room and through the corridors. I felt happy to leave the room as a new sense of air dawned on me. I felt washed off of all my worries. I eagerly looked around me as I was pushed past a swarm of people and patients.

The feeling was short lived when I was halted at a reception. The Hayes were staring at me with happy faces. Mr and Mrs Hayes sat next to each other with Adrian on Mr Hayes' right.

"Here we are." Heather whispered to me and patted my shoulder. "Hey there, if you've completed the payments you are free to take her."

Mr and Mrs Hayes nodded their heads. "It's been taken care for, thanks Heather." Adrian's hoarse voice croaked while he glanced at his parents behind him for a second before he turned back and smiled at Heather, avoiding my curious eyes as they gazed up at him.

They all looked miserable, especially Adrian. His eyes had heavy bags underneath them and his forehead was decorated with tired lines. He probably looked terrible because he was hoping that I would suffer but his wishes were ruined and he's enduring the pain. Unfortunately I survived but if I hadn't, we both would've been glad.

I still had casts wrapped around my hands, torso and legs, although some of them were removed. "Okay, I'll leave now." Heather gave the Hayes and me one last grin and flattered away into the swarms of the frantic crowd.

My heart jumped when I felt a warm hand on mine. I frowned and wrenched my hand out of Mr Hayes' hand before even realizing that it was him. My chest heaved up and down with fear. "Don't shock her like that Henry!" An anxious Mrs Hayes patted Mr Hayes on the back harshly. Mr Hayes' lips were straightened into a thin line as he apologized.

My eyes were downcast on my lap when I felt myself being pushed again. I rotated my head back to find Adrian holding the bars of the wheelchair, his eyebrows were furrowed and his jaw clenched. I caught sight of Mr and Mrs Hayes following him from behind, bickering at each other.

I was pushed through the refreshing air and my breathing was more calmer. Soon, my wheelchair came to a sharp halt, almost making me fall over if it weren't for the secure straps that bound my body to the wheelchair.

Adrian lowered himself in front of me, till he was crouching before me. He undid the straps cautiously then stood up and picked me up from the wheelchair. My body on it's own deceived his touch by jerking and flinching in his arms.

Adrian placed me in the backseat of his car and buckled me up before Mrs Hayes entered from the left side of the car. Closing my door, Adrian disappeared for a while to return the wheelchair to the hospital and then took a seat in the drivers seat, Mr Hayes on his right.

The car was filled with silence other than the hooting engine, as we were on the roads. I would've been concerned about where I was to stay at but I knew that I had to stay with the Hayes.

I glared at the sceneries of numerous trees and buildings that passed us, it was sunny outside. My eyes dropped, feeling the comforting heatwave that felt like a lullaby.

A sudden sharp turn had me flinging to my side. My neck was arched in a sorrowful way and my body hurt. I whimpered as I tried to move but the casts prohibited me. My face was scrunched up in pain.

"Adrian!" Mrs Hayes hissed and reached towards me and ushered my head down on her lap delicately. "Can you calm down?" Mrs Hayes brushed her hand soothingly over my head and grunted at Adrian. "I can't mom." Adrian muttered coldly.

Why was he mad?

My eyelids were falling and blinking rapidly to stay open, but instead failed and sealed up. I smiled as Mrs Hayes cradled my head in her arms, like a mother would for her baby. "Keep quiet, she seems to be falling asleep." I heard Mr Hayes' voice before I leapt of into a cosy sleep.

———

"No!" I jolted awake from my nap. I heard muffled voices as they got louder. "She can't do it mom! That contract's over." Heart racing, my eyes scrutinized the room I was in. It was a medium sized room with ample space containing a bed and two windows that were structured either side of the bed.

I averted my eyes to the door and stared at the glowing light that lurched through the gap of the door. "Listen to me, please. She has no one-" A second voice cried upsettingly, that sounded like Mrs Hayes.

Footsteps were inching towards the room that I was staying in. I quickly snapped my eyes shut as I heard the door opening. The footsteps stopped at the side of my bed. "Did you check her bruises?" The first voice whispered, which I couldn't recognize as to who it belonged to. "That's not what-" Mrs Hayes began but was interrupted by the first voice. "Did they heal yet?"

A moment of silence followed, before Mrs Hayes said grimly. "You can't hide from it. You have to do this, Adrian, for Violet at least." I could hear Adrian breathe heavily. I could imagine how red his face would appear in comparison to his blond hair.

"She can't even look me in the eye. Worse, marry me! The contract is useless, you don't need to ruin Violet's life for this." A sloppy hand was placed on my forehead then neck, I shivered. "I still want her to be my daughter in-law Adrian, try to understand that I only did this because I wanted you to be happy."

Once Mrs Hayes finished talking, I heard a groan emerge from Adrian. He sounded extremely angry and bothered, then I heard him stomp past me and further away. Mrs Hayes sighed loudly and also followed his tracks, shutting the door.

I gulped and cautiously opened my eyes. My eyes again searched my surroundings of the room, to realize that the bedside lamps were turned on and the bundle of thick curtains were closed, blocking any outdoor lighting. I assumed that it was nighttime as the room was all boarded up.

My questions only made me feel dizzy. I had suspicions about this marriage from the entire beginning, it just didn't add up to why I would be marrying Adrian. My family forbid me from knowing any information but I'll have to ask the Hayes now. I hope that they will tell me everything.

What did they want from me marrying Adrian?

What led them all to create this contract?

I restrained myself from leaping out of the bed and rushing forward for answers. I wasn't sure if I could receive the right answer from the Hayes if I inquire them now. I gulped thinking about my situation.

I'll make them tell me everything.