Chapter 3 I will marry him
TWO MONTHS LATER...
JANELLE
Since Danica died, life had been a living hell.
I sometimes wondered how Mom and I were still getting through each day. We had literally become shadows of ourselves, struggling to process the loss.
What I did that night haunted me too much, and I decided not to think about it anymore.
Because I might truly lose my mind if I thought about how I painfully lost my virginity to save my sister and, in the end, couldn't save her.
I thought life had been unfair to me, but at this point, it just kept throwing more and more blows at me.
Life hadn't always been this hard. Mom, Danica, me, and our dad used to live together in Chicago.
My mom was from a rich family, and when she married my dad, love made her sign her inheritance over to him.
When I was little, I thought my father was a good man. He had loved and taken good care of us, but all of a sudden, he changed.
He started being abusive toward my mom, and one day, when I was eleven, he sent us packing.
He left us with nothing and told us to go far away from him.
I later got to know that he remarried and took in his new wife's daughter as his own.
For the longest time, I tried to understand why he'd do that, but in the end, I couldn't, and I hated him for it.
Because after he sent us away, our lives were never the same. We struggled to make ends meet. It was tough, but we could always get by because we had each other.
And now, I'd never been able to give Danica the life I promised her. I was so full of pain and grief, and I didn't know what to do with myself anymore.
Hearing the doorbell ring, I headed for the door, thinking it was Esme.
She always came by to check on Mom and me.
But as I opened the door, I couldn't believe my eyes.
It was my father!
Without hesitation, I moved to shut the door, but he blocked it.
"Is this any way to greet your father?"
"You're not welcome here!" I snapped, but he was stronger and pushed the door open, walking in.
"Elle, who's that?" My mom walked in and froze when she saw him, then lashed out. "You had the nerve to show up here? You couldn't even attend your own daughter's funeral!" my mom yelled.
"Can we not talk about the past right now?" my dad—or rather, Gary, because I refused to see this man as my father anymore—said.
"The past?" I asked, incredulously. "I reached out to you for money for her surgery a lot of times, but you wouldn't pick up!"
"Because I didn't have the money! The company's going through a financial crisis."
"Financial crisis? You've been saying that for years! If you had helped sooner, she'd still be alive! You devil!" my mom thundered, grabbing his collar.
"Calm down, woman. We need to talk about something important. The O'Connells reached out to me."
"What's my business with the O'Connells?" my mom snapped.
"Have you forgotten that Janelle was betrothed to the eldest son of that family?"
I frowned.
I was betrothed to someone?
My mom slowly let go of Gary.
"Is that true, Mom?"
She stared at me and sighed. "Yeah, your grandfather and his were best friends and business partners. They made the arrangements. There was even a signed contract..."
"Good, I'm glad you remember. The O'Connells want to know when the wedding will be held."
"No. That won't happen. I only agreed to it back then because no one could say no to my father. But since he isn't alive anymore, Janelle will not have an arranged marriage. She'll only marry whomever she chooses..."
"Oh, cut the nonsense! Have you forgotten the penalty for breaking this contract? Right now, I do not have billions of dollars to pay as a penalty. Besides, what's so wrong with her marrying into that family? They're filthy rich. She's going to have a good life."
"What right do you have to say that? Get out of my house this instant! You're not welcome here!" my mom thundered.
"I'll marry him," I announced.
The two of them looked at me, surprised.
"I'll marry him on one condition: My mom and I will return to Chicago and take back everything that belongs to her."
I had heard about the O'Connells — the power and connections they had.
I also heard about their eldest son, who was the heir to the family's empire.
So I would be marrying someone that powerful?
It felt too unreal, but I wanted to grab this opportunity.
I had suffered too much. I had lost a lot.
I refused to lose anything more.
I didn't care what this made me, but I didn't want to be trampled on anymore. I didn't want to be put in a situation where I would be completely hopeless and helpless.
I wanted power, I wanted revenge on my father, and I wanted to be able to stand strong and never break down again!