Chapter 4 Get Me Married

• LEONA
• The next day in hospital.
• “I see your daughter is recovering quickly. Let’s talk, then.” I said to the Connors the moment I was in their room.
• “Okay, ma’am,” Conor replied. My smile broadened.
• I handed them a piece of newspaper.
• "WEDDING BELLS RINGS AS JORDAN CHASE, SON OF LIAM CHASE IS SOON TO BE MARRIED" was the first headline they saw.
• They looked up at me in a puzzled face.
• “My son will be getting married soon,” I said, and I saw their confusion intensified.
• “Well, congratulations, ma’am,” Conor chipped in nervously.
• I stared at them, this time more intensely, “I picked a bride two days ago.”
• “She is indeed beautiful. She actually doesn’t know yet.” I added. Understanding dawned on the couple instantly.
• “Genesis Connor is his bride,” I concluded with all seriousness.
• "Ma'am, you can't do this. We can't just push her off to marry your son," Conor protested bitterly.
• "Oh but you can, you must in fact. That's the price you have to pay for your other daughter's hospital bills," I grinned at them. He went quiet and his wife sobbed, unable to speak. Why they were acting like it was a bad thing? This was an opportunity any parents would grab with open arms.
• “I am not selling her out,” he said angrily.
• “Don’t think it that way. Genesis deserves better.With Genesis as my son’s wife, your family will no longer be poor. Ava will have a better life and you know it.”
• His shoulder slumped in defeat. I knew I was almost there.
• “Tick tock, I don’t have much time. This marriage needs to take place in less than two weeks. Think fast. ” I said with a sly smile.
• Then they turned their backs and conferred in whispers.
• "Genesis will never agree to this you know," Connor said in defeat.
• "She wouldn't I guess," his wife mumbled. “Our daughter was hot headed, she was a girl that preferred to make her own part. What will be her reaction? Will she hate us?”
• “But it’s for her good,” the wife was trying to convince themselves.
• “I guess so. Who wouldn’t want to be a Chase?” the husband said.
• “I guess that’s a yes, then.” I clapped my hands with excitement.
• “Yes, ma’am,” they accepted my offer.
• “It's Leona, call me Leona," I said warmly.
• GENESIS
• “Can I leave now?” I nagged for the one hundred and one time. My best friend Tiana rolled her eyes at me.
• "Well yes...the doctor said you can leave," Nate, my boyfriend, replied, and I immediately jumped up from the bed. I hated hospitals.
• Finally they started packing. While I was sick, my best friend Tiana and Tiffany, and my boyfriend Nate had been taking good care of me. I was so grateful for them.
• Just when they finished and picked up our bags, Tiffany shrieked and my heart skipped. I literally went into a panic mood. Nate immediately went to my side and rubbed my back in gentle strides so I could calm down.
• "What....what?" Tiana ran to her and so did I with my hands to my chest.
• Tiffany was wielding a newspaper in hand. She spread it apart and read the headline out loud:
• "WEDDING BELLS RINGS AS JORDAN CHASE, SON OF LIAM CHASE IS SOON TO BE MARRIED"
• Nate rolled his eyes at Tiffany and walked away when he realised it was a girl’s thing.
• “Ohno... He is getting married,” Tiana cried. She had a huge crush on Jordan. I smirked mockingly.
• “You both are nuts,” I simply said and picked up my phone.
• “Uhmmm, durrr... this is Jordan Chase we are talking about!” Tiana fired at me. I shook my head lovingly at them.
• “The bride-to-be is so lucky.” I could hear them mumbling. They were such children, having crushes on a guy that would never see them or even know about their existence.
• I picked up my bag, and headed to the door. It was time to go home. I need to see them and Ava.
• Just then, my phone rang. It was my father.
• “Dad...”I picked up the phone excitedly.
• “Pumpkin, your voice is what I need right now. It soothes my troubled soul so much,” he said. My cheeks turned red. He was a poet and was always making one literal remark about me.
• I was about to tease him, when his words rang in my head again.
• "Troubled...What's wrong? Is everything alright? How is Ava? Where are you guys right now?" I asked him rapidly. Worrying suddenly clouded my mind.
• “Genesis... Come to the hospital. We are at San Buckingham hospital ,” he said and a wave of dizziness came over me. I could see it; it was happening; Ava was in danger again.
• I need to see them, now. I headed to their ward with hurried steps. My friends picked up my things and followed me behind.
• “I can’t believe we are in the same hospital all this while and I didn’t know a thing.” My hands were sweating and my heart was beating loudly. I fear it was all going bad and tears stung the back of my eyes.
• “This is a huge hospital. Don’t blame yourself.” Tiffany soothed me.
• I got to their room and pushed the door open.
• “Blue eyes...” my sister yelled and I froze. I wasn’t expecting an energized child when I walked in. “ Finally you came,” she shrieked and opened her arms for a hug. I hugged her with pure relief before I sat down. I was confused. In front of her were candies, chocolates, hamburgers, hot dogs and cheese.
• “Sweetheart, you came rather quick,” my mom spread her arms at me from the corner of the room with my dad beside her. I ran into their arms like I had not seen them in ages.
• “We were close by,” Tiana put in immediately in a cover up.They knew my parents and my parents knew them except for Nate who I was supposed to introduce to them soon, but not at the hospital, it was a terrible timing.
• "What's going on, how is she? How long has she been here? Why are there so many sweets? She shouldn't be having all this," I asked all at once.
• "I am fine. I got a new kidney," Ava replied to me with a wide smile on her face while I stared at her in awe.
• "A rich lady paid for my new kidney and got me all this. She said she would take care of us all and that you are her daughter-in-law...."
• "Wait....what?"
• I stared at my sister, dumbfounded. “Dad, did you hear your daughter speaking?”
• “Sweetheart,” my dad called with a worried look. My shoulders tensed up. Something was wrong.
• "Genesis...we are going to be leaving now," Tiana said the moment they felt the tension in the room. I turned to them immediately, giving them a faint smile.
• “I will miss you,” I said to them while walking them to the door.
• “Dad, Mom, talk to me,” the moment I closed the door, I said to them as gently as I could.
• Taking a deep breath, my father started, “ Ava collapsed a few days ago.The doctor said she needed a new kidney, or she will die. We were so desperate.”
• “What she said earlier was the truth. She got a new kidney... Leona Chase has paid her hospital bills.” My mom said nervously and my eyes widened.
• I had heard about the family of the former head of state, but what I heard was none of my business, so I didn't pay attention to it. I only knew they were rich, and in our state, poor people stayed away from the rich. That was how it worked if you didn't want to be in trouble or be their puppet.
• “Her bills came with a price,” my father said with a sad voice.
• Nervousness creeping into my body system. He stared at me for long and dropped his hands to his side and looked away. It felt like he was unable to speak for the fear of what he had to say.
• "You are to marry her son in less than two weeks," he said without meeting my eyes.
• For a moment there, I stumbled back a little while. I tried comprehending the things he said. They were the exact same thing Ava had said earlier. I shook my head violently. It couldn't be, how could it be?
• “You sold me out? You sold me out to a family I know nothing of? Didn’t you care about my dreams and opinions?” I screamed at them.
• “Calm down, Genesis. It’s not all that bad. The family has money. It's a life changing opportunity for you and us, we would no longer be poor," my dad added and I glared harder at him with more tears streaming down my cheeks.
• “Money. This is all you cared about. You are tired of being poor and used me as a collateral for your rich life," I snapped and my dad flinched back, his shoulders slumped and he looked away from me. My words were hurting him but I didn't just care.
• I couldn't take the sight of them anymore and I took to my heels and left the room. Tears kept streaming down my cheeks as I ran out of the hospital and got into the first cab I saw.
• I went to the place I thought best for myself while I tried all I could to stabilize myself. It was the only place I could actually run to and I pushed the door open and barged in violently.
• "What is it? what happened?" Tiana came closer to me with a worried look. That called Tiffany's attention and she also came closer, making me her priority at that moment.
• The tears in my eyes didn't stop flowing and I pulled Tiana into a hug and cried even more. After I feel better, I told them everything.
• "You are going to be married into the richest family in the state," Tiana said calmly, speaking slowly as if to a child struggling to understand.
• "You are lucky," Tiffany interjected hastily.
• "What do you mean by luck? I have dreams, I have plans. Should I just throw them away like nothing just so I could get married to a man I don't know?" I snapped at Tiffany.
• "Whoa... calm down," Tiffany backed up, as if fearing I might bite.
• "Genesis..." Tiana placed her hands on my thighs and called out calmly.
• "Those dreams and plans were because you wanted to make life better for your parents and take care of Ava's health issues, right?" she asked.
• "Yes..."
• "And a chance has been given to you. Can't you see? Your sister's hospital bills have been paid, and she has a chance to live. Your parents will live better, and you can as well achieve your dreams easier by being their daughter-in-law," she said, and I began to see reasons.
• "Your parents had no option. You know they would never sell you out. " she added, my shoulders slumped, and guilt filled my heart as I remembered the things I said to my parents.
• "But... I don't know this man. He might be old or haggard or wicked. What happened to love?" I found a different excuse to prove that marriage was not really a good idea.
• "Shut up..." Tiffany shrieked again and got up from the bed in search of something. When she came back, she brought a newspaper and placed it on my legs.
• It was the same newspaper they had seen in the hospital and screamed.
• "Jordan Chase is the only son of the former head of state... and gosh... he isn't old," Tiffany said, her cheeks turning pink.
• "Ohh..." I simply said.
• "But Nate..." I found another excuse, and Tiana rolled her eyes.
• "Nate would understand that you had no choice. Moreover, you don't love him; he is just an amazing companion to you," Tiana said.
• "What... he is my boyfriend, he had...."
• "Girl, you are still a virgin with this hot body... what kind of boyfriend is he?" Tiffany interrupted me, and I gaped at her.
• Yes, I didn't love Nate, but we were a perfect match. We were like the hottest boy, hottest girl must-date couple in college. He respected me and never pushed when I told him I wasn't ready for sex.He was the best man, not some Jordan Chase from a rich family, no matter what others said.
• "Don't think about it. Just do it... I envy you," Tiana shrieked and pulled me away from my thoughts.
• "Cheer up, it's not like you can escape from it. So why not accept it with open arms... do it for your parents and save them from more suffering," Tiffany said, and that last part really hit me.
• How could I not have thought about them? And Ava, she was finally going to be fine.
• "I am getting married then," I sighed, and they both shrieked, excited about my own marriage more than I was myself.
• I went back to the hospital with a lot of thoughts in my mind.
• "It was for Ava, it was for my parents, it was for my family, it was for my dreams. It's the best for me," I kept saying to myself until I got to my sister's room.
• "Ma'am, she refused the proposal and I can't force her to. Give us time, we promise to pay back your money," I heard my father saying, and I paused at the door.
• "It might take a while, but we will pay the money. Her happiness is more important to us, and she isn't happy about any of this. I can't even give her the assurance that she will be happy being married to your son. I am sorry, but we can't..."
• I pushed through the door, and they all turned to me. They were sitting with a woman I had never seen before; she had a scarf tied around her face like she was hiding from someone.
• "Don't worry about it..." I said immediately.
• "I accept the proposal... Get me married."