The lady in the magazine who looks like me

Marian POV

My head hurts like hitting it on something hard. Shifting to a sitting position only seemed to aggravate the ache.

I must have drank a lot to feel like this. No wonder, I was bold enough to kiss Peter back.

My mother walked into my room with a tray conveying a bowl and utensils, hopefully for my hangover.

She sat on the bed and set the tray on her lap.

"The party was strictly for business but you got too comfortable. Try not to drink too much next time, okay?", my mother rested her palm on my forehead.

Ugh. How I hate the word 'next time' whenever it concerns work.

My mother raised a spoonful of soup to my lips. I smiled and gratefully sipped it.

On the tray, there seemed to be a folded page of a magazine on it.

On the paper, someone wore the same gown I wore yesterday to the party. It caught my interest.

I picked it up and was surprised to see myself in a magazine. But it was not only me.

Peter was on it too, standing dangerously close to me as we shared a kiss.

The headline did nothing to calm my awakened sense. I felt weak and could hear my heart pound.

The first few sentences read;

Was he proposing?

Mr Daniel Peters, the young promising heir to Daniel incs, was seen with Miss Marian Miller, the only child of Late Mr Paul Miller owner of Go foods, who had just been exposed to the society.

The two were caught sharing a passionate kiss in a maze.

Questions are popping as the whole world is curious:

Is Mr Daniel Peter an old acquaintance or does Miss Miller share kisses with random handsome eligible bachelors?

I could not read any longer as I threw the paper on the floor and hid my face under the blanket.

"I think it's for the best. I mean, it's sweet to know that you find Peter attractive. I have always suspected something was going on between you too. Peter is a good boy", my mother commented.

"Mum, it's not what you think", I muttered beneath the sheets.

My mother teased me a little by trying to raise the blanket, I held firmly.

"It's not a bad thing, but lady you need to control your alcohol intake, it's not healthy"

"I'm sorry for yesterday"

My mother hesitated for a minute before she added, "You know your father never wanted you".

That did the trick. I sat upright as I schooled in her features. My mother was telling the truth.

She's finally opening up to me.

"I mean, he was happy when he found out about the pregnancy, he pampered and cared for me when he found out. He was very happy but when he found out that we were going to have a baby girl, everything changed. He stopped caring.

I threatened to leave my husband's house and move back to my parent's and I did leave but my parents sent me out of their house and told me to get rid of the child if I wanted to still be their daughter. I had no one to help me, so raising you on my own was not an option. So I returned home and begged your father to keep you alive. He let me birth you if I would never look for you after you were born"

My mother wiped a few tears that rolled down. I felt bad too. I hated my mother for so long, when the problem was me. I should not have been born.

"Due to the emotional stress, I never got pregnant again. There was a time, during your father's last days, that he wished he had given you a chance to bear his name. He died of cancer", she sniffed.

I couldn't help the liquid that clouded my vision, from falling as I cried too. "Mum, it's all in the past now".

"Your father never wanted a girl because he believed a female child would only ruin his reputation, she would get married and all he has ever worked for would be lost. He believed that all female children were useless".

"Mum…" I wailed unashamedly.

"Are you a useless child?"

"Mum…"

"Answer me!", my mother yelled for the first time. She has never raised her voice at me.

She started again, "Marian, are you useless?"

"No mum, am not", I whispered in tears.

"Prove it child, show your father wherever he is that you deserve this position. I have watched you for some time now, I see the way you act, you don't seem interested, are you trying to prove your father right?"

"Mummy, I'm sorry. I had no idea that you did a lot to make sure I was fine".

My mother left the soup and sat very close to me, she patted my back and said in a calm voice.

"I did not tell you all this to make you hold any grudge against your father. I don't hold any, so you shouldn't. He only did what he believed to be true".

I nodded my head, I honestly do not feel any anger towards him. I was the one who ruined their life by being their offspring.

After a while, she continued, "When Peter's proposal should come, you must say yes".

I stilled at once, I do not even like Peter and my mother is talking of marriage.

True, Peter is a good friend but I do not have any romantic feelings for him.

I allowed the kiss because I was under the influence of alcohol, not because I liked him.

I tried to speak but my mother beat me to it.

"I have seen the way he looks at you, even if he might not know it yet but he fancies you. Get to know him better and marry him.

You need to have powerful men like him, he was born into business. I know you will do well, you are a strong woman and I will stay by your side until you can stand on your own. The ball is in your court dear".

I do not know what to say anymore. This is a lot to take in at once.