Runaway Bride

“Come back home. This is just another fling of yours and it will be over in less than a month or two based on your historical track record,” I snapped as I clutched my mobile phone tightly in my hand.

“You’re wrong, Leya. This time it’s definitely different. I don’t blame you since you’re no longer living with us. You see, I’ve been secretly dating him for almost a year now and we are truly in love with each other,” my sister announced while sounding very proud.

A year...

“You’ve been engaged to Anthony for over ten years! Also, please don’t make your success in staying in a relationship for longer than a few months sound like a lifetime achievement because it is not!” I barked through the phone.

After shouting for so long, my throat had started to hurt. I was panting as my anger started to boil over. It wasn’t that Dina never matured from the days that we were kids but she had matured in a way that was uniquely and completely her own. Her view of the world wasn’t normal but I couldn’t comment much on that given how twisted and broken I was as well, if not more so.

“Can’t you tell that I’m doing this all for you?” she said sweetly and pleadingly.

“What do you mean?” I asked as an empty and cold feeling welled up in the pit of my stomach.

“I’m such a good, caring, and thoughtful elder sister, don’t you think?” she continued one without answering my question.

“Dina, what on earth are you talking about?” I asked darkly.

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” she replied after a brief moment of pause.

I’m in love with him…?

“Me? In love with who?” I asked while feigning ignorance.

My sister made a hissing sound, and I knew right away that there was no way that I could fool her. The thing about us being twins and always being glued to the hip while growing up was that we knew each other all too well. Just like the way that I understood and knew the real Dina, she also knew the real me.

“Stop pretending around me. It’s useless, Leya. I know that you’re in love with Anthony. How long has it been, truly? I mean, who else could it be?” she asked before laughing a high-pitch laugh.

“That doesn’t matter right now! Where are you?” I asked in my desperate attempt to change the topic.

My embarrassment didn’t quite come close to the severity of the situation at hand. If my sister doesn’t return to marry Anthony just like our family had promised, there would be big trouble and implications that would spread much further than my family or anyone in the country could take responsibility for. The livelihood and wellbeing of so many families were riding on the union of our families. No matter how unfortunate it was for us, this wasn’t a matter that we could take into our own hands anymore.

“Where I am doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m giving you the chance to marry the man that you love. Isn’t that great?” she said excitedly.

“I can’t do that…” I replied without a second thought.

It was just factual and my emotions and feelings don’t come to play in this. That was what I had told myself all along for all these years.

My sister has to marry Anthony and that was that.

“Yes, you can. How many times have you taken my place, Leya?” she asked sweetly and I could tell that she was smiling although I couldn’t see her face.

“This isn’t the same! It’s not the same as all those times before. We can’t do this. There is no way in hell that we can pull this off,” I protested loudly.

“I disagree. This isn’t any different. I also know that you of all people can pull this off,” my sister replied while sounding so calm and also so confident.

“I am not going along with this! Come back and marry your fiancé just like you’re supposed to, Dina,” I said through gritted teeth while enunciating on every single word as if it would make her understand my point better.

“Never…” she replied without even taking a second to reconsider her choice.

“You’re the eldest daughter of the Alnault family. This is what you’re born to do. Nothing else matters. If you can’t do anything else right in your life, can’t you just please get this right?” I shouted into the phone.

“Right? What’s right about marrying a man that I have completely no feelings for?” she asked in clear disbelief.

I knew that strictly political and arranged marriages were supposed to be something crazy in this day and age but it really isn’t as uncommon as most people would believe. It was our luck and also our curse to have been born into such a prestigious family.

…and it wasn’t like we had a choice in the matter. Blame it on the birth lottery of whatever it was.

“You’ve always agreed to it. Why are you changing your mind about it right now? Plus, Anthony…” I said before trailing off because I couldn’t bring myself to finish off my sentence.

Anthony is in love with you, that was what I wanted to say.

“I never bought into that whole ‘silence is acceptance’ ideology. Marry him, Leya. You can do it,” my sister said firmly.

“I can’t do it. I’m not going to do this even if it’s for your sake…” I replied before letting out a long sigh.

My temple just throbbed painfully, and I could feel a migraine developing. I could tell that the night ahead would be a restless and sleepless one for me.

Enough is enough…or so I thought.

“I’m not asking you to marry him for my sake. I’m asking you to do it for your own,” she replied and her tone suddenly felt strict like she was lecturing me.

“Wait! Dina!” I screamed.

Everyone in my family seemed to like to have the last word in our arguments and that applied to my dear twin sister as well. After saying all she had to say, the line just clicked dead. Since I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get a hold of her by calling her back at that number, I didn’t even bother trying.

Dina wasn’t coming back. At least, not before the wedding.

Shit.

– To be continued…