Wrong choice

Later that evening…

Once Azalea turned on her phone, she was bombarded with notifications. Most of them were from her brothers who were furious at her for ratting them out. 

But that was not all, there was a message from an unknown number. "You didn't finish the talk last time. If you are still into the idea of stopping the marriage, meet me at ten at the international airport with your passport."

"WHAT THE F***!!" Azalea yelled, throwing her phone in fury which resulted in the phone hitting the wall and shattered into pieces. 

Azalea quickly regretted her action as she saw her shattered phone on the floor, with worried steps she went up to it and picked it up from the ground. "I was not even done paying its emi….." She wailed seeing her destroyed phone. 

It was all because of him. Murphy's law. Everything is in ruins from the day she met him. Before the marriage now her beloved phone. If she tells her mother she was definitely going to hit her with slippers over giving her money to repair or buy a new one. 

Just then there was a knock on her door. In a grumpy mood, she put her now destroyed phone on the table and walked out to check who it was. As soon as she opened the door, it was none other than her mother, standing there holding two heavy bags. 

"Eh girl, where is your phone? Why is it not reachable? I have been trying to call you all day!" Her mother complained, entering the house and carrying the two heavy bags straight to the kitchen. 

"Because I broke it," Azalea whispered in a guilty voice, if her mother knew what she did the first thing she would do was beat her enough to be in the same state as the phone. 

"Huh? You did what?" Her mother questioned, raising a brow as she put the bag on top of the counter and opened the fridge. 

"I-i…." Azalea had no courage to tell her that she threw her phone and broke it. 

"Why are the side dishes I bought last week still here? And what's this leftover takeout box? Have you started ordering food from outside again? How many times do I have to tell you to not eat this? Why am I working hard every week to make you all the food just for it to go to waste? Do you think I like working my old bones? Or do you think they grow on trees? Many kids don't even get one proper meal and you're wasting food here." Her mother started yelling, glaring at her as she cleaned up the fridge. 

"And why are there so many cup noodles and ramen packets in the trash?" Her mother continued, furious at her daughter's behavior. 

"At least she got something to focus on…" Azalea sighed, sitting down on the couch while her mother continued to scold her while cooking dinner for her. 

"Ah right! Did you pack your bags?" Out of nowhere, her mother questioned. 

"For what?" 

"Of course for the trip. Son-in-law is taking you on a trip for a week tomorrow, no?" Her mother calmly answered. 

Azalea controls herself by not swearing at her mother. Why is she not worried about letting her precious daughter go with some stranger to some strange place? What if he murders her or sells her off to the black market? What happened to staying with a stranger? 

"Mom, tell me are you not worried about me getting abducted and sold away?" Azalea calmly asked, going over to the kitchen. 

"What are you talking about? Who would abduct you? You can't even do the bare minimum of house chores, it's a stroke of luck you got Adam interested in you. Can you even boil water? Let's not forget how much your dad spoiled you. Do you even buy anything that's not branded? The amount you spend on clothes is enough to feed a family of five for a year. Wastage of money." 

Her mother was sharp like a dagger, piercing her heart. She didn't have to be so ruthless. It was not like she tried doing housework, but every time she tried it was her mother who said to not do it and instead focus on studying. Now she was blaming her. As for the clothes…wasn't it she and Dad who bought her everything? She doesn't even ask for it though it's true she never wore anything less than branded. 

"Ma, you done or you got more?" Azalea asked her mother with teary eyes. 

"Ofc, I got more. How big of a picky eater you are. People are grateful for just one meal a day and here you are complaining about getting to eat fish. Do you even know the word grateful? And look around your place. Why do you still have those games and kids' cartoons playing on TV? What are you eight years old?... No one will abduct you even if they do, they are sending you back. Before Adam, I was so worried if you would ever find a guy. Do you even notice your mother's pain? If Adam gets out of your hand, I will disown you!" Her mother ranted without a breather. 

Azalea regretted asking. It seems there is nothing good about her in her mother's eyes. Azalea heaved, the trip was a hundred times better than her mother nagging. With a slumped shoulder, she walked into her bedroom to pack her luggage. 

Her University was still closed, so she could definitely enjoy the trip. She can lie to her parents saying that the trip was with him, instead a single trip to an island seems perfect.

"Are you going to pack those pajamas for the trip?" Her mother peeked from the door, glancing at the clothes she was packing. 

"Mom, they are not pajamas, they are shorts and sweats." Lea corrected her mother. Her mother spared a glare at her answer and stepped inside shoving her away from the wardrobe. 

"In those clothes not even a grandpa will look at you forget Adam. This is the perfect opportunity for you two to get close, and move things forward." Her mother hinted, taking out the dresses from the wardrobe, most of the dresses and clothes were left untouched. 

"Mom! I already told you I am not getting married!" Azalea yelled, tired of hearing Adam this Adam that. Shouldn't it be the opposite? He should be the one trying to impress her after all he wants to marry her.

"Fine, Don't get married. But it's no harm to try to understand each other. Do you think I would be so insistent if he was some bad guy?" Her mother sighed, calmly trying to talk to her mother. Azalea bit her lips, her head lowered with no answer to her mother's question. 

Her mother clearly saw the hesitation written all over her face. She put her hand over Azalea's," You tried choosing for yourself but it was the wrong one. This time why not trust your parents' choice if you think it's a bad choice then we will not force you. But give him a chance, will you?