Baby-producing Machine

There was a throne at the center of the hall and that was where Big Joe was headed. To think that he was a king, the man must be suffering from delusion of grandeur. 

The throne was so huge that he had to be lifted onto it by his men and then, there was a smaller yet luxurious seat by his side on the second step of the platform for her.

Their seating spoke lots of volumes. Arianna knew in his eyes that she was lower than him and that made her quite furious. The reason why she had worked hard to get into university was to get a well-paid job so no one looked down on her and marry a partner that accepts and respects her as an equal.

"You are very beautiful," He pointed out and she had to fight against the urge to gag. Of course, her beauty was the only thing that he liked about her. 

"Thank you," Arianna still responded with a smile even though she was repulsed by his compliment. 

"What are your hobbies?" He asked as if he was really interested to know. 

"I love reading and exploring and it's wonderful that the earth has so many possibilities that one can never catch on to till their time on earth is exhausted. I want to know as much as ..." She was not even done speaking when he interrupted. 

"It's quite a pity that none of your hobbies fit none of my needs. But don't worry, I'm sure you'd find new hobbies once we start a family," He hinted at the fact that her role here was to be a child breeder. 

"Take a deep breath, Arianna, do not do something stupid," She tried to calm herself down.

Arianna was so angry she wanted to scream out. It was beginning to suffocate her inside that she wished to let everything out. 

She wanted everyone here to know that she was more than a bargaining chip, a human being! Her uncle had no right to sell her off! This was against the law! She had dreams until they destroyed it! She did not want to marry big Joe but the love of her life when the time comes! She was worth more than a baby-producing machine! She did not want this kind of life!

However, even as her mouth opened, no sound was heard. Perhaps only the wild animals - that were nowhere to be found here - could understand the frequency of her wordless speech. It was just like she was stuck in a never-ending nightmare and there was no one to help her.

Thankfully, Big Joe did not notice her woes nor bother her with more questions that were sure to upset her because he was busy accepting words of congratulations from his guests.

It was at that moment that her gaze somehow connected with Kenith from across the room and she could see the apology in his orbs but she was not moved by it. If anything, Arianna glared at him that if eyes were bullets he would have been long dead. There was no forgiving him on this one.

"Congratulations on your new bride," a woman's chirpy voice caught her attention. Arianna made up her mind not to interfere with Big Joe and couldn't wait to leave for her room however she could sense mockery from her.

"Of course, she's beautiful, perhaps even more than the others before her," The woman went ahead to say and that made her brows furrow.

Others before her? Arianna was quick to pick on those words. There were others before her? She glanced up at the woman, her curious gaze begging for more details. 

"Perhaps she would be smart enough not to try to escape like the others and end up dead," 

"Juliet!" Big Joe scolded her. 

The ones who tried to escape ended up dead? A chill traveled down Arianna's spine and her dreams of leaving here seemed like someone just crushed it into smithereens. 

It seems she had no choice but to adopt Cassie's suggestion, but then, would she be able to leave with her decision? Dying while escaping seems a better option than living here unfulfilled. 

So while Big shot was having a stare-off with Juliet, Arianna stood from her seat and at once, fell on the foot of his throne. There was no need to be ashamed, everyone in here tonight knew what her fate would be - none of them were innocent. 

"I don't want to get married to you immediately," Arianna announced and she sensed the change in Big Joe's demeanor, he was mad. However, Arianna was not thwarted, she had no choice but to force his hand in front of everyone. He wouldn't harm her in public, hopefully. 

She lifted her head to meet his gaze, "Give me one week, no, four days," Arianna changed her mind when she saw his grim expression, "I want to get to know the man that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. I have experienced a lot of shocking events in just a few days that I'm still a bit lost here," She hinted at them kidnapping her, "And I'm not going to lie, your growth restriction bothers me," She put it mildly. 

Perhaps because of the way she framed his disability carefully, Big Joe wasn't as mad as she thought he would be. 

So she went on, "I'm not stupid enough to run off and I've made peace with my fate - where would I run off anyway when my own family sold me off. But from what I heard from the little time here, marrying you is not that bad anyway. I would get to have power and money. So please, give me a few days to get to spend time with you," Arianna said, almost out of breath. She only hoped that this was enough to buy his trust. 

A huge silence fell over the crowd as they waited for Big Joe's decision. Sadly, the man sat on his throne with an indifferent expression while Arianna was still on her knees with her head bowed. 

Suddenly, Big Joe burst into laughter that made Arianna bit her lips unsure. What now? 

"I like her, she's sincere," Big Joe  proclaimed then said, "Request granted,"