RIDING MY FATHER-IN-LAW

Chapter 1:She Can't Proceed With The Wedding 

I jolted up to the annoying and unforgiven sound of my alarm, the sun shining through the pink curtains that decorated my room. It was early in the morning, but I made a decision to just take in a few more moments of rest.

“There is no harm with a little beauty sleep.” I mumbled into my pillow, even if I had a busy day ahead of me because of my younger sister's wedding. Oh my half-sister. She was the product of my father's adultery. My father's mistress's daughter, whom he loves more than my legitimate daughter.

At just twenty-two, I was a famous supermodel who walked on runways and appeared in fashion magazines. I have been modeling ever since I was ten years old, starting with children's clothes and growing into a career that has lasted for twelve years. But I was currently on a break from the runway scene, and my schedule continued to be packed with photo shoots and magazine appearances. I yawned and snuggled deeper into the bed covers, wanting to steal at least three hours more of sleep before the day’s responsibility set in, which was my younger sister's wedding.

Today is my father's mistress's daughter Helen's wedding, and it was scheduled for three in the afternoon, but I had plenty of time to rest until then because it was only eight in the morning. As I began to drift back to sleep, the silence in my room was quickly interrupted by the sudden swing at the door. I opened my eyes to the sound of high heels clicking sharply on the marble floor. There was no mistaking the visitor, who was my mother, Roseline Bennett. She stopped at the edge of my bed, but I pretended to sleep, hoping to avoid her attention so early in the morning.

“You can't lie to your own mother, Arianna. I know you are awake.” There was no mistake in my mother's accent.

I continued to pretend to be asleep, adding a snore to make it believable. Though I was afraid my acting skills would not fool her, nothing could fool my mother. She was unfazed by my actions, so my mother moved to pull open the curtains, allowing the morning sunlight to flood the room, forcing me to run my eyes due to the light.

“You better wake up before your father has to drag you out of the bed.” She muttered 

With a sigh, I sat up, rubbing the fatigue from my eyes and adjusting to the sudden rush of light inside the room.

“What is it?” I asked, reaching for a bottle of water from the pink mini fridge beside the bed.

She had a disapproving look on her face since she expected me to follow a strict schedule which was very important for my job as a model.

“We have an urgent matter concerning your sister, Helena.” She finally said.

Naturally, everything concerned Helena as the world evolved around her. Today is her wedding day, an occasion she had planned with her first love, Aaron Moretti who was the younger brother of Justin Moretti.

“What happened now? Did she faint at the sight of a spider on her wedding dress? Or did another woman look at Aaron in a weird way for one second, and now she has a heart attack?” I replied dryly, my voice dropping in sarcasm.

Helena had a special talent for melodrama, she often made minor problems seem bigger than they were. However, my mother’s concern for her seemed genuine.

“Helena is feeling sick, she can not proceed with the wedding,” she said, and her expression was now more troubled.

“Is it DBD?” I asked, taking a sip of my water.

“What on earth is DBD?” She asked, narrowing her eyes, unfamiliar with the term.

“Dramatic Bitch Disorder,” I replied, returning the water bottle to the mini fridge.

“Adrianna! Don't speak of your sister in such terms, she is suffering, and she is younger than you.” She almost yelled, her voice carrying a threat. Helena is only sixty minutes younger than me.

“Or else, your father will hear of this, you know what he will do to you.” She added, using my father's stern discipline which involved abuse.

I closed my eyes, her threat quickly silencing me because I would rather die than get slapped by my father. I suffered from a deep-rooted fear of my father, whose discipline was harsh and cruel. However, he always treated Helena with kindness and love.

“Just tell me why you are here, you know how I already feel about Helena and her suffering is not my problem.” I stated bluntly, my frustrations visible.

“As I said, Helena is not feeling very well, which prevents her from proceeding with the wedding. She will not marry Aaron Moretti.” She was, her words carried a horrifying announcement.

The wedding was not merely a celebration of love between Helena and her fiancé but also a very important peace treaty between the Bennett family and the Moretti family. Both families were well-respected Mexican Mafia families as they had a long-running rivalry which is still a sensitive topic to this day. If the marriage didn't go through, its failure would likely trigger a potential war. The last war between families occurred almost forty years ago, where families tried to massacre each other, raping the women and killing the children and also cutting off the heads of the men in the family. The war had left scars that still haunted our family and my thoughts turned to my younger siblings, who could be put in grave danger if a war took place again.

My sibling's safety weighed heavily on my mind and I hated the idea of violence and the horrors it could unleash if the marriage between Aaron and Helena didn't go through. But worst of all? She knew the reason behind the marriage, and yet she chose to leave, putting everyone in danger. Father could die for all I care. I would bless the person who killed him and gave them millions. But my younger siblings didn't deserve a cruel fate. I had two younger siblings besides Helena. They were twins, a brother and a sister who were only fifteen years old.

“Helena must go through with the wedding, not being able to do so will cost a lot of lives. Harp and Henry will be put in danger,” I argued bitterly.