Xeria's P.O.V

Why was he shouting at me?

Not everyone is going to bow to his commands. This is all ridiculous and absurd; what have I brought upon myself?

Now that I think about it, he's a complete control freak to spout this kind of nonsense. I don't belong to anyone; he can shout all he wants.

"Potato, are you all dried up?" Stroking his fur, I check him; I have to groom him too.

It took a good long time before I was done with Potato, and now I just want to go to sleep.

It doesn't matter the time; I'm already too exhausted. Picking up to check notifications on my phone, I see mom calling me.

"Hi, Mom."

"What did you do, Xeria?" She asks me even before listening to me, and judging by her voice, she's clearly agitated.

"What do you mean?" Now what did I do? Except for the little burst out, it was nothing else.

"Take the first flight back; I want to have a serious discussion with you." She says, coughing.

"Are you okay?"

"What is it?"

What's wrong with her?

"Just do as I say." And she hangs up.

What's the issue that she can't even wait for tomorrow so that I can drive back? She wants me at home immediately.

Pacing around the room I think, Moira has already sent the tickets, and I have to leave. I have already updated Quentin, but mom has never behaved this way. What's wrong with her?

Even Dad is not answering my calls.
The whole flight was me wondering about what was wrong, and now I'm finally at home.

Melanie, the house keeper, told me to go to my parents' room. So now I'm standing outside the room, debating whether to go inside or not.

"Come in, honey; we know you're here," I hear dad say, and I quickly open the door and step inside the room.

Mom was sitting on the armchair, and dad was standing by the window when I entered the room.

"Xeria, why're you being like this?" Mom asks, exhaling. For the first time ever, I see dark circles below her eyes; her lips were also chapped, and her skin was dry and pale.

"What did I do, mom?" I ask her once again.

"We don't know what happened between you and Khaos, but he has made it pretty clear that he wants the wedding to take place by the end of the month." Dad replies, looking at me.

"Unbelievable, you people." I snigger.

"He's a control freak; do you even know what he said to me?"

"He wants to dictate to us; what will he do if we don't accept his commands? Pull out the investments to make us weak; enough is enough; why are we even listening to him at this point? We can just solve this by ourselves." emptying all the thoughts at once, I speak, not knowing when I raise my voice.

"Enough, Xeria, we are doing this because there is no other way; do you understand that?" For the first time, mom is not taking my choices into consideration.

"Xeria, you have already accepted the decision; why now?"

"You have already tried being in a relationship; where did that end?"

"Trust mom and dad this time, and don't add to our problems." Walking towards me, he keeps his hand on my shoulder.

"What are you talking about?"

"You have always supported me. When have I ever let you down?"

"This is a big decision. Why are you not understanding?" A lump was forming in my throat as I spoke.

"Dear, please, we have always supported your decisions, but listen to us this time." Mom adds, massaging her temple with her fingers.

I look at dad with a pained look.

Why are they not listening to me?

Why are they not understanding anything?

Biting my lower lip, I look back and forth between my dad and mom.

"Please, honey." Dad pleads, taking my hands into his.

"Does this mean that I have to get married by the end of the month?" I ask him, tears springing up in my eyes, and he just nods his head slowly.

"If I say yes, will that make you both happy?" A lone tear drips down my cheek.

"Yes." Mom says, averting her gaze.

"Ok, then, do as you all wish." Unlocking the door, I walk out towards my own room.

Walking inside my room, I climb on my bed and curl up in a ball. Potato also jumps in and licks my face.

I hug him close and bury my face in his fur; he doesn't move and relaxes in my arms.

"Potato, why are mom and dad not listening to me? They have always listened to me. What is happening? Why don't I have control over anything?" I say, tears falling down my face.

Potato just whines and moves closer. Two weeks from now, and all of this will change.

I have never cried this much in my whole life. Growing up, everyone said to me that I found a solution to every problem; then why am I crying now?

Am I doing something wrong?

Should I not listen to my parents and take a stand for myself?

No, I will not be able to do that.

Should I just accept all of this as my fate?

Happiness comes with sorrow; why am I forgetting that?

Will I be able to pass this test?

And if not, then what will happen?

Potato gets up and brushes my hair with his paws.

"Potato, all of this is getting way too serious. I never thought that a day like this would ever come. I thought that everything was under my control."

"Then why is Khaos having everything his way?" Looking at the ring in my hand, I blurt.

"Potato, I will not lose hope; there may be something I can still do to stop all this."

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. I will not pour them in my eyes and cry.

The following week was different; all through the week, the wedding planning started; it wasn't going to be a small ceremony, invitations were being sent out all over the place, and while I didn't like this at all, I kept my mouth shut and got busy with work.

My dad has already planned out how I was going to work after the wedding, and two days ago, Quentin's family stopped by to congratulate me, saying they thought Khaos was the best choice for me (which I highly doubt), but everyone was trying to assure me of that.

Mom is planning everything, and when it came to the entourage, everything was a mess.

Willie will be the maid of honor, Potato the ring bearer, and then I have Quentin, Ivan, and Moira as my close friends, so bride's men, I think.

At Khaos's side, I don't know his parents are not there, and I don't know about his friends, so it's all a mess.

But mom will take care of everything; she's putting so much effort into all this.

The dress was the most difficult part; mom and dad were in tears, and I was happy that they were happy but too spaced out for the whole thing.

I have been trying to see what will happen if all of this falls out and I fix everything, but there are no positive results at all.

Days are going by, and the lemonade is really not lemonading.

Since my last argument with Khaos, I haven't even tried to talk to him. He tried calling me twice or three times, but I wasn't willing to talk to him.

To be honest, I'm a bit scared too about how Khaos acted that day; we really didn't get to the point of getting to know each other, and I don't think I will be doing that anytime soon now.

But I just didn't just sit by idly all this time either. He thinks he can get whatever he wants, but I will show him how highly he is mistaken.

I have been plotting my whole plan and will unravel it at the right time, and when I do, he will see that he has messed with the wrong person this time.