Don't Hate Me, Don't Love Me

Getting Married

On the third day of March.

Cecelia Frederick, the fifth daughter of the Frederick family was carried through the side gate of the Archer's residence in a bright chair. Only then did the servants of the Archer family hurriedly replace the funeral decoration with the one of a wedding ceremony.

Three days ago, Elyse Frederick, the first wife of Draven Archer, the eldest son of the Archer family, was carried out from the Archer's residence. She was my elder sister.

But...

She was dead, and I was at my wedding.

***

My elder sister Elyse was the most beautiful girl in the Frederick family. When my father sought to climb the social ladder by linking with the Archer family, he hired the best matchmaker in the city to secure the marriage to the ailing eldest son of the Archer family.

I remember the matchmaker saying that Draven had tuberculosis and would not live past forty. He was also said to be unlikely to have children.

Most families would have avoided such a match at all costs, but not ours. We went for it eagerly.

Yet my father did not say a word, just slipped two gold pieces into the matchmaker's hand.

She weighed the gold in her palm, and even the large black mole at the corner of her mouth twitched as she smiled.

In less than two days, the matchmaker brought back good news.

On the day of Elyse's wedding, the entire Frederick household was decorated with lights and festivity. The celebration was grand.

My father could not stop smiling. After all, the Archer family was a royal merchant household, far beyond the reach of our family, even though the Frederick family owned the best medical clinic in Bulfa.

Who would have thought that in less than two years, my sister would fall into the water and drown?

And Draven, the one the matchmaker said was dying, was still very much alive.

Giving up one daughter was not enough for the Frederick family. My father was not about to let go of the wealth he had gained so easily.

So, he set his sights on me. Less than a month after my sister's mourning period had ended, he sent me into the Archer household as a second wife for the supposedly short-lived eldest son.