Chapter Text
Pond was 34 and widowed. An unexpected heart attack took her life. With her, she also took away the humanity of the house. Their once loving family now consisted of dining table arguments. Pond’s parents decided that two years was enough of a grieving period for a lifetime of love.
They immediately arranged for him to have a wedding. They gave him a chance at love when he was much younger. But, that didn’t work out, she is now no more.
His resistance didn’t matter to his family.
What if the guy was almost a decade younger?
What if he still harbored feelings for his late wife?
All they wanted was an heir. All they wanted was someone obedient enough to listen to them, but still educated enough to parade around.
Thus came Phuwin. Smart, good-looking, a carrier man, well educated, top of his class. They have run into him a few times in some elite gatherings. That was enough.
Thus, an offer was made, one that Phuwin’s family could never reject.
A promise to provide 30% of equity of their massive private conglomerate to Phuwin’s family. It was a simple offer, but that held more power. Dividend payouts alone would keep the cash flowing into the family for decades, the offer of undeniable. Thus, they immediately agreed.
Phuwin was just 24. He did try his best to escape the marriage. He had completed his masters. He loved math. They didn’t confuse him. The numbers never hurt him. They were easy and calm, unlike his home.
They were never physically abusive, not really.
They isolated him, kept him as a presentable doll, rather than a human being of his own. They sure did promise him education. But, there was never a home for any emotion in their household.
Phuwin kept to himself. He wasn’t helpless, but he knew better to not fight. He knew that the way his family worked was not normal. He knew that parents are supposed to love their kid. He knew his biology. But he always knew to shut up, it was just a lot easier to keep going than fight back.
The news was dropped onto him on a random weekday. He was anticipating his results from the universities he applied for PhD. But instead he learnt that he was getting married.
To a man he didn’t know.
To a man who was already widowed.
To a man who was allegedly a decade older than him.
And when he said no, for the first time in his entire life, that he wouldn't do it; all he got in response was all his freedom taken away. He knew that they wouldn’t take no for an answer. He knew, yet how could he not fight back when his entire life was being sold away.
No electronics, no internet, no means of communication. A pretty little bird, in a large cage. An illusion of freedom. Freedom is a fragile little thing, there is no certainty with it.
If it is there, it is there. If it is not, it is not.