4• Law of Justice

Chris's gaze went from his daughter to the doctors. He could not speak and he had no words for her at that moment. It seemed like they were villains.

He thanked the doctors and promised to be there for Roman, regardless but he was too weak to say more.

“Whatever you need for his health, experts, doctors, physiotherapy, I will be willing to pay for it.”

The doctors nodded and promised to reach out to him if the need arose.

Chris dragged his daughter and they left the hospital. Amanda could not say anything to him and he was silent till they got home.

Days went by without him saying a word to her still and it was beginning to get her worried. So, she spoke with her mother, Daphne who promised to talk to her father but the conversation did not go as planned.

“Chris, I feel you are being too hard on her. She feels sorry already and I think at this point, we all have to move on.”

She was calm but stern.

Chris lifted his head to her and shook it in disgust.

“I think you are the reason we have insensitivity embedded in our daughters and there is a fine line between that and cruelty.”

“Why would you say such disrespectful words to me?” Daphne queried with a shock stricken gaze at him.

“Because, you deserve them, Daphne. Your daughter knocks down a man, costs him his legs and power of mobility, brings limitations to him and she abandoned him and disappeared and I am supposed to laugh out loud with her and pat her back?”

“But you already paid his bills and she already apologized to him!” Daphne retorted, her patience gradually wearing off.

“No, she was forced to apologize when I reacted the way I did. Even till now, she does not seem to understand the damage she has done to him. As a result, I have devised the perfect way to make her see it clearly.”

“Ignoring her?” Daphne asked and Chris shook his head, a dampened smile fluttering his lips.

“After a long hard thought, I have decided that Amanda will settle down with Roman as his wife.”

Color flushed from Daphne's face as her lips widened with shock.

“Do you realize that you are about to push our daughter into a pit of depression? How can you even suggest such a crazy thing?”

“Daphne, Amanda will marry him whether or not she likes it. This is my final decision!” He was yelling now because he was furious.

“You cannot force our daughter to marry someone she barely knows, a crippled man! Get a hold of yourself, Chris.”

Chris laughed hysterically at his wife, shaking his head in disgust.

“A crippled? How low of you, Daphne and who made him that way?”

Daphne's gaze flustered as she tried to gather her words.

“Look, I understand that you have pity for him and you probably feel guilty that your daughter did this, but I beg you Chris, this is not the way to go about this. Please…”

She lowered her voice now, seeing that her husband was bent doing it his way.

Amanda had been outside their bedroom door, eavesdropping on her parents' conversation and her heart tore apart with frustration as she heard her father's words.

“I cannot marry that peasant,” she whispered to herself, fighting back the urge to push their door open and confront her father.

“Listen Daphne, the only justice that makes sense to me for Roman is that he gets Amanda as a bride. She did this, she has to fix this. They will stay married while she cares for him and tends to his wounds.”

Those words caused Amanda to feel rage burn through her.

“Care for his wounds?” She whispered to herself and this time, she could not hold back the urge to push open the door. The door flung wide open and she was standing in her parents room.

“Oh …good thing you heard me,” Chris said casually, facing his laptop. Daphne's gaze darted to her daughter who appeared broken.

“I cannot marry that man, Dad. I cannot be his wife!” She cried out, her voice husky and dry.

“Well, my mind is made up. It does not look to me like you have a choice to do otherwise.”

“I will not marry him, Dad! You don't have a right to force me into a marriage!” She yelled, her voice escaping into a sob.

“You need to stop this madness,” Daphne warned her husband subtly, “please.”

Chris turned to Amanda.

“Well, since you are so Adamant about doing what I have ordered you to do, here is my final take. It is either you marry Roman or risk losing your inheritance.”

He ended his words with an hiss and turned away from her.

Amanda's eyes darted from her mother to her father, sadness threatening to overwhelm her.

“Please Daddy…” she pleaded, crumbling to the floor with tears rushing down uncontrollably from her eyes, “you cannot do this. I still want to own my life for sometime.”

Chris completely ignored her. He was not listening to her pleas and his mind was made up.

A few weeks later, Roman and Amanda tied the knot as her father had ordered.

They were to live as man and wife and Chris made sure that they lived under his roof to enable him watch over Roman and ensure that Amanda plays her role well.

Amanda only tended to Roman in her father's presence and treated him like trash in his absence.

Whenever they were alone, she would taunt him.

“You piece of shit. Do you think you would ever be that son-in-law to my rich family? If you do, then you must be sick!”

Roman never said much to her. He would only gaze at her with hurt in his eyes and wonder why he even accepted the decision her father made about their marriage.

His turmoil was much but not so much in Chris' presence. He employed the services of a physiotherapist who would show up three times a week.

“I just need you to have all the comfort you need,” Chris would occasionally mention.

Everytime he was home, he would sit beside Roman and read the papers to him and they would have conversations while Daphne, Amanda and Jemma would gaze at them with excessive contempt in their heart.

“I don't like how close Papa is getting to that filth,” Jemma complained, “have you ever imagined father's benevolence getting to that point where he even includes Roman in his will?”

The thought of it was horrible for Daphne and she couldn't wait for Roman to be evicted from their home.

“That can never happen! Father would not be that foolish,” Amanda scolded Jemma.

“It does seem as though he has fallen so deeply for Roman, caring for him like the son he never had.”

Jemma’s words struck a chord of deepened jealousy within Daphne and all she could think about was a plot to eliminate Roman for good.

However, two years after Roman's accident, tragedy struck.