uliet's Po

cape the painful truth. Tears sprang to my eyes, and I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to stifle a sob."What?" I stuttered, my voice trembling. "No, that can't be... Mom was fine; I just talked to her yesterday..." My words trailed off, replaced by uncontrollable weeping.I collapsed into a nearby chair, overcome with grief, as Doctor Frank's words echoed in my mind like a cruel mantra: "I'm so sorry... Your mother didn't make it...""Ahh! No, no, it can't be. Take me to my mom right now." I demanded, with tears streaming down my eyes, while I kept on dragging his lab coat and the telescope from his neck full to the ground."I'm so sorry, Juliet; she gave up her ghost to rest." Doctor Frank said. After a few minutes, the hospital staff wheeled in the stretcher, and I felt my world crumbling around me. I couldn't bear the thought of seeing my mother's lifeless body. The sound of the wheels creaking, the rustle of the hospital sheets, and the antiseptic smell of the hospital all blended together to create a sense of surreal horror.I tried to turn away, but my eyes seemed glued to the stretcher. My mother's face was pale and still, her eyes closed as if in peaceful sleep. But I knew it was just an illusion. My mother was gone.A sob racked my body, and I stumbled forward, reaching out to touch my mother's hand. It was cold and stiff, but I held onto it tightly, as if trying to will life back into it."Why?" I whispered, my voice barely audible. "Why did you have to leave me?" She lay lifeless and couldn't give me any response."You need to give her a befitting burial, so sorry, Juliet." Doctor Frank said and left me rolling on the floor as they took my mother to the morgue.************After a week of soberness and unhappiness, I woke up on the 8th day to a message from Mr. George; it was as if he had been waiting for my mother to die; part of me felt like he had something to do with her death. I felt like I had been punched in the gut, my breath knocked out of me. The message on my phone seemed to burn with an inner fire, reminding me of the commitment I had made with that animal boss of mine. A commitment that now felt like a trap.The MARRIAGE CONTRACT. The wedding. It all felt so surreal, like a bad dream I couldn't wake up from. I had agreed to the arrangement to secure my family's financial problem, to ensure my mother's medical bills were paid. But now, with my mother gone, the whole thing felt pointless.And yet, I was bound by the contract. I had signed on the dotted line, promising to marry Mr. Geor