Chapter 17 - Forced Marriage (1)

July 8 years ago, Yao Family Villa, City K

Lexi was sitting in her room, missing Matthew so much. The three weeks that they had spent together before his current deployment had been heaven. He had finally agreed to consummate their relationship and they had taken all the necessary steps to have a military marriage formalised whenever they wanted.

Lexi was aware that she had to avoid the arranged marriage that her parents were trying to force on her, until they could do that. Observing the disaster that was Chester's arranged marriage she did not want that for herself. She wanted to marry Matthew, and realised be becoming a military wife she would have to make sacrifices but it would be worth it.

The next ten months though would be difficult, as his phase of his training tightly controlled contact to a telephone call per week before they could have a guaranteed period of time together. The prospect of time at Christmas was not guaranteed, and if he received it they would only have a couple of days together at short notice. All she had to do was endure the separation until they could be together.

Like the last few mornings as soon as she sat up, she knew she had to hurry into her en-suite bathroom to throw up. While she was vomiting, Lexi wondered what was going on, as other than this she did not feel unwell. Ten minutes later when she ceased vomiting she rinsed her mouth and headed out to gather clothes for the day. To her shock, her mother was sitting on her bed waiting for her.

"Lexi, sit down, we need to talk."

"Mother, I do not want to talk at the moment."

"Lexi Elizabeth Yao, you will sit down and listen to me or I will call your father in. You will not like this conversation if I call him in."

Lexi knew despite being her father's little princess if her mother called him in, she would not like the outcome. Sitting down, facing her mother Lexi said "What is it mother? I have plans for the day."

"You can forget about those plans young lady. How long have you known you are pregnant?"

"What!" spat our Lexi. She and Matthew had been careful and always used protection while he was home. While they had talked about having a family, they did not want one until after they could marry, without issue. Despite everything they had done for registration of their intention of a military marriage, her parents could stop her from marrying until she turned eighteen.

"Mother there is no way that I am pregnant."

"Young lady, I know that you have been throwing up each morning for the last week and have observed your face with certain things served at meals. You are going to the doctors today and a pregnancy test will be carried out. If it is as I suspect, you will be having a termination immediately, no questions."

"Mother, you cannot force me to do anything."

"You forget you are under eighteen, we have the right to …"

"You can take me to the doctors and require non-invasive tests and treatment to be undertaken but you cannot force me at seventeen to have surgery of any sort unless I am totally incompetent to make a decision."

"You listen to me; you will not bring shame on your father and I. You will do what I am telling you."

"Mother do not make me angry." Observing the look on her mother's face, Lexi knew unless she cooperated today the situation could become challenging. "Fine," Lexi spat out "I will go to the doctors with you and agree to the non-invasive tests and treatment. You can force that on me anyway but as to the other no damn way. Now get out of here."

"Thirty minutes, young lady and I want you in the family dining room. I will have all the appointments scheduled and you better not think of trying to get out of anything that I have told you that you will do."

Within seconds the door to Lexi's suite was pulled open and slammed shut behind her mother. Lexi simply sat on the bed in shock. She placed her hand on her stomach and started to ponder the situation. Could it be true? Was she pregnant with Matthew's child? What would she do? How could she tell him?

When they spoke last night, he told her that he was going to be out of communications for three weeks, but they would have additional telephone calls to make up for the lack of communications during that time. Was this enough of an emergency that she could get a message through?

After standing up, Lexi again placed her hand on her stomach, hoping like anything it was true. It would allow her to sweep away and objections of her parents to her and Matthew leaving, and it would be sufficient for him to get an emergency twenty-four or forty-eight hour leave for them to marry. She hurried into her walk-in robe and found clothes before showering and hurrying down to meet her mother, who until everything was confirmed she did not want to annoy.