At sixteen, my parents forced me to leave school and marry a man I barely knew… But when I discovered the real reason for that marriage, I took off my ring and did something that shocked both families
I was sixteen years old and in my final year of high school.
I had started school a year later than most students, but I was never ashamed of it. On the contrary, I worked even harder because I wanted to graduate with good grades and then study nursing.
My tutor teacher used to tell me that my determination would take me very far.
But one night, my father came home and announced that, starting the next day, he would no longer attend school.
At first I thought something terrible had happened.
Then my mother took my school uniform out of the closet, folded it, and put it inside a suitcase.
“You’ll get married in three weeks,” he said.
The man’s name was Ryan. He was twenty-seven years old and the son of my father’s new business partner.
I had only seen him twice.
The first time, he came to our house with his father. He spent the whole night watching videos on his phone and not once did he ask me what I liked or what I wanted to do with my life.
He only asked me one question.
—Do you know how to cook?
The second time we met, her mother, Margaret, examined me from head to toe. She asked if I got up early, if I knew how to take care of the housework, and if I was ready to become “a good wife.”
I told him that I wanted to finish school first.
Margaret burst out laughing.
—A married woman doesn’t need to study.
I begged my father to at least let me complete my final year. I explained that my exams were only a few months away.
