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Title: I Chose Me
(You can rename it if you like!)
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Chapter 1: The Price of Being a Daughter
The gold necklace around Esi's neck felt heavier than it should. Not because of its weight — but because of what it meant.
She sat quietly on the velvet stool, staring at her reflection. The silk kente cloth hugged her body like a stranger's embrace. Everything was perfect — the hair, the makeup, the ceremony.
Everything... except her.
"Esi," her mother said softly, stepping behind her. "You're not a child anymore. This is your destiny. The Agyeman family has chosen you — just like they chose your grandmother. And me."
Esi blinked slowly. Destiny. That word again.
"I didn't ask to be chosen," she whispered.
Her mother's hand froze on her shoulder. "That's not how it works. In our bloodline, the women marry into the Agyeman family. It is an honor. A blessing. A protection."
A golden cage is still a cage, Esi thought. But she didn't say it aloud. Not today.
From the courtyard below, drums began to sound — slow and royal. The groom had arrived.
She didn't hate him. In fact, Kwabena Agyeman was respectful. Gentle, even. A man most girls would dream of. But her dream had never been to become someone's wife. At least, not like this.
She wanted more. And she didn't know what "more" meant yet — but she knew it wasn't this.
As the music grew louder, her mother kissed her cheek and whispered, "Smile. Our future depends on it."
Esi smiled.
But in her heart, something whispered back:
"Not forever."
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