Lexi laid across her bed with her sketch pad open drawing the scene that was in her mind. The thing about Lexi was she could block out the unhappy things that happened to her and she had learned to be happy with the small pleasures in life. She was an Artistic person. She loved to draw and paint and was actually quite good.  She also played the piano. She could sit and play for hours lost in her own world. Most people thought Lexi was a simple minded girl, bur she actually just stayed in her own little world most of the time ignoring the harsh reality that went on around her. Lexi had strawberry blonde hair and wide green eyes. She was short 5"2 and weighed 100 pounds but was nicely proportioned. She had a smattering of freckles on her face which gave her an innocent fresh faced appearance. Lexi ignored the pain in her body and worked on her sketch.

"Alexandra!" He fathers voice bellowed through the house.

Lexi sighed and put up the sketch pad. Her father is the only one who ever called her by her proper name. She hated it. She got up and slowly walked downstairs to see what he wanted.

"Yes Father." She said when she entered the living room.

Jamison was pouring himself a drink. He looked up at Alexandra. God the girl was pathetic. She was lucky she was going to get a husband. She looked like a child and always would with that hair and freckles, plus Jamison figured she wasn't to smart she always had her head in the clouds day dreaming.

"Alexandra I hope you not going to give me any more trouble." Jamison said fingering his belt.

"No sir, I'll do as you say." Lexi answered looking down.

"Good, this man is a good match for you. You will be well taken care of. He's rich. I've done well for you girl finding you a good husband." Jamison said sipping his drink.

Lexi didn't answer. She stared down at the floor.

"Father I don't know any thing about, well you know…Being married." Lexi said blushing and looking away.

Jamison sighed, he wished the girls mother was alive to explain things to her. Marissa had died in a car accident when Alexandra was 5.

"Alexandra just do what your husband tells you too, he will educate you in such things." Jamison said pouring himself another drink.

Lexi sighed and looked away. She was very ignorant about sex and didn't have a clue about any thing. It wasn't comforting to go into a marriage not knowing a thing. What kind of man was she marrying anyway that had to buy a wife? Lexi assumed he was just as cruel as her father. He father had told her he wanted someone to have children for him and to cook and clean. Sounded like he wanted a slave to, Lexi. She wasn't looking forward to this marriage; in fact the dread was burning a hole in her stomach. But Lexi had been brutalized to much over her short life to stand up to her father. He one act of defiance had been ended with two severe beating which she had no wish to repeat.

"Is dinner ready?" Jamison asked.

Lexi bit her lip. She always had dinner ready at the same time. But with every thing going on she had slipped so far in her little world today she had forgot about dinner.

"No sir." Lexi whispered.

Jamison undid his belt and pointed to the couch.

Lexi scurried over and bent over the arm, she closed her eyes and went to a safe place in her mind.

Mark sat in his den drinking a beer. Tomorrow was the big day. He looked around the den. It needed a woman's touch. He had just bought the house a few weeks ago. It was isolated miles away from everything and no neighbor. He still had the huge home in Houston, but this was where he and his wife would be living. It was nice house, 4 bedrooms 2 and a half baths. A nice size kitchen and dining room. The house was surrounded by lot of land and woods. He wanted a house small enough where his wife could take care of the cleaning with no help. There would be no maids to wait on her.  He was going to have a proper wife who did the cooking and cleaning for her self. He remembered his last two wives with a smirk. They couldn't even fry an egg or boil water. He had to hire maid just to clean up after them. They couldn't do anything for themselves, spoiled rich bitches. Well all that was over his new wife was going to have too earn her keep. No shopping all day and having maids to cook and clean. No refusing to have children because it might ruin her figure. As far as Mark was concerned they should go back to arranged marriages and a time when women knew there place, everyone would be much better off. He got up and headed off to bed. He had a lot to do tomorrow, might as well get to bed.

Lexi lay in the bed under the covers crying. She didn't cry in front of her father, but here it was safe. She was sobbing uncontrollably. Her body ached and she was scared. What kind of life did she have in front of her? She had packed up her art supplies and her books and her clothes. She was al ready to leave this house tomorrow. She should be glad, but this man she was to marry sounded just as bad as her father. He would probably beat her too. Lexi lay there a long time until she had cried herself to sleep.