I Have A Fiance

Silver laughed out loud at the absurdity of the situation. She was just twenty and currently in college so how could she get married at this time? And even if she wanted to get married it has to be for love and not because her parents suddenly told her to.

She stood up from the couch laughing as she made her way to her room. Her parents just kept on looking at her like she has lost it.

'Of course, I think I've lost it.'

She had barely sat down on the bed when her phone rang. She checked the caller ID and saw 'Carlotta' on the screen. She quickly picked up the call and put it on loudspeaker.

"Silver! Were you able to get home on time? What happened? Hope your parents are okay."

"Something really big happened. One that I didn't even imagine as I was on my way home." She took off her boots and jacket and then lay down on the bed.

"Is it bad? You're making me curious. Spill it." Silver chuckled at her eagerness. If only she knew the turn her life was about to take.

"The seriousness of this issue isn't to be discussed over the phone. Let's talk tomorrow after class."

"Okay. I hope it isn't bad though. Anyway, Jeff asked after you. Too bad you left early." Her eyes lit up immediately she heard Jeff's name.

"He did? OMG! What did you tell him?"

"I just told him you had an emergency at home. He wanted to invite us to the party he was hosting. He said he looks forward to seeing you especially."

Silver quickly sat up on the bed and screamed into the phone. This alone was enough to make her day better. Jeff has been her long-time crush. They greeted each other whenever they saw but nothing more. They weren't even close enough to joke around.

"Calm down girl. He invited you to a party not ask you out. Plus he invited almost everyone on campus so don't read too much into it."

"Whatever. We don't have time for this conversation, I need to pick out what to wear." She quickly went to her wardrobe rummaging through it.

"Silver! The party's tomorrow. Can you calm down?" Exasperation could be noticed in Carlotta's voice.

"It's never too late to be prepared. See you tomorrow in school." She went back to pick up the phone from the bed and blew kisses into the phone and hung up.

She stood at akimbo staring at the mess she created when she heard the knock on the door.

Her mother came in and was visibly shocked at the sight of clothes scattered on the floor but didn't say anything about it.

"Do you have a moment to spare? You seem quite busy" She tried to avoid stepping on the clothes as she went towards the bed to sit.

"If it's marriage talks, then as you can see I'm very busy," Silver said picking up some clothes from the ground.

"I know that you're angry..."

Silver quickly cut her mother short. "Do you? Did you people even think once about me when you were arranging this marriage? Did you and Father consider my feelings?"

"Of course sweetie, we did but our hands were tied. There was nothing we could do. If you'll just give your father the chance to explain things to you." Her mother said with pleading eyes.

"Your father loves you very much and will never do anything that will jeopardize your future. Try and talk to him when you've calmed down a little. Besides Mr Corleonesi seems to be a good man."

Silver scoffed, she wasn't hearing any of this. She wasn't going to get married to some random person named Corleonesi or whatever. His name too obviously shows that he was going to be an old man.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you and Father, but I'll stick to my words. I will not be getting married to Mr. Corleonesi or whatever his name is. So it's best if you and Father never bring up this topic again."

"I've got a long day ahead of me tomorrow, so it'll be in my best interest if you leave so that I can rest." Silver said and entered the bathroom closing the door.

Her mother stared at the closed door for a while before getting up to leave the room.

She knew that convincing Silver will be hard but she didn't know that she will be this stubborn. She could only hope that her husband talks to her so that she understands the reason they are doing this.

***

The next day Silver woke up with smiles on her face. Today was Jeff's party and she couldn't wait for the day to run fast.

She got to school a little late so there was no time for her and Carlotta to do their early morning gossip.

Time passed by in a frenzy with her attending four different practical classes. She was currently in the last class and was very tired. She prayed that the class would quickly come to an end.

"Impressive Miss Grayson, you get better every day" The professor complimented her dish with a smile.

She smiled back at him feeling pleased with herself. The professor was known to be stingy with compliments, so for him to praise her food, simply meant her efforts weren't in vain.

The professor went around, tasting the dishes placed before him and giving corrections to those who needed them.

"That will be all for today," The professor said, carrying his stuff and leaving the hall.

As soon as he left, the once quiet hall became filled with noise. Some students flocked around Silver's table wanting to have a taste of her food.

When everyone had taken a bite or two, Silver cleared her workspace and went to the locker to grab her stuff. She got a text from Carlotta telling her to come over to the cafeteria.

Getting to the cafeteria, she sighted Carlotta at a table close to the window and headed toward her. She dropped her bag on the ground and flopped down on the chair due to exhaustion.

"A long day huh," Carlotta said and pushed a plate of food to her front.

"You can say that again," Silver said tiredly.

She loved cooking and that's why she applied to study culinary arts, but the stress that came with it wasn't what she signed up for. Boiling, frying, tasting, thrashing when there's a fault, and redoing the process all over again just to perfect one dish was a lot of stress.

But seeing people being satisfied and happy with her food gave her the energy to go on.

"So tell me, Silver, what happened yesterday? You said you'll talk about it today" Carlotta said slurping her smoothie.

"I'm getting married" Sliver dropped the bomb like it wasn't a big deal.

Carlotta opened her mouth in shock, spilling its contents.

"Geez! That's gross Carl" Silver said handing her tissues to wipe her mouth.

"Come again, you are getting married? To who? Wait! Scratch that, why are you getting married? Do you have a fiance that I don't know of?" Carlotta said bombarding Silver with questions.

"Well, I had one as of yesterday. That was the reason my parents asked me to hurry home. To give me news of my so-called marriage" Silver said pushing the now empty plate aside.

"Wow! That was unexpected. So who's the lucky guy that's coming to sweep you off your feet" Carlotta asked teasing her.

"Don't even start. I'm not in the mood for jokes. Besides I didn't ask about him. Oh! I think it was Corleone something."

"Corleonesi! Yes, that's his name. I have a feeling he might be old, the name sounds befitting for an old man." Silver said shaking her head.

"You know what, Jeff's party is what I need right now. I'll show up at that party, have fun and pretend that my parents never talked about this. Screw marriage" She said hitting the table.

Carlotta rolled her eyes at the mention of Jeff's name. She didn't like him one bit and tried talking to Silver about him but her friend was head over heels for him.

"Of course. That party is what we need." Carlotta said agreeing with a forced smile on her face.

****

In a dark study room, a man could be seen sitting behind a desk, facing the window with a phone in his ear.

"Speak" He commanded the person on the phone.

"She'll be attending a party tonight, but I have a bad feeling about this." The person on the other line said.

"Send me the details," the man said and hung up.

A text came in on his phone and he opened it. It was the address of where the party will hold.

He scrolled through some contacts on this phone and dialed the one he was looking for.

The clicking sound informed him that the call had connected.

"Be ready" He said to the person on the other line and ended the call.