Amara Nicholas,
I was in my room when I heard a knock on the door. I walked up to the door and pulled it open, and then I saw my mother's maid, Agnes, smiling at me.
Agnes was dressed in a long blue gown; she was light-skinned and a young lady of my height. I am 24 years old. I was wearing a long blue nightgown, too, as it was already nighttime at around 9 p.m. on the 31st of December.
We were waiting for the crossover celebration to begin, and I had pulled my hair into a bun shortly after drying it from taking my bath in my bathroom.
"What do you want, Agnes?" I asked her, looking at her face, and she smiled back at me.
"Good evening, Amara. If you have a moment, your father sent for you downstairs," Agnes informed me. I sighed and replied, "But we just finished having our dinner in the dining room. What does my father want to say to me again? I am not interested in the New Year celebration."
Agnes smiled faintly at me and replied, "I don't know, but he's downstairs with your mom, and the guests had all gone outside, preparing for the fireworks."
"Hmm, okay. Tell my father I will be downstairs soon. Let me go and relieve myself; I'm coming," I told Agnes, and she turned and left my corridor.
I sighed and went back into my restroom to relieve myself. I got out and went downstairs to the living room of my father's enormous white mansion. We live on the outskirts of the city, precisely in the countryside. It could also be referred to as a village or sparsely populated area, as my father is a chief there and is involved in agricultural farm produce.
I am more like a princess at home. My mother is the center of admiration, and my people love me, as my mother taught me to be kind and helpful to those around us. We were preparing for the cross-over night to a brand-new year, and I don't know how to feel about it.
I am the only child of my parents. I am still single, and my parents aren't pressing for me to get married. My father is an understanding man, but after a few bachelors have come to ask for my hand in marriage, even my crush, Charles Wilfred, my father refused.
His reason, I do not know, but my mother assured me that my father wanted the best for me and couldn't just give me away to any male suitor who would probably treat me less in the future. I understood and sighed, going downstairs to the living room.
We live in a standard duplex house surrounded by many trees and gardens.
My father's mansion was fenced, and now that the celebration was ongoing, we had many visitors, and the guest rooms were packed with my cousins and aunt around.
I finally walked into the living room, and Agnes stepped out again and told me, "Your dad requested that you meet him in his office."
"Okay," I said, then went to my father's home office to see him. I suspect what he had to tell me was private so that none of our relatives would eavesdrop on our conversation.
I finally arrived at the front of my father's home office. Likewise, I knocked gently and heard my father's response in a calm voice, "Come inside."
I quietly pushed the office door open and walked into the enormous office, which had two guest seats and also a set of four blue couches.
There, my parents sat on a blue couch, and my father smiled at me and said, "Come, Amara, come have your seat before the fireworks start. Your mother and I have something important to say to you."
"Okay, Dad," I walked into the office, and shortly after, I was seated on another blue couch across from my parents. My mother was clad in a red nightdress, and my dad wore a white garment and black trousers, beneath which I could see the trousers because he was sitting on the same blue couch as my mother.
My dad smiled at me and said, "Amara, it has come to the point that your mother and I need to inform you about our arrangement. We have been keeping it from you, but now is the time to inform you about our decision. Well, I am sure you're familiar with my friend, Mr. Joshua Briggs."
I smiled and replied, "Yes, Dad. I know him, who lives in the city and visits here sometimes."
"Good. Well, you are married to his only son, Darlington Briggs, and you will be going to the city tomorrow to live with him." My father informed me.
I gasped, "What? Dad, I don't understand. How can I be married to your friend's son? When? I cannot remember getting married to any man, or did I have a memory loss?"
I stared at my parents in shock. Like, how did I get married without remembering about it and also wishing to settle down and have my home? My father sighed, and my mother smiled understandingly at me.
"It was an arrangement I had with Mr. Joshua Briggs a long time ago when you're a baby. You are not fully married to Darlington Briggs officially, but you will have to live with him to see if you both can be compatible to become a true couple," my father explained.
"Dad, I do not understand what you are saying. You mean, I will visit them, or I am already married to the man you're saying is your best friend's son? And doing what married couples do with him?" I asked my father, wanting to understand him better.
"Amara, like I said, you are married to Darlington Briggs, and you should be a good lady to him when you finally get to their house. You don't have to worry about anything; Mr. Joshua has paid all the necessities for your hand in marriage for his son. So Darlington Briggs is your husband, and you are his wife now. The only difference is that Darlington didn't come down here to marry you officially, neither did you wear a wedding dress to walk down the aisle with him. But you are his wife by our traditional custom," my father emphasized.
"Hmm, Dad, I cannot marry a man that I don't know. I can't go to the city to be with him. Mom?" I looked at my mother, wanting to hear her response about all these arrangements.
She sighed and said, "Amara, calm down. It is for your good."
"How, Mom? I cannot go to the city to live with a man I'm not familiar with, Dad. I do not like the bustling lives of city people. I want to remain here, where there's no noise and wild lifestyle," I protested and wanted my father to change his mind about these sudden arrangements.
"I can understand your complaint, my daughter, but I trust Mr. Joshua's son to take care of you, so you're going to the city tomorrow," my father finalized.
Amara Nicholas,"Dad, I don't want to go to the city. I don't want to marry a city man," I protest. Tears are gathering in my eyes.My father stood up from the blue couch. He is a very tall man and dark-skinned in complexion, unlike me and my mother, who are both light-skinned.My father sighed and said, "Amara, we are not disowning you from being our daughter. You will always be our daughter, but you must start your own life and family to give your mother and me grandchildren. We also do not want you to leave us, but we cannot trust all these people here to look after you, so your mother and I decided on this: for you to go to the city, and there, you will be genuinely loved, not by greedy people who may be pretending with you to gain favor from us.""Dad!" Tears flowed freely from my eyes like taps, and my mother stood up and walked up to meet me."You don't have to cry. I can assure you that the Briggs family are good people, and Mr. Joshua Briggs is my childhood friend. You will be
Amara Nicholas,We got into my bedroom, which was very large, and my mother accompanied me to pack some of my things. She didn't want me to carry all my loads, reminding me that the Briggs family was wealthy and I didn't have to stress about arranging all my things and packing everything that I owned.We finished packing all the boxes around 1 a.m., and my mother was exhausted. She stretched and yawned and told me, "I have to go back now to my room to meet your father. Good night, my princess.""Okay, Mom, but I am still not happy about this marriage. Can't you speak to my father again about this?" I asked my mother. I am looking at her face with my blue-shining eyes that glimmer with hope at hearing her agree."No, Amara. I want you to marry and give me a grandchild. I cannot speak to your father about this again. Not to worry, when you get there to the city, I will be calling you from time to time to know how you're faring," my mother told me, and hot tears freely streamed down from
Amara Nicholas,My mom arrived in my bedroom looking radiant in her long white nightdress. She smelled fresh like a rose, and she came into my room with Agnes, who greeted me warmly, "Good morning, Amara. I brought your tea and bread.""Thank you," I told Agnes, accepting the teacup from her hand. I walk up to my chair in my room and have a seat, where I sit down and drink my tea while eating the bread with it.My mom walked to look outside the window, and she walked back to meet me and said, "Hurry up. The driver is already here, and why didn't you make your face? You know that you'll see your husband in the city, so you should look presentable when you eventually meet with him."I pouted my pink lips as I finished drinking my tea. I internally didn't have any intention of pleasing the man to whom I might be married, and my mom said, "Agnes, get me my makeup box from my room.""No, Mom. There won't be any need for that. I don't have to pretend in the face of my husband. So I am perfec
Amara Nicholas,"Ah!!" I screamed, almost causing the driver to have an accident. I was so shocked to see the face of the man that I am married to."What's the problem, my lady? Are you alright?" Mr. Timothy asked me in concern as he slowed down and gazed at me cautiously through the car's rearview mirror."I am sorry. You can continue driving; I was only shocked to see my husband's face online," I said to him nervously. Mr. Timothy smiled understandingly, and I took it as a mental note not to scream out so foolishly again.The drive started again, and I continued to look at the face of the man who was about to become my husband, Darlington Briggs.I had seen him before when I got into the university. We crossed paths, and I mistakenly stepped on him, not knowing when I was walking with my friend Esther Peters.Esther was an actress; she was a seductive person, and she never failed to observe all the handsome and well-to-do rich guys in the university.I wondered how a rich girl like E
Darlington Briggs,I woke up in my bedroom to the fresh start of a brand new day. A New Year's Day. I was so excited, as I wanted to go downstairs to inform my parents officially that I wanted to get married this year, and I had made up my mind to settle down with Jenna Colton.Jenna has been my love since five years ago. I met her through her elder brother, Bruce, as Bruce was my best friend in school.We studied the same business course, and we live in Country Z, in the heart of the city. The Colton family was also a wealthy and well-known family here.Jenna has a successful career as an actress. She is also a model and has been featured as the face of many brands.I knew that she had gone through the knife and had undergone a lot of surgeries to enhance her beauty, but I still love her nonetheless.I love Jenna very much, and I didn't regret my decision to propose to her last weekend to marry me.My father didn't react to my post, and to make matters worse, I cannot seem to find him
Darlington Briggs,I immediately rose from the black couch and stared at my father in shock."Whose wife, Dad?" I asked my father again, wanting to be sure, and my father stood up too and said, "Darlington, I have told you that you cannot marry Jenna. The reason I married my best friend's daughter for you is because she's well-mannered and not a corrupt young woman like Jenna Colton.""Dad... I cannot believe that you're saying this. I am the one to get married to Jenna, not you! What gives you the right to think that you can decide on my life like this and impose a woman on me for me to marry?""That's enough, Darlington! I won't have you disrespect me in this house. You see what an elder sees from sitting down; even if you climb the tallest tree, you still cannot see it. Jenna is a corrupt woman, and she wouldn't make a good wife for you. Don't you see how she looks with her artificial body? Do you think that she will want to settle down and give you children? I am very certain she's
Darlington Briggs,How would you feel if your parents imposed a spouse on you? Someone you haven't met before?I watched my father walk away from us by climbing the stairs, and he went back to his room, exiting our view."Mother," I gazed back at my mother, struggling to comprehend and assimilate the news my father had just shared about my impending marriage, like a piece of document signed on an agreement."Calm down, Darlington. You will not marry any Amara Nicholas, not while I am here," my mother said, and my younger sister laughed, making me glare at her."What's so funny, Samara?" My mother asked her before I could. "Just because your father didn't marry you too off like that, right? That's why you are shamelessly laughing at your older brother, right?""No, Mother."Our mother looked displeased at Samara, who coughed and apologized to us, "Mom, I'm sorry. But this is very funny. How can our dad marry Darlington without Darlington consenting to it or knowing about it, and now his
Darlington Briggs;After my breakfast with my mother and my sister ended, I stood up from the dining chair and set out to leave our family house."Darlington, where are you going?" My mother asked me with a worried look on her face.I assured her, "Mom, I am just going out; I will be back soon.""Okay, my son. But don't you think it's best not to inform Jenna? She may overreact; allow me to handle everything for you. Then later, you can share the news with Jenna about how your father wanted to force you to marry a woman you don't know."I sighed."Alright, mom. I won't inform Jenna about it, but I feel like leaving this house as of now. I don't want to be here when that woman arrives," I said, with a hint of frustration."It's okay. Just be fine out there," my mother assured me."Sure, Mom. I'm not a kid; I will be good. Take care," I said, hugging my mother. Though I was taller than her and Samara, they're my family, and their happiness matters to me.Well, I cannot say the same about