Fated to My Ex's Brother-In-Law

Amara's POV:

It was New Year’s Eve. I had just finished my bath and was drying my long, wet blonde hair when I heard a sharp knock on the door.

I walked to the door, pulled it open, and saw Agnes, my mother’s maid, standing there.

Agnes wore a long blue nightgown. She was light-skinned and a young lady about my height.

I am twenty-four years old and was wearing a long blue nightgown, as it was around 11:30 p.m. on Thursday night.

I had been waiting for the crossover celebration to begin and had pulled my long hair into a bun shortly after drying it from my bath.

“What do you want, Agnes?” I asked, looking at her face. She smiled.

“Amara, I’m sorry to disturb you, but your father sent for you downstairs,” Agnes said.

“But we just finished dinner in the dining room. What does my father want to say to me again? I’m not interested in the New Year celebration,” I muttered.

Agnes smiled and responded, “I don’t know, but he’s downstairs with your mom, and the guests have all gone outside, preparing for the fireworks.”

“Alright. Tell my father I will be downstairs soon. Let me go and ease myself; I’m coming,” I told Agnes. She turned and left my corridor.

I sighed and went back into my bathroom to relieve myself. Later, I stepped out and went downstairs to the living room of my father’s enormous white mansion.

I live in the countryside with my parents. My father is a chief there and is involved in agricultural farm produce.

My mother treated me like a princess. She 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 crossover night into a brand-new year, and I didn’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 me to get married.

My father is an understanding man, but after a few bachelors came 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 poorly in the future. I understood and sighed as I went downstairs to the living room.

I live in a standard duplex house surrounded by lush gardens.

My father’s mansion was fenced, and now that the celebration was ongoing, we had many visitors. The guest rooms were occupied with my cousins and aunts.

Finally, I walked into the living room, and Agnes stepped out of the kitchen and informed me, “Your dad requested that you meet him in his office.”

“Okay,” I replied, then went to my father’s home office to see him. I suspected what he had to tell me was private so that none of our relatives would eavesdrop on our conversation.

Finally, I arrived at the front of my father’s home office. I knocked gently and heard him responded 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 a set of four blue couches.

My parents sat on a blue couch. My father smiled and said, “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. Shortly after, I was seated on another blue couch across from my parents.

My mother wore a long red night dress, and my dad wore a white garment and black trousers; I could see the trousers because he was sitting on the same blue couch as my mother.

My dad smiled 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 tell 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 Mr. Briggs. He lives in the city and visits here sometimes.”

“Good. 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.

“What?” I gasped. “Dad, I don’t understand. How can I be married to your friend’s son? When? I cannot remember getting married to any man. Did I have a memory loss?”

I stared at my parents' faces in shock. How did I get married without remembering it, especially when I still wished to settle down and have my own home?

My father sighed, and my mother smiled.

“It was an arrangement I had with Joshua a long time ago. You are not completely married to Darlington, but you will have to live with him to see if you both can be compatible as a true couple,” my father explained.

“Dad, I do not understand what you are saying,” I replied. “Do you mean I will visit them for a holiday, or I am already married to the man you say 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, and you should be a good lady to him when you get to his parents' house in the city,” my father replied. “You don’t have to worry about anything. Joshua has paid all the necessities for your hand in marriage for his son. So Darlington is your husband while 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 white wedding dress to walk down the aisle with him. But you are his wife by our traditional custom,” my father concluded.

“Dad, I cannot marry a man that I don’t know,” I responded, my lips trembling. “I can’t go to the city to be with him.”

“Mom?” I looked at her face, 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, wanting my father to change his mind about these sudden arrangements.

“Amara, I can understand your complaint, but I trust Joshua’s son to take care of you, so you’re going to the city tomorrow,” my father concluded.