Negotiation

Violet did not answer to her father's quickly as she was buying more time. She needed a few seconds of silence to think of any useful arguments to make her father back off from his decision. Trying to debate with a University Professor like her father can be very difficult as her father can be a little bit stubborn.

As the living room turned tense after a long silence, her father finally spoke up, "Just so you know," James paused dramatically. "If you don't go along with this arrangement, I am going to pull all my money invested in your bakery. Starting from next month, you won't be receiving any money from me."

"Honey!" Anna said in astonishment.

"Dad!" Jace shouted. "That's not fair."

"You can't do that to me, Dad!" Violet firmly objected. "It's not fair. You know that I need that money to keep my bakery in operation."

"Yes, I can. Trust me. I'm doing this for your own good."

Her cupcake bakery has only been operating for six months. Although it was making money, it was still hard for her to maintain the operating cost.

When she first decided to open the bakery, she was reluctant to take a loan from the bank due to the interest. It was then that her father had volunteered to invest.

He was supposed to help her for another six months and now he changed his mind.

"Dad! You can't do this to me," she pleaded again.

"Oh, yes I can," her father laughed. "And I will."

"You can't pull something like this and tell me that you're going to arrange my marriage. We have an agreement. You said that you will continue to invest until the end of the year."

"I have also added some clause in the agreement that I can choose to pull it away if you do not follow my advice. My advice right now is for you to marry this man."

Violet clenched her teeth. "Dad! We are not discussing your favorite TV dramas! This is my life we're talking about. Don't I at least get a say in it?"

James took a deep breath. "Tell me, Violet, are you in a relationship? Are you seeing anyone? Have a boyfriend that you have yet introduced to us?"

"No. But I still don't need you to find a man for me. I'm more than capable of finding one for myself."

"My condition stands. Get married or no money."

Violet nibbled on her lower lips, weighing over her father's threat.

If she goes along with her dad's plan and marries a stranger, it would probably be the end of her life. She knew for sure that she didn't want to marry someone and would live life miserably after that.

What about her feelings then? What about her dreams where someday, she'll meet her knight in shining armor? Her true love? Was it worth it to risk losing all that to save her bakery?

After a long time of debating with herself, Violet clenched her hand into her fist and took a deep breath to muster her courage. "Fine. I'll agree to meet this guy."

"Meet him?" Jace spoke with disbelief. "Violet! What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind?"

Her father, however, chuckled at her response. "You don't seem to understand me, young miss. I told you that you're going to marry this man. Meeting or no meeting, you are going to marry him."

"But Dad! I can't marry someone I didn't know. This is too sudden! And I don't think that I'm ready for marriage!"

"Oh, I think you are more than ready."

Violet was left speechless. She took another deep breath to calm down and her mind started to turn as she tried to come out with another solution. Violet lifted her gaze to meet with her dad and saw the determination in her father's eyes.

It won't be easy for her to change his dad's mind about this. She needed to think of something, anything fast. If she can't change his decision then perhaps she could do or say something to make it to her advantage. "Okay. Let's compromise."

If she cannot get away from this situation, she has to at least negotiate on a few terms.

James Xu burst into a hearty laugh. "You wanted to negotiate with me?" He studied his daughter's face and could not believe that his daughter was turning into a businesswoman. She now dared to negotiate with him! Of course, James was amused. "Okay," he nodded after a while. "Let's hear it. What do you have in mind?"

"I am willing to give this arrangement a tryout," Violet said.

The words elicited gasps from both her mother and brother, but Violet tried to ignore the look on their face. She knew that she could not afford to make a mistake as she was facing against her father.

"I will agree to date this guy for a month," Violet said. "And that's it. No more. No less. And if there's no chemistry or spark between the two of us, the engagement is off and you will forget about this plan. I can't get engaged to someone I barely know. If you still want to go through with this plan, I will need some time to get to know him first."

Her father was silenced as her words sunk into him. He exchanged a glance with her mother and the husband and wife gave their daughter's proposal a thought.

Violet watched her father's expression and saw that he was about to reject her suggestion. Before he had the chance to say anything, Violet opened her mouth again.

Violet inhaled a long, deep breath as she composed the words that she wanted to say. "Dad… That's the best solution I can offer you," Violet said. "Surely you don't want me to marry someone I don't love and live my life in misery because of your arrangement? What if I'm not happy later on? I'm sure you didn't propose this plan to me just so you could watch me end up with divorce and blame you for it. I am your only daughter. Would you bear to see me suffer in my later days?"

The old man seemed to be considering her words. "Fine," James said with a resigned sigh. He found that her daughter's argument made sense and his heart began to soften. "I will agree with your terms. You will meet him, date him for a month, and see how it goes. If there's no chemistry between you, I promise that I will not talk of this arrangement ever again."