Chapter nine

I straightened up, wondering why they had suddenly changed the mood of the room. My thoughts began to circle around the possibility of why they were now smiling at me, oh, maybe it was the contest, maybe that was the reason. I hope it's not what I'm thinking, I really hope it's not about what they were discussing earlier today, and that gentleman over there, smiling at me like that, what exactly is going on? I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready to get married.

"You've grown into such a beautiful young lady," my grandmother said warmly.

"You look stunning, Miwa. Isn't that right, Jayden?" she asked, turning to the man beside her.

"She's quite pretty. I can see the reflection of you in her," he said, directing the compliment toward my mom.

"Thank you," I muttered. I was uncomfortable as hell and turned to leave without another word. I was so messed up that I might yell at them.

"Where are you going, Miwa?" my mom interrupted. "They came all this way to see you. You don't have to leave."

"But it's very late. I need sleep!" I yelled, unable to control the anger tumbling out in a rush. It hurt me to witness my mum acting like a stranger towards me. She was never this persistent about pushing me into the pool of marriage discussions. If she had truly paid heed to what I said, she would have declined their offer before I even landed home. My grandmother's expression hardened. "Your daughter is quite rude. Tell her to quit such insolent behavior," she said coldly. "Aside from her beauty, she possesses a terrible attitude not quite fitting for this gentleman right here." Not quite fitting?

So I'm not a hot pick but a scumbag shoved down his throat for managing.

I squeezed my fingers, icing up the anger and sadness that was boiling in my pot of emotions.

I came from a family where respect was necessary, which made me bow slightly, forcing out words of fake apology that were formed with bitterness. "I didn't mean to wrong you, Grandma. I'm sorry if I made it seem like I disrespected you. Forgive me," I said, fumbling over my words. "I just really want to shower. This dress makes me feel uncomfortable, and I stink because I fell into a dumpster, it's a long story. I'll be back in a jiffy."

I could see the confusion written on their faces and the questioning look in my grandparents' eyes. It was as if they were silently demanding an explanation from my mum. I might have pissed them off, but my point was still valid.

"You have to hurry up and deal with whatever you have to deal with. We have a lot to discuss," Grandma said, a curved and impossible smile on her lips.

She was smiling at me? That was kinda scary.

When I reached the bathroom, I took off my dress and scrubbed my hair like it was mixed with concrete, and I could swear I might cut through my own scalp.

All of today's activities had been so exhausting and a bit too much for any sane person to handle. And boom! my grandparents seemed to top it all off with a cherry.

When I stepped back into the room, my mom gave me a smile and a gestured nod for me to speak to the gentleman. Things were awkward enough, but she made it worse, because my plan was to nod at anything they had to say and go back to my room without talking to a man who looked like he could be my father's age.

The moment we stepped out, he immediately took my hand. I didn't like it and immediately tried to pull my hand from his, but his grip tightened.

He was already holding hands on introduction day? This was just the first time seeing his face and he was already acting like we were engaged.

"You smell nice now," he said, turning to face me directly.

"Uh, well, that's a weird way to put it," I replied, chuckling nervously. "I smelled like crap before, right?"

"Of course," he answered with a grin. "How about we get married this week?"

And that's when he lost me. This guy is a maniac. He probably thought I was some cheap gold exchange. How interesting, what a horrible way to ruin my night.

"What do you mean, this week? Are you nuts?" I tugged my hair behind my ear, trying to process what he had just said. It was really late at night and we were standing on the staircase, already deep into a serious conversation about marriage after our first ever meeting.

"This is a weird time to have such a conversation. We haven't even gotten engaged yet. I just met you, and now you're telling me we should get married this week? Did my mom know about this?"

"Of course she does," he replied, cutting me off. "The arrangement is set. Everything's in place. The wedding plans have already begun. Even though it's not fully ready yet, the process is underway. And it's already been decided, so there's no going back. You don't have a say in it, okay?"

I would've loved to pull off my heeled boot and smack his eyes out of his head, because they were probably blurry enough not to see that I wasn't his lost girlfriend.

"What makes you think I don't have a say in something that involves my own life? You had the nerve to think you had me just because I was being smiley smiley with my family back there?"

"I don't care about whatever is going on between you and your family," he said. "And if you knew who I am, you wouldn't have the guts to speak to me in such an arrogant tone. My lady, I'm still not going to change my mind, you are mine."

I was speechless for a moment. Is this some kind of prank or test? If it's a test, there's no way I'm passing it.

I took a deep breath and cleared my throat like I was about to lecture a seven-year-old. "Let's cut the long story short. I'm not interested."

I turned to leave, but before I could take another step, his voice made me freeze.

"When it comes to marrying me, you don't decide. I guess your mum did a bad job by not telling you much about me."

"Don't you breathe a word about my mother! It hasn't even been two hours since I met you. So fuck off."