Twenty

My mother's relentless pursuit of a marriage arrangement had reached a fevered pitch, and I found myself trapped in a web of expectations and obligations that threatened to smother me. The rich family boy she had chosen as my prospective groom came from a background as opulent as our own, and the alliance was deemed advantageous for our family business.

It was an arrangement my mother had been working on diligently, convinced that it would offer me stability and security after the harrowing near-death experience that had marked my life. Her intentions were well-meaning, but the weight of her expectations pressed down on me, making me feel like a pawn in a game I had no desire to play.

The news of this impending marriage was a suffocating revelation, and I couldn't bear the thought of a life mapped out for me, devoid of choice and autonomy. Panic gripped my heart, and I knew I needed an escape from the stifling confines of my world.

I had heard about a crowded bar on the outskirts of t