Chapter 4. Melting Father's Heart  

"Papa, please..." Clarabelle knew her father didn't agree with her decision.

"Don't you have any good male friends you know that you have to marry a stranger?" Adriano glared at Clarabelle. Did he make the wrong request that his daughter decided to do this? It would be better if he set Clarabelle up with his friend's children who she certainly knew who they were.

“Papa, the experts will find the right person. They do it by research, not haphazardly. Trust me, Pa, I will definitely find a good man as a husband." Clarabelle persuaded her father. She explained the process she had to go through until she was finally filtered into the main event.

“Marriage must be before God, officially approved by the owner of your life. Marriage in such an event is like a game. Don't you think about this? Did you forget what I taught you about what marriage and family mean to you?” Adriano was angry with Clarabelle's decision.

He really wanted Clarabelle to get married soon before she left all this because of her illness. But not in that way, his only daughter would be included in the household. This was a mistake!

"Papa..." Clarabelle looked at her papa. She couldn't back down. She just had to be able to convince her father, if she took the right steps.

"I want to go to bed." Adriano closed his eyes and asked Clarabelle to come out of his room. He still couldn't understand how Clarabelle could be so reckless.

Wearily Clarabelle left Adriano and went into her room. Increasingly distraught, Clarabelle knelt on the side of the bed and prayed. She wholeheartedly asked for peace to flow through her heart. If the choice she took was not a mistake, she asked God to soften her father's heart before the experts would come to the house to see the reality of her life.

*****

Clarabelle's confusion was inversely proportional to the handsome man who was being challenged in a bet, Jordan.

A wide smile graced Jordan's lip. A triumphant smile appeared there. He stood in front of his friends and shows proof of his entry as a prospective bride on a reality show that would soon air on TV. His three friends half jumped in disbelief at what they saw.

"Are you crazy?" said Ronald and Louie together.

“Hey, this is cheating! This is not how you get a wife!” Warren replied in annoyance. He could see defeat was in sight. Jordan was getting married soon.

"What's cheating? I will get a woman to be my wife. Especially? There aren't any conditions in our bet on how I get my woman. Get ready, you have to pay for my honeymoon with my beloved wife." The smile of victory grew wider on Jordan's face.

"You are crazy! You should talk to your parents, Jordan! Will they accept this?” Louie looked at Jordan.

People knew the Hayden family very well. The Hayden would not let random people into the family. Join this event, the experts could certainly give any woman to be Jordan's bride. It was not from a woman, but did it meet the Hayden family's criteria?

“Who said my parents had to know?” Jordan casually answered.

The three friends looked at each other. They didn't understand what Jordan meant. Jordan explained that he would only send word that he was getting married. But he wouldn't ask his parents or extended family to come. He had engineered it so that the experts understood his complicated situation. Then the witnesses in the event were only Jordan's friends.

“You are really nuts!” Ronald shook his head in disbelief at what Jordan said. Turned out the bet made them see Jordan was more screwed up than they thought.

“Your family will hang us…”

"Just close your mouth, Ron!" said Jordan. The three friends didn't know what to say.

“Okay, Guys, watch me at that prestigious event. We'll see, I'm standing at the altar waiting for a beautiful beautiful bride. You will be jealous of me. So, give me my ticket for my honeymoon. Don't break your promise!" With a slight sneer, Jordan stood up. He gulped down half of his glass until it was empty. Then he stepped onto the dance floor. Ellen was there.

The three friends just stared blankly. They didn't think they would lose so badly before the three months they asked for. Jordan definitely won.

“Guys, why do we look stupid in front of Jordan? I think we can still buy some time to prove he won or not.” Warren looked at his two friends.

"What do you mean?" said Louie.

“Marriages do happen, let's say. But we won't assume Jordan win if he doesn't finish the marriage by the end of the reality show. How?" The idea popped into Warren's head. Because it could happen that Jordan resigned, but the wedding still took place at the beginning of the event.

"Okay, deal." Ronald held out his hand. His two friends accepted the proposal. They agreed. Jordan could only be said to win if the event would be over and Jordan's marriage continued. Honeymoon gifts would also be given when Jordan and his wife have returned from the event.

Their homework, waiting for the day when Jordan took a foreign woman and married her. Looks like it was going to be their most exciting day ever!

*****

For a few days, Adriano chose silence. He kept thinking about why Clarabelle was trying to find a husband in such a strange way. Was it possible that Adriano would approve? For up to three nights Adriano could barely sleep and it triggered his condition to decline. His blood pressure rose, and he weakened again.

Clarabelle became anxious. Guilt rose in her heart. Her father became sick because Adriano thought about the unnatural marriage matters that Clarabelle would do. Would it be better if she didn't do it? Maybe she should just resign and cancel her participation in At the First Time I Meet You.

That morning, Clarabelle delivered breakfast to her father's room, before she left for work. With a sad heart, she met Adriano. She had intended to contact the At the First Time I Meet You event team to resign.

"Dad, have your breakfast first." Clarabelle helped Adriano sit back on the pillow, then Clarabelle began to feed him.

While Clarabelle helped him eat, Adriano continued to stare at that gloomy beautiful face.

"I'm sorry, Papa." Clarabelle sighed and looked at Adriano. “Today I will contact the event crew and cancel my plans…”

"No. Honey, I'm sorry." Adriano held Clarabelle's hand. Hearing those words, Clarabelle looked straight at Adriano. "You're right. Those experts know the right person for you. They certainly will not be careless, because it involves the lives of two human children who will enter into a life-and-death relationship.”

Clarabelle was quite surprised at Adriano's words. Was her father really willing, to accept Clarabelle's wish?

"I agree. But promise me, you will ask the man to marry you in front of the Pastor, God's blessing is far more important than the state-sanctioned ceremony. If it is God who unites the marriage, the blessings of heaven will be with you.” Adriano felt heavy, but he had thought about it further.

Andriano's condition worsened again. If this continued, and suddenly he had to leave for good, he didn't know who Clarabelle's companion was yet, it would make him uneasy.

“Papa…” Clarabelle wasn't sure she heard those words from Adriano. He agreed to Clarabelle's plan. Clarabelle's heart was mixed. Relief, but also fear. But she wouldn't back down. It was the answer to her prayer. Before the experts came to the house, Adriano had given his blessing.

"Thank you, Papa. Thank you." Clarabelle hugged Adriano. The steps were a little lighter. Clarabelle was left to prepare her heart for the day when she would meet the man who would be her life partner on her wedding day.