Chapter 1

Amara Nicholas;

I was inside my bedroom when I heard a knock on my room door. I walked up to the door and pulled it open, then I saw Agnes, my mother's maid, smiling at me.

Agnes was dressed in a long blue gown. She was light-skinned and a young lady about my size. I am also 24 years old. I was wearing a long blue nightgown as it was already night time, around 11 pm, on the 31st of December.

I had pulled my hair into a bun, shortly after drying it from taking my bath. "What do you want, Agnes?" I asked Agnes, looking at her face as she smiled back at me.

"Good evening, Amara. Sorry to bother you, but your father sent for you," Agnes told me, and I sighed and muttered, "But we just finished having our dinner now in the dining room. What does my father want to say to me again? I am not interested in the new year celebration."

Agnes smiled faintly at me and said, "I don't know, but your father is downstairs with your mom, and the guests have all gone outside, preparing for the fireworks."

"Hmm, okay. Tell my father I will be downstairs soon. Let me go and ease myself," I told Agnes, and she smiled at me and left the corridor.

I sighed, went back into my room as I made my way to the restroom to relieve myself. I got out and made my way downstairs of my father's enormous mansion.

I live in the outskirts of the city, precisely in the countryside. It could as well be referred to as a village or densely populated area, as my father is a chief there and into agricultural farm produce.

I am more like a princess at home. 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 cross-over night to a brand new year, and I don'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 for me to get married. My father is an understanding man, but nonetheless, many men had come to ask for my hand in marriage. Even my crush, Charles Wilfred, but my father refused.

His reason, I do not know, but my mother assured me that my father wants the best for me and couldn't just give me to any suitor that would probably treat me less in the future. I understand and sighed, going downstairs to the living room.

I live in a standard duplex house with my parents and a few servants, surrounded by many trees and gardens.

My father's mansion was fenced, but now the celebration was still on, we had many visitors, and the guest rooms were full with my cousins and aunt around.

I finally walked into the living room, and Agnes stepped out of the kitchen and told me, "Your dad requests that you should meet him in his office."

"Okay," I said, then I proceeded to go to my father's home office to see him. As I suspect, what he had to tell me was private so that none of our relatives would eavesdrop on our conversation.

I finally arrived at the front of my father's home office, I knocked gently and heard my father's response in a calm voice, "Come inside."

I quietly pushed the office door open and peeked into the enormous office, which had two guest seats and a set of four blue couches.

There, my parents sat on the blue couch, and my father smiled at me and said, "Come, Amara, come have a seat before the fireworks start. Your mother and I have something important to say to you."

"Okay, Dad," I walked into the office and shortly, I was seated on another blue couch across from my parents. My mother was clad in a red nightdress, and my dad wore a white garment and black trousers, which I could see because he was sitting on the same blue couch as my mother.

My dad smiled and said, "Amara, it has come to the time 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 let you know about our decision. Well, I am sure that you're familiar with my best friend, Mr. Joshua Briggs?" My father asked me, and I smiled and replied, "Yes, Dad. I know Mr. Briggs, the one who lives in the city and visits here sometimes."

"Good, well, 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, and I gasped, "What? Dad, I don't understand. How can I be married to your friend's son? When? I cannot remember getting married to any man or did I have a memory loss?"

I was staring at my parents in shock. Like how did I get married without remembering about it and also wishing to settle down and have my own home? My father sighed, and my mother smiled understandably at me.

"It was an arrangement I had with Mr. Joshua Briggs. You are not yet married to Darlington Briggs officially, but you will be going to live with him, to see if you both can get along to finally become married as a couple," My father explained to me.

"Dad, I do not understand what you are saying. You mean, I will just visit them, or am I already married to the man you're saying is your best friend's son?" I asked my father, wanting to understand him better.

"Amara, like I said, you are married to Darlington Briggs as of now, and you should be on good behavior when you get to their house. You don't have to worry about anything; Darlington's father had already paid all the necessary dues for your hand in marriage for his son. So you're Darlington's wife. The only difference about this marriage is that Darlington didn't come down here to marry you, nor did you wear a wedding dress to walk down the aisle with him. But you are officially Mrs. Amara Briggs now, and Darlington Briggs is your husband traditionally by our custom," My father said to me.

"What? Dad, I cannot marry a man that I don't know. I cannot go to the city to be with him. Mom?" I looked at my mother's face, wanting to hear her opinion about all these arrangements.

My mother sighed and looked at me, saying, "Calm down, Amara. It is for your own good."

"How? I cannot go to the city to live there, Dad. I do not like the bustling life of the city people. I want to remain here, in this side of the country where there's no noise and the wildlife," I protested, wanting my father to have a change of mind about these sudden arrangements.

"I can understand your complaint, Amara, but I trust Mr. Joshua's son to take care of you," My father said.