Chapter 1

Amara Nicholas;

Standing in my bedroom, I heard a knock on the door and walked up to the door to pull it open. I saw our maid, Agnes, smiling at me.

Agnes was dressed in the same long blue gown as mine. She was light-skinned and about the same height as me. I am 24 years old, and it was already nighttime, at around 9 p.m. on the 31st of December.

We were waiting for the crossover night celebration to begin. I had pulled my hair into a bun shortly after drying it from taking my bath.

“What do you want, Agnes?” Looking at Agnes' face, I asked. She smiled back at me and said, “Good evening, Amara. If you have a moment, your father sent for you downstairs.”

“But we just finished dinner in the dining room. What does my father want to say to me again? I don't feel interested in the New Year celebration," I said.

“I don't know, but your father is downstairs with your mom, and the guests have all gone outside to wait, preparing for the fireworks," Agnes informed me.

“Okay, tell my father I will be downstairs soon. Let me go and ease myself; I'm coming,” I told Agnes, and she turned and left the corridor.

I sighed and went back into my restroom to relieve myself. I then went downstairs to the living room of my father's enormous white mansion to see him. We live in the countryside, in a duplex mansion surrounded by trees and gardens.

My father is like a chief there, and he is into agricultural farm produce.

I am more like a princess at home. My mother is the center of admiration, and my people love me because she taught me to be kind and helpful to those around us. Well, I'm the only child of my parents. I am still single, and my parents aren't pressing for me to get married. My father is quite understanding, but a few bachelors have come to ask for my hand in marriage. Even my crush, Charles Wilfred, but my father refused.

I don't know why he did it, but my mother assured me that my father wanted the best for me, and he couldn't just give me away to any male suitor who would probably treat me badly in the future. I understood and sighed, going downstairs to the living room to look for my parents.

We had many visitors, and the guest rooms were packed with my cousins and aunts.

I finally walked into the living room, and Agnes stepped out of the kitchen and told me, “Amara, your dad requested that you meet him in his office.”

“Okay,” I said, then went to my father's home office to see him. I suspected that what my father had to tell me was private, so that none of our relatives would eavesdrop on our conversation.

I arrived at my father's home office, gently knocked, and heard his response in a calm voice: “Come inside.”

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

There, my parents sat on a blue couch, side by side, and my father smiled at me and said, “Come, Amara, have your seat before the fireworks begin." Your mother and I have something important to say to you; that's why we sent for you."

“Okay, Dad,” I entered the office and soon found myself sitting on another blue couch across from my parents.

My mother was clad in a red nightdress, and my dad wore a white garment. He was sitting on the same blue couch as my mother, so I could see the trousers.

With a smile on his face, my dad said, “Amara, It has come to the point where your mother and I need to inform you about our arrangement with the Briggs family. We have been keeping it from you, but now it is time to inform you about our decision. Well, I am sure you're familiar with my friend, Mr. Joshua Briggs."

“Yes, Dad. I know him; he lives in the city and visits here sometimes." I smiled and replied to my dad.

“Good. Well, you are married to his only son, Darlington Briggs, and you will be going to the city tomorrow to start living with him," my dad informed me.

"What? Dad, I don't understand. When did I marry your friend's son? I cannot remember getting married to any man, or did I suddenly have a memory loss?”

I stared at my parents in shock, waiting for an explanation. Like, how did I get married without remembering it and have been wishing to settle down and have my own family?

My father sighed, and my mother smiled understandingly at me.

“It was a long time ago, an arrangement I had with Mr. Joshua Briggs. You are not fully married to Darlington Briggs, but you will have to go to the city to start living with him to see if you both can be compatible and become a true couple,” my father explained.

“Dad, I do not understand you or what you are saying to me right now. You mean, I will just visit them and return home, or am I already married to the man you're saying is your best friend's son? And will I be doing what married couples do with him?” I asked for better clarification, wanting to understand my father better.

He sighed and said, "Amara, Like I said earlier, you are married to Darlington Briggs traditionally by our custom, and you should be a good lady to him when you finally get to their house tomorrow. You don't have to worry about anything; Darlington's father, Mr. Joshua Briggs, has paid all the necessary expenses for his son to marry you. So Darlington Briggs is your husband, while you're his traditional wife."

"The only difference is that Darlington did not come down here by himself to marry you, nor did you wear a wedding dress to walk down the aisle with him. But you are his wife by our traditional custom,” my father emphasized.

“Dad, I cannot marry a man that I don't love. I can't go to the city to be with him. Mom?” I looked at my mother's face, wanting to hear her response about all these ridiculous arrangements.

My mother sighed and said, “Amara, calm down first. It is for your own good.”

“How, Mom? I can't go to the city to live with a man I'm not familiar with. Dad, I do not like the bustling lives of the city people. I want to be here, where there's no noise, the wild lifestyle, and face-paced city life,” I protested, wanting my father to change his mind.

“Hmm, I can understand your complaint, my daughter, but I trust Mr. Joshua Briggs' son to take care of you, so you're going to the city tomorrow,” my father finalized.