The Wrong Bride

“What?” Din yelled. His grandfather picked up the picture from the table and handed it to him. “What do you mean, ‘marry her’? What do you mean, before the end of this month?” He snatched the picture from him. “What do you mean?” Confusion clouded his face as he stared down at the woman in the photo. His brows furrowed.

“Don’t make me do this the hard way. Just obey me, and the company is yours.” His grandfather walked over to the empty couch and sat down. “I know how much you love this job and this place, but if you don’t do as I say, you can say goodbye to it.” He said, his voice cold. He crossed his legs and leaned back.

Din scoffed. “And who could do a better job than me? Henry?”

“We shall find out. He is your cousin, after all,” his grandfather replied calmly.

Din stepped closer. “You know how irresponsible Henry is, Granddad! You can’t do this to me. Henry will ruin this place if you hand the company over to him.”

“Then obey me and marry her.”

“Before the end of this month?” Din threw his hands in the air. “At least cut me some slack! I don’t even know this girl!” He jabbed a finger angrily at the picture, frustration etched across his face.

“But I know her, and I know she would be right for you.”

“Even if you know her, I’m not in love with her!” Din snapped, still pointing at the photo.

His grandfather burst out laughing. “With time, love will come. Your father and mother weren’t in love when they met either. It was an arranged marriage too, but they had you and your sister and eventually loved each other.”

“Then they died,” Din said bitterly. He fought the urge to punch his grandfather and instead let out a heavy sigh. “Granddad, please. Please rethink this. At least give Elizabeth a chance. I know she will make you happy.”

Din’s grandfather stood up and placed both hands firmly on Din’s shoulders. They were nearly the same height. “I have already made up my mind. I will send her home address to Khalid, and he will give it to you. Trust me, I’ve looked into her. She is the perfect girl for you.” He released Din’s shoulders and walked toward the door. Before stepping out, he turned back. “Dinner tonight. Abby and Sierra will be there. If you can’t make it, then don’t bother coming. But remember—before the end of this month!”

He opened the door, stepped out, and closed it firmly behind him.

Din stared at the closed door for a long moment, then hurled the picture to the ground. He began stomping on it, yelling in frustration.

His grandfather was driving him crazy. He hadn’t expected a forced proposal or to be married off to a complete stranger. Beth had told him he was going to have a good day, but this felt nothing like it. It felt like hell.

He didn’t stop stomping on the picture. His eyes scanned the room until they landed on his baseball bat resting against the cupboard. He grabbed the bat, dragged it over to the crumpled photo, and started smashing it repeatedly.

There was nothing else in the room he could destroy—except that woman’s picture. If he wanted the company, he had no choice but to obey his grandfather and marry Jessie, or whatever her name was.

Even the sound of her name made his stomach twist. He hated her already, and he hadn’t even met her. Beth was better. Beth was the only woman he would ever love. This marriage to Jessie would only be temporary—only until his grandfather handed over the company. Then he would divorce her and finally marry the woman of his dreams.

Beth.

***

The front door clicked shut behind Din as he stepped into the house, his shoulders still tense from the confrontation with his grandfather. Beth looked up from the living room, her expression softening with concern the moment she saw his face.

“Babe,” she said gently. “What’s going on? You don’t look like you are in a good mood.”

Din turned away from her without a word and walked straight to the kitchen. He grabbed a glass and filled it with water. His crusade was sharp.

“Babe?” Beth called again. She walked up to him and sighed as she leaned against the table, watching him closely. “I guess your day didn’t turn out the way I had hoped.”

As he set the cup down on the table with a dull clink, Din nodded. “You are totally right, hun. It didn’t go the way I expected.”

“What happened? You know you can tell me anything.”

Din walked into the living room. “How was your day? Did you have fun shopping?”

Beth quickened her pace and caught up to him. She took his hand and pulled him closer. “This isn’t about me, it’s about you. So, what happened? Was it your granddad?” she groaned lowly. “He is the only one who can make you like this.”

“We need to talk,” Din said as he sat down on the couch. He patted the seat beside him.

Beth froze mid-step. Her stomach twisted at those four words.

“You are right. It’s about my grandfather.” Din looked up at her. “Today he said something that really irritated me. He expects me to get married before the end of the month.”

Beth’s expression brightened instantly. “That’s really exciting, babe!” She smiled, her eyes lighting up with genuine hope. “So why are you upset? You should be happy. We want this.”

Din sighed. The words were hard to get out, but it was now or never. If he stalled any longer, he would only hurt her—and hurting Beth was the last thing he would ever want to do.

“He wants me to get married… but not to you.”

Her shoulders slumped. Her smile faltered, then slowly faded as the color drained from her face. She stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief. For a moment, she couldn’t speak—her lips parted, but no words came out.

Din continued, “He already chose a woman for me and threatened me. If I don’t do as he says, he will take the company I’ve spent so much time building away from me. I don’t want that to happen, and I definitely don’t want to marry the woman he picked.”

Beth finally sat down beside him. She suspected this would happen—Cedric had never liked her anyway.

“But you have to,” she said softly.

Din’s brows shot up in surprise. “How can you be so calm about this? I was expecting you to be furious with me.”

“Why would I be furious?” She forced her lips into a gentle smile. “You’ve put in so much effort for that company. It’s just a business-related arranged marriage. Once you get the company and your grandfather retires, you can divorce her and we will plan our own wedding.”

Din let out a long breath, his shoulders visibly relaxing. If their roles were reversed, he knew he wouldn’t have handled it nearly as well.

Beth kept the smile fixed on her face, but her fingers twisted the hem of her shirt in her lap. She tried not to imagine Din living with another woman, pretending to be happy for his grandfather’s sake… and what if they actually fell in love?

“Are you alright?” He asked, studying her.

“Huh?” She blinked, snapping back to the present.

“Your mind wasn’t here anymore.”

Beth gave a shaky laugh and waved a hand dismissively. “You should marry her. I’m not opposed to it. I won’t worry about anything as long as you promise to keep visiting me after you are married.”

He cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing gently across her skin, and kissed her. “Of course. Why not? I love you. Even when I marry her, I will still come see you.”

“Have you met her yet?” Beth asked.

Din shook his head. “No, I haven’t.”

“You haven’t even seen her?”

“I saw a photo my grandfather showed me. She is ugly,” He lied, avoiding her eyes.

“Can I see the photo?”

Din scowled. “I tore it up after smashing it with my baseball bat a thousand times.” He demonstrated the violent motion with his hands, swinging an imaginary bat.

Beth burst out laughing. “Are you serious?”

“I’m dead serious,” he said, standing up and pacing the room. Then he stopped and looked at her. “I need to go see Will. I have to talk to him about something.”

Beth stood as well and smoothed down her clothes. “Then I guess this is my cue to go home.”

“Do you want me to drive you?”

“No, it’s fine. I will order an Uber.”

“Alright.” He offered a small smile and nodded. “Take care of yourself and call me when you get home.” Din pulled her into a tight hug, kissed her goodbye, and headed to his room to freshen up.