#Chapter 1

Amara's POV;

I heard a knock on the door after taking a bath, so I went to open it. Agnes, our maid, was grinning at me. She was wearing my identical long blue gown. She resembled me in height and had fair skin. I am 24-year-old.

It was already nighttime on December 31. The time was approximately 9 p.m. We were anticipating the start of the crossover night festivities. I had just gotten my hair dried from my bath and pulled it up into a bun.

"Agnes, what do you want?" I asked, glancing at Agnes's face. "Good evening, Amara," she said, giving me a smile in return. "Your father sent you downstairs, if you have a moment. "

"But we have just cleared the dining room of our dinner. What more does my dad want to say to me?' I said, "I do not feel like participating in the New Year's celebration.

Agnes told me, "I do not know, but your dad and mom are downstairs, and everyone has gone outside to wait, getting ready for the fireworks."

"All right, let Dad know that I will be downstairs shortly. I told Agnes, "Let me use the restroom; I am coming," and she turned to walk out of the hallway.

With a sigh, I returned to my bathroom to use the restroom. I then went downstairs to visit my father in his massive white mansion's living room. Our duplex mansion, encircled by gardens and trees, is situated in a rural area.

There, my father is akin to a chief and is interested in agricultural farm produce.

At home, I practically feel like a princess. My people adore me and my mother is the object of their adoration because she instilled in me the values of kindness and helping those around us. My parents only have me as a child, though. I am not married, and my parents are not pressuring me to get hitched. A couple of bachelors have come to ask for my hand in marriage, but my father is very optimistic. Even Charles Wilfred, my crush, but my dad turned him down.

My mother told me that my father could not just throw me away to any male suitor who would likely treat me badly down the road; I am not sure why he did it, but he wanted the best for me. Sensing that, I let out a sigh and went downstairs to the living room in search of my parents.

My aunts and cousins were crammed into the guest rooms because we had so many visitors.

Agnes told me, "Amara, your dad requested that you meet him in his office," as soon as I entered the living room from the kitchen.

"All right," I replied, and I went to visit my father in his home office. I had a sneaking suspicion that my father was keeping something from me in order to prevent any of our relatives from overhearing us.

After knocking softly at my father's home office, I heard him say, "Come inside," in a soothing voice.

There were two guest seats and a set of four blue couches in the massive office, so I softly pushed open the door.

My father beamed at me as he said, "Come, Amara, have your seat before the fireworks begin." My parents were seated side by side on a blue couch. "We sent for you because your mother and I wanted to talk to you about something very important."

"All right, Dad." I went into the office and soon was sitting across from my parents on another blue couch.

My dad was dressed in white, and my mother was wearing a red nightgown. I could see the trousers because he was seated on the same blue couch as my mother.

My father grinned and said, "Amara, The time has come for your mother and me to tell you about the arrangement we have with the Briggs family. We have been withholding it from you, but it is time to let you know what we decided. You must be acquainted with my friend Mr. Joshua Briggs, though."

"Indeed, dad. I am acquainted with him; he occasionally comes to town from the city." I answered my dad with a smile.

"Excellent." Well, my dad told me, "you are getting married to his only son, Darlington Briggs, and you are moving to the city tomorrow to live with him."

"What?" "I do not understand, dad. When did I tie the knot with the son of your friend? I do not recall ever being married to a man; did I just lose my memory?"

Expecting an explanation, I looked in disbelief at my parents. For example, I have been wanting to settle down and start a family of my own, but how did I get married without realizing it?

My mother smiled at me with understanding, and my father sighed.

"I had an agreement with Mr. Joshua Briggs a long time ago. My father clarified, "You are not legally married to Darlington Briggs, but you will need to move to the city and live with him to see if you two can get along and become a real couple.

"Dad, right now, I do not understand you or what you are saying. Do you mean that I will just go see them and then head back home, or am I already married to the guy you claim is the son of your closest friend? Will I be treating him in the same way that married couples do?" I wanted to know my father better, so I asked for more explanation.

"Amara," he sighed and said, "As I previously stated, you are customarily married to Darlington Briggs, and when you do arrive at their home tomorrow, you should treat him with respect. Darlington's father, Mr. Joshua Briggs, has covered all the costs for his son to marry you, so you do not need to worry about anything. Thus, you are Darlington Briggs' conventional wife, and he is your husband."

"The only distinction is that you did not wear a wedding gown to walk down the aisle with Darlington, nor did he come down here by himself to marry you. However, according to our custom, you are his wife," my father underlined.

"Dad, I can not get married to someone I do not love. I am unable to travel to the city to be with him. Mother? I wanted to know my mother's opinion on all these absurd arrangements, so I studied her face.

With a sigh, my mother said, "Amara, please settle down first." It is in your best interest."

"How, Mom? I am not going to move to the city to live with a stranger. Dad, I do not like how busy people's lives are in the city. I begged my father to change his mind, saying, "I want to be here, where there is no noise, the wild lifestyle, and face-paced city life."

"Well, I understand your grievance, my dear daughter, but you are heading to the city tomorrow because I have faith in Mr. Joshua Briggs' son to look after you," my father concluded.