"Loving someone and having them love you back is the most precious thing in the world."
― Nicholas Sparks, The Rescue.

●●● ●●●

"Your daughter?" I questioned.

I pinched myself multiple times to wake up from the nightmare I was falling in. But I didn't. Reality hit me like a truck.

"Yes," he said. "I think it's time she gets married."

He thinks it's time, and not his daughter?!

"And what about her?"

"What are you trying to say, Mr. Hendrix?"

"Does she know about the marriage?"

"No, she doesn't need to."

What. The. Heck.

I know nothing about marriage nor being in a relationship with another human being. But from all the information I have, the girl should know everything about her marriage, her future life, her relationship, and her husband-to-be.

It's his daughter that's getting married(maybe) and not him.

Pathetic.

Disgusting.

"She needs to know," I said and his jaw clenched visibly.

"She's graduating college and it's the right time for her to be standing next to her husband."

"Maybe she already has someone in her life."

"She doesn't."

"How come you're so sure?"

"She never talked to a male aside from me."

Mind blown.

"N-Never?"

"What are trying to say, Mr. Hendrix?"

"I don't know anything about her. I can't marry someone I don't know."

"You'll get to know her when you two live under one roof."

"But—"

"So what did you decide?"

Thoughts of how terrible it'll be if my company broke ran through my mind. Visions of how I would be treating my...wife made my body shake. I can't decide. It was impossible. Completely and utterly impossible.

I never loved. I never would.

Love is such a complicated feeling compressed to four simple letters. People seem happy when they're in love. They blush, they describe the butterflies that irrupt in their stomachs, they fight for their significant other, and their life changes. I know it's nice to have someone behind our back that actually and truly loves you with all their heart.

I did have my grandmother once.

I know how it feels to have somebody you care about...a lot, and I know how it feels when you lose them to fate.

When I lost her to cancer.

I don't love because I hate the endings. I hate when someone leaves the other. I hate it when I see someone cry in my company after a breakup or a divorce.

It never made sense to me how they chose to end up everything after all the love they shared and after all the happy moments they lived through together.

I didn't love because I never want to break someone's heart, nor do I want to feel like I was left alone and empty.

They say love is blind, and I have no time to not use my eyes any time soon.

"Mr.Ethen..." Jonathan spoke suddenly.

"Yes?"

"What did you decide on?"

Jail or marriage?

I think they both seem equally torturing.

"I'll marry your daughter," I said, and a sudden ache in my heart caused me to wince. I can't do this...but I should.

Ten million dollars in a week is such an impossible thing for my company to afford. I have employees that feed their families from salaries I give. I can't leave them alone. I know there are children that I take care of, indirectly; I can't leave them waiting for dinner's food.

I need to marry his daughter, not because I want to run away from any possibility that hold the word jail, court, or prison in it, but because I have a LOT to take care of, and I can't let go in all of a sudden.

"Great," he smiled a crooked smile that made my stomach twitch.

I tried my best to avoid sending him my you-are-a-disgusting-heartless-pathetic-father-and-I-wish-your-daughter-is-better-than-you-way-way-better glares but I couldn't.

He shifted in his seat uncomfortably and I mentally danced my happy dance.

He deserved being treated like shit.

He deserved being thrown into the nearest trash can if you ask about my personal opinion.

●●●

"So now you're telling me that you're getting married next month?" my friend Isaac asked completely astonished.

"Yes."

"And you're telling me that the girl your marrying is Jonathan's daughter?"

"Yes."

"That you never met?"

"Never."

"And you never heard about?"

"Never."

"So you decide on marrying her?"

"I didn't have another choice."

"Are you fu—" he sighed then ran his fingers through his hair. "Insane?"

"Maybe."

He spilled his glass of water directly to my face. I was back to my senses again, thankfully.

"Do you know how does Rose look?"

"So her name is Rose..."

He rested his face in his hands in a you-my-friend-are-something-more-than-stupid look.

"What do they say?" I asked.

"They say that she's... that she's ugly."

"So?"

"So you'll have to wake up every day to her face."

"It doesn't matter."

"No one talks to her just because of that reason. She doesn't have friends of any gender. She never talks to anyone outside her room, including her dad's guards. He kept her locked inside their mansion until she entered college. He signed guards for her that terrified people around."

"I don't care. I'm going to meet her tomorrow."

"You are what?!"

"I. Will. Meet. Her. Tomorrow," I talked slowly so he would get it.

"No."

"Yes. I want to see her because...she will be by my side forever."

"Are you serious?" he asked dramatically.

"Very."

"Listen, Ethen," he lifted his head and sat properly. "I think you need to consider this twice. The girl you're talking about is going to be in a long-term relationship with you. You never loved a girl. Heck, you know nothing about treating females. She will be new to everything and you can't ruin anything for her."

"I know that."

"Just treat her like a queen tomorrow. Don't make her hate all males because of a stupid action you'll be making."

I smiled at all the awkward possibilities.

Then frowned at how miserable I'd make her.

"Maybe you should talk to Amanda about it."

"Amanda?"

"Yeah, she'll help you."

●●●

"Amanda, come to my office now."

"Yes, sir."

She entered slowly before turning to close the door behind her quietly, a huge smile held on her face. Why is she always happy?

How? Just how?

"Is there something wrong, sir?"

"Have a seat, Amanda," I smiled nervously.

She sat down in front of me.

"Did I do something wrong, sir?"

"No, no," I closed the laptop and looked straight to her. "I want to tell you something."

"Yes?"

My hands started shaking again. My leg bounced as I rested my back on the chair and breathed long, deep breaths. I wasn't ready to tell people about what I'm going to do. No one expected me to do that. Get married?

What the heck, Ethen.

What's wrong with your life?

"I-I..."

Words were trapped inside my mound. My breath hitched as I thought of only her name.

Rose.

Rose Smith.

The dear, dear girl that's only hours away from meeting the one person she's going to stick to the rest of her life, the one person that knows nothing about love except its terrible endings.

Oh how much I want to just disappear now. I don't want her life to get affected with my horrific one.

She lives alone, and maybe she is already comfortable with being that way.

Why am I going to ruin everything for her?

Oh right, the debt.

This sucks...

●●●

A/N

Sooooo I didn't want to upload today because of my remarkably busy schedule but it was a good day, today and I felt like I should write here another chapter...

I love writing here already.

It's very different.

Raghad.