Alexandra's POV
I was currently sitting on the sofa of my parents's house , looking at their weird behaviour . My mom was nudging my dad , telling him to start a conversation while my dad looked hesitant to say anything .
It was around 7:15 in the evening and I had just finished work when I received my mother's call who asked me to come home for dinner . I thought it was going to be a normal family dinner but it was everything except that . I noticed that both of my parents were acting strangely . They kept on spilling stuff and did not utter a single word throughout dinner . I was going to ask them about this but then my mother told me that she and my father had something to tell me .
After a few more minutes my mother started speaking .
" Alexandra , you know that you are already 27 years old , right ? "
I just hmmed in response .
" So , what are your thoughts about marriage ? Is there anyone you like ? " she asked .
" I know I am nearing 30 mother , but I still don't have any plans on getting married . And no , I don't like anyone . " I replied .
" Child , I hope you know that both me and your father care a lot about you . We wish for your happiness and we respect your choice of not wanting to get married yet , but we don't want you to feel lonely once we are gone . The more a person ages , the more compromise he or she has to make in their choice of choosing a life partner and we don't want you to compromise . "
" I know , mother . But I am not able to understand that what are you getting at ? " I asked suspiciously .
" Today ... We received a marriage proposal for you . The man is a very handsome and responsible person . Not only is he rich , he is also among the most sought after bachelors in the country . We feel like maybe you would be happy if you marry him . Of course , we aren't forcing you or anything , if you don't want to get married to him then that's completely fine . "
I was kind of shocked to hear that someone approached my parents with a marriage proposal . It's not like I have never been proposed to , but it's just kind of shocking that someone went directly to my parents without even asking me first .
" Mom , how can I tell whether I agree or not if you don't even tell me his name ? "
At that , my mother went silent . After a few minutes of awkward silence , my dad spoke up .
" That's the problem Alexa , we can't tell you his name . " my dad said . Alexa is my nickname which was kept by my dad when I was younger .
" What do you mean dad ? " I asked as I was confused .
" The groom has kept a condition with his father , and he would only marry the girl who agrees to this condition . "
" And the condition is .... "
" Both the bride and the groom are not allowed to know of each other's identity until after the marriage . Only the parents would know who is getting married with whom . " dad hurriedly spoke .
" So you mean it's like a blind wedding ? " I asked with a dumbfounded expression on my face .
My mom uttered a small ' yeah ' at my question .
" Are you guys serious right now ? " I asked them .
" Alexandra like I said earlier , you can reject it if you want . No one is going to force you to agree . " my mother hurriedly explained .
" Mom , I need some time to think about this . I will give you my answer later . Now , I've to go as I still have work tomorrow . " I was planning to refuse the proposal but then I thought that it would be better for me to think about it for a day or so , rather than rejecting it straight away .
" Alexa , just stay here for the night . We won't like you going back when it's already so dark outside . " My dad said .
I agreed with him and then started making my way towards my room in this house but I stopped in between and turned towards them amd asked them .
" Mom , dad , do you really think that he ( the unknown Groom ) would be able to keep me happy and secure ? "
" Yes , my dear . At least I feel like you would be able to be happy with him . " my mother said with a tender smile on her face .
With that answer in mind , I went up to my room and laid down on my bed . I tried to sleep but there was a lot on my mind . I knew that trying to sleep is futile so I sat up and started thinking about the proposal .
Ever since I was young I have never believed in the idea of love . In fact I don't even have any interest in marriage . But then again , I can't spend the rest of my life alone can I ? I have always been known as an extroverted and outgoing person who has a knack for making friends easily . But what no one knows is that I have major trust issues . Even though I have made so many friends in the 27 years that I have been alive , I have never been able to trust even a single one of them completely . The only people I trust in this entire world are my parents . The mere thought of losing them makes me feel scared .
In the beginning , I wanted to reject this marriage but then I just thought that what will happen when my parents are no longer on this planet . No matter how much I avoid thinking about it , in the end it is true that they are older than me and will die before me unless I die an unnatural death i.e. through a disease or an accident , etc . When they are gone , would I just have to keep all my feelings and secrets inside of me ? Would I start feeling suffocated with all the pent up emotions in me ?
All these thoughts made me consider agreeing to this marriage . Even if me and my future husband never truly like each other as life partners , at least we can be friends . And maybe , just maybe I would start to trust him as when you are going to live under the same roof and stay with each other for the rest of your lives , isn't there supposed to be some trust ?
And as long as my parents find that man trustworthy , does it even matter whether I know who I am marrying or not ? I have faith in my parents's judgement , I know that they won't make me marry someone who I will regret marrying . They did say that he was handsome and rich , so what is the problem ? What's the point in meeting him anyway ? It's not like I would fall in love with him at first sight , right ? Even if I don't get married to him , I would have to get married to someone and that marriage would also be an arranged marriage , as a love marriage is impossible for someone like me . The only difference would be that I would know the identity of the groom .
With these thoughts in mind , I decided to agree to this marriage . After I finally made my decision , I thought I would finally be able to sleep but the moment I closed my eyes , the Devil's face came in front of me . This time I imagined him with blood red eyes and a knife in his hand with which he was trying to kill me while I was begging for forgiveness .
I was wondering , what I should do when I remembered that I have some sleeping pills in my bag , so I took one and then soundly slept .
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In the morning
I freshened up and then came downstairs . I went straight to the kitchen to see if my mother needed any help in preparing breakfast .
" Good morning Mom "
" Good morning Alexandra " my mother sweetly greeted me .
" Mom, do you need any help ? " I asked
" I have already prepared the breakfast , but you can help me by setting up the dining table . "
I obliged and went to set up the table . Once everything was done , my dad came from his room and we started eating .
" Mom , dad "
" Yes , my dear . " my dad said .
" I agree "
They both looked confused for a second before it finally dawned on them that what I was talking about .
" YOU AGREE ?! " they both shouted in unison .
" Yes , I agree "
" But why ? " my dad asked .
" Because , I trust both of you and I know that you won't make me get married to a mentally retarded man , would you ? "
" No , of course not . But are you sure that you like no one ? What if you regret this decision in the future ? " my mother asked .
" Mother I don't like anyone . I am certain about my decision to get married to this ' unknown groom ' and I don't think that he would be so bad that I would regret my decision . "
" Alexa , are you sure that you don't need more time to think about this ? " dad asked .
" Yes dad , I am sure . " I replied without hesitation .
" Ok then , I would inform the groom's father of your decision . " my dad said .
The rest of the breakfast went quite normal , with me telling my parents about my upcoming plans and also telling them about Ginger and Sky . Then , I went straight to the hospital .
There are many days on which I am not able to come home or I am busy in the hospital , so I have a dog walker who I call whenever I want him to walk my dogs . I have kept an extra key at my neighbours house and they unlock my door and hand over the dogs to the walker . My neighbours are really sweet people . They are an old couple who love travelling . Their children don't live with them but they do visit them from time to time .
I had 2 surgeries scheduled for today , so I knew that it would be a hectic day .
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Third person POV
After Alexandra left , Mr. Williams called Mr. Gray who picked up after the second ringtone .
" Mr. Williams , good morning . " Mr. Gray greeted .
" Good morning Mr. Gray , I hope I am not disturbing you . " Mr. Williams said .
" Oh no , not at all . It's not like I have anything to do at home . "
" That's great ..... I just wanted to tell you that my daughter has made her choice . "
" This quick ?! I hope you didn't tell her Lucifer's identity ." Mr. Gray said suspiciously .
" No Mr. Gray , she has no idea . In fact even we were surprised that she made a choice so quickly but she is a level headed child so I am sure that she must have thought it through . "
" Yeah , you're right . Anyway please tell me she agreed ? " Mr. Gray asked with anticipation .
" Yes Mr. Gray she agreed . "
" That's fantastic !!! I am so happy and stop calling me Mr. Gray now , call me Sean , after all we are going to be in laws now . " Mr. Gray enthusiastically said .
" Ok M--- Sean "
Both the men were really happy by Alexandra's choice .
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