Her thoughts churned with frustration and confusion. Who could this person possibly be? she wondered. Who would willingly agree to marry someone like her, someone so thoroughly unwanted by her own family? Surely, they couldn't be any worse off than she was, right?
Still, the idea of meeting this stranger unsettled her deeply. Tomorrow, she would finally lay eyes on the person her father had chosen to trade her off to, but one thing was certain in her mind: this marriage would not happen. No matter who they were, no matter what the circumstances, she would stop this union with everything she had.
She clenched her fists tightly, vowing to find a way out of this. Her family might see her as a pawn to be used and discarded, but she wouldn't let them decide her future.
The next morning, just as the first rays of sunlight broke through her window, a loud knocking at her door jolted Aria awake. Groaning, she sat up, rubbing her eyes.
