AMARA'S POV:

I was in my room when I heard a knock on the door. I walked up to the door and pulled it open, and then I saw my mother's maid, Agnes, smiling at me.

Agnes was dressed in a long blue gown; she was light-skinned and a young lady about my height. I am 24 years old. I was wearing a long blue nightgown, too, as it was already nighttime at around 11:30 p.m. on the 31st of December.

We were waiting for the crossover celebration, and I had pulled my hair into a bun shortly after drying it with my towel, after taking my bath in my bathroom.

"What do you want, Agnes?" I asked, looking at her face, and she smiled back at me.

"Amara, sorry to bother you, but your father sent for you downstairs," Agnes said.

"Why? We just finished having our dinner in the dining room. What does my father want to say to me again? I am not interested in the New Year celebration," I said.

"I don't know, but your father is waiting downstairs with your mom, and the guests have all gone outside, preparing for the fireworks," Agnes said.

"Alright. Tell my father I will be downstairs soon. Let me go and ease myself. I'm coming," I told Agnes, and she turned and left my corridor.

I sighed and went back into my restroom to relieve myself. I got out and went downstairs to the living room of my father's enormous white mansion.

Living on the outskirts of the city with my parents, I was slightly nervous about the new year celebration.

My father is a chief and deals in agricultural farm produce. While I am more like a princess at home. My mother is the center of admiration, and my people love me, as my mother taught me to be kind and helpful to those around us.

Preparing for the cross-over night to a brand new year, I don't know how to feel about it.

I am the only child of my parents. I am still single, and my parents aren't pressing for me to get married. My father is an understanding man, but a few bachelors have come to ask for my hand in marriage. Even my crush, Charles Wilfred, asked, but my father refused.

His reason, I do not know, but my mother assured me that my father wanted the best for me, and he couldn't just give me away to any male suitor who would probably treat me poorly in the future. I understood and sighed, going downstairs to the living room.

The duplex house was surrounded by lush gardens. It was painted white and fenced, and now that the celebration was ongoing, we had many visitors, and the guest rooms were packed with my cousins and aunts.

Finally, I walked into the living room, spotting Agnes whom stepped out of the kitchen and said, "Amara, your dad requested that you meet him in his home office."

"Alright," I replied, and went to my father's home office to see him. I suspected what my father had to tell me was private, so that none of our relatives would eavesdrop on our conversation.

Finally, I arrived at the front of my father's home office. Knocking gently, I heard my father's calm response, "Come inside, Amara."

Quietly, I pushed the office door open and walked into the enormous office, which had two guest seats and a set of four blue couches.

My parents sat on a blue couch. My father smiled and said, "Come, Amara, have your seat before the fireworks start. Your mother and I have something important to say to you."

"Okay, Dad," I replied, walking into the office. Shortly after, I was seated on another blue couch across from my parents.

My mother wore a red nightdress, and my dad wore a white garment and black trousers.

Dad smiled and continued, "Amara, it has come to the point that your mother and I need to inform you about our arrangement. We have been keeping it from you, but now is the time to inform you about our decision. Well, I am sure you're familiar with my friend, Mr. Joshua Briggs."

Grinning, I replied, "Yes, Dad. I know Mr. Briggs, the one who lives in the city and visits here sometimes."

"Good. You are married to his only son, Darlington Briggs, and you will go to the city tomorrow to live with him," my father informed me.

"What?" I gasped. "Dad, I don't understand. How can I be married to your best friend's son? When? I cannot remember getting married to any man. Or did I have a memory loss?"

I was staring at my parents in shock. How did I get married without remembering it, when I've been wishing to settle down and have my own home?

My father sighed, and my mother smiled understandingly at me.

"Amara, it was an arrangement I had with Mr. Joshua Briggs a long time ago when you were a baby. Darlington and you are not yet fully married, but you will live with him to see if you both can get along and become a true married couple," my father explained to me.

"Dad, I do not understand what you are saying. Do you mean I will visit them, or am I already married to the man you're saying is your best friend's son?" I asked my father, wanting to understand him better.

"Amara, as I said, you are married to Darlington Briggs as of now, and you should be of good behavior when you get to their house in the city. You don't have to worry about anything; Darlington's father has paid all the necessary dues for your hand in marriage for his son. So you're his son's wife now. The only thing different about this marriage is that Darlington didn't come down here to marry you, nor did you wear a white wedding dress to walk down the aisle with him. But you are officially Mrs. Amara Briggs now. And Darlington Briggs is your husband, by our custom," my father said.

"What? Dad, I cannot marry a man I don't know. I cannot go to the city tomorrow to be with him. Mom?" I looked at my mother's face, wanting to hear her opinion on this whole arrangement.

My mother sighed; she looked at me and said, "Calm down, Amara. It is for your own good."

"How, Mom? I cannot go to the city to live there. Dad, I do not like the bustling lives of city people. I want to remain here, on this side of the country where there's no noise and there are no wild lifestyles," I protested, wanting my father to have a change of mind about this sudden arrangement.

"Amara, I can understand your complaint, but I trust Mr. Joshua's son to take care of you. So, you're going to the city tomorrow," my father concluded.