BETROTHED

1

Let's break down the main characters first.

Evelyn Anna Sanders:

- Age: 19
- Background: Orphan, lives with her grandfather (who doesn't show much care or affection)
- Personality: Regrets being alive, possibly depressed, feels trapped in her circumstances
- Goal: Escape her forced marriage and find a sense of purpose and happiness

Zade Rowan Williams:

- Age: Almost 26
- Background: Successful, enjoys life, but stressed about work
- Personality: Enjoys freedom, wants to marry for love, feels trapped by the arranged marriage
- Goal: Find a way out of the marriage or make the best of it without losing his independence

They're forced into a marriage neither wants, with a deep-seated dislike for each other. The tension is palpable!

Evelyn's grandfather, Mr. Sanders, has arranged the marriage without her consent. He's eager to secure his family's legacy and business dealings with the Williams family. Evelyn is devastated.

Zade, on the other hand, is blindsided by his parents' announcement that he's getting married to a girl he's never met. He tries to reason with them, but they're adamant that this union will benefit the family business.

At Williams Residence:

Zade: "Mom, Dad, I can't believe you're doing this to me. I'm not ready for marriage, and I certainly don't want to marry some stranger you've chosen for me."

Mother: "Zade, dear, this is a great opportunity for our family. The Sanders are a respected and wealthy family, and this union will secure our business dealings for generations to come."

Zade: "But what about my happiness? What about what I want? I've always dreamed of marrying someone I love, someone who loves me for who I am, not just for our family's interests."

Father: "Zade, you're being selfish. This is a family decision, and you need to put the family's interests first. You'll learn to love Evelyn in time."

Zade: "But I don't even know her! I've never met her, and now you're expecting me to spend the rest of my life with her? It's ridiculous."

Mother: "Zade, we've discussed this. We have never in asked you for anything until now. Everything was your choice and decisions but you'll have to agree to this one for us. Please son, Evelyn is a lovely girl, and she comes from a good family. You'll be happy together, I promise."

Zade: "Happy? You call this happy? I call it torture. I can't believe you're doing this to me."

Father: "Zade, enough. You'll do as we say, or you'll face the consequences. You're a Williams, and you'll do what's best for this family, even if it means sacrificing your own happiness."

Zade: "Fine. But I'll never forgive you for this. Never."

This conversation sets the tone for Zade's reluctance and resentment towards the marriage, and his feelings of being devastated by his family's expectations.

As Zade stormed out of the room, the weight of his family's expectations threatened to crush him. He felt like a pawn in their game of power and wealth, suffocated by the life they had predetermined for him.

Their conversation still echoed in his mind, a constant reminder of his doomed fate. He couldn't shake off the feeling of being a prisoner, forced to walk a path he didn't choose. The thought of spending his life with a stranger, a mere acquaintance, was a bleak prospect.

Zade's heart yearned for freedom, for the courage to defy his family's wishes and forge his own path. But fear held him back, fear of their anger, their disappointment, their rejection. He felt lost, a shell of the person he once was, his sense of purpose and identity slowly fading away.