Bound by Law

Bound by Law || 1-Arranged

I wasn't so sure what I wanted to do with my life after college. I'd always wanted to make my parents proud; it was the motivation for me to do well.

But after that night, everything had changed. I had no motivation, no goals. I just didn't have it in me anymore to see anything more in my future.

I knew I wanted an arranged marriage. That was the one thing I was sure of.

And Aman was the perfect guy for me. My parents knew his and, although though him and I weren't that close, we knew of each other's existence and that was enough for me.

"Hey, Kari." Aman tapped me on my shoulder and broke into my thoughts.

He was smiling in amusement at me as he gestured towards my hand.

"Your ice cream's melting," he said, with a lop-sided grin.

I looked down, realizing he was right and gasped. With the napkin I was given, I wiped my hand before licking the cone and continuing to devour the creamy, cold goodness.

I could hear Aman snickering from beside me and I pouted.

"Don't laugh!" I whined.

"I'm not laughing!" he said, raising his hands up in surrender. Glancing up at him, his eyes were bloodshot red and he looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks.

It was as if he hadn't been able to sleep in months. It looked worrying but the bright smile on his face seemed to contradict any doubts that had conjured up in my mind.

Shoving his hands back in his pockets, he tilted his head at me.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked softly as we walked over the bridge leading to my house,

Finishing my cone, I looked down at my feet as I walked.

"Nothing, really."

He didn't say anything as if he knew that it wasn't something I wanted to talk about, and we both succumbed to a peaceful silence.

It was nice.

It was especially nice to see Aman again after several years. I knew him when we were younger but we weren't that close. I used to just follow him around from afar when he came from America. His brother never showed up and so I didn't ever meet him.

Eventually, as we got older, we started to talk whenever he would come to visit. I was always a shy person, so I never really talked much. Aman accepted and understood that never pressuring me about anything.

I still wasn't entirely sure where he got his politeness and perfect manners from though. Whether it was here or overseas....who knew?

"When are you going back?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"In a week." He sighed. "I've left Jai alone back in America. He's not a kid or anything, but as his older brother, I want to look after him. I don't want to leave him there by himself." He gave me a side-long glance. "Who knows what he's up to?"

I nodded and smiled. "That's true. Plus a week is a long time. We can make the most of your time here, even after the wedding."