Arranged To Be His

Chapter 1

Every girl, at one point in her life has fantasized of being swept off of her feet by her knight in shining armor followed by a fairy-tale wedding, after which they would live happily ever after.

I, like most other girls had done the same. Coming from a slightly - okay, a very - conservative family where having boyfriends was a big no no, I could only dream about the guy I would end up calling my husband. Since the beginning, I knew I would have no say whatsoever in who I would tie the knot with. It would all be up to my parents - especially my father.

"So tell me more about your family," said the honeyed voice of a woman.

I stood in the corridor, hiding behind a wall as I eavesdropped on the conversation my mother was having with a sophisticated, rich looking lady who sat oh so elegantly on our second hand sofa. Her presence in our home felt bizarre. The shabby couch she sat on seemed insulting to her crisp, spotless attire. It wasn't everyday that our house was greeted with the presence of someone like her.

As the woman gracefully sipped her tea, my mother went on and on about my fathers business - leaving out the dirty details of course - and how hard the both of them had worked to support their family and raise their two kids. She then started bragging about how beautiful I was. I grew red at her words, embarrassment covering every feature as I realized her intentions. She often did that in front of women, hoping they would ask for my hand in marriage for their sons.

"Ah, shes a looker," my mother laughed. "The prettiest in our family in generations."

I rolled my eyes. Couldn't she have complimented my personality? How I was good-natured or how I was a straight A student all through high school or how I had graduated college with an excellent GPA? No. Out of all things she could've bragged about, she chose the most shallow of them all: my looks, which weren't even that good, if I had to be honest.

"Doesn't every mother think that though," the lady asked, still sounding polite.

I really want to see who this woman was at that point. It wasn't everyday that you came across someone who was that up front and straight to the point.

"Of course," my mother said, sounding embarrassed.

"I would like to meet your kids."

"Janie is at school. You can still meet Kelsey though," my mom said, sounding like she was getting up.

A few moments later I heard footsteps which seemed to be getting louder with each step until my mom finally came in sight. I looked at her sheepishly, embarrassed at being caught eavesdropping.

"Honey, go get changed, quickly!" she whispered.

"What? Why? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"Its a bit," she said as she perused me head to toe, "Mehh."

"Mom, stop. I took a shower and changed a while ago," I said as I walked towards the lounge.

"At least fix your hair!" she cried after me as I walked away.

As soon as I entered the room, the lady looked up at me. She put her tea cup down and stood up to greet me.

"You must be Kelsey," she smiled as she shook my hand.

"Hi," I gave her a shy smile. "It's nice to meet you..." I trailed off, not knowing what her name was.

"Oh, Eleanora. Eleanora Donnelley."

We sat down opposite to each other and almost immediately she started asking me questions, teacup in hand and not waiting around for the awkward silence that would surely have followed if she hadn't.

"So, Kelsey, what did you study in college?"

"I majored in biology," I answered.

"You're into medicine?"

I nodded. Ever since I was young, I had wanted to become a doctor. Something about helping others out and being the one to ease their pain made me happy.

"Our family owns several hospitals here in Atlanta," she said as she sipped her tea.

"Really? That's amazing," I smiled genuinely at her.

We sat there, making small talk for a few minutes until she finally got up.

"Thank you for the hospitality but I should get going now," she explained as she picked up her expensive looking cell phone and put it in her bag.

I couldn't help but notice the jewelry that adorned her skinny body. On one hand she wore a dull gold watch, the bezels of which were lined with what looked like zircon crystals which could have been diamonds for all I knew. If it was the latter, then this woman was probably crazy rich. I gaped in awe at the beautiful rings on her long, slender fingers and the gold plated wristlets on her right wrist.

"It was nice to meeting you, Kelsey," she said warmly as she pulled me in for a hug, side kissing my cheek. "I hope we meet again soon."

After saying her goodbyes, she exited the house, my mom right behind her, seeing her off. I watched her from the lounge window as she got into a sleek, black Mercedes.

My mom didn't talk about her again and neither did I ask. Days passed by and we were soon busy with our own lives, making my encounter with that woman seem like a vague dream. Little did I know, even though that may have been our first encounter, it definitely wasn't our last and that I would be seeing a lot more of her in the future.