Chapter 5 The Groom-to-be's Answer

• Rhea still could not believe how her mother had arranged for her to marry a man who was much younger than she was. Wasn’t he more suited to be her younger brother rather than her husband?
• “Mom, there is no way I can accept this arranged marriage.” She quickly and firmly protested, having already decided that she would not agree to marry a man who was ten years younger than her.
• A clicking sound from her mother came from the other end of the phone. “Don’t say that. We have already agreed to this arrangement.”
• “If you were going to arrange a marriage, you should have considered our circumstances first. That man is still so young, Mom. He is ten years younger than me. He is more like a little brother than a husband. You were reckless in arranging this match.”
• “I already explained yesterday. Initially, we intended to arrange your marriage with his older brother, but since our families lost contact for a long time, his older brother was already married to someone else. So, well…”
• “So, he is just a replacement for his brother, who was originally supposed to marry me? That doesn’t make sense, Mom. If his brother is already married to someone else, then just let it go. Why does his younger brother have to take his place?”
• “Because we want to uphold our long-standing agreement to marry our children. We want to become family through your marriage.”
• Rhea clicked her tongue in frustration. To her, this was a huge mistake. “That’s not how it works, Mom. This is selfish. You are only thinking about yourselves without considering my feelings—or his. He is still in college. I’m sure he would reject this arrangement too.”
• “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”
• One of Rhea’s eyebrows raised upon hearing her mother’s challenging tone.
• “All right, Rhea, I have an idea.”
• “Oh, really? What idea is that?” Rhea asked lazily while rolling her eyes, already tired and fed up with her mother’s stubbornness.
• “Ask Dion directly. If he refuses this marriage, then fine… I won’t force you two to marry. But…”
• “Hmm, fine. I’ll ask him now.”
• “Hey, wait. I’m not finished talking yet. Don’t just cut me off.”
• Rhea growled inwardly. She felt like hanging up the phone immediately, as she could no longer stand talking to her mother or staying in that mall any longer. In her mind, it was far better to go to the office than waste her precious time on something as ridiculous as this. Reviewing stacks of documents on her desk was far more appealing than dealing with this absurd arranged marriage.
• "Alright, what else do you want to talk about, Mother?" For the umpteenth time, Rhea chose to comply with her mother's wishes, allowing her to continue speaking.
• "But if Dion agrees to this arranged marriage and is willing to marry you, then you must also accept it. There will be no more excuses for you to refuse. You will have to marry Dion. So, what do you say? Do you agree?"
• Rhea shook her head, thinking that her mother had lost all sense of reason by insisting on marrying off her daughter, the president of a major company, to a mere university student.
• Letting out a long sigh and exhaling slowly, Rhea finally opened her mouth and replied with resignation, "Alright, Mother. I agree. Besides, I am sure that man will reject this arrangement. There's no way he would want to marry an older woman like me. He must want to marry someone his own age. I am certain of it."
• A chuckle echoed through the phone, as if her mother was mocking her words. "That is not necessarily true. Alright then, go ahead and ask Dion now. Let me know his answer later, alright?"
• The call abruptly ended as her mother hung up without waiting for Rhea’s response. Rhea shook her head again, unable to comprehend her mother’s way of thinking. How could she so easily arrange her daughter's marriage to a much younger man?
• Clearing her throat briefly to calm herself from the frustration she was feeling, Rhea then walked toward the place where Dion was waiting for her.
• Her steps were quick, driven by her impatience to confront the man she was being arranged to marry.
• When she finally arrived at her destination and saw Dion still sitting in the same place, Rhea immediately approached him.
• "Ah, you’re finally back. Where did you go? You took so long," Dion said.
• Rhea cleared her throat once more to steady herself before sitting down in the chair directly across from Dion. "There is something important I need to ask you, and I hope you will answer truthfully."
• Curiosity was evident on Dion’s face as he gazed at Rhea intently. He was undeniably handsome, and now his eyes were locked onto hers. "Hmm, what do you want to ask?"
• "You must already know that the reason we are meeting here is because our parents arranged for us to be married?"
• Dion nodded. "Yes, I know. And?"
• "Now that we have met in person, do you still want to go through with this arranged marriage?"
• Rhea could only swallow hard, anxiously awaiting Dion's response. Deep down, she hoped he would reject the arranged marriage just as she did. Well, let’s see if her wish would come true.
• "So, what’s your decision? Are you willing to accept this arranged marriage?" Rhea asked once more, growing impatient. However, Dion didn’t immediately respond, which only irritated her further.
• "What about you?"
• Rhea gaped at him. Instead of answering, he had thrown the question back at her. "I’m the one asking you! Why are you asking me instead?"
• "Before I answer, I want to know what you think about our arranged marriage after this meeting."
• Rhea rolled her eyes. First her mother, and now this man in front of her—they were both equally infuriating and had successfully ruined her mood for the day.
• "Of course, I refuse. There’s no way I would agree to marry someone like you, who is much younger than me. Tell me, how old are you?"
• "Twenty," Dion answered quickly.
• "See? I knew it. There's a ten-year gap between us because I’m thirty now. Do you know what that means?"
• "What?"
• "It means it’s impossible for us to be husband and wife. We’re more suited to be siblings. Got it? So, I firmly reject this arranged marriage. I don’t want to marry you."
• "But I... I accept this arranged marriage and am willing to marry you."
• At that moment, Rhea’s eyes widened in utter shock upon hearing Dion’s response.
• "Huh? What did you just say? I didn’t mishear you, did I?"
• Dion shook his head firmly. "No, you heard me right. I said I accept this arrangement, and I’m ready to marry you."
• "Even though you’re still in college?"
• Dion scoffed. "And so what if I’m still in college? There’s no rule against getting married at my university. So, I can marry you anytime." As if oblivious to Rhea’s rising frustration, Dion playfully winked at his supposed future wife.
• Meanwhile, Rhea could only pinch the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on after hearing Dion’s shocking answer.
• "So, when are we getting married?"
• At this point, Rhea felt like screaming out her frustration. She was dealing with two people who had completely lost their minds—her mother and Dion. Both of them were insane for agreeing to this ridiculous arranged marriage.