Arranged Love

Hi, fellow readers. I hope you liked my previous story. I respect and believe a lot in the institution of marriage, and I wish to be a good husband. I find that MH helps me a lot with my thought process in how to accomplish that. This story is another product of my imagination. It is unconnected to the previous one, but I hope you will like it.

My whole life, I had been in one-sided love. I had lost all hope of it ever being returned. That’s when I agreed to an arranged marriage. I met a lot of girls, but wasn’t able to decide; I did not want to lose again.

So my parents chose a suitable girl for me. We started dating during our courtship period. Our parents waited for our acceptance of each other as marriage partners.

On one of our dates, she seemed to be in a different mood than usual, serious and a little anxious. I was driving her home after dinner when she said, “I don’t want to go home right now. Take me somewhere quiet. I want to talk to you.”

I wasn’t sure what would happen, so I just drove around to the beach. All was quiet and calm, the only sound the crash of the waves against the shore. I could feel her shivering. Maybe she was trying to give me a hint, but I didn’t get it. Then she asked me if I needed my jacket, so I said no and gave it to her.

We sat down for a little while. I wasn’t quite sure what to say and had no idea what might happen. We were sharing our thoughts about nature and where we feel most peaceful when she said, “I really enjoy your company. I find peace with you.” She put extra emphasis on the word YOU. “I love you and want to marry you.”

But I still wasn’t sure about my feelings for her. I held her hand, gently kissed it, and said, “I am sorry, but I don’t really know what my feelings are yet. It’s almost like I have become an emotionless man. You are beautiful and sweet, but I’m not sure if I will be able to reciprocate your feelings. If we get married, do not doubt that I will take care of you. But I’m not sure if I will fall in love.”

There followed a moment of awkward silence. Neither of us knew what to say, so we planned to meet again before making a final decision. When I dropped her at home, she hugged me tightly, and I could see tears in her eyes.

I held her face with my hands & wiped her tears. Trying to comfort her, I said, “Don’t worry, it will all work out for the best.”

When I reached home, my mom was still awake. She took one look at me and realized something was wrong. She asked me what happened, and I just broke down with all my feelings.

I told her what I was going through. “I know she’s a great girl, and I don’t want to break her heart,” I said.

My mom talked me out of living in the past. By the end of our conversation, I felt much better. The next day, I apologized to the girl again for not having the same feelings as her and asked her to be patient with me.

We continued to go on a few more dates and, each time I left her, she would say, “I love you.” But I just couldn’t bring myself to say the words back to her.

Slowly, though, I began to feel the love grow in me. I talked to my parents about my feelings, but I asked them not to tell anyone. I wanted to express my love in a unique way. Because I needed her help to pull it off, I told my mom about my plan but kept it secret from everyone else.

The girl and her family were invited over for dinner at our place. After they arrived, we all talked for a while. But when everybody was about to have dinner, I said that I had to leave and that they should continue without me.

My mom played her role perfectly. She acted angry, scolding me for not telling them beforehand and saying what a rude host I was, etc. Finally, she allowed me to go on one condition: I had to take the girl along with me.

Feigning reluctance, I agreed. We headed over to my best friend’s place. On the way, I started talking to the girl.

“I want to be honest with you. While you and I were dating, I started getting feelings for a girl. It’s vital to me that I tell her how I feel. I think it’s good that you came along. You should know who she is.”

I could see clearly on her face that she felt like crying. (What a jerk I was, huh? But I hoped I would make up for it soon.) We reached my best friend’s place where she had already made all the arrangements. She’d decorated a bedroom with roses, heart-shaped balloons, and candles.

After I introduced the two of them, I took her to the room. Of course, her first assumption was that my friend was the girl for whom I had feelings. But my best friend left both of us alone. By now, tears were rolling down the girl’s cheeks.

“I am sorry,” I said to her. “Just bear with me a few more minutes, and I will introduce you to the person I have fallen in love with.” She seemed ready to run away, but I held her hand.

“Leave my hand,” she cried.

Slowly, I turned her around. We were standing in front of a mirror. “Look,” I whispered. “She’s right there.” I pointed at her reflection. Then I turned her to face me again, took a ring from my pocket, and proposed to her.

“I am sorry I troubled you so much today. I thought it would make it more special and more of a surprise. I am truly in love with you. Yes, it is you! And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me, love?”

She was shocked, overwhelmed. As I wiped her tears, she just nodded her head in agreement and gave me a tight hug.

Meanwhile, my best friend knocked on the door and asked us to call our parents because they were all worried. We video-called my mom and told them that we both were ready to be married.

But since the room had been so beautifully decorated, we decided to spend a little more time there. We turned off the lights, put on some music, and swayed in each other’s arms, hugging tightly. A few months later we got married, and our beautiful journey started.