FORCED TO BE WITH MR RIGHT

"You know you can't always impose things on me, right?" I yelled back at my mum, who had just gotten me angry. "I can because I'm your mum," she clapped back as she stood up to get the door. "So much for being my mum." At this point, I was already tired of everything. What does she mean by she needs me to finish college and not go abroad for my next degree? Instead, she wants me to get married? And to whom? A friend's son that I've never met before? That's just absurd and not acceptable to me. She opened the door for my brother - Raymond, and came to sit next to me. "Look, my dear," she said as she wrapped her arms around my shoulder, "I'm only doing this for you, your dad and I want the best for you..." "Talking about 'dad,' where is he?" I asked, cutting her statement short. "He's on a business trip," she responded. I didn't say anything to that. Instead, I sat upright, looked my mum in the eyes, and said, "Look, mum, I love you and I know you love me so much." Her eyes brightened - I’m sure she thought I was about to sing praises to her, but she was in for a shock. "But why does Raymond get to do whatever he wants and I don't?" I finally said. Her eyes dropped, and she frowned. Raymond, on the other hand, couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Raymond is a boy, and we trust him to make the right choices," mum said. "And you don't trust me? You know what, mum, let's not have this conversation because I'm getting hungry, and I have to get back to school in the next thirty minutes," I said and stood up to leave. No one said anything after that. I picked up my bag and notebook and walked toward the door to leave for class. "Let me walk you out," Raymond said from behind and walked out with me. As we walked to the car, he cleared his throat, and that only meant one thing: he had something to say. I closed my eyes and turned to him. "Don't give me any TED Talk, please." "I'm not giving you any TED Talk, little munchkin. I just want to say that maybe you should try to see things from mum's perspective." "Perspective?" I yelled. "C'mon, Ray, I'm a big girl. She should trust my choices just like yours," I said, clenching my fist. "A big girl? You're still in college," Raymond replied. "That's because I have one year left. It's not my fault I did a five-year course," I said. "Don't worry, munchkin, I'll talk to mum for you. In the meantime, you have a class to meet up with," he said. I gave him a brief hug, walked into the car, and waved him goodbye as the driver drove out of our mansion. I walked out of the car once we arrived. I didn't go to class immediately. I stopped by the restaurant in the college arena and walked in. I haven't been there in a while - the first time I came was when my best friend Nancy brought me because she wanted to taste their sauté chicken and fries. The restaurant is big, not too fancy, but fancy enough to not look like it belongs to a college. I heard it belongs to the school's owner. But that's beside the point - right now I'm hungry, and I need food. I walked to a table and sat down, picked up the menu, and tried to choose between their meat burger and their spaghetti and meatballs when the waiter walked up to me to take my order. "I'll go with the burger and some sauté chicken," I said. He nodded and walked away. My eyes scanned the place in boredom, then I bent my head to text Nancy when I heard a bang on my table. Who the heck is that? "Why must everyone try to get on my nerves?" I muttered under my breath. "Who is that..." I said as I raised my head and stopped mid-sentence. He was annoyingly good-looking. Tall, broad-shouldered, dressed in a perfectly fitted suit like he had just walked out of a magazine. His jaw was sharp, his lips set in a firm line, and his dark eyes… cold and unreadable. The kind of face that would make girls stare - And the kind of attitude that would make you hate him instantly. But that didn't give him the right to be rude, did it? "What do you want? Why did you bang the table as though it's yours? And even if it is yours, didn't you see me here? Do you want to give me a migraine?" I asked, annoyed. "This is my reserved table," he said, hands in his trouser pockets, his tone firm and rude. I blinked and scoffed. "Your reserved table? I came in here and sat down, none of the workers told me it was reserved. Besides, this is a college restaurant. Who reserves tables here?" I asked. He said nothing. Instead, he walked closer to me, bent slightly, and said, "Get up." I can't explain how angry I was. I felt so small and annoyed. Me? Get up? Does he know who I am? I'm Daisy Mandra - the daughter of Floyd Mandra. "No, I won't," I said and sat down more comfortably. Just then, the waiter who had taken my order returned with another man dressed in a suit. They both walked to my table looking like they were about to get fired. What's going on here? "G-good day, s-sir. I'm sorry for the mix-up, sir," the man in the suit stuttered in fear. "Sir?" I asked, looking at the rude Greek god in front of me from head to toe. "Why are you calling him sir? Who is he?" "He's the owner of the restaurant," the man in the suit said. I scoffed in disbelief. "I thought this belongs to the owner of the college?" "Yes and that is my mum," the Greek god said proudly with an annoying smirk. What? What just happened here? "Then why didn't you tell me?" I asked, feeling ashamed but still annoyed by his rude behavior. He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he straightened, glanced at the man beside him, and said calmly, "Cancel her order." My eyes widened. "And make sure she never sits here again." Then his gaze returned to mine - cold and unapologetic. "I don’t share what’s mine." For a second, I couldn’t even speak. The audacity. The arrogance. The nerve. I slowly stood up, my fists clenched tightly at my sides. "Do you always act like this," I said, my voice shaking slightly, "or is today just a special day for being insufferable?" His lips curved into the faintest smirk. And then he said... "Get used to it." I frowned. "Excuse me?" But he was already turning away. Like I didn’t matter. Like I was nothing. I had no idea… That this same arrogant, infuriating man - Was the one my parents wanted me to marry.