The Offer
645 Words
Aria didn’t touch the envelope.
She stared at it as though it might explode the moment her fingers brushed against it.
“My mother’s medical records are private,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “How did your employer get them?”
Daniel remained composed.
“Mr. Blackwood has resources.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“It is the only answer I’m authorized to give.”
She folded her arms.
“If this is some kind of prank, it’s not funny.”
“It isn’t.” Daniel placed the envelope on a nearby table.
“You don’t have to decide today.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because time is something neither you nor your mother has.”
His words landed like a stone in her chest.
She hated that he was right.
The nurse’s call,
The doctor’s request to see her…
Something wasn’t right.
“Aria!”
Her manager’s voice echoed across the café.
“Where’s table five’s order?”
“I’m coming!”
She looked back at Daniel.
“I have customers waiting.”
“I’ll be here.”
The rest of her shift crawled by.
She smiled.
She took orders.
She served coffee.
But her mind never left the white envelope resting on the corner table.
Every few minutes, she’d glance toward it.
Daniel hadn’t moved.
He simply sat there, sipping black coffee as though he had nowhere else to be.
When the café finally closed, Aria untied her apron with tired hands.
“You seem distracted today,” her coworker, Tolu, said while stacking chairs.
“Just family stuff.” Tolu smiled sympathetically.
“It’ll get better.”
Aria wished she believed that.
She picked up her bag and walked toward the exit.
Daniel was already waiting outside.
“The car is ready.”
“I’m not getting into a stranger’s car.”
“I expected that.”
He reached into his jacket and handed her another envelope.
“This one contains Mr. Blackwood’s proposal.”
She hesitated before taking it.
“Read it when you’re alone.”
“And if I say no?”
“Then I will thank you for your time and leave.”
“No threats?”
“No.”
“No pressure?”
“The decision is yours.”
For the first time since they’d met, Daniel gave her a genuine smile.
“Mr. Blackwood dislikes forcing people.”
With that, he walked to a sleek black Rolls-Royce waiting by the curb.
Within seconds, it disappeared into the evening traffic.
Aria looked down at the envelope in her hands.
Her name was written neatly across the front.
Nothing else.
She slipped it into her bag without opening it.
An hour later, she arrived at Lakeside Medical Centre.
The smell of antiseptic filled the quiet corridor.
Dr. Adebayo greeted her with a tired smile.
“Please, have a seat.”
The moment doctors asked you to sit down…
You knew the news wasn’t good.
He folded his hands on the desk.
“The medication is slowing the illness, but not enough.”
Aria’s throat tightened.
“What are you saying?”
“Your mother’s surgery can no longer be delayed.”
“How long do we have?”
The doctor was silent for a moment.
Then he answered.
“Thirty days.”
Aria felt the room spin.
Thirty days.
Thirty days to find millions she didn’t have.
Thirty days to save the only family she had left.
As she left the hospital that night, she sat alone on a bench outside.
The city lights blurred through the tears she refused to let fall.
Slowly, She reached into her bag.
The white envelope.
With trembling fingers, she broke the seal.
The first sentence made her stop breathing.
Miss Aria Bello, I would like to offer you a marriage proposal.
- Writer
