"We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude."
- Charles R. Swindoll

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A few weeks later, Derin learned that her husband-to-be, Daniel L.C. Hartley, had arrived from the United States, and she will be opportune to meet him. Her aunt informed her that Daniel had to give his consent to the marriage, as his decision counted. It turned out that they did not want to force their son into an arranged marriage, but no one cared about her feelings and her decision. She guessed that Daniel had no idea that his parents were arranging for him a bride, and she wished he will not agree to the marriage.

However, he should not even accept such an idea. This was the twenty-first century. Why would he agree to marry a stranger enforced on him by his parents? Such alliances were only common in the twentieth century, and not in these times.

Yet, no matter how true this was, she could not push away the thought that he will accept and ruin both their lives.

"He would not accept. I am not of his class. I am sure he has better options, so he'll not choose me." She thought aloud the night before their arrival.

"He could." Her inner self stated.

"Geez. Stay off my thoughts, will you?" She scowled at herself.

"I am your thoughts." Her innersole retorted.

Exhausted with this, she shook her head and closed her inner controversy.

This was the common therapy Derin had gotten used to ever since she was a child. She had an inner soul who was her chat buddy whenever she was alone. But sometimes, her inner soul countered everything she thought, and was always annoying.

{August 29th, 2016}

The Hartleys arrived as dated, and she got to meet the aforementioned Daniel L.C. Hartley for the very first time. He was tall and well-built, with an athletic mesomorph shape, and he looked like those dudes who lived in a gym their whole lives. His squared face highlighted his jaws perfectly. He was flawless and Derin couldn't help but admire him.

Why wouldn't anyone? He was adorable, and his level of cuteness had to be appreciated.

He was handsome, and she questioned why she was singled out to be his enforced wife, as he deserved a million-dollar woman. A supermodel or a natural beauty queen would go perfectly with him, but fortunately, she was neither. She couldn't even understand why a wife would be imposed on a man like him.

On getting to the house, he acknowledged no one in the room, but just sat down on a settee and scrolled through his phone. He had no manners and Derin discovered why people called him arrogant and over the moon. She had already doubted the possibility of her getting married to him.

"Derin, he's our son Lanre and..." His mom took off, introducing her son, who barged in and bluntly cut her short.

"I'm not Lanre, I'm Daniel." He said; his face locked on the screen of his phone.

His mother apologized and reversed by introducing him as Daniel to her.

Derin could see that Daniel was wayward, blunt, presumptuous, and full of himself.

Throughout the night, she wondered how she'll be able to survive with him, after he agreed bluntly to the proposal, shocking and bashing all her hopes of eluding him.

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"I told you he wouldn't," Dolapo restated, pointing out his previous statement.

"Why didn't he say no?" Derin howled.

"I told you that he wouldn't be able to refuse you," He repeated.

Derin groaned. "Why?"

"I presume you are asking yourself that?" Dolapo asked as he relaxed beside her on the bed, and she placed her head on his shoulders.

It was weird that his parents choose her, but why him? Was he forced to accede? Despite whatever had spawned him, he had accepted and there was no point questioning the reasons behind his actions.

"So, what now?" asked Derin as she stared straight into the void ahead.

"We'll see," He answered, but his voice was distant from her.

She glanced up at his face and he smiled.

"We're going to be fine." Dolapo guaranteed as he draped his hands around her. She knew she would be all right, but she had that uncertainty and insecurity in her heart.

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The marriage plan commenced, even though it wasn't accurate that Daniel would show up on the wedding day owing to his malicious antics.

But, the day before the church wedding, Daniel's mom, Karen, called Derin aside to speak to her.

"I know you are not pleased to be married to my son and I understand this," she spoke earnestly. "All I'm asking of you is that you'll be the best wife you can be to him. I need you to care for and understand him. Be like a mother to him, please." She stated with conviction, but one could tell that her expression held that of a plea.

Derin nodded slightly at this, but the woman went on, saying, "I know it will be tough, but don't give up on him because I believe that a woman's care and love can make him a better person. So, promise me you'll never abandon him." Karen articulated her feelings as she stared at Derin with bated eyes, hoping she would assure her.

Derin bit the inside of her cheek as she went over what the woman had said in her mind, wondering why she was told this, but she soon pulled herself together, and in all truth, answered.

"I promise," Derin replied, although she knew she may not be able to keep such a promise. How can anyone not abandon someone like Daniel? However, her reply was enough for Daniel's mother as she smiled in satisfaction.

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{December 31st, 2016}

The wedding day arrived, and Derin was attired in a gorgeous Ella Rosa gown. On her face was slight make-up applied by Dan's mother and her aunt Bunmi. Daniel's sister, Katherine, who Derin had not met, and his other stepsister in the States weren't attending. The reason wasn't told to her. But to be sincere, she couldn't care less if no one attended the wedding; this wasn't her typical dream wedding.

Bunmi and Karen, however, didn't fail to enjoy the moment, as they made sure that she looked the prettiest. As all these went on, Derin drafted to her thoughts of her parents, wishing they were still alive, but if only wishes were horses, beggars would ride.

When they got to the chapel, Daniel was nowhere to be found and everyone began to doubt that he'll show up. Derin thought luck had smiled on her.

However, he arrived, though, at the eleventh hour, and the marriage ceremony began.

The priest walked in, followed by Daniel through the main door, and they both waited at the altar. Then the chosen bridesmaids and groomsmen walked in, the majority of who were Daniel's friends and family members, as Derin knew none of them. She walked in, everyone was on their feet as she strolled into the church–all eyes looking at her. As she walked down the aisle, she could hear whispers around her about how pretty she looked; how lucky she was; and how they wished they lived her life. In her mind, she scoffed at how easily they desired what they didn't know.

After the procreation and the hand-off, the assistant officiant gave the opening note.

"To all present I say: we are gathered here, not to witness the beginning of what will be, but rather what already is. We do not create this marriage, because marriage is created in the hearts of two loving people..." the officiant continued, but Derin withdrew herself from him and everyone, as she stared at her husband-to-be, Daniel. He looked at her, but she couldn't tell if he saw what they were getting themselves into.

They were getting married to each other. It was an actual marriage. Being tied together in a bond, in the presence of God, isn't something to just do vaguely, but Daniel here seemed to be okay with it, and well, she had to admit that she also was walking into the marriage without thinking, or objecting. Truly, she could not oppose the marriage, but she should have tried harder.

"Aderinsola and Daniel, seek from within yourself," the officiant's voice surged in, bringing her out of her daydream. "The serenity to accept the things you cannot change. The courage to change the things you must and the wisdom to know the difference".

Derin's eyes wandered away from Daniel, and unto the tens of people watching them. She barely knew any of them. However, here they are watching her walk into a union with someone she also didn't know. Her aunt didn't even have the decency to tell Derin's sister or the rest of the family that she was getting Derin married to someone. Yet, Derin hoped that her sister was alright at Lagos.

"Do you Daniel Lanre Craig Hartley, take Omojola Aderinsola Ajayi to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?" The officiant asked, facing Daniel. He studied her before nodding with a smile.

"I, Daniel Lanre Craig Hartley, accept you, Omojola Aderinsola Ajayi, as my constant companion and my loving wife. I promise to care for you, honor you, and cherish you, for as long as we both shall live." Daniel manifested, accepting the vows, and Derin gaped.

"He just assented to all those vows, as if they meant nothing to him." Derin speculated in her mind as she eyed him in consternation. Seriously, why would he accede to what he cannot fulfill?

"Do you Omojola Aderinsola Ajayi, take Daniel Lanre Craig Hartley to be your lawfully wedded husband, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?" The officiant asked, this time around facing her.

She swallowed hard before saying, "Daniel Lanre Craig Hartley, I do take you as my wedded husband, to share my life with you, and pledge that I will love, honor, and care for you in tenderness and affection, in all the many circumstances of our lives."

She paused as she stared at Daniel, not sure if she would keep any of the vows she just made and not sure that Daniel valued a marriage.

But she blinked back as she gathered up her courage. "Till death do us part!" She continued, almost to herself as her mind wandered off; panicking at what she uttered.

Then, a warm hand picked up her hand and, she looked up at the person; it was Daniel, and he was holding a silver-coated ring. "I give you this ring, a symbol of my love, as I give to you all that I am, and accept from you, all that you are." And he slipped the ring onto her finger.

She looked at the jewelry on her finger before looking up at him, tears lingering in her eyes, as she knew he did not mean a single word that he had said. To him, this was all ceremony, and the vows are just normal words, memorized and spoken without meaning or value.

The officiant gave her a signal to do the same, and she picked up the other ring on the pillow, in the hands of the ring bearer before also taking Daniel's hand. "With this ring, I thee wed, and with it, I bestow upon thee all the treasures of my mind, my heart, and my hands," she said and slipped the ring down his finger.

The officiant said, "And now, by the power vested in me by the church of the lord, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife." He pronounced before speaking what she had dreaded but wished and imagined ever since she was a kid.

"You may now kiss."

She already guessed that wasn't happening.

However, Daniel's towering figure was what she saw as he angled down to her face. She felt his lips on hers, and at that moment, her heart stopped. Daniel pulled out, and she still stared at him, shocked at his kiss.

He wasn't supposed to kiss her now, was he? That was not a must. He could've just ignored that part. Why did he kiss her?

She stared at him, speechless and absentmindedly.

'He doesn't think, does he?' she questioned herself.

'Seems so,' her inner self replied, 'but that kiss was amazing.'

Oh no! She did not like his kiss and that's final. She meditated into her thoughts, thereby closing that up.

After the declaration and the unforeseen kiss from Daniel, they proceeded to sign the certificates, and the rest of the ceremony followed.

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That evening after the ceremony, Derin left in Daniel's car as his new bride and was waved off by everyone until they were out of sight. Throughout the ride to Daniel's house, there was a dead silence; she didn't bother speaking to him, and he didn't seem to notice her presence in his car or his life. But Daniel broke the silence when he drove into the large yard of his duplex home.

"We're here," He announced as he parked the decorated jeep wrangler under the blue covering that made the garage.

He got down and Derin followed suit before he locked the jeep. Derin's eyes danced around her. She knew that Daniel's parents were aristocrats, but their son just seemed to have been the silver itself, as the house was magnificent. She couldn't help but commend the designers of the house.

She heard a door click open, bringing her out of her thoughts, and she saw her husband had walked on and gone inside, while she rushed in after him.

"This is my house, and you ought to know what to do." Daniel slurred as he dropped the keys on the center table and made to leave through the same door they'd come in through.

"Where are you off to?" She questioned, wondering where he was going at that time of the night, but her words trailed off after him. He didn't reply to her, as he was already out the door. She looked and watched as he got into the GMC Sierra parked beside the jeep and drove out of the gate.

A hiss escaped her lips, what an asshole!

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"The truth is you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed."
- Eminem
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