te'

s have pass

things I despise the mos

leaving. This time could've been spent on work-producti

ng for nearly ten minutes. A heavy sigh escapes me as my thoughts sp

trothal and the stipulation that I must marry to inherit my grandfa

he rigged the system against me. My father, of course, had been convenientl

e, perhaps out of curiosity-perhaps to see the woman

My mother's enthusiastic praise about her character and charm had been n

love when they got married, and they seem just fine. I could make this wor

the more irritated I become. And the more irritated I beco

else-anyone else-to marry and still fulfill the conditions of my inheritance. I don'

ctly what she must be. I already hate

some outdated tradition? I could pick one of the many women already vyin

leave. But just as I turn toward the exit, the restaurant's gl

even the word f

this can

and beautiful, leading me to assume she

ing tra

aches. Who wears a tracksuit to m

ories, her makeup-it all looks absurd. Sh

y expected t

rm out. This is insane. My grandfather's impec

ing me a shy wave a

my stunned silence, but my

g away my feelings. She doesn't even flinch, wh

e to make a statement. This is her way

voice, I growl, "Wh

laced by something more

ng about?" she asks

ctly what I'm

to sit back down. My jaw tightens as I fight t

eed

st my grandfather's wishes, even if the old man has been

uch I hate it,

l in a tracksuit-is the key

tration. But it's impossible. Her lateness and lack

behavior, she sits across from me with

nding her hand in greeting. Her tiny p

e-my sister, for example-I'd probably laugh. But this

. She drops it back to her side, the disappointment