'mama!! i dont want to get married! i hardly know the guy!'

i told my beloved mother early that monday morning before i left for nursing school, she didnt even bother looking up from reading newspaper at our dining table.

i just couldnt believe that my mother would hate me that much, hate me enough to actually marry me off to a total stranger...hell she cant make me marry prince harry or jacob black for that matter. i drummed my fingers on the table in an attempt to make her look at me and my beautiful mother looked at me from reading the morning news, now that i have her undivided attention i gave her the sweetest smile i could come up at that moment, mama just shook her head and motioned for me to sit down and start eating..

'mama..you cant do that, you cant just marry me off to a stranger....i thought you love me' i reasoned as i bit into the french toast she gave me

'ria-chan, how can you say no to a guy you havennt met and you dont even know his name yet'

i looked at her and wondered if we were on the same wavelength, she just gave me back the very reasons i had why i didnt want to agree to her plans and she managed to turn the tables...there's no way i would win this argument with her...my mother should have been the peace negotiator for the united nations not running a company..

'mama...' i started to protest

she shook her head and reached for my hand across the table 'ria-chan, meet him first then decide...you know that we cant do anything..we're honor bound to do it..'

i knew mama was right, i hardly have a choice in the matter...my life and my future was already planned for me. i might as well get on with this charade and get it over and done with. i couldnt and didnt want to disappoint my family either..and i wouldnt want to lose the company my father and my grandfather built..it was a family heirloom and my birthright, and i knew mama knows how i love my father..

sighing i finished my toast and stood up to kiss my mother goodbye 'hai mama..when do i get to meet him?' i asked before i left our dining area

mama smiled at me and said 'thank you baby..we''ll have dinner with them tonight, please dont be late'

i bowed 'daijobu mama...see you tonight'

'take care ria chan...'

................

'what??? mou ichido kudasai ria san'

'shh!! dont shout like so aia san, i dont want other people to know'

i had to remind my bestfriends to keep their mouth shut, even if we were already at the mall's foodcourt and people werent really paying any attention to us still ii didnt want others to hear about my weird predicament..it was the familiar story of arranged marriages, though it was nothing new in japan then again i didnt want to be part of that statistic. i still want to marry for love damn it!

sammie looked at me while she sipped her coffee, she was the sane one among the 3 of us 'did you say yes without even meeting your future husband first?'

'even if i say no sammie san, i cant do anything...the company needs the merger and mama is hell bent on getting it'

'you never gave a twit about the business' aia added

'still the company is an heirloom and-'

'you care about the hospital your family owns and not the company' sammie said

i nodded and felt tears stinging my eyes, i harshly wiped them away..tears were a sign of weakness and i didnt need them now...

'i dont even know the company we're merging with'

'what??' they both cried out in unison

'i cant help it..business was never my forte..but if i dont do this we would loose everything papa built and worked so hard for..i cant do that...' i told them

i trust my bestfriends with my life and somehow sharing to them what i felt and what happened this morning made things easier to bear. they both showed me their support by not attending classes the whole day and we decided to just go to the mall and figure out what to do. the 3 of us knew that someday we will end up marrying someone not by our own free will but a choice that we never had a say in the matter. growing up with girls who knew that our situation was no different from each other made our bond stronger than sisters and life easier...

'i wish i can runaway from everything' i murmured desperately as i hid my face in my hands

'you cant ria, you're too nice to ever resort to that trick' aia told me between giggles, so like her to giggle during most trying times

i glared at her and looked at sammie for help 'i would say best wishes but are you sure you dont know who your future husband is?' she asked me instead

'stop it already!' i groaned 'nope but we'll have dinner with them tonight'

sammie raised her eyebrows and looked at me from head to toe as if telling me that i looked like as of the moment

'nande?!' i demanded 'do i have horns now??'

aia shook her head and aswered for sammie 'you're meeting them in your school uniform?! are you crazy?'

i looked down at my nursing whites and back at my friends, aia and i had the same uniform while sammie was wearing the typical skirt and blouse school uniform since she was taking up psychology..

'and so? i feel like im going to my funeral..why bother dressing up?'

'you cant make them hate you ria-san, you're too likeable for your own good' sammie told me with a knowing smile

'please..' i told them and rolled my eyes 'best wishes to me'

***

i didnt know what happened to my first account..ohh well here's my story :)