THE FORCED MARRIAGE

"Marry Radit."

"WHAT?"

Amanda looked up. Her eyelids widened perfectly with a face that still looked gloomy. She did not expect to hear such a shocking sentence just now from her father.

"You heard it right. I want you to marry Radit. To be his replacement wife as well as Ayra's surrogate mother."

"NO!!" refused Amanda sarcastically. This time she spoke out loudly in opposition to what she thought was a crazy request. "I do want to get married, Dad. Of course, it won't be Radit, but Andre. He even proposed to me in London."

Amanda confidently held up her left hand. More precisely on the ring finger, which was already embedded with a blue gem ring given by her beloved. However, her father remained unmoved. As if the evidence just now meant nothing.

"I never ask anything from you. Please obey this time. You're the only one I can count on."

Amanda chuckled softly. "I love Andre, Dad. I only want to marry him!"

"Ayra needs a mother's love. Only you can give her that. I'm not willing to let Radit marry another woman. You're Dinda's elder sister, so it's only right to take your sister's place. Don't be selfish, Manda!"

"Selfish??" snapped Amanda with a grumble. "What about me, Dad? My future is at stake. This isn't right. Radit is still -"

"Manda! Dad?!"

The voice just now cut off Amanda's emotional outburst. Her father sighed softly and smiled bitterly.

"You finally came, Radit."

"Sorry, Dad. I was accompanying Ayra who was still fussy," said the man named Radit.

"That's all right. You guys can talk. Iapa went up to the room first ."

Amanda snorted softly. She caught her breath for a moment. Her eyes then took in the man's appearance from head to toe. It had never occurred to her to be Radit's wife.

"Papa told us to get married. You would have refused too, wouldn't you, just like me? So let's -"

"I agree."

"Hey?" Amanda laughed and shook her head in disbelief. "You realize who you're talking to, huh?"

Radit nodded briefly. It left the girl in front of him speechless.

"I know. You're my sister-in-law, but back when Dinda was my wife. Now... she's gone. People who die can't come back to life, right?" Radit then concluded. "The only thing on my mind is Ayra. I hope you will understand."

"That's easy for you to say?"

"Yes. Dinda won't be angry because her position is being replaced by you."

"Crazy person!" hissed Amanda in disbelief at what she had just heard.

Instead of responding to the curse, Radit rose to his feet while revealing a faint smile. "I don't think there's anything more to talk about. I assume you agree. This is all for Ayra's sake."

Amanda was shocked that Radit did not seem to object to the sudden arranged marriage. At the same time, she couldn't understand what was going through her former sister-in-law's head.

Tonight is the last time where relatives and neighbors attend the seven-day event of the late sister. Amanda, who had been silent, was disturbed by a soft voice that reached her eardrums.

"Tell Radit to go to bed. While Manda is back from abroad too. Poor child, let someone take care of him."

"Yes. Maybe Manda's soul mate was blocked because she was preceded by the late Dinda?"

"That's why you don't want to be stepped on."

Many more conversations made her earshot. The girl with shoulder-length hair chose to walk to the second floor. Hoping to calm her frantic mind.

"So what??"

Amanda almost spit out her drink because she was surprised by her father's presence from the right side. She snorted softly and then noticed the man's unusual gaze. Her eyebrows knitted together as she glanced at the woman who had just joined them.

"Dear," the woman called Amanda in a low voice. "Radit is a good man. We are proposing this marriage for your sake and his. Especially Ayra. She certainly still needs a mother's love. You're the one who's right for her."

"Oh yeah?" Amanda smiled wryly with a cynical look. "You said this so I wouldn't be distracted by taking care of Ayra, right?"

"Amanda!!" her father scolded. "Mind your manners! Tiara is my wife even though she didn't give birth to you."

"Great! Just keep defending your favorite woman!" snapped Amanda, who was getting angry.

The father was about to speak up, but that intention was aborted after getting a gentle rub on his right arm. The couple stared at each other for a few seconds until finally turning to Amanda again.

"You're almost 35 years old, Manda," said her stepmother. "You should get married. Andre is not a good man, dear."

"Don't be a smart ass!" Amanda quickly denied it. "Life in the entertainment world has many consequences. Especially news that's not true. I'm sure Andre is the right choice."

"What about your niece? Ayra needs a mother figure, kiddo."

"I can take care of her without being married to her father!" said Amanda in a raised tone.

"Dear, think again." The forty-year-old woman looked at her sadly.

"Everywhere there's a sugar baby or a sugar daddy, and me? Heh. I'm not going to be a sugar mommy. Radit is too young to be my husband. This is crazy!"

"Age is just a number. What matters is -"

"Right," Amanda cut in quickly. "Just like you and my dad. He is older than you by more than 20 years. It's natural, even though it seems ... so."

"Stop diverting the conversation, Manda. We're talking about you!"

"I still don't want to. Period!" Amanda leaned in with a gaze full of rejection.

"What a rebellious child! It's so hard to tell your parents." Her father was getting angry. Again, his wife tried to calm him down by gently stroking his right arm. Meanwhile, Amanda, who was already annoyed, immediately got up. "Where are you going, huh?"

"I'm tired," Amanda replied with her body already standing upright. "Papa has never understood what I want."

"Manda, wait! You have to marry Radit. Otherwise -"

"What? If not...Tiara will marry Radit. How about that, huh?"

"You!! Aggh!"

Amanda was about to walk away. However, her stepmother's shriek made her turn around.

"Dad?!"