At first, it felt heavy.
Then… it felt peaceful.
Until the day everything changed.
It was a normal evening.
I had just finished work, tired, mentally drained, walking home without thinking.
That’s when I saw him.
Sitting on the pavement.
Holding a worn-out cardboard sign.
Most people walked past him like he didn’t exist.
And honestly… I probably would have done the same.
But something stopped me.
His eyes.
They didn’t look broken.
They didn’t look desperate.
They looked… calm.
Like he was observing the world, not begging from it.
And before I even realized what I was doing…
I stopped.
He looked up at me.
Confused.
Curious.
And then I said the most impulsive thing I’ve ever said in my life:
“Do you want to get married?”
There was a long silence.
The kind that makes you question your own sanity.
He blinked.
Then let out a small breath.
“I’m sorry… what?”
“I’m serious,” I said quickly. “It’s not what you think. It’s just… an arrangement.”
I explained everything.
The deadline.
The pressure.
The inheritance.
And finally…
“My parents want a husband? Fine. I’ll give them one.”
He studied me carefully.
Not like I was crazy.
Like he was trying to understand me.
Then… he smiled.
A small, almost amused smile.
“Stan,” he said. “And I guess… I don’t have much to lose.”
continue to the next page.”
