After returning from the hospital, Darwin and Veronica didn’t go straight home. Instead, they directed the car to attend a dinner event held at the main residence of the Walters family. Today, they were celebrating Grandpa Anthonie’s birthday privately, attended by the entire extended family from both Indonesia and Singapore.
Upon arriving and offering their congratulations to Grandpa, Darwin decided to explore the area. Veronica, on the other hand, was taken by Luna and Celina to chat in one of the rooms.
Darwin chose to seek out Kennedy and Randy and then joined his cousin.
“Why the puzzled look?” Darwin asked as he approached Randy, who was sitting not far from the swimming pool.
Getting no immediate response, Darwin turned to Kennedy, signaling as if asking what was really going on with their cousin.
“Randy is feeling down because he’s being arranged for marriage,” Kennedy replied, and Darwin burst into laughter. He couldn’t help but laugh at Randy’s arrogant attitude, which he had often displayed.
“What? An arranged marriage? Seriously?” Darwin asked incredulously.
“Yeah, Win. You know I never lie, right?”
Darwin nodded afterward and then sat across from Randy, trying to find out what was really happening.
“Are you seriously going to be in an arranged marriage?”
Soon, hearty laughter erupted from Darwin’s lips. He was delighted to hear that his arch-nemesis was experiencing a fate similar to his own-being arranged for marriage. Such was the destiny of heirs of wealthy families. If they couldn’t find a spouse of equal status, they would be arranged to marry someone from a similar background to strengthen business ties between families.
Randy looked somewhat resigned. Despite his efforts to live freely and frequently change girlfriends, he was finally forced to comply with his parents’ orders to get married to a woman of their choice.
“Yeah, Win. Mom is pressuring me to get married,” Randy admitted. The next moment, he pulled out his smartphone and showed Darwin some photos of women he had photographed recently. He pointed them out to Darwin, hoping his cousin could provide some input or help him escape the arranged marriage.
Darwin looked serious as he examined each photo on Randy’s phone. He even found himself familiar with some of the candidates.
“I know Alesha Almira and Velia very well, Ran,” Darwin remarked.
“Oh, really? Where do you know them from?” Randy asked curiously.
“Alesha had a crush on me before. As for Velia, her parents even tried to arrange a marriage between us. Velia’s father owns a coal mining company and has had multiple business dealings with the Infinix Group.”
“Oh, really?” Randy inquired further. “I’ve never actually met them. I’m planning to meet them in person and assess them tomorrow.”
“I have to admit, Velia is incredibly beautiful. She’d make a perfect wife for you.”
“If Velia is so beautiful, why didn’t you marry her yourself?” Randy wondered. After all, Darwin had plenty of opportunities to marry her.
“My dad didn’t approve,” Darwin replied. “You see, I’ve been arranged to marry Veronica since I was a child. Because my dad didn’t want to break the promise and commitment we made with Papa Damian, I had no choice but to decline the offer. So, it’s better if you accept it now. Her family is very wealthy, and their coal mines are everywhere. Plus, Velia is beautiful. If I were you, I’d make her my wife,” Darwin explained, continuing to provoke Randy. Darwin thought that perhaps after Randy got married, his behavior might improve.
Randy nodded in understanding, but he didn’t agree with Darwin’s advice.
“Nah, I’m not interested at all, especially in someone with a socialite attitude. She might lead me to bankruptcy with her demands.”
“So, out of all those candidates, none of them caught your interest?” Kennedy asked curiously. She found Randy’s situation quite strange. When you looked at it, all of his potential matches were not ordinary people, and they all looked above average.
“Well, there is one,” Randy whispered and then looked at his two cousins in turn. “If I were to accept this arranged marriage, I’d prefer to marry the woman in the last slide.”
Darwin, who still held Randy’s phone, examined the mentioned picture carefully and then drew a conclusion.
“If you look at it, she’s the youngest among the others. You can tell from her facial features.”
“Yeah, that’s right. The last one is named Ghea. She’s still in college. Her age, if I’m not mistaken, is 22 or 23 years old. Around that age.”
“Crazy!” Darwin exclaimed. “You want to marry a woman who’s 22 years old?”
Randy nodded.
“Why? What’s the problem?”
“The age difference is huge, Ran. Just imagine, you’re 13 years older than her. You’d be like a pedophile marrying a young girl.”
“Come on!” Randy retorted, his face showing displeasure. “She’s an adult. And I’ve never heard the National Commission on Violence Against Women prohibiting marriage with a significant age difference. Besides, if I marry her, my life could be more stable, peaceful, and harmonious.”
Darwin furrowed his brow, trying hard to understand what Randy had just said.
“How so?”
“Well, if you marry someone much younger, she’ll be more respectful to us. Usually, they’re easier to guide, control, and command. It’s very different from adult women who usually don’t like to lose and can be dominant. I really dislike women who act like models and enjoy bossing around guys.”
Darwin and Kennedy, who were listening to Randy, nodded simultaneously. They simply wished for the best for their cousin.
“It’s your choice. Usually, if you didn’t have the right intentions from the beginning, you might end up falling in love, Ran,” Kennedy warned. “Look at me and Luna, who initially pretended, or Darwin, who married Veronica with the initial intention of tormenting his wife. Now? They don’t want to let go.”
“But that’s you guys. It’s a different story with me. Besides, the one I’m going to marry is just a kid. She should be easier to handle.”
Darwin and Kennedy laughed again. In their hearts, they prayed that Randy’s future life would be much more thrilling and dramatic than theirs.
“Well, we hope that your plans don’t go awry. What’s certain is that Kennedy and I are eagerly waiting for your family to send out wedding invitations,” Darwin said jokingly.