Arranged Marriage With Adnan

Chapter 31

I was about to give up. I isolated myself from everyone and was sitting in the change room, still wearing the last dress I had tried on. I hated this, every single second I spent here.

There was a knock on my door.

"Go away!" I yelled harshly.
"It's Quinn."

Oops, my bad... I got up and answered the door. I saw Quinn standing there, with her hands in the back pockets of her black jeans.

"Sorry."
"No problem, sit," she said, "I know dress shopping can be tiring and stressful, believe me. Assisting the brides can be just as hard."
"Yeah."
"Let's take a break, tell me something. How are you feeling?"
"Horrible, I hate this."
"But, it's your wedding?"
"I don't want to get married!" I stopped myself, "I shouldn't have screamed..."
"It's ok... Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Then, why did you say 'yes'?"
"I didn't."
"What?"
"I didn't say 'yes'."
"You know what, just tell me about your marriage and fiancé."

I was unsure about telling her, but after debating with myself, I chose to explain things to her. It got me out of trying on dresses, that's what I liked about it. Also, it made me feel more relaxed,

"Our parents arranged our marriage."
"Oh ok, I see. Who's the guy?"
"His name is Adnan."
"Hmm... What does he do?"
"Plays football."
"Wait, is it Adnan Januzaj?!"
"Yep, that'd be him..."
"Oh my gosh, really? That's great!"
"I guess."
"You're marrying a professional football player! You should be happy!"
"I know, I should be."
She slowly stopped saying stuff, "Why aren't you, then?"
"I don't know, everything doesn't feel right."
"That can be common in young brides, not to be so nosey, but how old are you?"
"Recently turned twenty."
"Ok, so he's around your age?"
"Twenty as well."
"See, I don't really agree with young marriages, but that's what normally happens in arranged marriages."
"I understand exactly what you're saying. I don't want to get married."

What was the point of getting married now? I'm too young. I'm starting to get the idea that my parents don't trust me. They don't think I'm capable of living my own life and finding someone on my own.

"You will someday. I got married two years ago, now I'm twenty eight. Personally, I think the best time to get married is in your mid-twenties."
"I wish I could wait..." I really wish.
"What I was trying to say is even if you might be a bit young, once you get up there, with him, it'll feel like magic."
"I'm afraid it won't... What if he's not the one?"
"Scarlett, everything will work itself out," she said, calming me down.
"How can I be sure?"
"What do you feel when you're with him?"
"Relaxed, safe, butterflies, I don't know..."
"I'm thinking you like him."
"I think I like him too, but I don't want to get married!"
"In the future, if you could wait, would you marry him?"
I thought about it, "I'd consider it maybe, but I'd like to fall in love. Not be forced into love, you know?"
"Hmm... Yes, that makes sense. Now, what do you say, get back to dresses?"
"Ok."
"I've noticed," Quinn said, "you don't seem to like the dresses I've pulled, did you make the list?"
"No."
"That's why... I'm assuming your mother did, correct?"
"Right again."
"Why don't you choose something?"

I didn't know what type of dress I wanted... Something that was comfortable and made me feel good. I wanted to feel like a princess in that gown. It needed to be a special moment. I explained what I wanted to Quinn.

"Well... I want to feel special. Adnan said to find something that felt just perfect, so I'm going to stick to his advice."
"What do you picture your dress looking like?"
"I don't really like long... I want to look young and I think a short dress would do that for me."
"I saw you and the veils. Veil or no veil?"
"No veil, definitely no veil."
She laughed, "Alright, we could do something else. There's tiaras, clips, headbands."
"That sounds cool," defiantly better than a veil.
"Ok, let me try and do something for you, be right back."

She left me in the room. Quinn came back with a short dress this time, one that I would prefer to wear. It looked cute and it suited my age better. This dress had straps and an interesting texture. It was almost like ridges. The top was tight, but below the waist was wavy. At my hips, was a silver beaded belt. The back was open and went down low. There was two bows near the waist, which connected the two straps.

"It looks nice."
"I knew you'd like it! Try it on."

I slipped the dress on and Quinn did the clips at the back. I turned around to face myself in the mirror. I was not expecting this at all.

"Oh my gosh, it's gorgeous."
"Ah!" Quinn screamed.
"This is much more me. I look young, too."
"Do you want to put something in your hair?"
"What does this dress come with?"
"A veil," she answered.
"Oh."
"No worries, I planned out a look in my head. You'll look stunning!"
"Ok," I trusted her.

She came back with a shining silver headband and a pair of white gloves. I wasn't too sure about this look.

"Um, I don't think I like where this is going."
"Just try, please."
I put on the headband and slipped on the gloves, "Woah."
"It's different! Plus, you look super cute."
"I'm actually loving this look!"
"Adnan will, too," she winked.
"Hey!"
"Just teasing! Ready to show mom?"
"I think."

Oh man. I was afraid of what she would say. This didn't meet her expectations and was not what she had imagined. I wanted, more than anything, for my mom to be happy with what I wanted. Hopefully, she'd want the same thing that I did. I pulled my left glove on and off, waiting to go out there. Here was the moment. Quinn opened the door and led me to her.

"Scarlett..." Was all she could manage to say. Was that good? Or bad?
"Is it ok?"
"It's so pretty. You look beautiful."
"Thanks, mom," I blushed a bit, "Can we get this one?"
"This one?" She questioned.
"Yeah, I picked it out..."
"It is your wedding in the end, so I'm going to say yes."
"Thank you!" I ran and hugged her.
"Quinn, how much was this one at?"
"Um... Seven hundred thirty five pounds, I think. I can go check again."
"Not too bad, ok."
"Yeah, she didn't really go for the huge designer dresses that you had planned."
"Well, it's her big day. I'll let her do whatever she wants."
"Yes. So, here's how it works. We keep the dress here and fix it all up so that it fits exactly. It was a bit too big, right?"
"Yeah," I said.
"In that case, we work with the dress and make sure it's all ready for her wedding. Sounds good?"
"Yep."
"Ok, so do you want to pay now?"
"Sure. Scarlett, you can go wait in the car if you like," my mom handed me the keys.
"Ok, mom."
I was about to leave when Quinn called me, "Scarlett?"
"Yes?"
"It was nice talking with you," she hugged me, "see you again soon. If you ever have any questions about your dress at anytime, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thanks for everything, Quinn!"
"No problem! It's what I do!"

I headed to the car and unlocked the doors. I sat in the car and waited. I realized that I had got a text from Adnan.

"Hey, how was dress shopping? Find one you liked?"
"Yes, I did."
He replied a minute later, "That's good. You were right, too."
"About what?"
"My dad called and told me to go shopping for a tux. He said I could take Fellaini."
"Lucky, my mom was a pain at times."
"Haha, well it's all over now. Where are you?"
"Waiting in the parking lot, you at home?"
"Yep, we finished early."
"Nice, I'll be home soon."
"See you soon."
"Alright."

My mom arrived right when I finished with Adnan. She got into the car and began to drive me home.

"Hey, honey?"
"What?"
"I have plans I should tell you about."
"Plans? What plans?
"Tomorrow, for dinner, we're meeting at the Januzaj house. His parents haven't seen him in a while and miss him."
"Ok, I understand."
"Also, we have some things to discuss as one big family."
"What?" My mom wouldn't speak, "What things?!"

She wouldn't tell me anything more. What did we need to discuss?