Yosefu and this brother he called "my big bro" walked further inside the mansion until they reached the gym room. They looked at each other with bright faces full of joy, then both of them took their fighting stances, facing each other playfully, ready to spar.
"Every day it's Bright! Bright! Tell me, my husband, what exactly made you allow that poor boy to date our daughter? I mean, she's from a rich family, and yet you refuse that other young man from a powerful chieftain's clan, the one with money and status," a woman dressed in home clothes said to the elderly man who was watching TV in the living room.
Her words made the man go silent; then he turned and stared at her sharply, showing clear irritation. It hadn't been long since their daughter left the house, saying she was going to meet that boy for a study discussion. He had allowed her to go, something the woman clearly didn't like at all—she looked at him with cold resentment.
She kept pressing on. "Didn't I tell you, Bright and Helena is not a match! How can you say it's the right choice for her to be engaged to a boy from Tandale? Seriously, our daughter, marrying a boy from such a background, and you're okay with it? You're even letting him get engaged to her!"
"Between you and Helena, who knows better the kind of man that fits her?" the man replied, his tone sharp but calm. "If she chose him, what do you want me to do—force her into a rich family's house? Are you trying to sell your daughter off, or what? Come on, woman, stop with those old-fashioned ideas. Love can't be forced—respect her choice."
"So, after all the struggle you went through raising her, now you'll just let her marry into that kind of family? Don't forget you're the one who once helped that same boy when he got injured years ago. Don't tell me you planned all along that he'd become your son-in-law! Where will I put my face when people find out my daughter's married to that Tandale dog keeper?!"
"If you think she's making a mistake marrying him, then fine—get ready, I'll divorce you right now and you can go marry the bloody boy yourself!" he snapped, his voice rising. "And I swear, as her father, if I hear another word from your mouth about this, that'll be the last day you live in this house. You'll go back where you came from. You had no problem marrying me when I had nothing—no job, no money—and your parents didn't interfere. Or was your mother married to a millionaire, huh? Didn't she live in a leaking house, sleeping on a rope bed? Yet she didn't push you to marry a rich man. Foolish woman! Honestly, I feel ashamed calling you the mother of my daughter with such stupidity in your head."
His words cut deep. When he finished, he turned off the TV and walked out, leaving her frozen where she stood. She couldn't even reply. Every word had pierced her heart, because it carried bitter truth about her own life. She didn't even have the strength to move—she just stood there, crushed by shame and the reality of what he'd said.
Meanwhile, the girl was seen sitting in class, trying to read. She kept glancing at her watch again and again, sometimes peeking through the window. But even then, she didn't see what she was waiting for. Still, she didn't give up.
She stayed there, eyes darting to the door every few minutes—until finally, she saw the boy who'd been blocked earlier by Jusper and his friends walking in with the same guy who'd been with him earlier that day.
When she spotted him, a bright smile stretched across her face. She almost stood up from her chair, but he gestured subtly for her to stay seated. She obeyed quietly, her heart fluttering, as he joined her with a calm grin.
"Bright, babe! You made me wait forever! I've been sitting here all this time just waiting for you," she complained teasingly, and the boy reached out, cupping her cheek gently with a faint smile.
"Sorry, love. You know I had a few things to take care of where I was. That's why I'm a bit late," he said softly, his tone humble enough to make her blush. She couldn't help but smile again, giving him a playful slap on the cheek—a light, flirty one that only made him grin wider.
Just then, another girl arrived—the same one who earlier in the day had at least acknowledged the boys' greeting with a nod while her friends had ignored it. She was the one who had scolded them for being rude.