"Did you talk to your family?" Mark asked.
Lilly, eating ice cream, replied, "I made an excuse today just to meet you. What about you? Did you ask your family?"
Mark said, "I don't have to ask anyone. Marrying you is my decision—I just have to tell them." He softly tapped her on the head.
Lilly nodded. "Yes, I know. But I need their permission." She finished her ice cream.
"I'll wait," Mark said, making a crying face. "But I can't stay away from you now."
"Stop making those faces. I'll talk to them today, okay?" Lilly said.
"Okay, baby," he replied with a smile.
Lilly came home and saw Sara and her mother talking.
"What are you discussing without me?" she asked.
Sara's mother smiled. "Come here."
She hugged Lilly and asked, "Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?"
Sara grabbed Lilly's hand. "Sit here. I want to tell you something."
"Let her rest first," Sara's mother said.
"It's okay, Aunty. I want to know," Lilly replied.
Sara smiled shyly. "I saw a guy a few days ago, and I thought—do these kinds of guys really exist? And guess what? I saw him again at a party."
Lilly said excitedly, "You met him?"
"Not exactly… but I like him," Sara admitted.
Lilly was shocked. "How can you like someone after just two meetings? What if he's pretending?"
"He's a good man," Sara insisted.
"You only think that because you like him—you can't see his red flags," Lilly said with concern.
"What are you saying? He is a good man," Sara replied.
"How do you know?" Lilly asked.
Sara's mother interrupted, "Don't argue. Your aunt has already shown a match for her."
"What? Who is the guy?" Lilly asked.
"You're late, baby. She already said yes," Sara's mother replied.
Sara blushed. "Mom…"
"So you're getting married just like that?" Lilly said.
"Not yet. I'm waiting for his response," Sara said.
"He hasn't even said anything, and you already said yes?" Lilly said.
"Oh, my lovely sister, his mother has agreed—but I'm still thinking about the son," Sara replied playfully.
"But still… how can you trust him? What if he's abusive?" Lilly asked.
Sara's mother handed Lilly a bowl of bone soup. "Eat this and check his profile."
Lilly looked confused. "What is this?"
"Yesterday at the party, your aunt asked me about you for him," she said.
"I don't want to see him," Lilly replied.
"At least take a look first," Sara's mother insisted.
Lilly looked at Sara.
Sara nodded. "Yes, I wanted to talk about this since last night, but Mom wanted to speak to you first."
"I don't want to. You can just focus on her," Lilly said.
"Do you want to tell me something, Lilly?" Sara's mother asked gently.
"No," Lilly replied.
Sara took Lilly to another room.
"If you have someone, you can tell me," Sara said.
"Yes," Lilly admitted.
Sara's eyes widened. "Who? Show me!"
"It's better if I take you to meet him tomorrow," Lilly said.
"But I want to see him now," Sara insisted.
"Okay, wait," Lilly replied.
Meanwhile, Mark was at the hospital.
His mother called him. "Hi, Mom."
"Come home today. There's a family emergency," she said.
"What happened? Are you okay?" Mark asked, worried.
"Come home. I'll tell you then."
After finishing work, he rushed home.
"Mom, is everything alright?"
"It will be. I've chosen a girl for you. Look at her," she said.
"I don't want to. I like someone else," Mark replied.
"Who? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" she asked.
"She works with me at the hospital."
"I already said yes to them. What will they think of us now?" she said.
"I don't care. I can't marry someone else," Mark said firmly.
His mother grew agitated. "What kind of family is she from? Do you even know her background?"
"I do. And even if she came from nothing, I would still marry her," Mark said.
"You've put me in a difficult situation," she said.
"You should have asked me first," he replied.
"And you should have told me earlier!" she shot back.
"Thank you, Mom. I'll bring her tomorrow to meet you," Mark said, leaving happily.
Mark left happily and returned to his apartment. He called Lilly to tell her the news, but she didn't answer, so he texted her.
"Where are you?"
"I'm at home. I'm busy today. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Okay," he replied.
He thought he would surprise her tomorrow. She would be happy to meet his mother.
That night, Sara's mother came to the room and found both girls still talking.
"It's okay if you don't want to marry. I won't force you."
"Thanks, Aunty."
"Girls, Aunt Raven just called. She said their son doesn't want to marry yet," Sara's mother said.
Lilly asked worriedly, "So they rejected her?"
"Yes. What can we do?"
Lilly looked at Sara anxiously.
"Are you okay, darling?" her mother asked.
Sara nodded. "I'm fine."
After her mother left, Lilly could sense the sadness behind Sara's smile.
"You can talk to me."
"This is the first time I've liked someone." Sara looked at Lilly. "No need to worry. I'm fine."
"Yes, we don't need this kind of man," Lilly said.
"Yes," Sara replied.
The next morning, Lilly went to see Sara, but she was still sleeping, so Lilly quietly closed the door.
Downstairs, her aunt said, "You can tell me anything, okay?"
Lilly smiled. "I know, Aunty."
She was worried about Sara. She thought it would be better to invite her to the hospital to meet Mark. That way, it might cheer her up.
At the hospital, Mark was waiting for Lilly.
"Good morning, my love."
"Hi. You're in a good mood today."
"I have a surprise for you."
"What?"
"I'll tell you later. Meet me at five o'clock after your shift."
"Actually, I have a surprise for you too," Lilly said.
"You talked to your family?"
"Kind of," Lilly replied.
Mark looked confused.
"My sister is coming to meet you today."
"Finally, I have a chance to meet your beloved sister."
"Yes."
"What happened yesterday?" Mark asked.
"Nothing. My sister was upset, so I was keeping her company."
"Okay. See you later," he said.
Lilly finally got a break from her duty and called Sara to ask how she was and whether she wanted to meet Mark today.
Then she saw a familiar figure.
"Jonathan Long! What are you doing here? Is Aunt Raven okay?"
"Cousin, you don't care about me at all."
"It's nothing like that. Tell me, why are you here?" Lilly asked.
"I came here to meet Dr. Mark," Jonathan replied.
"Why?" Lilly asked.
"Work. But you know, it was really awkward."
"Why?"
"You know about the two proposals my mother sent to your house, right?"
"I know."
"One of them was him."
Lilly thought Mark's proposal might have been for her.
"So why was it awkward?"
"Because he rejected Sara. It was really awkward talking to him."
Lilly froze, not knowing how to process the information.
"Does he know you're Sara's cousin?" Lilly asked.
"I don't know. But if that relationship had worked out, it would have been easier for me. I wanted to ask him to do business with me in the pharmaceutical field," Jonathan replied.
They were still talking when Mark arrived.
"Hi. You know him?" Mark asked.
Lilly did not respond.
"Why are you talking to her like that?" Jonathan asked, looking at Mark.
"She's my girlfriend."
Both Lilly and Jonathan stared at each other in shock, while Mark simply smiled.
"You should go. I'll call you later, but please don't say anything to anyone," Lilly said.
Jonathan nodded. "Okay."
"What was that? Do you know him?" Mark asked.
"I have to get back to work. I'll meet you at five."
"Okay," Mark said.
He watched her leave, wondering what had just happened.
Throughout the day, Lilly could not concentrate on her work. During a short break, she called Sara, but no one answered. Feeling stressed, she called Jonathan.
"I'll explain," Lilly said.
"It's fine. You don't have to explain anything. I won't tell anyone," Jonathan said.
"Thanks, but—" Lilly replied.
"Are you worried about Sara?" Jonathan asked.
"Yes," Lilly replied.
"She did kind of like him, but I think she'll be fine," Jonathan said.
"Hm," Lilly said.
"What are you planning to do now?" Jonathan asked.
"I don't want to hurt Sara," she replied.
Jonathan suggested, "I would advise you to think carefully before you do anything."
"Okay," she agreed sadly.
"Take care," he said before ending the call.