Arranged Love - Season 1 - Episode 35

4 years ago

Arranged Love - Season 1 - Episode 35

His grandparents nodded in agreement. I looked at Mr. Roff who was waiting patiently. “Is there anything else that I need to know?” I asked him. “Yes,” he said and reached into his brief case and pulled out some more documents.
“The house. According to the will, it’s to be given to you and you are to use the house in anyway you wish,” he told me and placed the documents in front of me. Adrian reached over and took the documents in his hands. The house had so many memories. I hated to see the place be sold off. Also, I didn’t want the furniture to go to the dump.

I looked at Adrian who looked at me intensely. “Maybe I’ll rent it out to a nice family. Also, I would love to have the furniture that my grandfather had built for me in New York. They built the furniture specifically for me since I had moved into their home,” I told him. He gave me a small nod and returned his attention to the will.
I guess…he is really going to help me.
Since our marriage, I could feel happiness and relief…even if it’s only for a short while.

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Funeral
The Italian Cemetery was a very nice place to bury them. Adrian and I went there a few days ago to make funeral arrangements. We had to choose flower arrangements, casket design, fill out the death certificates, and other things.

The workers gave us a tour of the place as well as the chapels for the funeral. Adrian and I chose a church setting. My grandparents would be buried next to each other on the newer part of the cemetery.
Today, we were having the funeral. the caskets stood in front of the stained glass windows. The stained glass window portrayed an image of a scene from the bible. Luckily, the sun was out that the windows were shining brightly onto my grandparents peaceful faces.
“They look peaceful. Don’t they.”
I turned my head to see that Maria stood next to me. “Yes.” I looked back at my grandparents. They weren’t in any pain. Over the past few days, I convinced myself that they were okay. They were in a better place. I didn’t want them to worry about me anymore.

After a few minutes, I looked over to the entrance to see Adrian who was greeting the guest. He had been extremely helpful to me. He took time off from work to help me with the funeral and other things. He was proving himself to be a reliable husband.
We decided to have a small funeral with only a few friends. So far, Adrian’s friends had came for support. I invited my grandparent’s old friends Nikos and Theodora. They were devastated by the news and wanted to come to support me. From what I had heard, Adrian’s parents were coming too.

My parents hadn’t arrived yet.
Theodora walked up to me. “Where are your parents? Surely, they would be here before any of us.” To be honest, I didn’t know how to answer her. I hadn’t heard anything from them since I received the will. I knew that Maria had talked to them a few days ago about the funeral location.

I turned my head to the entrance.
There they are. My parents and David were finally here. I could see that someone else was with them. It was a woman who stood very close to David. Who is she?
“You should go greet them,” Maria told me softly. I let out a deep breath and walked slowly to them.
Space and time seemed to have slowed down around me. My heart thumped with every step. Slowly, noises around me died down. I couldn’t hear anyone speak. They spoke to Nikos while I approached them.
Once I was close to them, I stood there without looking, waiting for them to acknowledge my presence.
I could hear Nikos who gave his condolence to them. “Oh. Valeria is here. I’ll leave you for now. I believe that you would want to talk to her,” I heard and he walked away. It’s time Valeria. You need to say something. Here I go . I forced myself to greet them.
“Hello. Mother. Father. David.”

I didn’t look them in the eye but, I knew that they were looking down at me.
“Valeria,” I heard my father say my name. His voice held some disappointment. I didn’t know what to say to them to be honest. Slowly, I lift my head to see them. Wow. They really aged a bit since I last seen them.
My parents started to show age on their faces. I could see the wrinkles on the corners of their eyes. Father started to have freckles of gray hair on his head. Mother seemed to have dyed her hair considering that the hair was a vibrant brunette.

David….well…he became more…handsome. He had certainly grown taller and had muscle. He was well dressed for the funeral. I could tell that he was making money in his career. His eyes were the same shade of brown. Of course, his appearance didn’t compare to Adrian in a certain extent.
David gave me a small smile.
“Valeria. This is my fiancee Rosa.”
Rosa was a very beautiful woman. She had a slender built. Her face was perfect with no imperfection. She was simply perfect. She must had gotten an approval of some sort from my parents. If I were in their shoes, I would want someone beautiful to match with David.
“It’s nice to meet you. I wished we met under a different circumstance,” she said to me. I gave her a small nod. Maybe …never .
“Valeria.”
I lift my head to my left to see Adrian who stood next to me. He gave me a small smile and wrapped his arm around my waist. Instantly, I felt shivers go up my body from the touch. My face felt hot. Still, I wasn’t used to his touches.

“How are you feeling?” he asked with concern. “Alright,” I lied to him. I wasn’t alright at all with good reasons. Now that my parents were here and seeing Adrian, I really wanted to do was hide under a rock or something..

My mother looked at Adrian with curiosity. “Who are you may I ask?” my mother asked him. Adrian looked at her. “I’m Adrian Minetti. I’m Valeria’s husband,” he introduced himself. I could see surprise in my family’s eyes.
“What do you mean husband? How come we weren’t informed about the marriage? We never gave our consent for marriage,” my father said out loud that everyone turned their heads to us. I started to feel very uncomfortable. I was confused as to why he was angry about our marriage. I didn’t think that he would even care what I did or anything.