Page 3 of Resisting Your Love

My mouth dropped as my eyes widened. "Hmm." I pressed my lips together as it dawned on me what his problem was. "You'll never be okay with me living with my father, huh?"

He grunted. "Never. You're a grown ass woman. It's time you live for you."

I shot him a venomous look as my teeth ground together. My blood boiled with fury, and as much as I tried to tap down on it, it was hard to do. I stood up, unable to stand, with my hands balled up to my side. With the way I was feeling, I was likely to punch him in the face.

"How dare you?" I growled.

He stood up as well, holding his hands out in front of him. "We're not getting anywhere with this. You can see yourself out." He walked away from me, leaving me to stare after him as if I had done something wrong.

I scoffed as tears began to form in my eyes.

This man didn't deserve my tears. Why is my staying with my father an issue for him?

However, it all came back to me. The many times we met up, it was at his place or someplace else.

He had never come to my house before. It was a good thing we had gotten to the root of our problem.

That still didn't give him a reason to ghost me the way that he was.

I didn't like or appreciate that. He could have kept it real with me.

I was lying on my bed at home, watching TikTok videos, when a knock came at my bedroom door. I sat up with a huff, not in the mood to talk to this man.

"It's open," I called out.

My father — my twin — stuck his head in the door with a slight smile on his face. "Hey, Am. Do you mind if I come in?"

I shook my head. "You might as well since you came this far."

He chuckled, came in, and closed the door behind him. He sat on the edge of my bed next to me, rubbing his hands up and down his pants legs. That was a nervous gesture he used plenty of times.

"Dad, what's wrong?" I asked him.

He dropped his head to his chest. "This is not an easy thing to do or tell you, but it must be done."

I arched an eyebrow, wondering what it could be. "What is it? Just spit it out," I snapped, not wanting to, but it just came out that way.

He jerked his neck in my direction, and that was when I knew I messed up. I was never the one to disrespect my parents. Today had been a hard day for me, but I shouldn't have taken it out on my father.

He started talking, letting me know what was going on. As he detailed his situation, my eyes widened in surprise.

"But now you have to get married to the man's son for three years."

I jumped up, ready to hit my father in his throat. He had to be playing some kind of game with me. "Excuse me? Are you out of your mind? No way you are serious."

He nodded. "I am, very much. I wouldn't play with anything like this."

I folded my arms across my chest and shot daggers at him. "And if I refuse?"

"That won't happen. You will do this," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Dad, please don't do this. I am in a relationship. There is no way I am about to leave my boyfriend."

I wouldn't mention how my boyfriend and I were on the verge of being broken up.

That was none of his business. He had to be out of his mind to think that I was about to enter into an arranged marriage with a man I had never met a day in my life.

That was just wrong. That was foul play. I refused to do something like that.

Since my mother passed away, my father changed into a man that I sometimes didn't recognize. He was never home how he used to be. We didn't talk like that either. It felt like my father lost a part of himself without my mother.

Growing up, I was the happiest person having both parents in my life.

My parents were happy too. There wasn't anything they wouldn't do for each other.

I could remember my mother being a housewife, not having a job.

My father took good care of her. I loved that for her and knew I wanted a man to provide for me the way my father did for my mother.

That was why I wasn't so eager to move out.

I didn't have to worry about paying for anything.

My father took care of everything. I didn't have to depend on a man for anything.

Now that it was just my father and me, he made sure I needed for nothing. Although we didn't talk like that, I knew if I needed him, he'd be there for me.

"You will have to break up with him. It's the only way this would work. This is for a good reason. I don't want anything to happen to my poker lounge. Am's Poker and Lounge is my life, just like you are. My two babies. And I named her after you. Don't let me down. It's not even for a long time."

I gawked at him. "Not a long time! Dad, that's three years of my life with a man I don't know!" I screeched.

He grimaced, gazing at me with pleading eyes. That wasn't going to work, not with me. "I never said it was up for debate. It is something you are going to do, as I stated before. I never asked you to do anything for me?—"

"No, you haven't, but this is huge, Dad! I can't."

"I don't care what you say. It will happen. We will be having dinner with them on Saturday at eight. When I find out more details, I'll let you know. I love you. Goodnight." Without saying anything else to me, he quietly walked out.

What was I going to tell Joel? With the way things were going with us, I doubted we would even make it as a couple. But that was beside the point. My father must've bumped his head really hard to think I would do something like this. There had to be another way — it just had to be.

I plopped back down on my bed and ran a hand down my face. "I can't believe this," I whispered to myself.