Chapter 15：Why wasn‘t she given a choice

―When one person doesn't want to be in a marriage, it's only gracious for the other one to allow her freedom. He couldn't believe his ears. Freedom? Was being married to him the equivalent of being in prison? ―I need to cool down, he stiffly responded.

―I'll be back later. He knew she was upset but he didn't care. He had to get out of there before he made a decision he'd regret. He left the house and went to his uncle's place. The butler led him to the parlor where his uncle was filling out paperwork at his desk. As soon as his uncle saw him, he said, ―I didn't expect to see you until Monday after all that fuss you made about not working this weekend. Don't tell me you changed your mind. Leo looked at the older man.

―Jessica didn't want to marry me. I was under the impression that she wished for the marriage as much as I did. Did you realize that she's opposed to it? The older man sighed and sat back in his chair.

―Are you sure that she is that opposed to it?

―She made it clear that she was. She said that she begged her father not to force her into it and she tried to talk to me about it at the engagement party, but since I ran off to attend that business meeting, she wasn't able to. Oh, there have also been other attempts she made to inform me of her desire to remain single.

―Had you been able to talk to her before the ceremony, you would have agreed to call off the wedding?―Of course. I don't want her to be a part of this if she doesn't want it.

―So you needed to go to the business meetings when you did. All things work out when you notice the details. Leo couldn't believe his ears.

―I missed a big detail on Thursday. I didn't get it until I was walking over here. She wore her funeral dress that night because she thinks marrying me is equivalent to dying. To his surprise, his uncle chuckled.

―Oh, she's so cute. He groaned. ―How can you make light of this? His heart was breaking because the woman he had hoped to spend the rest of his life with just told him she didn't want to be with him, and his uncle was acting like it wasn't important. His uncle stopped laughing and motioned for him to sit across from him. Leo rolled his eyes but did as instructed. Jonathan leaned forward, placing his elbows on the desk in front of him.

―I saw the way you two danced at the reception. She wasn't exactly fighting you on the dance floor. I think she enjoyed herself.

―Then when I brought her home, she told me that she doesn't want to be with me. He waved his hand as if to dismiss his nephew's words.

―She has a classic case of denial.―Denial?―Yes. She finds you interesting but doesn't want to admit it. I think she's upset because she wasn't given a choice in the marriage. Her father probably just told her that she was getting married and that was it. Since she's twenty-four, she's had time to gain some independence. As a result, she has discovered that she was able to make decisions for herself, and would have liked to decide who to marry. Naturally, this led to her negative attitude toward you.

―Why wasn't she given a choice?―Because her father was sure that she would be miserable if she is never married. Let's face it. She may be pretty and sweet but she's shy with men, so she wouldn't have ever found a husband without some help. I could tell that you've loved her for the longest time but never made a move. Frankly, this is the best thing her father and I did for both of you.