Unlikely love

"You have to marry him."

The words echoed through the room like a sudden clap of thunder. Rachel froze in place, as if all the air had been sucked from her lungs and the world had stopped spinning for a moment. Her once-bright eyes now stared blankly at the middle-aged man lying weakly on the hospital bed.

"Sorry, what did you just say, Daddy?" she asked softly, her voice barely audible. It trembled, reflecting how difficult it was for her to process the reality her father had just spoken.

David offered a faint smile. His face was pale, yet the authority he always carried hadn't faded. His trembling hand reached out, trying to grasp his daughter's, as if to calm the storm raging inside her chest.

"You heard me, sweetheart. I want you to marry Lucian."

Rachel turned slowly toward the man standing in the corner of the room. Tall, neat, stiff-wearing a gray suit and thick glasses that made him look like a bookworm. Lucian bowed respectfully, saying nothing.

"Oh my God. Are you kidding me, Dad?" Rachel looked at her father with an expression close to despair.

"I've never been more serious in my life," David said firmly, though his voice was weak.

"Daddy, this is insane... I don't even know him!" Rachel nearly shouted. "You want me to marry-your employee?!"

"Lucian, would you mind waiting outside for a moment?" David cut in quickly.

Without protest, Lucian nodded politely and walked out. As the door clicked shut behind him, the silence that followed felt like it was squeezing the air from Rachel's chest.

"Have you completely lost your mind, Daddy?" she whispered emotionally.

David didn't answer right away. He gazed at the ceiling, as if speaking to ghosts from his past.

"I don't have much time left, Rachel. And the only thing I care about now... is making sure you're not alone when I'm gone."

Rachel closed her eyes. She hated hearing those words. Hated accepting the fact that her time with her father was running out.

"Don't say that," she said, choking back a sob. "You can still get better, Daddy. We can look for treatment abroad-Germany, Switzerland, Japan-anywhere. Just don't give up!"

David smiled and gently touched his daughter's hand. "I'm not giving up. I'm just... preparing."

Rachel fell silent. There was a deep sorrow in her father's eyes-eyes that had always looked strong, now appeared fragile.

"I know you're independent. Smart, brave. But the world isn't fair. It's full of traps. I want someone by your side. Someone who sees you not just as an heiress, but as a person. As Rachel."

"I don't love him," Rachel whispered.

"Love can grow, sweetheart," David said gently. "Your mother and I were arranged too. But look at us... we loved each other until death parted us."

Rachel sobbed. The mention of her mother brought back warm childhood memories. David, the man who had faithfully raised her alone after his wife passed, never remarried. All his love and life had been devoted solely to Rachel.