Brianna walked in on Beatris holding a dress to her chest and staring at the mirror, several other dresses lying carelessly on the bed. It was obvious she was looking for something to wear.

"Isn't this amazing? Seeing my sister playing dress-up. Tell me this is a date. Tell me. Tell me!" Brianna exclaimed, excitement evident in her voice. She was obviously not comfortable with Beatris' resolve to remain single forever.

Beatris turned to face her with an eye roll. This was certainly not something to be excited about.

"Beatris, why can't you just try to not be a spoilsport for once!" She said still grinning and walking towards her sister. "Is it Marcus? I definitely knew that guy had a crush on you!" She exclaimed victoriously.

"You're too loud and annoying." Beatris rolled her eyes again. "It's not Marcus. It's some weirdo."

Brianna was perplexed for a second. "The stalker guy? Oh my God! Beatris how could you be having so much drama in your life and just keep it all to yourself? You're the worst!" She seemed even more excited as she walked towards her sister, picking up the short black dress on the bed and presenting it to her. "You must wear this."

"Drama?" Beatris scoffed. "More like a nightmare." She muttered underneath her breath.

"What is he like?" Brianna was relentless. "Is he handsome with dreamy eyes?" She asked as though such a man was in existence.

She folded her hands across her chest and faced her little sister. The only definition she could give for Norman was 'weird'. "He's... Creepy," she replied.

"Literally every guy you've ever met is creepy to you. You said that about Marcus simply because he was nice. Beatris, why are you so unwilling to fall in love and be happy?" She asked like a whiny teenager.

"Because love simply doesn't exist," Beatris replied even though she knew her sister wouldn't give up easily. This was not the first time they were having this conversation after all. "Well... He is rich, fairly nice, and looks okay. He has adorable eyes when he's not hiding them beneath the weird sunglasses he wears all the time." Some parts of Beatris felt like if she was kind enough with her words, Brianna would get off her case.

"Awww, that's so cute."

Beatris chuckled. "No. Cute and Norman Patterson should not be in the same sentence. I'd suggest a more befitting adjective like, creepy." She put down the dress in her hand and picked up another one.

"N-norman Patterson?" Brianna asked wide-eyed and her mouth hung open. "You mean Leonard Richard's friend? O-M-G!" She exclaimed, getting excited all over again.

Beatris regretted being nice instantly. The name Leonard was a little familiar. Right. He was the model that Brianna had a crush on since forever. She could remember making fun of her sister the day he got married. One would think she'd actually been dumped. Brianna was a silly little girl.

"You can't be serious," Beatris replied.

"Well... Norman doesn't exactly have any pictures on social media so there's no way to know if he's the same person," she said taking out her phone and running to his IG page that was only filled with motivational quotes and random pictures. "Something tells me it's him."

Beatris rolled her eyes. She knew her sister's head was filled with crazy ideas, so she never took her seriously. "I don't know." And she honestly didn't know how to feel about it. Why he was after her was still an unanswered question.

#COME OUTSIDE NOW

Beatris read the text on her phone confused as to why this man somehow felt like he had some right to order her around.

"He's here already?" She thought Brianna was stupid for being excited about this. "Beatris, you totally have to wear this dress. Do not embarrass me, please!" She said persistently with a pout.

"You know what? I'm going like this." Beatris replied unbelievably, considering she was wearing just a casual top and plain jeans. Honestly, Norman didn't deserve any effort from her.

"You will not!" Brianna protested but Beatris was already out of the door. "Beatris!" She yelled after her sister who didn't make an attempt to stop until she'd walked out of the house.

Norman's car was parked right out front and he had his usual annoying and intimidating smile plastered across his lips. He made no attempt to get out of the car or open the door for her like a gentleman would, but she honestly didn't care as she got into his car.

"Good day." She greeted casually as though talking to a stranger.

"Hi, Tris." He replied with a smile before driving off.

"So, where are we going?" Beatris asked impatiently after they drove in silence for a while.

Norman's eyes were fixed on the road but he still stared at her at any given chance. "Where do you want to go?"

"Home." Came her concise answer.

"You just got here." He reminded her. "Or..." He trailed off as if losing confidence in whatever he wanted to say. "It feels like you're scared of me. Don't be. I'm not here to cause harm to you," he said.

"Yeah... I can be rest assured because I know you too well," she replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"You don't know me." Norman gave her a weird look before replacing it with his usual smile.

"That's exactly what I was trying to say," she replied, unwilling to calm down or come across like someone he could play with.

"Have you thought about what I asked you?" That was mostly what he was interested in.

She hadn't. There was nothing to think about. This man was crazy and unbelievable. "Why do you want to get married to me?" She asked.

"Because I want to." He replied without thinking. "I thought girls liked the idea of marriage." He added after a second thought.

"Not every girl. I don't like the idea," she said firmly.

Norman brought the car to a halt and faced her with a hint of anger. Beatris obviously shivered. This man looked like he wanted to have an accident because he'd literally stopped in the middle of the road.

"You are going to get married to me, Beatris." Came his crazy and reckless reply. He smiled again and resumed driving.

"Wow!" She said, knowing well that this was a relentless man. What the hell had she gotten into? "Aren't there other girls out there?" Beatris was by the full definition of the word, frustrated.

"Other girls are not you," he replied immediately.

"So, I'm the only one destined to put up with this." She muttered underneath her breath.

"I'm going to change your life." There he went again promising her heaven and earth.

"My life does not need to be changed!" Beatris yelled at him.

"You enjoy suffering, don't you? How much are you paid in that stupid job you do? Do you enjoy the stupid house you live in? Don't you want anything better for yourself and your sister? Because you deserve better and that's what I'm offering you."

Beatris knew this was the point she had to stop arguing. He'd rightly pointed out that her life was a mess, but how could she be so sure this man was any good?

"Why me?" She asked, almost defeated.

Norman had finally brought the car to a halt reasonably and turned to stare at her. "I'm an orphan too," he said, smiling as though that was a suitable answer to her question.

Seeing that she was still watching him nervously, he uttered the words, "I know that your life has not been easy. I want to help. I want to give you everything you want because you deserve it." His words were kind and convincing, his eyes were gleaming with what looked like genuine concern, but the thoughts of all the crazy things that had happened between them kept coming back.

He got out of the car and she did as well. Pointing towards the red car parked in front of them, "That is yours and there's a lot more to come if only you'd accept my proposal," he said proudly.

Beatris couldn't believe it. Was this a dream? He'd gotten a car for her? No one except Brianna had done as much as give her a dime before as a present and a man she barely knew had bought a luxurious looking beautiful car for her. It had to be a joke.

"Norman, is this a joke?"

He took out the keys from his pocket and held out his hand to her. "It cost me a lot, but you're worth it and more," he said with a smile on his face. Beatris noticed that he smiled a lot. Almost too much.

A part of her was screaming while the other, wailing. Her thoughts were so conflicted as she reached out and took the keys from him. Was this real? Well, a few days ago she was praying for a fairy godmother. Was this it?

"You like it?" He asked shyly, she could swear he was blushing. This man did act like a child sometimes.

'Like' was such an understatement. "I love it." She mentally cursed herself as the words ran out of her mouth.

"I'm so happy you like it, Tris," Norman said as he turned to face her and a very awkward silence played between them.

He finally looked away, smiling to himself, as he took out his glasses and put them on. Probably pleased he had her just exactly where he wanted.

-------------------------------------------------------

Beatris lay awake at night, thinking because sleep had completely deserted her. Was she making a mistake? Was any of this real? It made no sense. There were a thousand red flags but she still found herself contemplating this weird man's proposal.

All her life, she'd worked hard trying to survive and be all she needed to be for herself and her little sister. She didn't think herself some damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. Right now, she had doubts. 

The 28-year-old woman was frustrated. Trusting him or anyone was hard.

"Beatris," she heard Brianna's voice like a whisper from the door as she walked towards her bed. Brianna had almost fainted when she saw the car Norman bought for her. It was always a beautiful sight, seeing her little sister thrilled.

Beatris smiled. "Hey, little woman," she said motioning for her to sit down beside her. "You can't sleep?"

"No. I just knew you'd be awake thinking." Her sister knew her too well.

"I don't know what to do, Bibi."

Brianna took her hand in hers. "Beatris, I know you've always thought with that pessimistic head of yours that you don't deserve anything good. I want you to throw away that thought right now. You deserve the best. You've sacrificed too much for me. You deserve to be happy," She said with a smile.

Beatris sighed. If Norman was her key to happiness, then why was everything in her screaming otherwise?