Unexpected Encounter: A Second Chance at Love

,m Rachael expected Andrew to put her down but to her surprise, that never happened. He kept holding her in his arms like it was nothing.

"Owen, why are you still here?" Andrew frowned. He had taken a few days off work as he wanted to spend some alone time with Rachael. He thought it would be a nice time for them to bond before they join work.

"What do you mean by why am I still here? My brother just got married, I am here to celebrate," Owen exclaimed. "Justin is on the way too."

"You told Justin too?"

"Hey, it's not our fault that we keep a track of what our dearest friend and brother is up to," Owen retorted. "Damn, you are so mean. Good luck with living with the meaner Rachael." He then stormed towards the kitchen.

"The door is not that side—" Andrew snapped.

"He seems upset."

"He is gonna be okay, don't bother him," he assured her before walking towards the stairs.

Contemplating for a few seconds, Rachael said, "You don't have to carry me upstairs, I can walk." Not that she wasn't comfortable or hated it, she was a little embarrassed.

Without saying anything, he placed her down. "Sorry about that—" He awkwardly cleared his throat. He got a little excited and got carried away. "The bedroom is upstairs."

…..

[Master bedroom]

When they entered the room, Andrew drew the curtains. The bright sunlight flashed into the room.

"Well, this is the room." He wanted to say 'Our room' but he suppressed the strong urge to do so. He thought it would be too cheesy—well, at least it was too early to be cheesy.

Rachael walked inside the room and looked around. The room was almost twice as big as her room back in her parents place. There was a glass door which opened in the balcony. The king-sized bed was in the centre of the room, with side drawers on either side. A couch and centre table were placed in one corner of the room. There were two separate wardrobes—a double door wardrobe and a walk-in closet.

She sat on the edge of the bed and gently touched the grey sheets. In fact, most of the things in the room were either grey or black. It's not like she didn't like dark colours but it made the room look a little bit gloomy.

"What's wrong? Do you not like the room?" When she did not say anything, Andrew started getting a little bit anxious.

"No, the room is great." She wasn't lying, the room was actually really beautiful. It did look a little gloomy because of the dark colour domination but she was sure that could be easily worked out.

Pointing towards the walk-in closet, he added, "I had some stuff in there but I cleared it out yesterday. So you can have it all by yourself." Assuming from the number of suitcases she had brought over, he thought it would be more convenient if she had a closet all by herself. She clearly had more stuff than he did.

"But what about you?"

Pointing towards the other double door wardrobe, he answered, "I'll use this one." Without waiting for her reply, he added, "You should freshen up, I'll be downstairs."

"Andrew—wait." Rachael approached him. "Thank you."

"For the closet? It's really not a big deal—"

"Thank you for everything, not just the closet." She paused for a few seconds. "Listen, I know you are doing everything you can to make me feel comfortable. But I know all of this is hard for you too." If things had changed for her, it had changed for him too.

She had to leave her home and family and he had to open his home and everything he had for her. He had to share his room and closet with her. Though the sacrifices they were making were different, they were equally heavy.

"I know I was the one who dropped this whole marriage bomb on you and since then everything has changed. But I don't want you to feel any kind of pressure to make me feel better—"

"Wait—" he interrupted her. "I am not gonna lie, it is hard. Our marriage, the shifting, relatives, new place—everything is new and hard. But everything in life is hard, nothing is easy. And it doesn't matter who dropped the marriage bomb on whom, what matters is we are married."

"Rachael, I am willing to do everything that will make you feel comfortable. You are my wife, my responsibility—a room and a closet is nothing." Andrew was willing to give up everything for her if he had to.

His words struck her heart like soft cotton arrows. Andrew was so considerate of her feelings and it made her feel so special and touched. "Thanks."

He smiled and nodded. "I'll see you downstairs."

...

[Downstairs]

When Andrew came down, Owen was sitting on the couch with a drink in his hand.

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"Hey brother—" Owen raised his glass at him. "You want a drink?"

"It's still early."

"Oh so now that you are married, there is a schedule for drinking?" Owen sighed, "See this is why we had a pact—No marriage pact."

"There is no schedule." Andrew sat beside him. "I am taking Rachael to visit grandma later and I have to drive."

Gulping his drink down, he placed the glass on the table. "So what is the deal?"

"What deal?" When he did not say anything, Andrew frowned, "You know I don't like it when you beat around the bush."

"What's the deal with this marriage?" After making sure no one was around, Owen said in a relatively lower voice. "Why her?"

When Andrew did not say anything, he sighed, "Look Andrew, I have known you for almost two decades now and this entire thing is definitely not your thing."

Andrew was the most sensible man Owen had ever met. Unlike him, he never made impulsive decisions. Each and everything he did was well thought and executed. So the whole overnight marriage thing did not make any sense.

…..