Marrying the Man in the Dark

Cherise pursed her lips, puzzled by Damien’s strange behavior that night.

She pushed open the door in front of her, taking the lead as she stepped into the elevator.

However, to her surprise, after stepping out when she reached the first floor, she found herself surrounded by a crowd of people.

“Mrs. Lenoir! This is a small token of apology from our newspaper to you!”

“Mrs. Lenoir, we have prepared a gift for you that we hope you will like! Please accept it!”

“Mrs. Lenoir…”

Amidst the chorus of “Mrs. Lenoir,” a tantalizing aroma of drumsticks wafted through the air…

Cherise furrowed her brow, noticing that each person in the crowd was holding a large bouquet.

However, these bouquets were not filled with flowers.

Instead, they were packed with drumsticks.

Grilled, fried, and coated with various sauces and seasonings…

to resemble bouquets, some even adorned

found herself encircled

gnawed at her with every inch of her body, threatening to overthrow any sense of decorum. The juicy drumsticks

she accepted a drumstick from even just one person, she would be obliged to accept all the drumsticks from the others.

at the crowd before

extended from the elevator door to the

these drumsticks for one to two years….

of despair washed over Cherise.

despair born of hunger and a desire to eat to her heart’s wishes and the paradoxical situation because she was unable to eat them

“Everyone.”

the man behind her spoke calmly, “Everyone is overly

Each of you set down the drumsticks and leave your business cards on the table by the

people have but to comply with

on the pristine table, followed by leaving their business cards on top of

more drumsticks were set down, and more and more business cards were left.

overflowing with business cards!

pondering what

frozen

the approaching autumn, the lingering summer heat would undoubtedly spoil them within a few days.