Although Tina was uneasy, she couldnât resist her favorite sweets and picked them up with her little hands to eat.
But even though she was eating, her eyes were still on Chandler, waiting for him to tell her what Laura said and what was going on.
âDo you want to know if youâre a child bride?â Chandler spoke up.
Laura nodded.
âDo you know what âadopted wifeâ means?â he asked.
She blinked her eyes and had some idea about the concept of âadopted wifeâ, but she couldnât express it fully.
Chandler said, âAdopted wife refers to the practice of a girl being raised by the husbandâs family, or the family of the groom, until she reaches adulthood and then officially marries the son of that family. In the past, some areas were very poor and families could not afford to raise their daughters, so they would sell them to other families as âadopted wife.â
Tina blinked her eyes and said, âSo, my parents are not poor, and I was not raised by someone else. It was my parents who raised 1. Therefore, I am not a child bride, am I?â
âYes, you donât count,â said Chandler.
Tina breathed a sigh of relief and a bright smile appeared on her face. âI knew it, my mom and dad would never sell me! They love me so much!â
âBut there is one thing that is the same,â Chandler added.
Tina widened her eyes and looked at the other person, âWhat do you mean by âthe sameâ?â
âTina, when you grow up, you will marry me. This was something that your dad and mom agreed upon when you were born,â he said.
âAgreement?â Tina looked confused.
âYes, when your mother gave birth to you, your father and I made an agreement that when you grew up and reached the legal age for marriage, you would marry me and become my wife.â He had originally planned to tell her these words slowly when she was a little older.
But now, since she has heard it from someone else, itâs better to take this opportunity to tell her!
âAre you Chandlerâs bride?â Tinaâs eyes suddenly lit up. âBut what is the legal marriage age in the country? How old do you have to be?â
âWhen you turn 20 years old,â he said.
So she started calculating how much time was left until she turned 20 years old. After figuring it out, she looked unhappy and said, âItâs going to be a long time until I can become Chandlerâs bride!â
âWould you like to be my bride?â Chandler asked, seeming somewhat surprised.
âWhy donât you want to? Of course, I want to!â Tina said naturally, âWhen we played house, you were the daddy and I was the mommy!â They even had many dolls as their daughters!
Chandler was a bit amused and helpless, âTina, youâre still young and donât understand the true meaning of being a bride.â
âIâm not young at all, I understand!â she said, taking another bite of the dessert next to her. âAnyway, I just want to be with Chandler forever. We can sleep together, eat together, play together, and have lots and lots of babies together.â
ââ¦â Okay, he suddenly didnât know how to argue because what she said seemed to be true. âBut when playing house, you can pretend to be mommy and daddy with this person today, and tomorrow you can pretend with another person. But when it comes to real marriage in the future, itâs different. You canât choose someone else.â
She widened her eyes and looked at him.