More than anything, Madison despises the way some older Hmong men, including her own paternal uncle, have disrupted their nuclear families by traveling to Laos to marry high-school-aged Hmong girls. She is equally furious with the girls who knowingly lead these men on for the purpose of extracting money from them. But what Madison finds most unacceptable is that young Hmong men in Laos are now becoming involved in the same practice.
To Madison, it is hypocritical, destructive, and completely unforgivable.
So what happens when she suddenly discovers that she is expected to marry Looj Xyooj, a Hmong man from Laos?
Will Madison be forced to confront the very beliefs she has condemned in others? Will she set aside her principles and accept the marriage—or will she fight against it with every ounce of her strength?
Chapter 1 - The Dragon Arrives
Looj.
That was his name.
A word borrowed from Chinese, meaning dragon.
But what kind of dragon was he?
Only time would tell.
For now, however, there was little about Looj Xyooj that seemed frightening. If anything, he was the kind of man people trusted easily. Young, handsome, intelligent, and soft-spoken, he carried himself with quiet confidence. His tall frame and refined features had been gifts from his parents, while the dimples that appeared whenever he smiled made it difficult for anyone to remain angry with him for long.
He was also highly educated. After completing his doctoral studies at Thammasat University, he had returned to Laos and become an assistant professor at the National University of Laos.
He had a career he loved.
A woman he loved.
A life he had chosen.
And he had no intention of giving any of it up.
That was why, when his parents summoned him home one evening and told him that they had arranged for him to marry a woman in America, his answer came immediately.
“I’m not going.”
His mother stared at him.
His father remained silent.
“I’m not throwing my dignity away like that,” Looj continued.
“Son, your father and I only want you to have a better life,” his mother said.
“I already have a good life.”
“A better one,” she insisted. “One where your opportunities are limitless. One where you won’t have to wait three or four months just to receive your salary.”
“And that better life requires me to move to America?”
His father nodded.
“Yes.”
Looj shook his head.
“No.”
His mother sighed.
“Your father’s friend has agreed to marry you to his daughter. Once you are married, you can move to America and establish yourself there.”
Looj stared at them in disbelief.
“But I already have Paj Dawb.”
His father leaned back.
“Aren’t you even curious to know who the girl is?”
“No.”
“You might change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
His father smiled.
“Do you remember little Maiv Dib?”
Looj's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But his parents noticed.
“The girl who came here with her parents years ago?” his father continued. “The one you used to follow everywhere?”
Looj looked away.
“I was a child.”
“You liked her.”
“I was a child.”
His mother smiled.
“You liked her very much.”
Looj said nothing.
Then his father delivered the words that would change the course of his life.
“Maiv Dib is the girl you are going to marry.”
For a moment, Looj heard nothing.
The room seemed to disappear.
And suddenly, he was no longer a grown man sitting in his parents’ house.
He was a young boy again, watching a ten-year-old American Hmong girl cry because her parents had brought her to Laos.
She had hated everything.
The dirt roads.
The heat.
The simple food.
The chickens wandering freely through the yard.
She had complained about everything.
And yet, somehow, he had found her fascinating.
Her stubbornness.
Her innocence.
Her refusal to let anyone tell her what to do.
After she returned to America, Looj had never forgotten her.
He had often wondered what she had become.
Perhaps that was why, for the briefest moment, the idea of seeing her again stirred something inside him.
Then reality returned.
“I still have Paj Dawb,” he said firmly.
“And I still have no intention of marrying a stranger.”
His father sighed.
“Why are you so stubborn?”
“Because I believe in being faithful. To Paj Dawb. To my career. And to both of you.”
His mother looked at him sadly.
“Then perhaps you should think about what will happen to us if you refuse.”
Looj frowned.
“What do you mean?”
His father exchanged a glance with his wife.
There was something in that look that immediately made Looj uneasy.
“Your mother and I made a mistake,” his father finally admitted.
“What kind of mistake?”
“We borrowed money to purchase another piece of land and expand the hotel.”
Looj waited.
“We were conned.”
Silence.
“How much?”
His father hesitated.
“One billion kip.”
Looj shot to his feet.
“One billion?”
His mother lowered her head.
“We have almost nothing left.”
Looj stared at them.
“It would take me five years to earn that much.”
“Exactly.”
“And you expect me to earn it in America?”
His father nodded.
“You could make enough in less than a year.”
Looj paced across the room.
“Why didn't you tell me before taking the loan?”
“We were ashamed,” his mother admitted.
“You should have told me!”
“We're sorry.”
Looj closed his eyes.
For the first time, the future he had so carefully planned began to crumble.
His parents needed him.
His girlfriend expected him to remain in Laos.
And somewhere in America was a little girl he had not seen in years.
A girl who was now apparently supposed to become his wife.
His father placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Son, we're not asking you to do this because we don't love you.”
Looj opened his eyes.
“We're asking because you're the only person who can save us.”
The room fell silent.
And Looj realized there was only one answer he could give.
Madison Moua.
Everyone called her Maddy.
Those who struggled to pronounce her name called her Maiv Dib instead.
She hated that.
She hated even more that her parents had decided to use that name when discussing her future husband.
Madison was the younger of two daughters and the only one who remained unmarried. She was beautiful, stylish, intelligent, and fiercely independent.
She was also stubborn.
Once Madison formed an opinion, changing her mind was nearly impossible.
And she had very strong opinions about Hmong men from Laos.
She had watched too many American Hmong women suffer after marrying men who came to America with one goal in mind: obtaining a better life.
She had seen marriages destroyed.
Families torn apart.
Women deceived.
She had even taught some of the children whose parents were victims of such marriages.
Madison had sworn that she would never become one of those women.
So when her parents told her she was going to marry a Hmong man from Laos, she was furious.
She didn't care how handsome he was.
She didn't care how educated he was.
She didn't care what kind of family he came from.
She had already decided what he was.
A gold-digger.
And she intended to make sure he regretted ever coming to America.
That evening, Looj arrived.
Madison didn't stay to meet him.
She dressed, grabbed her handbag, and headed toward the door.
“Maddy, where are you going?” her sister-in-law asked.
“Out.”
“Your father told you to stay home. Your fiancé is coming.”
“Then Dad can entertain him.”
“Maddy…”
But Madison was already gone.
She didn't care.
If her parents wanted to sell her future away, they could deal with the consequences themselves.
She returned home late that night.
Very late.
And very drunk.
She stumbled upstairs toward her bedroom, suddenly feeling sick.
The bathroom door was locked.
“Oh, no…”
She grabbed the key and rushed inside.
After vomiting, Madison leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.
Then she noticed something strange.
The bathroom was warm.
Steam filled the room.
The mirror was covered in condensation.
She slowly opened her eyes.
Then she heard it.
Shhhhhhh.
Water.
The shower.
Running.
Her blood ran cold.
“I turned that off before I left…”
She stared at the shower curtain.
“Did someone break into the house?”
Madison's drunkenness disappeared almost instantly.
She grabbed the toilet plunger.
If someone was hiding behind that curtain, they were about to have a very bad night.
She crept toward the shower.
One step.
Then another.
She reached for the curtain.
Before she could pull it open—
The curtain moved.
Madison screamed.
A man stepped out.
Tall.
Handsome.
Bare-chested.
A towel wrapped around his waist.
For one horrifying second, they simply stared at each other.
Then Madison screamed again.
She swung the plunger.
“Stop!”
She swung again.
“Wait!”
Again.
The man ducked.
The plunger slammed against the wall.
Madison slipped.
Her hand grabbed the towel.
And suddenly—
WHOOSH.
The towel fell.
Both of them froze.
Madison's eyes widened.
The man's eyes widened.
Then they screamed simultaneously.
Minutes later, Madison sat on the couch beside the stranger she had just attacked with a toilet plunger.
She refused to look at him.
Her parents stared at her.
The young man sat quietly beside her, his expression surprisingly calm.
“Where were you all night?” her father asked.
“With my friends.”
“You were told to stay home.”
“I know.”
“And you came home drunk.”
“I know.”
Her father sighed.
Madison finally turned toward the stranger.
“Who gave him permission to use my bathroom?”
“I’m sorry,” the young man said calmly. “I didn't realize it was yours. My room is connected to it, so I assumed I was allowed to use it.”
“Well, you were wrong.”
“Maddy,” her father warned.
She ignored him.
“That bathroom is mine.”
Her father shook his head.
“It doesn't matter now.”
“What doesn't matter?”
He looked at her.
Then at the young man.
And smiled.
“I was hoping you would meet him properly tonight.”
Madison frowned.
Her father gestured toward the stranger.
“Maddy, this is Looj Xyooj.”
She blinked.
“And?”
Her father smiled.
“Your future husband.”
Madison stared at him.
The room became silent.
Then she laughed.
A cold, humorless laugh.
“So you're the gold-digger from Laos.”
Looj's expression hardened.
“My father didn't sell me.”
“Oh?”
“No.”
“Then why are you here?”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“My family needs me.”
Madison rolled her eyes.
“Same story.”
“Madison,” her father warned.
She stood.
“You and men like you are all the same. You come here, marry an American Hmong woman, get what you want, and then—”
“Enough!”
Her father's voice thundered through the room.
Madison glared at him.
Then she turned back to Looj.
“You can marry me if you want.”
Looj looked surprised.
“But don't expect me to love you.”
She leaned closer.
“And don't expect me to give you a single penny.”
Then she walked away.
Looj clenched his fists.
For the first time since arriving in America, his calm expression disappeared.
Madison's father noticed.
“Don't take her words seriously,” he said quietly. “She's stubborn. But she's a good person underneath all that anger.”
Looj said nothing.
His father-in-law patted his shoulder.
“If you prove her wrong, perhaps the two of you can still be happy.”
Looj looked toward the staircase where Madison had disappeared.
He wasn't so sure.
The next morning, Madison and Looj emerged from their rooms at almost exactly the same time.
They saw each other.
Madison glared.
Looj smiled.
She hated that smile.
At breakfast, her father announced that Madison would take Looj around town.
Madison nearly choked.
“Why me?”
“Because you're going.”
“I have plans.”
“Cancel them.”
“I have friends.”
“Take Looj with you.”
“Dad!”
Her father folded his arms.
“Either you take him, or both of you stay home.”
Madison glared at him.
Then at Looj.
Looj calmly smiled back.
“Fine.”
Her father smiled.
“Good.”
Madison stood abruptly.
“Let's go.”
Looj rose.
She grabbed her handbag and stormed toward the door.
Then she stopped.
She turned around.
“Wait.”
She looked at Looj from head to toe.
“You can't go out dressed like that.”
He glanced down at his clothes.
“What's wrong with them?”
“Everything.”
Her father laughed.
Madison shot him a look.
Then she turned back toward Looj.
“Come on.”
As the two walked toward the door, neither noticed Madison's father watching them with a strange expression.
He waited until the door closed.
Then his smile slowly disappeared.
His wife looked at him.
“What is it?”
He shook his head.
“Nothing.”
But it wasn't nothing.
Because there was something he had not told Madison.
Something about Looj.
Something about the arrangement.
Something that could change everything.
And he knew that once Madison discovered the truth, there would be no turning back.
Outside, Madison opened the car door.
“Get in.”
Looj climbed into the passenger seat.
She started the engine.
Neither of them spoke.
Then Looj's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression immediately changed.
Madison noticed.
“Who is it?”
Looj didn't answer.
The phone continued ringing.
He finally answered.
“Hello?”
A woman's voice came through the phone.
Looj's face went pale.
Madison watched him carefully.
“Paj Dawb?”
Looj closed his eyes.
“Yes.”
Madison's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
She had no idea why.
But something about the way he looked when he heard that woman's voice made her stomach twist.
Then Looj whispered something that Madison could barely hear.
“I can't marry her.”
Madison turned toward him.
“What did you say?”
Looj slowly looked at her.
And for the first time, there was no smile on his face.
“I said…”
He hesitated.
Then the phone went silent.
Looj stared at the screen.
The call had ended.
Madison waited.
“What happened?”
Looj looked at her.
And what he said next would change everything.
“I need to tell you something about this marriage.”
To be continued…
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