The answer to this question can be found at the very beginning of the short story. Here, Laura is writing and then tearing up one letter after another, seemingly unable to make a decision about something. She explains to her cousin, Janette, that she has had "two offers for marriage," but is unable to decide which offer she should accept. She implies that both offers are good offers, but doesn't seem to be in love with either of her suitors.

Given that neither offer is compelling, Janette advises Laura not to accept either. Janette explains that "a woman who is undecided between two offers, has not enough love for either to make a choice." In other words, if Laura was really in love with either of her suitors, then the choice would be easy. The fact that she can't choose between the two suitors suggests to Janette that she is not in love with either, and should thus reject both.

However, Laura is worried that, if she doesn't accept either offer, she may end up as "an old maid," a possibility she can hardly bear even to think about. Janette, who is unmarried herself, then suggests that ending up as an old maid is perhaps a better fate than being trapped in a loveless marriage.

The real choice that Laura faces, therefore, seems to be not the choice between one offer of marriage or the other, but between the possibility of ending up an old maid, or the possibility of being trapped in a loveless marriage.