ADELE
I stared at the man in front of me and I gave him a lopsided grin when he looked at me but he just took his gaze off me. Rude.
"I apologize for our lateness. I took too much time to get dressed up", I said with a pout as I looked at the older woman sitting beside him instead.
"Oh, you don't have to apologize, dear. Ladies should take their time to get dressed up", she replied with a cute smile as she stretched her hand forward across the table.
She placed her right hand on my left and I gave her a forced smile back. Her reply wasn't the one I was expecting.
"Mm mm", someone cleared their throat and everyone at the table turned their head towards the head seat of this huge rectangle table.
Right there, his father, Mr. Marvin, sat with a very cool expression on his face.
"You and Adele should talk more on your own, Christopher. You should introduce yourselves properly to each other", Christopher's father said, and he finally spoke for once ever since this boring meeting had started.
"We will, father", Christopher replied and I turned my head to look at the young man in front of me.
"Of course, we will", I said meaningfully as I stared at him once again and he looked up at me.
I gave him a small smile again and he raised an eyebrow at me but this time around, I took my gaze off him first.
Opposite my parents and me are Christopher Marvin and his mother. As I learned from my parents a few days ago, I would be getting married to this young man in front of me. I still can't believe it. I am even only meeting this man for the first time in my entire life.
"What do you do during your free time, Adele?", Mrs. Marvin suddenly asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"My free time?", I asked with disbelief laced in my tone and I ended my words with a chuckle.
Mother cleared her throat beside me but I just ignored her warning as I spoke up once again.
"I don't have any 'free time' because I am free every time. I am just too lazy to work", I replied with a cute smile and for the first time, Mrs. Marvin's eyes widened at me in shock.
I smirked when I saw her expression. I will do everything possible to stop the wedding from taking place during this meeting. Mother bugged me so much that I had to come to this meeting hesitantly but she most certainly can't stop me from trying to ruin the whole thing.
I was about to do a victory dance in my mind when Mrs. Marvin did the unexpected. She laughed. She laughed so much that beads of tears appeared at the sides of her eyes and her eyes went glossy.
"You are so funny, Adele", she told me and my eyes widened now.
Funny? That's not what I was going for!
"Oh", Mr. Marvin suddenly said as if he had just realized something and he laughed a bit as well, at my 'joke'.
As I stared at the couples in front of me, I suddenly felt mother's hand rest on my lap and I glanced down at it before taking a sharp breath.
"I paint during my free time, ma'am", I said politely this time around as I fought the frown that was threatening to appear on my face.
"Oh, I wish I could see some of them", Mrs. Marvin said with a smile and I nodded as I smiled back.
"Someday", I told her and she nodded.
There was a bit of silence between us all before Mr. Marvin spoke up.
"So, we agreed that the marriage should take place in a week", he announced and I tilted my head toward him sharply.
A week?! Mother and father did not tell me about that.
"Yes, of course", father replied and my gaze turned towards him.
There will be no time for me to stop the wedding when it is happening so soon!
"I am thinking of inviting about two hundred people, how is that?", Mrs. Marvin asked eagerly and I can see the joy in her eyes.
"It is-", mother started but she was cut off immediately when someone else spoke up.
"We would be having a court marriage, there would be no need for the guests", Christopher said sternly with no expression on his face before picking up his glass of juice.
"Wha-?", Mrs. Marvin asked in disbelief as her eyes widened in surprise and I grin at her expression.
"I agree with him. I don't want a big wedding ceremony as well", I said, still keeping that grin on my face.
Mother turned her head immediately to look at me after I finished talking and I looked at her. She has a shocked expression on her face but her eyes are not wide like Christopher's mother's own.
There was a prolonged silence throughout the dining room and I used that moment to take a sip of my juice as well.
"Well, I guess that is settled then", Mrs. Marvin said with a blank expression on her face as she gulped and I sighed as I placed my cup down on the table.
"It is getting late, we should have dinner now", she said again and mother nodded.
"Of course", she told her and I just kept watching their every move.
"I should inform the cook that we would have dinner now then", Mrs. Marvin said before excusing herself from the table.
She arrived with the cook and a maid and soon dinner was served.
Nothing was said all through dinner and the only thing that was heard was the clattering sounds of cutleries against ceramic dishes. I can say it was pretty awkward.
When we finished having dinner, the maid came to take the dirty dishes away and I took a last sip of my water before the maid took the cup away.
"Oh! You two should meet up to talk", Christopher's mother suggested with wide, eager eyes.
"You two would get to know each other better that way", mother too added with a smile and I slanted my lips a bit at their words.
I felt someone's gaze on me and when I looked up, my eyes came in contact with his. Christopher's.
"I am sorry but I have urgent matters to attend to upstairs", he replied coldly, not taking his gaze away from me for once as he said those words.
"So, if you would excuse me", he added as he stood up from his seat and gave a small bow to everyone.
He walked away after that without looking back before he disappeared out of my sight and up the stairs, he went.
Mr. Marvin cleared his throat awkwardly after that and I just tapped my right index finger on the table gently and restlessly.
"Uh", Mrs. Marvin started and my parents and I turned to look at her.
"I apologize for his behavior. He is like that sometimes", she said with an apologetic look on her face and my lips twitched.
"It is fine", mother replied instead and a smile appeared on Mrs. Marvin's face almost immediately.
~ ~
We finally arrived back home and as I was about to go up to my room, mother called out to me.
"Adele?"
I turned back to look at her and father looked at us both before leaving the two of us to talk.
"It is for your own good", she said slowly immediately after father was up the stairs.
I sighed loudly as I looked down at my feet before looking at her again.
"I know", I replied
"You've said that countless times these past few days", I told her with a forced smile and she sighed now.
We stared at each other for a while and when I was sick of it, I spoke up.
"I am going to bed", I told her and she nodded.
I went up the stairs and as I arrived in my room, I switched on the light bulb. I threw my handbag on the bed. and walked towards the mirror of my vanity table. I have not used these cosmetics in a long time.
I looked up at myself in the mirror and sighed. I am in a large woolen, blue top and black leather skirt that reaches just above my knees. Mother had only allowed me to dress like this to the Marvin's house because I had agreed to go to the meeting and she could not afford me to change my mind.
I removed the hair band I used to hold my hair into a rough bun and let my hair flow down. I walked towards the bathroom and disappeared behind it.
As the cool water from the shower ran down my body, a memory suddenly flashed across my eyes. It was a memory of 'him'. I sighed as I kept my pains in and continued bathing, not opening my eyes for once.
My salty tears mixed with the water from the shower and I was grateful I was not seeing myself as I shed tears. I would only pity myself.
I walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my body when I was done. I don't feel so down even though I just finished crying. I guess I have gotten used to it.
In a few minutes, I was already on my bed, waiting for tomorrow to arrive.
* * *
CHRISTOPHER I am sitting down on this brown wooden chair, watching the door to the restaurant like a hawk. I arrived here earlier than planned but she is still thirty minutes late. Did she not get my message? I checked the time once again and I sighed in frustration. I felt like the way I acted two days ago during dinner was rude and I want to apologize for my behavior. I also want to assure Adele that I will be the best husband I can be in our marriage and she won't regret marrying me but can I even do that when she is not even here? Wait a minute, is she doing this intentionally? Standing me up because I refused to speak with her after dinner? I surely hope not. I sighed for the umpteenth time since I arrived here, in this restaurant. "Would you like to order your meal now, sir?", a voice said and I looked up, just to meet the face of the waiter who served me some water earlier. "No, I will do that later. I am waiting on someone", I told him and he smiled. "Very well then",
ADELE I walked into the house after the scene with Christopher and was quickly pulled aside by my mother. "What did he say? What did he say?", she asked eagerly and I sighed before looking up at her again. "He only apologized for how he acted during dinner with his parents", I told her and she left my arm to hold her cheeks with both hands. "What a gentleman", she replied softly with dreamy eyes and I scoffed. I know what mother is trying to do. She is only trying to implant in me that Christopher- or Chris- whatever, is a nice and good person. "What else did he say?", she asked me again and I slanted my lips at her. "That was all", I told her and she frowned before her face lit up again. Oh lord. "I saw him talking to you outside, what did he say then?", mother asked again and I frowned as I thought of what to say. I can't tell Mom Christopher wants the marriage to happen. She would be too overjoyed. I prefer leaving it as both parties do not want the marriage to take
CHRISTOPHER I stood in front of the mirror in my room as I fixed my tie. If someone told me six months ago that I would be getting married today, I would have gotten that person arrested for giving false information. I can't believe I am going to get married today but it is all for the best. Liam claims she is prettier than Bianca but I am not really sure she is. She is okay though. I had selected her out of so many girls after all. I know she is going to ask me why I had agreed to marry her out of all the ladies out there sooner or later and I would give her my sincere answer. It is not that hard to do. I loosened the tie on my neck and finally took it off. I will knot it properly later. I walked downstairs and I met father sitting on his favorite couch in the sitting room with a cup of juice beside him. "Where is Mother?", I asked him and he looked up at me. He chuckled at me before looking down at the screen of the phone in his hand. "She is busy upstairs, looking for her
ADELE We walked out of the registrar's office after we were done. We took our vows to always help each other through thick and thin and we even took the picture for our wedding certificates. Well, now I want to go back home. "Wow! You are finally married, honey", Christopher's mother said and I turned to look at her. She is holding her right palm against her son's face affectionately. "I will finally get to see my grandchildren", she said again and Christopher chuckled. "Stop being dramatic, mom", he replied to her as he removed her hand from his face and held it instead. He looked at me and I let my eyes lock with his for a while before taking my eyes off him quickly. "You finally got married, sis", Veronica said to me as she stood beside me with a smile on her face. "I am happy for you", I heard mother say and I looked at her in front of me. "I am not sure if I am happy for me though", I replied with a shrug and mother looked around quickly. "Don't say that!", she hal
ADELE Christopher honked at whoever it was that was behind the gate and the gate opened immediately. He drove into the compound before parking the car under the car shed. Christopher got down before me and grabbed my suitcase from the back seat. "Come on", he called out to me before heading towards the front door of the building with my suitcase in hand. I looked up at the building in front of me and a sigh escaped my lips. This is it. I got down from the car and quickly went after Christopher. He opened the front door easily and held it open for me to pass through before going further inside. I took a step in and sighed deeply. This place is not so bad. I mean, the sitting room looks okay and it just screams wealth. Not to talk about the pool that is outside that I can see from the ceiling to the glass window that's beside the television on the right. "Come in properly, let me show you around", Christopher said to me and I looked up at him. "Fine", I replied, closing the f
CHRISTOPHER "I got married to you because of my father's company", I said to her and she furrowed her brows at me in confusion. I knew that sooner or later, I would have to talk about this with Adele. Ever since I first saw her at the dinner meeting with our parents, I knew she would be one to inquire about my reasons. I mean, what girl wouldn't? "Do you mind explaining what you mean by that?", only when she said that did I realize that she had been waiting expectantly for me to continue. "Uh, I have to be the next CEO of the company", I said again and looked up at her to see if she was still listening to me. "So? Become the CEO then. What have I got to do with that?", she asked quickly in one breath and her face tells me she is frustrated right now. "Calm down, it is not that simple", I said gently and she huffed at my words. "You are really impatient", I said with a smile and she rolled her eyes at me this time around. "Okay, so?", she asked after a while. "My Uncle Jeffrey
CHRISTOPHER I walk into my study room with my laptop in hand. I grabbed my laptop, shifting the computer on my study table to the back, so my laptop can sit properly on the table. I checked out a few reminders from work before checking the time. It's past six already. We should be having dinner by now. I shut down the laptop and was about to stand up from my seat when an image flashed in front of my eyes. The image of when Adele had held onto her suitcase and I had reached out to take the suitcase as well, only for our hands to touch. The way she had removed her hand from mine was like I was a bad allergy or something. I understand that she is getting used to this strange and sudden arrangement but the least we can do for each other and better growth is to treat each other with care and respect and not like dirt. I sighed before getting up from my seat and going out of the study room. I walked quickly to the bedroom and pushed one of the doors open. There she is, lying down at th
ADELE I stood by the sink as I washed the plates. Truth be told, I will find a way to ask Chris to make me this dish again. It was so delicious. It is like the food just melts in your mouth but with a little spiciness in it which makes it only much better. Chris asked if I liked it and I acted like I did not. I don't want to act so casually with him, so... And I have that drawing to figure out. I should try out 'his' drawing tomorrow again. I don't know why I keep forgetting how to draw his face. I finished washing the plates and as I walked out, I met Chris sitting on that middle couch that is facing the television in the sitting room. "You are here", he said when he finally looked up at me and I just stared back at him. "Do you want to sleep? Do you feel sleepy?", his questions came again and I raised a brow. "No", I finally replied and he nodded. "I thought so too. It would be weird if you said you wanted to sleep, depending on the fact that you just woke up an hour ago", Ch