Chapter 7

I looked at the clock: it was four in the afternoon! Damn, I was late.

"I'm coming!" I finished writing the last part of the topic, closing the notebook. I crossed out the first topic. I still had a week to do it. I quickly took off my face mask, put on shorts and a tank top, and went downstairs. Oliver was standing near the door, one hand in his pocket and the other outside.

"Mr. Price, come this way," Mom guided him to the living room.

"Please, call me Oliver."

"Well, only if you stop treating me formally and call me Sofia."

"Alright, Mom," I crossed my arms, looking at her.

"Aileen, sit next to your boyfriend."

I sat down next to Oliver.

"I missed you," Oliver whispered, giving me a tender kiss on the cheek. Mom stared at us, surprised and emotional.

"Actually, when Aileen told me you were a couple, I didn't believe her. I thought she was crazy," Mom laughed a little. "I feel surprised."

"You see, Sofia, Aileen and I have known each other for a while, and we fell in love."

"How did you meet?"

"At a party," he was honest. "She insulted me, blaming me for a university scholarship issue. We talked it out, understood each other. To be honest, I had no idea about that scholarship, but we managed to resolve it. I've already paid it back."

Mom looked at me. I nodded.

"I can't believe it. You're going back to university."

"Next week."

"Now that we've decided to be together, I wanted to come and meet you," he said to Mom, "and ask for Aileen's hand in marriage because I want to marry her." Oliver took my hand and kissed it. Mom was fascinated; she had always liked romance and all those cheesy things.

I sighed. What one has to do to fulfill their dreams, I thought.

"Of course, yes. I'm glad that Aileen is getting married, and what's better than with you, Oliver? You seem like a serious man who will make her very happy."

I nodded.

"The engagement party will be tonight," she took out some beautifully crafted invitations, "My secretary sent them to you by mail," she told me. I couldn't believe it! I forgot to send them while dealing with my assignments.

"I've already seen them," I lied.

Oliver handed the invitation to Mom.

"At six in the evening at the Romanoff," Mom read. The Romanoff was the most expensive and luxurious restaurant around. "This can't be happening; I don't have anything fancy to wear."

"That's not a problem," Oliver said. The doorbell rang.

"I'll get it."

"What are you up to?" I looked at him mysteriously.

"Since you didn't respond to my secretary, I figured you hadn't seen the message, so I took care of sending the invitations to your friends and brought a makeup artist to get them ready."

"Aileen!" Vanesa and Trisha appeared in my field of vision.

"Hey, girls," I stood up. Behind them, I could see four more girls. They were carrying makeup and dresses, lots of them.

"Hello, I'm Vanesa," she greeted Oliver with a big smile.

"Pleasure to meet you, Vanesa," he responded.

"I'm Trisha. I've seen you at the university a couple of times," my other friend greeted.

"Nice to meet you, Trisha."

"I had no idea you two were dating," Vanesa murmured.

"Yes, it took us by surprise," I replied.

"Well, things happen," I said.

"I have to go," he said. "I'll pick you up at six in the evening, alright?"

I nodded.

Mom was looking at all the dresses.

"See you, girls."

"Goodbye, Mr. Price," they said in unison. Oliver also said goodbye to my mother before leaving. When he was gone, I could finally release the breath I had been holding and now I had to deal with these two girls who wanted an explanation.

Mom cleared her throat.

Three, there are three girls.

"What are we waiting for? We need to get ready."

"Aileen, why didn't you tell us?" Vanesa interjected.

"To be honest, I didn't believe him when he told me," Mom continued.

"Maybe we wouldn't have believed you," Trisha spoke up. "But Oliver Price? I still can't wrap my head around how you met or fell in love."

"I'll tell you everything while we get ready. In the meantime, make room in your lunch schedule because next week we'll be having lunch together at the university."

"What?!"

"I can't believe it," they squealed with excitement.

I felt like all this excitement had a price to pay.

Aileen spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready with her friends, choosing dresses here and there. They had a few glasses of wine, wondering why she was doing all this, but then she remembered why and brushed it off. Her friends couldn't stop asking her why she had decided to commit to a man she had hated for so long. They didn't buy her story, so they bombarded her with questions about their supposed relationship. Finally ready, a luxurious car was waiting for them outside.

"I still don't know why my car isn't here," her mother commented.

"I'll go get it later, Mom."

Aileen was very nervous, as was Oliver, who was arriving at the restaurant in his luxurious Beetle.

"Oliver," Oliver's father appeared behind him. He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit, a dress shirt, and pressed pants. He was a very imposing man. In his mind, he wondered and even doubted Oliver's relationship with the new girl, Aileen. Although for Oliver's father, it was great that his son was finally getting married and settling down. "Are you nervous?"

"Not at all," Oliver replied, taking a sip of wine. Deep down, he might have been, but he wouldn't admit it. He tapped his legs back and forth.

"I think you are. Aileen is a very... expressive girl. Yesterday when I saw her at your house, she seemed to hold some resentment toward you."

"We were fighting, Father. You know how women are," he lied. But it was partly true because they had been fighting a lot since they met.

"Let's find a place to talk," his father suggested. Oliver nodded, and they went to the terrace together, where they had a beautiful view of the city and its lights. "Now that you're getting married, I would like to make certain things clear. I considered your brother to take over the company because he has a family. But they had certain doubts about it, so now that you're getting married, I would like you to be in charge of everything." Oliver liked that idea because it was exactly what he had been waiting for. That's what the contract between Aileen and him was for. Oliver smiled to himself.

"If you trust me enough to do it, then it's fine," he admitted. Oliver wasn't ambitious, he had just worked very hard for his father to trust him, to take him into account, and to realize that Oliver was capable, even more capable than his brother. So he felt like he was getting close to achieving it. "What I don't understand is why you're telling me this only now, when I searched for a wife. Why not before?"

"Because a man with a family is more focused. I don't want you to go through what I did. I got married very late because I was always focused on work. When we're only focused on work, life passes us by, and when you realize it, it's too late to do this or that, etc. That's how it is. You have to make time for everything: work, home, wife, children. Just saying."

"Alright. I'll try to do the right thing."

"Of course."

At the restaurant entrance, Aileen and her friends were arriving. They got out of the car, contemplating the enormous building that called itself a restaurant. It was luxurious, very elegant, just like Oliver Price. A valet came to take the car.

"I can't believe we're doing this. The last thing I expected this week was for my daughter to get engaged. I mean, it's incredible," her mother whispered. She was more excited than the bride. Aileen's mother had always been a very free-spirited, open, youthful. She wasn't one of those angry or strict mothers. Aileen found in her another wild friend.

Aileen was nervous, feeling like she was walking into the lion's den all by herself. But she would do anything to pursue her dreams. They entered the restaurant, holding hands, searching for Oliver until they found him. Oliver smiled when he saw Aileen, she looked beautiful. The two businessmen approached the women.

"Good evening, beautiful ladies," Oliver's father spoke in his usual elegant manner.

"Good evening," Aileen's mother smiled.

"You look... gorgeous," Oliver commented to Aileen, disregarding what their parents said. "The guests are arriving." It was true, Oliver's friends were entering, greeting and congratulating them. There were a few girls who couldn't help but look at Aileen with disdain, hoping for a better woman for him. Maybe a model or an actress. Then Anna arrived, Oliver's ex-girlfriend and a model. She was tall, slim, stunning, with black hair. Aileen was astonished to see her.

"Who is she?" Aileen asked Oliver.

"Anna Quinn," he replied.

Anna approached Oliver.

"Well, I thought when you got engaged, it would be with me," the girl murmured, giving Aileen disdainful looks. She felt very uncomfortable in the situation but wouldn't let that woman embarrass her.

"Well, it seems you were mistaken, darling," Aileen replied, taking Oliver's arm. "Shall we greet the others, love?"

Oliver cleared his throat.

"Of course. With your permission, Anna," and they passed her by as if she wasn't worth their attention. Anna was a very capricious girl. She had spent almost five years trying to conquer Oliver, supporting him to get married and secure position and money. But now she had an obstacle: Aileen. She didn't know how, but she would remove her from their path. Beyond ambition, her obsessive love for Oliver was evident. The girl had some mental problems, so she devised a plan to ruin their party.

"Anna," her friend murmured. "You finally made it. Honestly, I thought you wouldn't come."

"And miss this? I had to meet the stupid girl who wants to take Oliver away from me."

"Well, she's not that stupid. She did manage to get a marriage proposal from him," the girl replied, but when she saw Anna's warning gaze, she became serious. "I'm sorry. Come on, let's get a drink. You need it."

Aileen and Oliver were in a corner, talking about their plans and agreements.

"Is she your ex-girlfriend?" Aileen asked.

"Something like that."

"Well, no wonder she looks at me with hatred. But I don't care. I'm not here to deal with your exes, Price," she spat those words. Perhaps deep down, she felt somewhat jealous.