Chapter 99 Table Ethnics
Summoning the rest of her courage, she made her way to the dining and sat herself down after both Tori and Marcus had sat down.
One thing rich people liked to test that she was sure of was table ethics. That would obviously not be a problem for her. She had attended several prestigious events and knew how to properly compose herself at a table.
Their meals had been served out in a platter of gold for each of them. Literally. She had no trouble at all deciding what fork to use or how to cut her juicy steak and chewing properly had never really been a problem for her.
She could catch Marcus' judging gaze every once in a while. He seemed pleased. She too was pleased to know she had matched his high hopes.
"So when do you hope the wedding will be?" Tori asked with a slight raise of her brow without taking her eyes off of her meal.
Of all the moments to flop, Cara chose then to choke on her meat and cough in a way that was not all lady like. At least in the eyes of Marcus.
She immediately apologized, angry and disappointed that she had destroyed everything she was working for. Marcus seemed displeased. At least that was what she translated his raise of a brow to mean.
But Tori immediately fetched the young woman a tissue to wipe her lips. "Dear, are you okay?"
Cara accepted it with utmost gratitude and wiped her lips after drinking from her glass of ever so clean water.
She sat back in a lady-like position and straightened her back. "Yes. Yes I am. Thank you." She responded with a dim smile. "The question took me by surprise. I am sorry. The wedding, Mrs Armani?" Her eyes grew wide.
Tori nodded her head. "Our son wants to marry you, you are here which means you love him. Anyone can tell from how much you are trying to impress us. Dear girl, the last thing I would want to do is waste your time."
Cara would be lying if she said she had been expecting Mrs Armani to come out so straightforward like that. She was still so shocked by the woman's words that she believed she was imagining what had just happened.
Cara could never forget the first time she met his parents, she was sure they did not remember which was why she was pretending to be a first timer, Mr Armani was the same, stiff and hard as a block, but Mrs Armani had been the one that told Romeo that she did not like the company he had with him. Cara.
The words that left the mouth of Mrs Armani's mouth that very day was the main reason she decided to cut ties with Romeo. She had told herself it was best if she stopped fantasizing and just faced her reality and moved on with life.
So hearing such words from Tori Armani felt so fake that she decided there and then not to believe them.
But then she noticed that Marcus reached out and laid his hand on his wife's hand. She seemed to have been holding on to her fork rather tighter than before.
She herself did not seem to have realized what she was doing.
Cara felt startled for more than a second. Why was she suddenly gripping on to her fork? A fork of all things to grip on to?
Tori looked up at Cara and let out a soft laugh. "Ah... I am sorry if I startled you, this happens to me when I get nervous. I grip on to things subconsciously to help calm myself."
Cara's thin brow arched. "Nervous? Why are you nervous all of a sudden?"
Tori, finally, released her grip from the fork and held on to her husband for support instead. She looked up at Cara and spoke up with a smile. "You see... I know that you are probably extra nervous meeting us today because of the things I... Said the last time you were here."
Cara's eyes sparkled with surprise. "You remember me..."
Tori's lips split into a longer smile. "It hasn't been that long has it? I have this talent of remembering faces even from twenty years ago." She confessed with a blushed smile. A minute's pause and she went on with her explanation. "Anyway, you see... I am a very straight forward woman you see.
"I tend to go straight to the point with everything I say. If I don't like you, I don't try to make it nice to you, I will never try to butter you up for my own sake. Or even for your own sake for that matter.
"That day, you were the least confident woman I had ever seen and I am so sorry to say this, you did not seem like the perfect company for my son. But I will confess it to you, I had a very terrible day and that made my judgement extra strict.
"I judged a lot of things about you that day
But today, you seem a lot more... Different. Different aura, different posture, like a whole newly built woman. Also, I have chosen to respect my son's decision in women over the past years. He had rejected every single marriage set up, I was actually getting worried he would clock forty as a bachelor!"
Cara smiled softly. Little did she know that Romeo was going to be a dad before then. But that was by the way, she would be lying if she said Tori's judgment did not hurt her, she knew herself that currently, she was far from buoyant enough to sit confidently in front of the Armani family not to mention back then.
But if only Tori had actually tried to get to know her, maybe she would not have wasted years with Chris, maybe she would have been with Romeo from the start and probably be happy with kids.
The thought of it caused tears to prick at her eyes. Wasted years all because of a single person's harsh judgment.