CHAPTER 85

"Huh? Oh, uhm..."

"We were supposed to meet Harriet and Landon and have dinner with them." It was Daniel who took the liberty to create a lie when Samantha couldn't do so. "Samantha and I were actually on our way to dinner when you called."

Samantha looked at the guy beside her, who did not even have an ounce of hesitation while spewing those lies. He looked so calm and confident that no one would suspect he wasn't telling the truth, making Samantha feel a little bit at ease.

With the attitude Daniel had been showing, their parents would surely believe him and would not question him any further.

But contrary to what Samantha had thought, Janice was still not convinced, and instead, she wondered even more. "The four of you were about to have dinner together? So the four of you have been hanging out. Hold on, since when did you two get close? And when did Harriet and Landon become friends as well?"

Samantha started getting nervous again with the questions her mother had been throwing, but unlike her, Daniel remained composed, his expression not changing and the tone of his voice not wavering.

"The four of us accidentally saw each other at a bar. Samantha and Harriet were together that night, while I was with Landon. When I recognized Samantha, I approached her and introduced Landon to her and Harriet, and Samantha did the same thing, introducing Harriet to me and Landon. Harriet and Landon instantly clicked and became friends, and tonight would have been the first time the four of us would meet and hang out since that night at the bar. As for how Samantha and I got close," Daniel glanced at her for a moment before taking his attention back to Janice, who was waiting on what he was going to say next. "Well, let's just say that we've gotten tired of arguing, so we decided to have peace with each other. Besides, isn't that what you two wanted?" Daniel was even smiling while asking the last question, trying to charm their parents, especially Janice.

Romeo finally spoke again and asked. "So you picked Samantha up from their home?"

Daniel nodded. "Yeah. I figured that since we'll be going to the same place anyway, we might as well pick her up and go together."

"I see," Romeo said while nodding.

Janice did the same thing. Their parents seemed to really believe in Daniel. But Janice said something again, which made Samantha flinch.

"But from the way you two looked, no one would have guessed you were going out to dinner with your friends, but rather a couple on a date."

Romeo then agreed to Janice with a smile on his lips as he looked at the two. "I agree," he said.

And Daniel, who was still doing a great job at lying, played along with their parents, laughing together with them before saying, "Is that so?" Then he went on laughing again.

Samantha, who was feeling awkward with how smoothly the conversation that was made of lies was going, learned to play along too. She started laughing together with them, but whether it looked natural or not, she did not want to know.

***

A disheartened sigh came out of Janice's mouth for the fifth time, making Samantha take pause from slicing the apples that Daniel had bought.

Without letting go of the knife, she turned around to look at her mother, who was sitting on the bed, leaning back on the wall, and had a sullen look on her face.

"How long will you keep this up, mom? You've been like that since yesterday," she asked her mother.

The reason why her mother was being gloomy was because the wedding day of her and Romeo had been pushed back by an indefinite date.

Janice turned her gaze to the window, where the dark sky and a bright full moon could be seen. She murmured in a sorrowful tone, "I was already so excited, Sammy."

"It's not like your wedding has been cancelled, mom. It has just been pushed back. You and Uncle Romeo will still get married once you two get fully healed from your injuries. So stop being gloomy. You've been making the atmosphere of this room dark and sad, and it's not making me feel good," Samantha replied before turning to go back on slicing the apples again.

"You're just saying that because you're not in my position, Sammy. We were almost there; it was only two weeks away until we were finally going to get married, and then this happened; it was suddenly postponed. Do you know what it feels like? It feels like you're on top of the world, but you're suddenly plummeted. That's how it feels, Sammy, and it's very painful and saddening."

Samantha rolled her eyes at her mother's overly dramatic reaction to the postponement of her wedding with Romeo.

Janice has been saying those same lines since yesterday, and Samantha's getting tired of listening to them.

"And whose fault is it that you are in this predicament?"

Janice finally turned to look at her daughter, whose back was facing her. "I know, okay? I know it was my fault. I know I and Romeo did this to ourselves, but even so, I still have the right to be sad and disappointed about it. We have been preparing so much for the wedding and almost everything has already been settled, yet now it has been postponed for an indefinite time. What if during those indefinite times, Romeo gets tired and suddenly realizes that he does not want to spend the rest of his life with me? What if he suddenly decides to cancel our wedding instead of just postponing it?" A mix of worry and remorse could be heard in Janice's voice as she said those words.

That's when Samantha finally stopped slicing the apples and put down the knife. She turned around again to face her mother, whose face was painted with the same emotions that were heard in her voice.

Samantha crossed her arms over her chest as she looked at her mother seriously. "So that's what you've been worrying about? You're worried that Uncle Romeo would change his mind about marrying you?"

Janice did not respond, and instead, she averted her eyes from Samantha and looked down, staring at her own fingers.

And that action by her mother was enough to answer Samantha's question.