Chapter 26 — Mother Knows Best
In the end, no matter how hard I try, everything won’t go the way I plan it to be. Especially with how many teddy bears Aurelius managed to get after playing nonstop until the designated time I gave him. Insanity, pure insanity. No one wouldn’t know the pain of carrying all the bears with silly faces and stuffing them into a bag that the arcade graciously offered.
He practically got every teddy bear the machine had to offer! People wouldn’t believe me if I tell them the story, but if I show them these bags, I’m sure they will.
The eyes of children who were present in the restaurant kept meeting mine, painfully obvious that they wanted one of the teddies. The way they look away after I notice them and how they will return to staring once they were sure I wasn’t paying attention. Creepy and nightmare-inducing, I tried to pay no heed to their continuous gaze. Deciding to focus on what to order was for the best.
To make sure that they wouldn’t suddenly come up and steal the stupid teddy bears Aurelius effortlessly got, I pushed the bags further into the limited space under the table. As soon as the waiter left, I leaned against the comfortable chair and hummed. “I thought we were never gonna leave that place! God, what am I going to do with all of this?”
Maybe I could use these teddy bears and give them as gifts this Christmas…
“So? Are you glad?” Aurelius was smiling ear-to-ear, proud that he won the challenge. “I told you I’m great with those games.”
“Indeed…” I mumbled, tapping my index finger on the wooden surface of the table. “I’m impressed at how you managed. Although I would’ve preferred if you lost.”
“Not fun.” He pouted, “If you won, I would probably make a hundred trips to the toilet after eating those… spicy noodles.” The image definitely crossed his find as he suddenly started to visibly gag, shaking his head. “N-not happenin’ at all.”
Pouring him a glass of water provided by the waiter after ordering, I exhaled loudly. “All right, you made it quite clear. Don’t torture yourself even further and just think positive thoughts.”
It’s not like you’ll be doing a request.
“Yeah, you’re right…” he chuckled, accepting the glass and started drinking. Waiting for him to finish, I took my phone to check if there were any messages or emails. As of the moment, there were none. At this hour, Mother must be busy with her paperwork again.
“Oh, before I forget...” Pocketing my phone, I propped my chin on my hand and slightly narrowed my eyes at him. The motion caught him off guard so he was immediately quiet, attention diverted to me. “How are you so good with those crane games? Do you have a secret because I really wanna know.”
At how random and innocent the query was, Aurelius relaxed and laughed. “Jesus, I thought you were about to mince through me and ask how many women I’ve dated—”
“Now that you got me curious, do tell how many.” I grimaced, mood plummeting south faster than the rain could fall. “Don’t forget, you lied to me when you said you didn’t have any connection to royalty.”
“I don’t hav—”
“Shut it. One of your maids told me your grandfather is the son of a baron.” Grumbling at his face that transitioned from shock to sheepish. “Although weak, you shouldn’t hide the fact from me that you’re somewhat royalty.”
It was Aurelius’ turn to scowl. “Then what? Are you going to treat me differently? My mum didn’t even fancy people trying to latch themselves to her just because she was a Lady. My siblings won’t be enjoying themselves today if she were attached to that world.”
“Pfft, did you actually think I was gonna treat you any different?” Giggling at his confused face, I then rolled my eyes. “Please, there is no way I’m gonna see you as ‘high and mighty’. Forget that shit, a dumbass is always a dumbass.”
He had every right to be frustrated or at least try to be angry. Despite the insult I threw at him, Aurelius didn’t return it nor utter a word. He merely laughed and was smiling as if what I said were flowery compliments that would make any person beam with joy.
Yep, definitely a dumbass.
“That makes me feel better.”
“Don’t be. That was clearly an insult, don’t you have pride?”
“I would, without hesitation, abandon that pride for you.”
Comedic and downright worthy of cringe, I couldn’t laugh at his statement. Not when he spoke it with such a solemn expression that didn’t give any hint that he was just joking. He was insanely serious with it.
“W-what are you talking about?” I stammered, thrown off by the confession. “I would never ask you to do that. Instead of saying such words, why don’t you start thinking of a request? You know, so we could be done with it.”
Shit, why is my heart beating so fast at such a sappy statement? What is wrong with me?
“All right, then…” he grinned. “I want you to meet my parents and my siblings.”
“Wait, hold the fuck up.” If I were wearing a wig, it would have fallen off at the ridiculous request he just made. “Why on earth should I meet—hold on, do I even have a reason to see them? Aren’t they like… busy?”
“They are, but once I tell them that I’m introducing my girlfriend, I’m a hundred percent sure they will come and see yo—”
“G-girlfriend? Me? K-kidaryeo!” My soul would have left my body at that moment when the waiter arrived with our meal. Just as Aurelius was about to explain why I should meet his family, my phone rang. Attention instantly grabbed by just seeing my mother’s name flash on the screen, I hastily excused myself and went outside the restaurant. The speed of the conversation and where it’s heading is making my head spin.
Just thinking about marriage is enough to make me run. There is nothing wrong with tying the knot, but the people around me who have experienced marriage are not exactly… happy. Unless you’re rich.
But marriage, with Aurelius Clarke no less… it’s just too good to be true.
Your timing never fails to amaze me, Mom.
“Hello?” I furrowed my eyebrows at how noisy her background is. “What’s wrong, Mom? Do you need anything?”
“I’m here at the airport, come and fetch me.”