Another engagement...

"Good evening, once again." Vincent Paulo greeted.

"Good evening, once again Mr Paulo." Luciano answered.

Mrs Paulo, who I assumed to be Certa's mother because of their uncanny resemblance stared at me for a while before turning her attention back to Luciano. "Good evening." She greeted him.

I could still not understand why the elders greeted him first. It was quite confusing but I would not be stressing myself this time.

He already told me that I must ignore the things that did not make sense to me and try not to pry on matter that do not concern me.

"Good evening, Mrs Paulo." Luciano answered.

Mrs Paulo smiled, a genuine smile. "how are you, my dear? It's been a long time."

Luciano answered a but faster than usual this time. "I agree. I have been fine, busy but fine. How are you?"

Mrs Paulo looked like she had won a lottery because her face brightened up instantly. "I am fine, my dear. I am okay. Now that you are here, there's nothing to worry about."

I was confused but her statement but it had nothing to do with me. Why was she happy just because he was here.

Was he still engaged to... Certa? Was this their engagement party?

Mr Paulo chuckled. "ignore my wife, Luciano. She seems to care about you more than she cares about me." He says.

I smiled a little bit but masked it up immediately. "I can see that." Luciano simply said.

I could not tell if he meant it as a joke or if he was being serious. Damn, u could not tell a lot if things that were going on in this room. I was confused about almost every single thing.

He was right. A lot of things did not make sense to me.

"I can see that you have company." Mrs Paulo announced. Almost like she just noticed my presence.

Yeah, sure. I have been invisible for the past five minutes and just appeared.

"Good evening." I greeted, no enthusiasm on display.

"Good evening." She greeted back with just as much enthusiasm as I gave. None.

"Isn't she pretty?" Mr Paulo asked his wife.

I almost burst out chuckling. Could he really not read the room and see that his wife would rather drag herself on the floor than compliment me?

Mrs Paulo forced a smile. "she is pretty. But not as much as our Certa."

Oh, I see. This was what all the tension was about. How could I forget that Certa's mother would only want to see Luciano with get daughter? She did not like me because I cane as Luciano's date.

Infact, percent of the people I'd come in contact with today seemed to have a problem with me coming as his date. Well,it was not my fault that he wanted to choose me. I on the other hand only accepted the offer because I desperately needed some free time off work.

If they had a problem with his choice if bringing me, why did they have to pour out their aggression on me?

"It is not a competition, dear. If you see a beautiful woman, say it as it is. Our Certa us beautiful and so is she." Mr Paulo said.

U could not believe that they were busy talking about my beauty while I stood in front of them. They acted like it was nothing and they we're just talking about weather and not my looks.

This ball just made me realize how weird people could be if they wanted.

"I still feel the same way, don't make me think otherwise." Mrs Paulo insisted.

I did not care what she thought. She had a right to want to make her daughter the first above all. I would do that if I had a daughter too. It was just not right to be rude to someone you know nothing of.

I liked Certa, she seemed more human than Adelia and that was the only reason I would be nice to her mother. If this woman tried this with me outside if here, she was going to taste what it felt like to be rude.

"Mrs Paulo, your reasons are valid. Certa is a good looking woman. Luke me Paulo said, it's not a competition. I don't need to compete, I am beautiful." A bug smile appeared in my lips. "even my date tells me that every second."

Her eyes widened. Her eyes actually widened because she was very aware if who my date was. The person that reminded me of how beautiful I was. It was false but I just said that to shut her up.

I did not need their comparisons to feel good about myself. I knew I was a beautiful lady. I am beautiful. It took me years to know that I am a pretty lady. One thing my mother never seized to do was tell me how beautiful I was. No one could take that away from me. I did not battle self confidence to come and get thrown under the boss by someone I did not even know.

Luciano did not dispute my words and that made me feel better. If he had said something to counter what I said, u did not know how I would react at all.

It was better this way. "You could have made your point without involving him." Mrs Paulo snapped.

I cocked my head to the side. "you could have made your point without involving me." Don't be a moral police after dragging morals down the floor.

"Enough if this, dear. It's nit right." Mr Paulo said to his wife. I could tell that she wanted to say more. She itched to lash out at me but her husband gave her a knowing look so she stopped.

He turned his gaze back to Luciano. "We came here to tell you something."

Luciano nodded, urging him to go on.

Mr Paulo took in a deep breath, exchanged anxious glances with his wife then said, "we were thinking about getting you and Certa engaged again."