Chapter 25: Chapter 25

“Hey.” He greeted after coming out of the car with a smile after a while.

“Hey.” She greeted back. He went around and opened the car door for her. She did not like bothering others and would have told him not to do that if it was some other time, but he looked and acted kind of strange that day.

It was not his outfit or his face…his behavior seemed different. And the smile also felt empty. Perplexed at his expressions, she went to take her seat. He started the car and drove quietly.

It was a bit awkward. He always talked or had some soft music playing in the radio, but he did not do any of that. As much as he annoyed her sometimes, she wanted him to fill the silence.

But they reached the restaurant without a word spoken.

He led her to the same table they sat the other night. She suddenly remembered the kiss. Her cheeks flushed just thinking about how confidently he came forward, grabbed her face, and planted his lips over hers.

She had not been kissed a lot. She only had one boyfriend before. That was why she was so angry. He just acted on impulse and kissed her like that. These little things meant a lot for her. She could not allow just anyone to be intimate with her—especially when they were not married yet…even if that was on paper.

‘But you cannot deny that he is a good kisser, can you?’ Her inner voice mocked.

“Shut up!” She mumble with irritation. She did not even want to give him that credit.

“Huh?” Thomas asked as they took their seats. He looked confused.

‘Oh my God! Did he hear what I said?’ She thought.

“Nothing.” She shrugged making it look like she had not said anything.

The waiter came and took their orders. To Thomas’s pleasure, it was not the waiter from the previous night. If it was not for the food, he would not have gone to that restaurant, but he was obsessed. He wanted Olivia to taste their food as well.

“I cannot stay for long. My mom is alone at home. Please tell me what you wanted to talk about.” Olivia said as she was worried about her mom being alone.

Thomas opened his mouth and closed it again, “Um, how is she?” He asked. He did not know why he was asking that. Maybe, he wanted to have a normal conversation before exploding the bomb.

“She is okay. I don’t know for how long though.” She said with a sad expression. She was not used to share her problems with anyone, but for some strange reason, she thought she could talk about it to Thomas.

“She will be okay. Don’t worry.” He said with a sigh. How could he tell her that he could no longer pay for her surgery?

“I hope so.” She said with a sad smile, “Oh, I told her about the engagement and that I am getting married in a week. I was worried it would bother her, but she is happy for me.” Olivia said casting her eyes down. She had a mixed expression of joy, sadness and fear. She was happy that her mom took the announcement well. She was sad that she was betraying her mom by lying to her. She was afraid about the future events—about the uncertainty that engulfed her life at that moment.

Thomas noticed everything. Something triggered inside him—something he hid in the depths of his core.

He had always wished for God to have given him a chance to do something for his parents before taking them away from him. He always thought that he would go to any length—he would take any pain if it meant that his parents were there by his side for a little longer.

At that moment, seeing Olivia with her head down and a look of immense sadness on her face, he knew what she must have been through.

How could he give her another shock?

“So, what did you want to talk about?” She asked diverting the attention from herself. She saw Thomas giving her a look of pity. She did not want pity.

Thomas was caught off guard. He did not know what to say.

“Um, yeah…I just wanted to tell you that the meeting is cancelled.” Whatever words came to his tongue at that moment, he blurted out.

Olivia looked gave him a questioning look.

“I know. That’s what you told me over the phone.” She said with her brows furrowed. She could not understand what he meant. He already told her that it was cancelled. Why did he call her there then?

“Oh! It’s just that I felt bad that the meeting has been postponed. My grandpa suddenly caught flu. That was why we could not go with the meeting as planned.” At this point, he was saying just anything. He had never been on such an awkward spot before. The always-confident Thomas was close to stutter.

“Okay, but why do you feel bad? Isn’t it better that way?” He was surprising her again and again that day. She thought it was for the better as it would give them time to do proper planning and discuss everything before going with the meeting. She was afraid he would ask her questions she did not have the answers for.

“Your hair is wet.” He commented out of the blue, looking at her hair. She looked down and noticed that they were still damp. Of course, when he would give her such a little time to get ready, she was bound to be half-ready. Wait, why was he changing the subject? She was a bit annoyed that he called her with such urgency only to say things that did not even make sense.

Before she could say anything, the waiter arrived with their food. She sealer her lips.

She did not feel like eating something heavy, so she ordered herself a sandwich.

“Why didn’t you order something proper for lunch?” He asked taking a bit of his pasta. His mind was so occupied earlier that he did not even notice what she ordered.

“I don’t feel like eating anything other than this.” She took a bite of her sandwich. Light and yummy! That was what she needed.

“Did you receive the package? If there is anything else you want to buy, you can talk to Camila about it.” He said casually eating his lunch. He had forgotten the real purpose of meeting up with her. Everything was back to normal. He had pushed the thought of calling off the marriage at the back of his mind.

And his words made her remember the surprise she got early in the morning. She had completely forgotten about it.

She put the sandwich down and folded her hands before her.

“Why did you do it?” She asked with a sour expression on his face. He looked confusedly at first. But eventually, he got the idea what she was talking about. After those few days of knowing her, he should have known.

“You will wear those outfits from now on. If we are acting, we should act real. Those are for until we get married. I’ll make your wardrobe ready till then.” He replied casually. He knew there was no good in arguing with her, but he also knew she would not back off before making him understand her point of view.

In fact, he knew where she was coming from. But they belonged to two different worlds. If he was being flexible in some things, she should show the same energy, he thought.

“Listen, I have told you before, and I am telling you again. Although I am reluctant to the idea, you can do all those things once we get married. I cannot accept those when our contract has not been even implemented yet.” She put up a fight as usual making him let out a sigh.

He already had a long day, and she was making it more difficult.

“I will deduct the money spent on everything from your allowances. I am not giving them for free. Just think of it as an important part of the contract, okay?” He said trying to make her stop. Otherwise, he knew she would send everything back. He did not doubt her capabilities a tiny bit.

She sulked leaning back on her chair and kept looking at him with narrowed eyes.

“I want to go. No need to drop me off. I can go on my own.” She said standing up and pulling out a few bucks from her bag, and put them on the table.

She did not even finish her sandwich.

“Why are you so stuck-up?” He stood up and said in a loud voice—loud enough for her to hear bit not others. There were hardly a few people in the restaurant at that moment unlike the previous night when it was almost packed. She created a scene the previous night as well. He was getting irritated at her attitude. She stopped on her tracks and turned around having a look of “unbelievable” in her eyes. She took a few steps until she was in front of him.

“I am stuck-up, huh? There must not be a single person you actually consider as a human. Everything starts from you and ends with you. Other’s values and respect mean nothing to you. All you think is about yourself.” She told him breathing heavily with anger. He had the nerve to call her stuck-up when he himself was the biggest one.

And he was also a jerk on top of that.

He also glared at her. She looked a little funny fighting with him while looking so little in front of him. He was worried about her neck. She was bending it all the way back and glaring at him in the eyes directly.

Nobody had ever called him names and insulted him like that. But she did. It was not the first time.

He was amazed at himself as to why he was allowing her to do that. He had said nothing wrong. She always refused everything he offered. She acted like her values were the most important thing in the world. There were things far more important things than that.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down. He knew he could not handle her by arguing back. She would spit on the contract and call the marriage off herself.

As much as the idea intrigued him, he could not do that. In contrast to what she had said about him, he was a person with a heart who felt empathy towards others. He could not give up on Olivia’s mother’s surgery now.

“Let me drop you off.” He said after grabbing her money and called the waiter. He paid the bill himself, put her money on her palm and walked ahead of her. She was left bewildered.

Last time, she told him something like that, he threatened her and made her lose her apartment. And now, he did not even argue back!

He was doing a lot of things he had never done or tolerated before. He could not even understand why he was putting up with all of that.

“What is happening to you?” He questioned himself as he walked ahead of her.