Family Dinner

The time is almost seven in the evening, and here is Akisha inside my room, currently helping me with picking up the "perfect" dress for the dinner tonight. She was rummaging inside my wardrobe, looking for a suitable dress for the occasion. Her hand pulled out a light blue flowy dress—one that I have never worn since it was given to me by Akisha herself—with a frown on her face. I gave her an apologetic smile. It was obvious she was upset by the fact that it still looks brand new despite having been given to me for months now as her congratulatory gift. Akisha laid it across the bed, standing right at the end with her thumb underneath her chin, thinking of what other color would go with the dress.

She started with my make-up and then finished with fixing my short hair. Akisha really has improved her skills from working at a hotel, and it was impressive how she was able to make me look elegant even with just having my hair short, although she considered putting on extensions, but I declined. The reason I keep it at this length is because it gets on my face almost all the time; especially when I was writing, I would not want anything else to see besides the screen of my computer.

I liked the final look. The make-up was light, but it really made me look like a whole different person. It was not the first time that Akisha has used her magic on me, but the final result would always shock me; perhaps it's because I was too used to my unmade and pale face. Well, that's a writer for you. People like us rarely dress up, and all we're at is inside our bedrooms, with bags and bags under our eyes and broken lips from dehydration.

It did not take me and my family long to arrive at the place where we're supposed to meet Richard's family. He did mention one time that his mother was one of my mother's regular customers. I wonder if, after this supper, I'll really get stuck with Richard for the rest of my life. But what if I find someone that I fall in love with? Would they let me divorce their son and be with that person?

As we got to the VIP room, which the other family had booked, my eyes quickly latched on the man whom my family was planning for me to marry. My mother asked me to take the seat that was across from him, and she was beside me, and then my father. Akisha, even if she wanted to, could not come as she had to be at the hotel since she was the general manager. It looked to me like my family had already mentioned to the Brown's that I, in fact, have a twin; they were careful enough not to tell them the story of how Akisha and I switched on the day that she was meant to meet Richard.

From the way his mother sits, I can already see how wealthy they are. It confuses me why Richard has decided to become an editor when they have a company of their own; he is practically a bachelor with a bright future ahead of him. I wonder why he chose this profession instead of taking over their company. Also, I found out that Richard was the youngest in his family. He has an older brother whose profession was a doctor, and hearing that, my question about his career has already been answered. It was amazing how their parents had let them choose the kind of life they wanted; not all parents are like that.

It was honestly strange how he had not spoken a single word tonight; he had let his parents do all the talking. Richard was only poking at his food on his plate, and for some reason, I could not take my eyes off of him. It seemed as though he was feeling uncomfortable, as if he never wanted to be here in the first place. I dropped the silver utensils from my hands and onto my ceramic plate. As our parents were busy talking with one another, I took the opportunity to say something to him. I kicked his foot under the table. Richard glared at me.

"Hey, how about we go on a walk or something?"

"Where do you plan to take me?" he replied with a smirk, and I rolled my eyes. "Are you going to kidnap me now that we're officially engaged?"

"Forget it."

There I was, thinking of him—how he must have wanted to leave this table and take a little breather. Watching him across from me made me feel as if he did not have a really good relationship with his family. I guess he was one of those rich boys who grew up in a not-so-loving family despite having to lay down on a pile of money every night. To my surprise, Richard stood up from his seat and marched over to me, resting one arm around my shoulders. He announced, "Could my fiancée and I take this time to get to know more about each other? We'd like to take a walk around if you'd all allow us to."

Our mothers exchanged glances with one another. They nodded their heads, saying that there was no problem if we were to do as we pleased tonight. Richard took me by the hand like it was something we normally do, and not that I didn't like it, but I was flustered. I shook my head. I was probably only being delusional; it must have only been that he badly wanted to get out of here that he had not realized he was holding my hand.

This place seemed really expensive, considering how there was a pool area, a karaoke room, and even a big garden. Richard and I decided to have a stroll in this vast green and flowery field, although it would have been a lot greater if it were daylight, as we'd be able to see each flower that has bloomed in here.

"Thanks." I heard the man walking beside me whisper, and I looked at him. "It was quite unexpected, wasn't it? You've probably thought that I grew up in a happy family like you did." He chuckled. His big hands were inside the pocket of his pants, and I could see a little puff of air whenever he breathed out. Speaking of, I forgot to take my jacket with me, and it was Richard's fault because he'd dragged me all the way here by force. "You're freezing, aren't you?"

"Whose fault do you think it is?" I groaned, rubbing my arms up and down to warm myself up. It would have been nice if he were to give up his own jacket for me, but that would not happen. "You've read a lot of romance books, did you not? There is zero chance that you don't know what a man must do at a time like this, right? Pretty sure you've seen a lot of scenes like this in the movies, too." I laughed, but I was hopeful that Richard would really give me that thick and so warm jacket. He snickered, and I scoffed.

"You're really not cute. First, you gave me this ring in a very uncool way! And now, you—" I was cut off when he suddenly grabbed me by the waist and pulled me close to his body. His arms were over my crossed ones as I began to feel warmer. Richard leaned his head against mine; he was definitely making it look like this was normal for us, just like how he held my hand earlier. "Um, this was not what I was trying to make you do, though." He was basically hugging me in his jacket!

"Shut up; I can't give it to you like the men in the books and movies. I'm not an idiot. I'd freeze to death if I were to take this off of me. Besides, you're no longer cold, right?"

"That's right, but this was beyond my imagination."

"Let's stay like this for a couple of minutes until you're all warmed up, and then I'll let you go."

This will not help me warm up! If anything, this will make me melt!

"You see," he suddenly sounded serious, and I tried to calm down even though that was unlikely. We were standing on a footbridge, and below was a stream. There were koi fish swimming around; there were lights, and they helped us see through the dark. "My family and I had never once shared a table until tonight. It was new to me, and it made me so uncomfortable. I apologize that you needed to see that, Bethany, and thank you for saving me. I would have left the table without a word and got your parents to dislike me."

If I had known he was going to do something like that, I would have sat still and waited like a good girl! How fantastic it would be if my parents did not like him for being disrespectful!

"I was not their son until four months ago."

Not what?