Poor Mother
"Alice? You must be sick?" Suddenly Noah appeared.
"Ha? No. Just tired. What time is it?"
"Seven nights. Are you going home now?"
"Yeah, I'm sleepy. It's been here since this morning, the introduction is enough, right?"
Noah nodded. "Yeah, let's say goodbye." The man stretched out his hand. "Come on?"
Alice got up from the bed and returned the hand offered by Noah. One more thing Alice knew about him; he had a warm grip, as warm as his gaze.
****
Finally, Alice can breathe a sigh of relief after saying goodbye to Noah's extended family. So far, their response has been to say nothing of suspicious, seeming to believe in the relationship between Alice and Noah. Even Noah's cousin had already given the code, asking about the wedding date. Alice was now back in Noah's seat, holding on tight again for fear of falling. She looked at the man's face in the rearview mirror. Alice smiled brightly, took out her cellphone, then took a picture of Noah from the small mirror while resting her chin on Noah's shoulder.
Perfecto.
Anyone who saw the photo would think they were a happy couple in love.
When it came to faking and disguises, Alice was the queen. At exactly eight o'clock in the evening, Alice arrived home. "Thanks for tonight, we only have one more agenda, right? Meet your family."
"Okay, I'll arrange it, as soon as possible, so we can get married soon."
Noah nodded. "I'm going home first, Alice."
"Okay, bye!" There were no passionate kisses or warm hugs like couples in general, Alice had entered first while humming happily. The girl took off her shoes, put them on the shelf, and stepped into the room. Her heart was thriving because she was about to get married and the sign was that the will will soon be disbursed. She will use the money for the company, while the other part for a vacation, freeing herself from all the fatigue of the mortal world.
Alice took a shower, changed into her pajamas. After making sure she was clean, then she lay down on her throne bed. Look at the photo she originally took. Alice edited the photo to make it more perfect, adding filters to keep her Instagram feed looking aesthetic. The image of perfection is everything to Alice.
Alice's curly fingers covered in red nail polish also uploaded the photo on Instagram, not forgetting to tag Noah's Instagram—which he will either open or not, considering that the man rarely uploads anything on his social media, even his last post was a photo of a mountain and it was uploaded a year ago. then.
@Alicegrizelle: night riding with my future husband! :)
Is it only his cousin who can show off? He can too!
However, Alice's heart almost stopped when she saw a new comment on her notification.
@Noahfaresta started following you.
Hah! Turns out Noah's Instagram is still working.
@Noahfaresta commented on your photo: and also thank u for tonight, my future wife.
Reading that, Alice couldn't hide her wide smile.
****
The next agenda is to bring Noah together with Alice's extended family. Alice's father came from aristocratic descent, her grandfather owned a company for generations, and that was what caused her father's wealth to seem endless for seven generations. From the outside, people think that Alice's house is a luxurious palace and the people in it live a lucky life because they are always well off. No one knew that the great fortress was a solid wall filled with humans with high egos.
Initially, Alice's little life was like a fairy tale princess, living in a luxurious castle with a handsome father and kind mother. But all that changed when Alice was in the 1st grade of elementary school. Her father turned violent, even Alice did not hesitate to see her father banging her mother's head in front of little Alice's eyes. Her mother did not stop suffering there, her father's extended family forced her father to remarry only because Alice's mother had uterine cancer and could not give birth to male offspring.
Poor mother. Her mother, who is struggling to live, is forced to come to terms with the fact that her position will be replaced by someone younger and more powerful to pass on the lineage of Grizelle's descendants. Amid a struggle for life or death, it is Alice who accompanies her mother at the last moment. Her beautiful mother turned emaciated, even hugging Alice felt like a mass of living bones. Her mother, who has long hair, was forced to lose her crown just because she went through a series of painful chemotherapy.
Her mother is alone. There was no accompanying father, only Alice who continued to be by her side. The incident was recorded and stored as the most painful memory in the corner of Alice's head. No wonder, Alice always argues whenever she hears people say that the happy ending in life is getting married. Why get married, if you're much happier yourself? Why get married, if you are far freer to do various challenging things in the world?
And for Alice, men are the most hypocritical people. They say love, but once they get it, they just throw it away. Just like her father.
"Sis?" Alice snapped out of her breakfast when she heard Aunt Uti's voice, "dream about what?"
"N-no, Auntie."
"That yesterday who brought here? Is that your future husband?"
Alice just smiled meaningfully. "Handsome?"
"If it's your choice, Auntie doesn't need to hesitate anymore, but seriously… your future husband? Auntie's feelings have never seen you bring him here, why do you suddenly want to get married?"
"Surprise, Auntie."
"Alhamdulillah, if the door to your heart is open, I'm happy to hear that, Auntie's promise to Mom has been paid off to take care of you until you get married." Alice's heart sank when she heard those words.
"Excuse me—good morning." Alice and Aunt Uti turned to find Noah already standing at the door, looking cool in a gray shirt.
.
.
.
To be continued ...