Ryan Might be a Narcissist

"You're buying quite a lot of cupcakes today, Mrs. Wu," Violet said as she took a chocolate peanut butter cupcake and put it in a box.

"My daughter and her family will come for a visit. I'm buying these cupcakes for my grandchildren," she said. Mrs. Wu peeked at the window and pointed to another cupcake. "Give me one of those hazelnut coffee cupcakes."

Violet took one of the mentioned cupcakes and placed the box on the counter when it was full. She took over the register from Tara for a while and handed the cupcake box to the elderly woman. When Mrs. Wu walked out of the bakery, Ami took off her apron and walked towards one of the tables where her brother was sitting.

"I can't believe Dad would do this to you while I wasn't around," Jace said with a frown.

He was out of town for a few days when Violet had a little accident. When he returned, Jace heard that his little sister had agreed to go on a date with that scumbag from the Chen family. 

Jace took a sip from his latte and groaned. "And I can't believe that you would agree to that."

He thought that his little sister was going to put on a fight. Unexpectedly, Violet agreed.

Violet blew a sigh. "I don't have much of a choice, Jace." She looked down, not daring to meet her elder brother's eyes. "It's either that, or I could lose my bakery."

On the day that Violet was to be discharged from the hospital, Ryan's mother arranged for her to go on a date with her son.

With so many people watching her with an expecting gaze, Violet had no way to say no.

However, Violet managed to delay the date by telling everyone that she was going to visit her maternal grandfather with Sarah. 

Her first date with Ryan was postponed to the next weekend.

At least, it will give her more time to prepare before she has to go out on a date Ryan.

Jace frowned as he recalled their father blackmailing Violet into this setup. "I don't like this."

"You think I like this?" Violet asked. She paused when her phone started ringing. "It's not like I'm going to marry him, Jace. I only agreed to date him." Violet rummaged through her pocket and picked up her phone. "Hello?"

"Why did you agree to go out on a date with me?" The caller said a little too loud.

Violet distanced the phone from her ear and stared at the phone screen – it was Ryan Chen her pretend-boyfriend. Violet grimaced and pushed the end call button.

"Who was that?" Jace asked with a scowl.

Violet shrugged. "I have no idea. Wrong number, I guess."

Jace stared at his sister for a second before he took another sip from his latte. "Tell me a little more about this brat"

"He's a doctor. Tall, dark hair, dark brown eyes." Violet paused and squinted towards her brother. "You're not going to find him and beat him up are you?" Her phone started to ring again and Violet picked up the phone without looking at the caller ID.

Jace chuckled. "Please, I'm not that barbaric."

"Yes?" Violet said to the phone.

"You hung up on me!" Ryan said in a firm voice.

Violet glanced at her brother, gave him an apologetic look, stood up, and walked towards a private corner. "I probably wouldn't have done that if you hadn't yelled at me."

"If you were in my position, you would start yelling too," Ryan said. "I heard from my mother that you agreed to go on a date with me next weekend. What's with that? Don't tell me that you've actually started to fall for me."

Violet chuckled. "Would you like me to?" She began to think that Ryan might be a narcissist. 

"What?" Ryan shrieked through the phone. "Are you insane?"

Violet distanced her phone from her ear when he shrieked. "Then, you need to stop spouting nonsense. I've told you that I don't have any plans to fall for you. I have no intention to change my plan now."

"Fine." Ryan took a deep breath. "Now, explain to me how I got into this mess."

Violet sighed. "Look. Your mother threatened to extend the dating period to two months if we didn't start dating each other. I didn't have a choice."

"What? I can't believe this," Ryan said. He clicked his tongue and disconnected the line before Violet could say anything.

Violet stared at her phone screen and her eyebrow arched. "He hung up on me... That jerk!"

She swore that if Ryan was in front of her, she was going to strangle him to death.

Violet inhaled a deep breath before she turned to her brother and saw him standing up.

"I've got to go or I'll be late for work," Jace said as he stood up. "If that brat bullies you or something, you have to tell me. I'll take care of him. Heck, if anything happens at all, you have to tell me."

Violet laughed. "Don't worry about me. I know how to take care of myself."

"I know you can," Jace said and grinned.

"Send my regards to Grandpa," Jace said as he patted his little sister on the head. "You are going to his place with Sarah after this, right?"

"Uh-huh." Violet nodded. 

After exchanging a few more words, Violet watched her brother leave the bakery and disappear at the corner. A few seconds later, her cousin, Sarah walked into her bakery with a suitcase in her hand.

"Violet!" Sarah called as she pushed the glass door. "Was that Jace?"

Violet nodded. "Yeah. He got back from his outstation work this morning and had to head to work immediately."

"He seemed really busy. I haven't seen him in a while now," Sarah commented. "Are you ready to go?"

"I'm ready. But, wait a minute. I'll have to grab a few things from the locker room. You should have a cup of coffee first, Sarah," Violet said before she headed to the locker room.

"You're going now?" Evan asked when he saw Violet carrying a brown knapsack behind her.

"Yes," Violet nodded. "I trust that you will take care of everything while I'm gone, Evan."

Evan smiled and adjusted his glasses. "Don't worry. I'll take care of everything. You should pamper yourself and relax while you have the chance, Violet. We're going to be really busy next week."

Violet frowned. "Next week?"