Chapter 28

"You can't get out of this."

Those words felt like the death penalty.If he had been like he was before.If he had been the kind,honest,charming person she had once thought,she would never think of these words like that.She would maybe think of herself as someone lucky,but the person she had agreed to engage to and the person now were completely different.

Aiden listened to the silence from the other end of the phone.

The tears of anger slipped and were now mixed with tears of sadness.

He was right.No matter how much she refused to admit,he was still right.Her negative feelings wouldn't change the fact that she was the one who had agreed to this first.

"F-Fine." Her voice was still trembling and nasal,no matter how much she tried to control it."I'll take responsibility.Let's discuss tomorrow about the other details.Goodnight."

Amelie sat down at the edge of the pool again,hugging her knees and staring at the emitted blue water.

The tears silently slid down her cheeks.She stood there unmoving for a while,wiped her tears and stood up again.

"[Enough crying for today.Make this be the last time you cry for that stupid man.In fact,make it your last time crying for a man.]

The look in her eyes was determined and cold.Whatever came her way,she would face it head-on.There was no point in running away.She was an adult and she would take responsibility for her decisions even if they were flawed.

And just like that she quietly got to her room to sleep.

The next day.

"That's the story I told my family."Amelie heard the man's voice on the other end of the phone.

She looked down at the people from the window of her office.Some were in cafés,some playing in the small green area.The whole place had a nice,relaxing and family-friendly atmosphere.

Most of the workers had left for their lunch break,but Amelie didn't feel hungry and after a lot of mental preparation called Aiden to finish discussing what they had started last night.

"Did you tell them the exact time of our meeting?"

"Yes."

Amelie sighed in frustration.She'll look like some naive,idiot in love, if she announces her marriage with just 4 and a half months of association.Not 4 and a half months of relationship,but association!

If she was her family,she would be slapping herself until she called back that head of hers

"My family would never believe it!"

"Then make them believe it."

Of course, he had it easy.He wasn't the one that would be questioned like by the police.Her mother and sister would like to know every single detail and she had to be extra careful if she was planning to lie.If their stories didn't match then it was game over.

"Fine I'll try,but for each thing or lie we tell we inform the other.My family is extra sharp and if a detail slips they will immediately tell if something was wrong."

"No wonder you became such a good liar."Aiden laughed mockingly at her.

"You've been throwing comments like this a lot.Since when did I ever lie to you?Please illuminate me, Mr Aiden!"Amelie retorted.

"That's something you know yourself.I don't need to remind you what you did."He spit the sentences coldly.

"Whatever gets you sleep at night,"Amelie murmured.Then she asked him.

"What should I prepare for your family?Can you tell me something about them and their preferences?"

"Why are you asking that?"

"Because it's the first meeting and I need to prepare presents for them?"Amelie said matter of factly.She thought he was weird for questioning that.

"You don't need to.What's the point in giving half-hearted presents anyway?"

"It's about courtesy, darling.And just because you are the most intolerable person,doesn't mean they will be too."

Aiden was silent for a while.Just as Amelie was about to end the call,thinking it was maybe some technical issue,his voice was heard.

"Anything will do.My family aren't stuck-up people so just the thought will make them happy,but if you insist I'll tell you a few things...You don't need to go out your way too much."he then continued.

"The people you'll be meeting first will be my immediate family and my grandparents.We'll be having dinner at my parents' house.My aunt won't be joining us with her family,though she usually does during our vacation.It'll only be a one-week trip since most of us usually have different individual plans for the next few days.Though I won't remove the possibility that it might last longer."

"Got it."

"...If you insist on getting presents for everyone,then there's my parents,grandparents,sister...brother-in-law...my toddler neice,my infant nephew,my brother,sister-in-law,my tween niece and nephew."

Amelie noticed the slight pause in 'brother-in-law',they didn't seem to be in their best of relationship.As curious as she was she didn't ask.

Amelie asked many questions for each and their preferences and Aiden just answered.

"Is this enough information?" obviously he was impatient and bored.

Amelie glanced at her notes.

"I guess,it might be enough."

"Anything else?" he asked insincerely.

"No.Thanks!Bye!" Only after ending the call did she realise what she had done.Amelie had gotten so caught up in the conversation that she had forgotten the person she was speaking with and reflexively acted politely.

"[Good job Ame!Instead of cursing at him,instead you go and thank him!]" she was once again reminded of what he had done,her anger rising again.

Amelie sat down and just looked down at the notes.The date she would need to set of was just a few weeks away.She would have to tell her family and the best thing would be just telling the real things that had happened between them, minus the ghosting part.

Thinking of how she was completely ignored for a month and a half,Amelie dropped her head on the desk in frustration.

"UGHHH!"