Chapter 36

After two days, Taria was lying in bed unable to sleep. Tian was hugging her and sleeping peacefully while she kept thinking about the next day.

"What if his family was cold and sharp? What if they hated me? What should I do if his aunt didn't accept me or if she punished Tian? Ugh what the hell am I doing?" she thought, not realizing that she was thinking out loud as usual

"I can hear you, honey", Tian said without moving

"Did I wake you up? Sorry, I'm just nervous", Taria said while running her fingers through his hair

Tian moved up to face her, then he moved her hair behind her ear, and kissed her forehead softly.

"Don't worry about anything. I will always take your side", Tian said with a low voice

"I know. I'm just afraid that they might see me not fit to be with you", Taria said with a sad look in her eyes

"Ah why are you so cute? Sleep well now, and leave tomorrow's issues for tomorrow", Tian said, then he pulled her closer to him, and after a while of listening to his heartbeats, she finally fell asleep.

On the next morning, Tian woke Taria up with a soft kiss on her cheek, then they both went to school. Taria went to Mia's house after the school to get ready for the party, and Mia did her job as the makeup-artist friend perfectly, however, Taria kept feeling a heavy feeling all the time.

Tian came and brought Taria's dress with him, the same navy blue dress she wore when they were shopping with Mia, but shortened to fit her height. Mia took the dress and asked him to wait for Taria to get out, and he did. After a while, Taria got out, wearing the blue dress and the silver jewelry he bought for her, yet she turned out more beautiful than he imagined. Her hair was tied up in a low bun, leaving her soft white skin to stand out, and her makeup was soft yet so pretty.

Tian couldn't stop smiling while looking at her, her warm smile, her blushing face, and her bright eyes filled his heart with happiness, wiping all the worries he got. He took her hand gently, then he sat her down after they both said goodbye to Mia.

"You look so pretty today", Tian said while driving

"Th..thank you, ehm, you look handsome too", Taria said without looking at him at all

"It's a pity that we have to go to the party. I would prefer it if we spent the night out alone", Tian said

"Don't say that. Meeting your family is important too", Taria said

"The road is so long, you can sleep if you want to", Tian said, giving Taria deja vu, so she laughed softly

"This dress and the long road bring back some memories. I won't sleep this time, I drank some coffee to stay awake, and sleeping will ruin my makeup", Taria said

They both kept chatting all the way, staying silent between time to time, and stopping to take a breath out of the car every once in a while, then finally, they reached the Leo family house again.

Taria was excited to be back, but she was feeling anxious at the same time. Tian gave her his arm to lean on, then they both walked into the house together, feeling nervous but safe as long as they have each other. Tian pressed a button on the wall that Taria had never seen before, and it turned out that there were many floors other than the one she stayed in the last time. Tian pressed 3 when they entered the elevator, and Taria felt her stomach getting harder with the movement of the elevator, then once it opened again, a bright light blinded her.

The main hall was so bright, with chandeliers more than a palace, and white walls and floor. There were many people at the hall, so Taria pressed on Tian's arm unintentionally. He smiled warmly, then he said "don't worry, they can't hurt you if you didn't give them the chance", then they walked into the hall gloriously.

"TIAAANNNN", a young lady with black hair and blue eyes shouted while walking fast towards them, then she hugged Tian tightly as if he was her brother

"Hello, Phine", Tian said calmly

"Oh, is that Taria? Hello, my name is Josephine, and you can think of me as Tian's sister", The lady said warmly

"Good evening, my name is Taria, nice to meet you", Taria said

"Ah she is so cute, but Tian, have you told mother about her yet?" Josephine said

"Not yet", Tian said calmly

"Well, good luck, you will need it", Josephine said, giving Taria chills, yet before she could ask Tian about that, his aunt came

"TIAN MICHAEL LEO, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES TO TELL ME WHO SHE IS", the aunt shouted, but Tian stayed calm and cold as he act with other people

"Her name is Taria Park, and she is my lover", Tian said coldly

The aunt gasped, then she raised her hand to slap Tian on his face. Taria felt her heart beating fast while she was holding Tian's hand, on the other hand, Tian didn't even blink, knowing that Ve would come and stop his aunt from hitting his, and he did, just before her hand touched his face

"You can't slap him any more. I thought I said that already several years ago", Ve said coldly

"HE CAN'T BRING ANY STRANG GIRL WITH HIM TO A FAMILY PARTY", the aunt shouted

Taria's blood ran faster in her veins, and she could clearly hear her heartbeats. She wished she haven't come, and she was thinking of leaving even if they just came, however, Tian held her hand, and walked with her until they reached the middle of the hall

"Good evening everyone, I just want to introduce you to my lover, Taria Park. If anyone has a problem with her being an unknown girl, then you can go to hell because I don't care", Tian said coldly, then he walked with Taria out of the hall.

Taria was about to cry as what happened was exactly what she feared the most, but Tian' warm hug stopped her at the last moment. They were beside the lake, and the moon above them was so shiny. The place was so quiet compared to the main hall, which made Taria at ease after she was about to cry.

"I'm really sorry, but don't mind them, they can't do anything", Tian said while hugging her

"It's ok, I only need you", Taria said while smiling, making his face blush

"Oh my god, I lived till this day to see you blushing, I can die without regrets now", Josephine said, then she looked at Taria and said "don't worry, this family is horrible but you got the most dangerous two of them by your side"

"Ah, why should your mother be this strict?" Tian said

"You will find a way in the end, anyway, how did it start? Who confessed first? What happened? TELL ME EVERYTHING" Josephine said, forcing Taria to laugh as she just sounded like Mia

"We are going to keep it a secret", Tian said

"So she was the one who confessed first. Ah men are always more coward than taking a serious step, but good for you Taria", Josephine said

"Yeah, if I waited for him to make the first step then we would probably be friends till now", Taria said

"I think so", Ve said after he came from no where. He looked at Taria with the same cold look he always have in his eyes, but Taria, who was already able to differentiate between his cold looks, knew that he was concerned, so she smiled gently in order to let him know that she was ok.

"Let's go to the party now", Ve said, then the four of them went back