The Perfect Candidate

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"Marriage?!"

The two of them spoke at the same time from across the room. Their eyes were about to pop out of their eyes' sockets, like what happened in cartoons. They were expecting to get the usual punishment.

Grounded, credit card confiscated, forced to attend charity gala - in her part. Her mother knew how she hated attending all those superficial events where everybody in the room would act like they were your best of friends, yet the moment you turned your back they have something to say about the dress you were wearing, or how your makeup made you look older, or the diamond of the jewelry you were wearing weren't big enough.

But marriage! What parents gave their children marriage as a punishment for falling asleep drunk!

There must be a misunderstanding! And when she saw a snickering Anthony, she knew who brought this trouble. The jerk who always envies his own younger brother, like it was Andrei's fault that he got their mother's look who happened to be crowned as Miss China Town, three years in a row in the old town of Binondo, while he got their father's look. The formidable black sheep of the Tan family - Amadeo Lucio Tan.

The only son of Alucio Tan who didn't take the family business instead joined the military. He was disowned by the whole clan and was just able to return to the fold when he was awarded as a five-star General.

And his wife Maricia Bernadette Chua Tan happened to have a golden touch when it comes to business. Which no one expected since she was just a beauty queen. But she handled singlehandedly the small business the old Tan gave Amadeo when he threw him out of the family into a multi-million enterprise. The whole Tan clan had no choice but to accept the prodigal son, Amadeo, back into the family.

Maricia, with her beauty, is envied across China Town. And the whole country knows she runs her family like the way his military husband ran his troops. Everyone knows it's a mistake to cross Madame Tan, for she embodied the Asian Tiger mom!

Andrei and Laurie knew that. That's why they knew they are fucked!

"Laurie, a moment." her mother called her. She dreaded taking the few steps that were separating her and her mother. Madame Tan is a scary mother, but everyone knows that Andrei is her favorite son, for the obvious reason that he got her looks.

She thought Andrei would probably get his way out of his mother's wrath. She, on the other hand, has no way to get out of her mother's anger. Her mother has already solidified her image as the difficult child of the family. Her being the only daughter - she had her father and four brothers dance like a monkey on the palm of her hand. But that was before her father died of cancer. Lung cancer for he smoked like a chimney.

And since her father passed away, her mother has been urging her to get married before she put the whole family in shame. She can't blame her mother for thinking that way. She was never the best daughter.

Before she even reached her mother, she crossed the remaining distance between them and pulled her to one of the many rooms in this summer house of the Tan's.

"Listen to me, Laurie. Your brother just got married. We can't hold another marriage in the family this year. But it won't be a problem if we do it next year."

"Mother, I'm too young to get married," she whined. It's a mystery how she would always regress into a child whenever her mother would get angry at her. She wondered if she would be like this until she's eighty.

"Silence!"

"But, Ma. Nothing happened between me and Andrei. We simply got drunk!"

Her mother narrowed her eyes on her, watching every facial muscle on her face like a detective trying to catch a single indication of lies in her face. After a suffocating silence, her mother got convinced that she was telling the truth.

"If that's the case, we can just go to Dra. Tingo's clinic," she said the name of her ob-gyne.

"Dr. Tingo? But why?" The alcohol must have killed all her brain cells for the reason of her mother wanting her to see an ob-gyne didn't register in her brain, - until later on.

"No more questions. Make yourself presentable." she pushed her to the bathroom of the room they were in. "How could you sleep wearing that -" she gave her a look of pure disdain. Her eyes looked at her from head to foot. If she wasn't her mother she would feel insulted and raised hell.

She let her mother push her into the bathroom for the much-needed shower. She went into the bathroom without any more words for she was happy enough that her mother won't force her to marry Andrei.

She smirked thinking that her mother would never ever think of marrying her off to the youngest master of the Tan if she knew the secret Andrei hiding in his closet.

She has momentarily forgotten the situation she had on hand when the freezing water hits her skin. She washed her body thoroughly, even washing her body twice. If only her mother would not break the bathroom door if she didn't get out of the shower, she would stay there longer.

She was not looking forward to the sit down situation that was about to happen.

After reluctantly finishing her shower, she was surprised to get out of the bathroom with no one in the room. She sighed relieved. She needed to be alone with her thoughts. Now that her mother was not pushing the marriage that Mrs. Tan seemed to be hellbent about on happening.

She was torn between scared and honored with Mrs. Tan's approached about the situation. She was honored that she thought she was a good choice to be her beloved son's wife or be scared to be married to Andrei when she knew that she was not Andrei's choice to be his wife. Not in a million years!

And even if Mrs. Tan gave her millions, and General Tan put a gun in her head, she would never ever marry their son too!

It's not because Andrei is not good-looking for he is! He is one hell of a hunk of a man. He stood a few centimeters short to be a six-footer. He has a drool-worthy body that was a product of religiously going to the gym and eating healthy.

He's smart. Handsome. Rich. Most importantly, not the first son, and her mother likes her for her precious son. He is also a good friend. Over all, Andrei is the best candidate for a husband. If only...