♥

I try my best to look pretty for my future mother-in-law, because this is what my parents have wanted me to do.

I am nearing twenty-two now, and marriage, at this point in my life, has become the sole reason of my existence, an obligation that will determine where my family will stand in the years to come; a matter of life and death for father and everything he has worked so hard for. There is no time to think about waiting for love to blossom in its purest state, only strengthening ties enough to make a family’s influence last for a few more generations, if not forever. A road to a prosperous partnership, and not a union between two people supposed to be bounded by love. A rather miserable fate, but I agree to meet him and his family just the same. I have finally come to terms with the fact that this is, perhaps, something that is truly written for me.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” She says, and I return her warm greeting with a smile. The restaurant her family has reserved for us is deserted - almost quiet, if not for the traditional Chinese folk music playing softly in the background and servers scurrying behind the scenes. The place is beautiful, and my would-be mother-in-law appears to be exactly the same. She is youthful, energetic; dynamic, but most of all kind. She is nothing like The Lady, and the difference between them makes this engagement a whole lot easier to swallow this time around. I might be ignored - surely I will be set aside in favor of more important things later on, but at least I can live in quiet peace. There is no hardness in her, nor coldness…

...but there is desperation. I can see it in the way her eyes shine, in the way her lips smile. She seems happy to see me. Too perfectly happy.

“Mother,” I say cordially in her native language, and she beams at me and my parents.

“You have a lovely daughter,” She gushes at them. “So perfect for my son.”

“She is,” My father’s smile is beatific. “I am certain that she will not fail his standards.”

“She will not,” My would-be mother-in-law agrees. She sighs in relief and it makes me wonder where this surge of happiness is coming from; did she think that I am an insufferable brat before seeing me? That I will be nothing but a terrible match for his son?

Where is he, anyway? I take a sip of my tea while discreetly surveying the restaurant, trying to check if we have missed a shadow of my would-be husband about to enter the place to join us, all the while silently praying that his arrival will not be a repeat of what happened to me the first time my parents introduced me to a family I was supposed to marry into.

“We cannot wait to meet your son as well,” My mother shares her excitement to my would-be mother-in-law, but her feelings are not mirrored the way my mother expects it to be. My would-be mother-in-law curls her lips upward rather enthusiastically, but an expression of worry almost overpowers it.

“He will be here any minute now,” She smiles a little too hard at us, her eyes beginning to betray her the more her son’s absence is felt. “I specifically told him to free his entire afternoon schedule so we can personally meet you.”

“You know how young men are,” Father lets out a chuckle, a clear attempt to keep the atmosphere light. “They work so much they hardly notice the time.”

“Certainly.” My would-be mother-in-law laughs as well, but hers has an icy edge to it. This is definitely not a good sign. “Yifan is a workaholic, but I have always believed that he loves his mother more than anything else in this world.” She takes her tea cup close to her lips for a sip, her hands trembling a little. She seems furious, but is too terrified to let it show. “I have told him so many times how important this day is to all of us. So he should be here any moment now.” She places her cup down a little too hard and signals her secretary to come to her.

“Where is Yifan?” She asks the expressionless secretary in a low voice, her tone sharp and fierce. “He cannot keep us waiting for him like this!”

“We will locate him immediately, madame,” The secretary bows slightly to her before stalking off to look for the missing heir. Mother shoots father a worried glance, but father just merely clears his throat, trying his best to remain unaffected by my would-be mother-in-law’s impending meltdown.

“Perhaps he forgot?” My mother suggests after ten minutes have passed and there are still no signs of Yifan showing up. “He must have a very hectic schedule.”

“I clearly told him not to forget about this.” My would-be mother-in-law cannot mask the rage on her face any longer. “We have instilled the importance of hard work in him, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t raised living by the belief that family should always come first.”

“I can look for him,” I volunteer out of nothing to say and do. My would-be mother-in-law stares at me in shock.

“You will do no such thing!” She tells me tersely. “My dear,” she follows up with the sweetest of smiles, “Yifan will come. He has his family’s honor to think of.”

“I understand, but…” I can feel father glaring at me, but the all too familiar feeling of being unwanted is beginning to make the quaint restaurant a little too suffocating for me that I have to get out. “Can I explore the gardens outside while we wait for him?” I throw my would-be mother-in-law my most irresistible smile for good measure. “Please, mother? I promise to return once he arrives.”

“Very well then,” Her face softens, finally relenting to one of my requests. “You can take a look around, I guess. There is no harm in doing so.” Just then a group of female bodyguards in tailored suits approach me and lead me wordlessly out of the restaurant, and I follow them in silence, not once looking back at the people I have left behind.

---

“So how is Yifan like?” I ask one of the bodyguards curiously as we wander outside. The restaurant is located at a top of a hill, lending the place a spectacular view. Truly, a sight to behold - flowers in shades of pink, lilac, white and tangerine sway gaily with the green grass as we trudge down the cobblestone stairs, the sky injecting the liveliest color blue there is and the clouds perfectly fluffy as they move idly above us. For a moment I am thankful that the meeting in Shenzhen did not happen - I don’t mind getting stood up in a place like this.

“Is he good-looking?” I press on with a giggle, hoping that the bodyguard would talk to me.

“Hm,” The bodyguard says after a minute has passed between us, her face still stoic.

“Surely he’s not a troll,” I bend down to pick a few flowers. “Does he often go on dates?”

My questions fall on deaf ears, as expected.

“Does he have a girlfriend?”

Someone snorts behind me.

“What’s that?” I straighten up and turn around to follow where the laugh has come from, but all I see are inscrutable faces of the female bodyguards assigned to look after me.

I roll my eyes in annoyance. “Wow. I ask questions about his dating history and all you can do is laugh behind my back. Seriously, we’re all by ourselves here. Yifan isn’t even here, so can you just answer some of my questions about him?”

“And why should they do that?”

I freeze on my spot. The bodyguards line up in a neat formation, obviously acknowledging the person speaking behind me. A chill runs down my spine as I feel his gaze leave a trail on my body...I know he’s looking at me, assessing me coldly, evidently not pleased with what he is seeing.

“Young miss?” He calls my attention frostily. “Who are you to pry about the details of my private life?”

“I -” I begin, but he cuts off the beginnings of my introduction rudely.

“Do you not have any manners at all? Look at me.”

“Alright!” I stomp my feet angrily before turning around to face my tormentor. “I am Gong Minji.” I say proudly, bravely returning his glare despite having a strong desire to faint on the spot.

Wu Yifan has the looks of a handsome prince, but has the aura of a provoked savage beast. A cliché, but the damn truth.

“Ah, the Korean girl my deluded mother wants me to marry.” He says with disgust. “I am appalled by her lack of good taste this time, and usually she has a lot of it.”

“Pig!” I scream at him. “For your information, my parents are just as deluded as your mother for even suggesting to have me married to you!”

His eyes flash dangerously at my insults. “Take that back or you’ll regret it.”

“No fxcking way.” I inform him calmly. “You can go to hell for all I care.”

He lets out a sardonic laugh at this. “Hell, you say?”

“That’s what I said.” I hold my ground.

“Very well then.” He addresses the line of waiting bodyguards quietly watching the two of us make a spectacle of ourselves. “Tell mother that I have so graciously decided to meet some family and their bat shxt crazy daughter for tea as she so pleaded me to do for months now, only to cancel it at the last minute because the said crazy, selfish daughter told me to go to hell instead.” He regards me callously after telling them his instructions, and the way he looks at me makes me flinch. “I will be leaving now.”

“Wait!” I yell at him as he makes his way down the hill. I am suddenly reminded of how important this engagement is, so I let my anger dissipate for now so he would change his mind and go back to the restaurant with me. “Don’t go!”

“You made your choice, young miss,” He answers without even sparing me a glance, obviously sticking to what he intends to do. “Live with it.”

I can only watch him walk away after that, completely defeated, all of my energy fizzling into thin air after my encounter with him. No amount of humiliation in the past have prepared me for this, for him. I now understand why my would-be mother-in-law looked desperate earlier.

Wu Yifan and I will never get married.

My last chance, and I let it get away.