Chapter 116

116 Men’s Discussion

“Dude, how come Lea is here? Any more meetings after Christmas?” Dariel asked frantically and checked several times if neither Angela nor Kalea had followed them.

Dariel and Arthur were now in one of the corridors that led directly to the scenery outside. Their position is now a little out of reach of the two girls. He deliberately reasoned to smoke because he had wanted to talk about the condition earlier, which was completely unexpected.

“Fuck, I didn’t know either! Suddenly she was kidnapped by my mom so that I had to come here,” Arthur said with an annoyed snort. He had been holding back his anger for a long time. “And you too, why didn’t you tell me when you came here?”

“Your mother said to keep it a secret from you,” Dariel replied casually as he lit a cigarette and smoked it.

Arthur massaged the bridge of his nose, as he had expected. Everything was her mother’s plan. “This was a complete shock to me. Damn it, I’ve never been so panicked before.”

Dariel burst out laughing, still remembering how panicked and agitated Arthur was.

“Darn you, you’re happy to see me suffer, don’t you?” Arthur looked at his friend annoyed then took a cigarette belonging to Dariel.

“Of course, seeing you and Lea panic is comforting enough for me. But how come your sugar baby is seeing your family again? Shouldn’t it only happen at Christmas?” Dariel asked, confused.

“That’s how it should be. But as you can see, my parents really like her,” Arthur replied in frustration. He inhaled the cigarette and exhaled the smoke. “Just when I was having fun outside, Mom sent me home and said Lea was here.”

.....

“How did your mother contact her?”

“She asked for Lea’s contact number without my knowledge.”

“Haah ... so complicated,” Dariel said suddenly as stressed as Arthur felt. “Your mother is very good at planning.”

Arthur rubbed his black hair roughly; he did not know how long this charade had to be carried out, while he actually wanted no more meetings between Kalea and his family.

“But why did your parents like Lea? No, I think I understand. She’s a beautiful, kind, and polite girl,” Dariel muttered, asking and answering himself. Very independent.

“Argh, it’s because of you.”

Dariel furrowed his brows, turned to Arthur then said, “Why are you blaming me?”

“If I knew something like this would happen, I wouldn’t have brought Lea here in the first place. I’d rather choose a strange woman who they definitely don’t like,” Arthur sighed again, sighing heavily. Actually, he was not really blaming Dariel.

“Tsk, how did I know it would be like this, so don’t blame me!” Dariel snorted, not accepting that he was being blamed.

“Haaah ... I hate situations like this.”

“Stop sighing, you look more and more like a grandpa.”

“Fuck you, don’t make me angry even more.”

“Then what about Angela and Lea?” Dariel asked, which immediately made Arthur silent for a moment.

“As you know, she doesn’t like Lea. From the start, Angela continued to show discomfort when my baby was here,” Arthur replied, explaining what happened that Christmas. “But when we were going home, Angela was friendly and even hugged Lea. And tonight she didn’t really pay much attention to Lea.”

“Maybe because I was there.”

“I hate your confidence, but it looks like it’s true. Since you’re here, Angela is more busy seeking your attention,” Arthur replied.

Hearing Arthur’s outpouring, Dariel was also confused by Angela’s attitude. Because he heard Arthur’s complaints several times and even saw firsthand how Angela was always cynical toward any woman who was close to her brother. Not only Arthur, but also Dariel, were frequently exposed to sap. Angela’s attitude can change drastically when she sees Arthur or Dariel with another woman even though there is absolutely no relationship between them.

“Possessiveness has become your family’s flesh and blood, huh,” Dariel said right into Arthur’s heart.

“I-I’m trying not to be like that anymore,” Arthur replied defensively.

“Well, no one knows what’s going to happen next. You’re just avoiding not loving other people so your possessiveness doesn’t show up.”

Arthur did not argue anymore, slightly confirming Dariel’s words in his mind.

“But, Arthur, for example Angela also likes Lea, isn’t your sugar baby suitable to be part of your family?” Dariel asked, making Arthur turn to him with an eyebrow raised.

“What do you mean?”

“What I mean is that she’s a perfect match for your future lovers.”

Arthur looked at his best friend strangely, he rolled his eyes lazily, then said, “Nonsense. I don’t think so at all. You should have understood there was no way Angela could easily like a woman close to me,” Arthur said. The man recounted when he followed Angela into the room on Christmas Day.

Angela protested and balked at the fact that a foreign woman had joined the family gathering. She did not expect that her older brother actually brought a woman, even with their very different ages. Seeing Arthur and Kalea was like seeing uncle and nephew.

Arthur, who tried to persuade his sister to get out of the room, was ignored by Angela.

“You shouldn’t have to follow Mom and Dad’s request! You know them-”

“Angela, I have no other choice. If I don’t obey, I will definitely have to accept the matchmaking that dad always makes,” Arthur cut in explaining. He carried his sister’s body in his hug. “I’m also tired of being sued like this. Please understand, only you can truly understand me.”

Arthur knew, even though his mother always said she would be happy with whatever his life choice was, but actually Aquila also wanted Arthur to find someone to love. Unfortunately, Arthur has not met such a person in his life.

His actions all this time, always playing with women, made the hearts of his parents restless.

Angela bit her lower lip, holding back the tears that had welled up in her eyes. Seeing her older brother, who was always forced to marry, made her impatient and unprepared if Arthur had to be away from her and devote more attention to someone other than her and her mother.

“I’m really just friends with Lea, there’s nothing to worry about,” Arthur said again, trying to calm his sister down.

“Just like the other women?”

“Yeah, everything is the same in my eyes, except you and mom.”

Arthur kept trying to calm Angela and make his sister’s mood turn to good. This kind of thing had happened many times, but Arthur never rebuked her, instead he continued to let Angela act like that to any woman he was close to.

“Actually, Arthur. You can’t keep being soft on your sister. Because in the end, you too will be with your partner until you get old,” Dariel advised.

“I know, but I don’t want to do it yet. Let it go until I find someone special,” Arthur replied nonchalantly. Though he was not sure he’d ever find someone like that again. For some reason, he feels too numb and lazy to deal with a love that is too deep.

Arthur turned to his best friend and then lightly punched Dariel’s arm. “You too, if you don’t have any feelings for my sister, there’s no need to pay more attention to her,” he said a little curtly. He had often noticed how Dariel cared about Angela and made his sister fall even more for the man’s charms.

“You forbid me to pay attention to her?”

“It’s not like that, Idiot. I don’t want her to get hurt because she loves you too much.”

Dariel was silent, allowing Arthur to advise him until the man was tired of talking.

“Did you hear what I meant?” Arthur asked because Dariel was just as silent as a rock.

“I heard. But you yourself are aware of how you are, right? You’re not much different from me, no need to be so wise to me,” Dariel hissed, blowing the smoke on Arthur’s face, making Arthur turn his face the other way while waving his hand to make the smoke disappear.

“Damn it, stop the smoke!”

“You’d better take care of Lea, how long will she be your sugar baby? If it continues like this, your parents might like her more and you will be asked to get married.”

“D-don’t talk like that,” Arthur said, looking at Dariel with a look of horror. He could not imagine that happening.

“No one knows in the future. Lea is not a bad girl after all. Well, but she is too good for a man like you,” Dariel said very honestly, which made Arthur quite offended.

“Ah, darn you. Why are you being so annoying tonight?”

Dariel laughed loudly, happy to make Arthur emotional. He patted his friend’s shoulder lightly, then said, “Good luck with all the obstacles that always come your way.”

And unbeknownst to them, there was someone who overheard the conversation of the two men.