Til Seth Do Us Part

By Winna Layarda

Abby Fisher is surprised her boyfriend Nate pops the question the second time after four years prior, and this time she will be getting married in the Boathouse of Central Park in two months time. Despite the thrill of wedding shopping, she cannot help but feel hesitant at her future with Nate. Not only this, but Nate's pennywise nature has sacrificed their wedding in financial term, no wedding organizer and nothing extravagant, and the wedding dress should be bought on discount. Eventually, she was forced to take up employment offered by Seth, the charming CEO of Winston Publishing to fulfill her little demands for their wedding.
Seth turns out to be the complete opposite to her fiance and makes her realize that her cold feet were possibly her base instincts telling her she has tied herself to the wrong man. Conflicted and guilty at her growing feelings for Seth and her obligation to Nate, she knows she must make a decision, but which will she choose?
Abby, straining against the will of her mind and the rapid beating of her heart explores life as an adult, dances the invisible line between cultures and learns to believe in herself, all within the shining light of New York City.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Winna Layarda
• Release date: May 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311289391

Winna Layarda

Winna Layarda has three unfinished and unpublished novel before she finally published this one. It took a year of writer’s block, spending most of her time in her head, reading lots of novel, and tons of dictionary flicking in order to get this book done.She is twenty-five this year and spends most of her childhood in Singapore. Majored in Business Management during college and launched into novel writing after her husband showed her that everything is possible.Besides dealing with literature, she loves to cook during her spare time and taking photos of beautiful books.

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Till Seth Do Us Part

Copyright 2015 Winna Layarda

Published by Winna Layarda at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold

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work of this author.

Book Cover is designed by Lila Barton

Content Page

Acknowledgement

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Epilogue

About the Author

About this Book

Connecting With Winna Layarda

Reviewing This Book

Acknowledgements

Dearest E, there are so many reasons for me to love you, and this is one of them. This book wouldn’t be published without you. You are part of this and my world.

Chapter 1

Wedding always gives a special something to me. And I always have an imaginative picture of how special mine will be like. It is not just a dream for me because I am not planning to just keep dreaming about it. Not even an idle time that I want to spare for not thinking about it.

I loved watching the bride and groom walking down the aisle, I loved the feeling of everybody's eyes looking at me at the big day, I loved witnessing the couple making a vow together and finally, the kiss. Imagine, if that was my wedding.

I watched Prince Charles taking the late Princess Diana as his wife, Crown Prince Frederick marrying his Australian bride, Mary Donaldson, and, Prince William and Kate Middleton. The moment when William and Kate kissed at the balcony, that give a hope for any girls out there that ‘happily ever after’ does exist, after all.

I couldn’t help but feel emotionally attached when the movie showed the scene where the characters got married. There were all sorts of wedding. A disastrous wedding where heavy rain took over the garden wedding. A romantic wedding, where everything seems so perfect to be true. A sad wedding where the couples got married because one of them is dying. And the famous wedding involving human and vampire, yes, I am talking about Edward Cullen and, yes, my eyes were flowed with bubbles of tears coming out of my tear duct.

I was hopelessly romantic ever since I was young. I wanted to be invited to my own wedding so much. I wanted to know the feeling that Isabella Swan felt when she walked down the aisle. I want to know how it feels to have the train of my wedding gown brushing against the floor. I want to cry my tears of happiness when the choir sang the song ‘Turn to Stone’ when I kissed Nate.

Nathaniel Lee, my beloved sweetheart, which he insisted I call him Nate, because Nathaniel sounds like Daniel, and Daniel is the guy in Nate’s high school who loves to compete scores, marks and everything academically with Nate. So, in short, Nate dislikes Daniel. I met Nate during a visit to Chinatown to buy a paper umbrella that Mom loves it so much after she watched Memoirs of A Geisha. When it seems like the shop owner with green apron were taking figuratively half a century to understand what I was talking about, an Asian guy showed up and help the Abby in distress. He wasn’t just an Asian guy, he was a very charming guy. I simply can’t define which part of his feature draws me into him, maybe it is his set of perfect teeth when he smiles or is it his dark hair that is neat and short. Perhaps, he got a broad shoulder, or perhaps he is wearing a suit, there is something about a man in a perfectly fitted suit.

We had a small chat afterward, which eventually blossomed into a relationship. Kissing with Nate was one hell of a feeling. I love how his thin lips teased me whenever we kissed, and how his dark orbs shaded by his thick brow could dispersed magical spell whenever he looked deeply into my brown eyes. My friends sometimes refer to him as Daniel Henney. Well, I thought it was kind of overrating….but I did try to compare him to the actor… and wow, in a certain angle, they kind of look alike. I kind of see the resemblance in them when they smile in a seductive way.

Well, he was ten years older than me, and Dad was reserved about the age matter. But mom? Mom baked Rosemary Chicken when I mentioned bringing Nate over for dinner. Rosemary Chicken never appears in our dinner table, unless it is Dad’s birthday, or on the day where everybody decided to stay away from home cooked meals because we had been eating sautéed French beans for two weeks. Mom can cook a mountain of French beans if she discovered any good show she found on Netflix, and all cooking activity will be put on hold for the entire week.

That is how our own romantic love story rolls. And one fine evening, the ‘happily ever after’ that happens in every fairy tales did miraculously happened on me too. A posh dinner at the Park Hotel, a bouquet of ninety-nine roses, and a secretive black box were taken out from his suit pocket, he knelt down in front of all those who is present. Oh god, I never thought such a tear jerking event would happened to me at all. I said yes with trembling lips and teary eyes. And we kissed in front of the same people who witnessed this unforgettable moment. The Park Hotel even took our photo.

We are engaged. We are going to get married after a whirlwind year of dating. Nate made all these secret wishes of mine came true when he made the biggest decision for his life and mine. He proposed to me. I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life with someone other than him.

It was that memorable year, where Nate was also promoted to be an executive at Baxton Financial. One of the things I admired about Nate, was his independence. He could have easily made a living from his family business because, Nate’s father owned a chain of supermarkets in Hong Kong. What attracted me even more was his decision to create his own wealth right here, in the States. And fate brought this beautiful man to me.

What girl with a sane mind would turn down such a romantic proposal? Not to mention about posting the news of being engaged to someone is so compulsory now. And that someone is my handsome fiancé now. Nathaniel Lee.

The song ‘Too Young To Be Married’ has been playing in my mind randomly after I got engaged with Nate. I wonder why? A small voice inside of me keeps repeating the same message to me. Maybe, because, I was only twenty years old that year. Twenty years old is where the real starting point of my life began and I choose to clog it with a ring. Twenty years old, I was still the delicate flower who believed in 'and they lived happily ever after', and nobody told me exactly what happened after the ever after part. Forever could be very long time. But, I told myself, love…conquers all. It always did. And most of all, he loves me. Isn’t that enough?

When we announced the news to my parents, there were two very distinct expressions coming out from their face. I would say mom’s reaction, apart from the fact that she is a crybaby, is normal. Mom cries all the time, even in front of the laptop when she is watching Netflix. So, I told Nate not to be surprised when he saw that.

Well, about dad, I thought the first reaction he would have, should be grinning from ear to ear, get overwhelmed by the news that his youngest daughter is getting hitched. I completely underestimate dad’s reaction. He hasn’t let go of the fact that Nate is too old for me. As Nate and I sat in front of my parents, Dad were stiff, I realized that there was a guy name skepticism, is whispering to my dad. I have told him many, many times to be nice with Nate. I can’t believe he still did that when we announced the biggest news to them. The first comment that Dad said, made me understood why he reacted this way: ‘You’re not pregnant, are you?’

So, that is what he is worried about. Well, I can’t really blamed him for that, can I? He is my father; of course he will be over paranoid. I bet Nate was having cold sweat beneath his suit and tie. Nate loved to wear suit and tie, he says that it empowers him. But, I don’t think the outfit can make him feel empowered in any way right now. I am sure everyone knows about shotgun marriage. When dad interrogates us for an hour, it really felt like there is a gun pointing at us. Nate cleared his throat several times during the interrogation.

While we were being held as the ‘hostage’, the one who is really in trouble came home with her boyfriend to announce her wedding too.

My sister, Emily Fischer, came home with a stranger named Nick Humphrey. Why was he a stranger? That is because we never heard about him at all. Zero. The real case of shotgun marriage coincidently happened to her. When mom asked her how many weeks has she been pregnant, she said four. And mom asked again, how long have she known Nick, she exchanged glances with Nick and gulped a loud swallow of saliva. Four weeks, She said. I remembered dad had to fetch his medicine for high blood pressure that night when he claimed that his neck became notably stiff.

Actually, I wasn’t surprised about her pregnancy, but a sister will keep secrets for each other and sealed it tighter than Mason Jars. Emy came home one morning, plunged down to my bed and give a nosedive on my blood pressure, and I thought I was attacked by an elephant in my dream.

Tell me, you won't get pregnant without a condom? she asked, mortified. It took me five seconds to register that: a) It wasn't a dream, b) its morning c) Condom?

Emmy’s long brownish hair mixed with highlights of silver strands frills on top as she towers over me. I thought Sadako was bad enough, but Emy should have applied for the stunt performer. I always told Emy that she should stop looking like a cheap rocker wanna be, dark and thick eyeliner just doesn’t suit her at all. When her face is free of chemicals that de-value her look, she actually looks kind of sweet, like the girl next door, clear porcelain skin, bright energetic eyes and peachy lips. We all got our brownish genes from mom, hair and eyes. When I looked into the mirror, I always have this shameless confident that I resemble Britt Robertson, especially my lips.

Emy got married first eventually, and I postponed the wedding to proceed for my degree that year when I was accepted to NYU School of Business. Nate agreed and halted the wedding till I graduated.

Awesome. It was really awesome when all your friends went out for happy hours, goes clubbing like nobody’s business and dated uncountable cute and hot guys during the undergraduate years, and what I can do is silently watch them in pain and agony. I wonder if Nate has dominant tendencies or he was just overly obsessive. He wasn't pleased when I decided to hang around with my friends instead of going for dinners and exhibition with him. And his exhibition wasn’t Harry Potter related, it was some boring painting that doesn’t spark me, I bet Nate doesn’t know a thing or two about art at all, he just enjoy the prestige of visiting the art show and the free flow of champagne.

By the time I graduated, Emy was coping with divorce. And Nate hasn't mentioned about choosing the date ever since. And so I opted for getting a job first, before we settle down. After all, why would I get my hands dirty with student loans if getting a job wasn't a plan in my life goal? And furthermore, we needed the budget to plan our, or is it just my fantasy wedding? Nate wasn’t really into Instagram worthy colorful floral-ish decorations. I kept silent about it.

Fast forward three months, I’m still jobless, living off my parents and owing student loan. During this period, I started writing a blog. The name: Abby’s Secret World. Don’t get mistaken. I’m not a psychopath or harboring any red room of pain, although I wish fifty shades’ twitchy palm would spank the hell out of me. No. I wanted to heal the world. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Teresa were in fact not one of my inspirations. Typical as it seems, but they were far too noble than my insignificant vision. I wanted to be people’s listening ear. So, you can call me a counselor or a psychologist without any legal certificates or a practice clinic. All they need is: internet connection.

I would say my blog is getting, well…on track. ‘Abby’s Secret World: Reveal all your intimate detail’ has multiplying followers and visitors every week. Wow, my wisdom of life about family issues, teenagers, survival skill or how to be the most attractive person in a group ( I got most of it from my real life experience and movies) has finally gained some interests from netciety (that’s what I call internet society because society is social-ciety and net ciety is internet-ciety? Okay, okay, I’m getting anxiety). I’m getting a feeling that I’ve got something going on here, and finally my business major can be applied, especially the lesson I learned for advertising. So I tried to promote it on other web, any kind of websites, in fact.

But, unfortunately, my website was banned from spreading its spider web further by some blogs who misunderstood it for cyber sex sites. And since the title is really ‘catchy’, it catches so many unpleasant new viewers from other sites with intolerable yet ‘funky’ (funny and kinky) comments like ‘what position in Kama sutra do you like most?’, ‘hey I’m a doctor, let’s do some doc-gy style!’, ‘…Yeah, Baby…let’s make some baby!’ These were the least ugly comments; there are some more horrible ones that I don’t even want to mention anymore. Okay, enough with the walk of shame comments.

So, I went back to my site and my loyal viewers. But I will not forget to block, ban, or should I say in the hard way…kick out those pervert netciety so that they won’t put their ‘Funky’(which is getting more kinky and not funny since it keeps coming like the zombies in the World War Z) stain in my pure, humble and noble site.

It felt so nice to have terminated those pervert termites. So now, I could get back to my regular daily counseling activity with my clean followers like….Martha78, SweetKelly, or GeorgeMilton. I felt remarkably safe, until there is one viewer under the name of Humptydoggie starts a conversation with me. Oh, shit. How could I missed that? How could this one make a cut? But thank God, my anxiety for this suspicious netciety member decreased as I’ve got into a deeper conversation with her. Yup, her. She is a lady who divorced with her hubby because she was in love with her doggy (yeah, it sounds funnier and less kinky without the ‘style’). The reason of the divorce was the husband wanted to sell the dog. This kind of weird jealousy love affairs really get me and so I can do nothing for her but only tell her ‘It’s ok, I understand, there, there’ (I don’t understand why my female hormone force me to say that). But luckily, she was happy that I understood her unique love interest affair. Conclusion, everybody looked normal until you get to know them.

And then there was this constant chat messages from Drizzlepod, he doesn’t seem to have any problem, and he was clean. By clean I mean he did not engage me in some weird, creepy, animal love, funky, kinky, yucky activities. I take it that he just wanted random chats. Another conclusion, in society we could find one weirdo in thousand of normals, but on the internet, there is only one normal among thousands weirdos.

Chapter 2

How a typical Friday evening should go for a couple? Having dinner together, or even better, get comfy on the sofa, watching some When Harry Met Sally kind of movie. Oh, a few glasses of champagne would be a bonus. And ultimately, get steamy, naughty and naked, off to bed next, and do all the kinky hanky panky stuff.

Great imagination I've got there, but contrary to popular believed about Friday night, I'm right now, at home, watching Macaulay Culkin’s Home Alone with little Kelly, which (if I’m not mistaken) she had been watching for fifty-two times. Yup, it’s like me watching Jamie Dornan for one hundred times, and that was totally normal. She was only five for God’s sake.

When Kelly goes to her room, it was now safe for me to switch to my favorite guilty pleasure channel, E! Entertainment. Guess what, it’s Bruce Jenner who was about to have his hair highlighted. It’ll be so cool if I had such a dad, but suddenly, the not-so-cool dad of mine appears.

Dad grunted as he walked towards the armchair. If Humpty Dumpty were to take a human form, he would have chosen dad. My dad, Mason Jerry Fischer loved to eat. And as the saying goes, you are what you eat. It kind of makes sense if that was applied to him. For a man who was 1.85 meter high, he holds a weight that almost hit a hundred kilogram. Imagine how many kilos of fats he had to shred before mom allows him to eat Mac and Cheese again. Thank god, he wasn’t a fan of the thick bushy mustache, if not, he would end up looking like Harry Potter’s uncle, Mr. Dursley.

Dad? I said.

Yes, sweetie?

I can’t see the television. Because dad was standing right in front of it.

I swiveled my head anxiously so that dad’s extra shed of fats wouldn’t block my view. Kris Jenner was about to start a war with Bruce. Mom had been strict with Dad’s diet. He had been eating oatmeal for a month, but secretly, I know this Humpty Dumpty has been sneakily eating Chinese Takeaway like a house rat when mom wasn’t at the bookstore.

Dad strolled to the rocking chair. Have you considered applying to Winston’s Publishing, Abby? Dad asked as he wears his glasses and read the job section in the newspaper.

I can’t remember, why? I asked, my eyes glued to the television.

They were hiring administration assistant. Their CEO, Seth Winston was only a few years older than you are. Dad mentioned.

I see, I replied nonchalantly, Bruce was angry at Kris now.

Emy came out from her room, trudging towards the sofa and threw herself down to the soft cushion. She had a Hello Kitty towel wrapped around her hair after her usual Friday hair mask ritual. She was massaging her so-called holy grail onto her face that was made of wheat, banana, and milk (ew). Shouldn’t you be dating tonight? She asked.

Oh, I looked away from her and idly glanced back to the television. He’s having a conference with his clients.

Abby Fischer! The all too peaceful ambiance was suddenly bombarded with mom’s shriek. Anyway, we were all used to it. Mom had this habit of tying her hair into a bun whenever she was in the kitchen, she hates the heat, but her love of cooking and baking simply overruns the hatred she had for heat. We can’t really blame dad for becoming overweight because mom was such a great cook. When they were young, dad’s abs was flat, like really a washboard flat. I saw those photos in the old album. They were born in the era of retro fashion. Perm hair and extremely fitting shirt were mandatory in their circles. Mom has a high cheekbone; round eyes and she look absolutely stunning, just like Meryl Streep. I have this habit of comparing people with celebrities. She believed arched eyebrow would raise her sagging skin in a manipulative way.

Don’t you and Nate discuss the wedding anymore? Mom was frowning disapprovingly.

I stretched my arms deliberately. I'm comfy right now, why the rush, mom? I realized now, we are not royalty like Prince William that can make commoner his princess. And Disney magic can only be applied for such people. And I believed there would be no such thing in any fairy tale history like a prince whose surname was ‘Lee’. Emperor Lee might exist, who has his queen and his few hundred concubines…ewww. And Nate was not rushing it anyway, so why bother.

Yeah, go on, get married, live a happily ever after life, until the baby is born and then get a divorced. After that, the Fat young mother Abby had to babysit her child and herself in pain. Give her a break, Maggie! She’s still young. said dad, rocking himself on the rocking chair.

Thanks, dad! Replied Emy with sarcasm about her love life.

Thanks, dad! Replied me with sarcasm about the obesity issues.

Like father like daughter. Why would I say that? Besides the DNA that binds Emy and my parents, they had a fair share of reproduction history. Mom and dad’s overwhelming affection for each other produced Emy when they just started college, and Emy, she repeated the same practice. My parents had to drop out of Uni halfway and open a bookstore to raise their own family.

Mom loves things just the way they are, perhaps her favorite job of all was cooking and taking care of us. And now, she had it. While dad, I believed there was something he wanted to be, but the situation just got out of control.

Mason! Stop being so mean, Nate was, of course, the best person for our Abby, mom smiled dreamily. Seriously, Abby, you have postponed the wedding for too long. It's already five years.

Four years. I corrected. Mom obviously adds in the one year where I start dating with Nate. I scratched my chin idly. Nate hasn’t mentioned about the wedding yet, we are actually fine with how things were now... I smiled coyly and shrugged a bit. And well, mom, in a bedtime story, all fairy tales have a happy ending. But when we woke up, we realized it’s just a story. But I know he is the one. I shrugged.

Well, what I can say is, all the girls go for prince charming just like all people like to eat chicken. But when I eat snake, I think it tastes better than chicken. So I'm not like one of the girls who choose prince charming. That's why I choose your mom. dad announced wisely.

I propped my hand on the armrest and supported my head, often, dad's metaphor required us to squeeze our brain juice out to get the closest hint. Mom was utterly flattered, her hands were on her chest, breathing so deep and looking whimsically at dad. She would have, no doubt, joined the Amity if we were living in the Divergent world.

Oh, Mason. I'm a bit touched by that, but you should use a better comparison. She fanned herself with her hand. Really, mom? Really?

Like what? Frog? Since you always mention Princess kind of thing? said dad wisely again without feeling a hint of guilt about comparing mom with a reptile. Wow, Princess and the Frog. Sometimes I’m kind of amazed about this Fat old man’s knowledge.

~~~

Jingling sound and a hint of vibration streamed from the night table, picking up to see the notification, it was Nate.

From Nate: I've just finished my task, what r u doing?

I pressed his number and waited for his answer. He picked up within a few seconds. I remembered the first time we started calling each other, it was kind of a roller coaster ride for my heart, that jitters, excitement and heart fluttering feelings has generated so many positive results on my skin.

How about breakfast tomorrow? We could go for a short run before that, say seven?

Nate suggested lovingly. Hang on, seven? Who would wake up this early on Saturday?

Uh-huh. I think I'll skip the run, honey, Emy says she's making the pancake for us. I tried to make it sound rueful. And, I lied, the only food that Emy cook was cereal and milk, and frozen dinner.

Okay, sure, I'll call you again tomorrow. He wasn’t really affected by that. My guess was that he was browsing Forbes.com.

Okay. And we both hung up.

Being in a relationship for too long, the mushy act of 'oh, honey, you hang up first. Oh, no, no, you first, no you first. Okay, we'll hang up together.' seems to have vaporized into oblivion.

Chapter 3

After Nate parked the car, he joint me in walking towards the Boathouse on the snow-covered pavement, hand in hand, fingers entwining fingers. The soaring trees planted firmly on the sidewalk were barren with only Medusa-like trunks that once shaded passerby from the summer heat. We should have wedding photos taken here, I thought, this was spectacular.

Now, this reminds me and Emy one thing, winter sale, we haven’t planned our shopping trip yet. Secretly, I’m broke. But, well, I’m trying to uphold Nate’s view too. He persuaded me once, well, twice? Or maybe I don’t know, in short, I need to stop buying unnecessary stuff. He might be right because once, Emy bought the minty foot mask and she mistakenly thought it was meant for the face... Well, I'll leave it to you to imagine about it.

But I beg to differ, according to my research and knowledge from economic class, spending was a way of boosting the economy, especially during the economic crisis. Yet, I don’t understand why Nate just threw me a deadpan face when I mentioned that. Honestly, Nate was rather penny wise. The ninety-nine roses that he used it for the proposal were made of silk. In other words, it’s a fake flower. I was startled when I discover it.

I tried to convince myself that Nate was only being considerate; maybe he thought I had a pollen allergy, and thus, the fake flower. When Nate observed the awkward look I had when I realized the flower was different, he explained that I could stored it for keepsakes. Yes, indeed, I still had it in my room despite four years, only it was covered with dust, musty smell and a few lines of spider webs that only increase my allergy reaction. I could saved it for Halloween though, saved those decoration costs, but Nate wouldn’t be pleased with that (or maybe he would, it’s saving cost).

The queue took a drastically long time, even though Nate had made a reservation. Luckily, Drizzlepod kept me entertained, he pops a message.

Drizzlepod: Hello how was your day?

Me: It’s still too early to determine my day.

Drizzlepod: Well, I can start asking the same question again tonight.

Me: Haha! Usually, my days were bored and not newsworthy. You might get disappointed.

Drizzlepod: I’ll pretend to be fascinated if that was the case.

Eventually, after a stretched of forty minutes, we finally got our seat that Nate reserved for two months in the Central Park Boathouse. What a really unforeseen expectation that he actually booked this place two months ago. I was enticed; indeed I was, because Nate has never been so creatively romantic, which puts me on the verge of asking him whether this was a surprise? But, some things were better left unknown. His colleague, with the name of Gerald Fitzgerald, offered this reservation to him because it was made before he found out that his wife had an affair with his brother.

Me: Got to go, laters.

Drizzlepod: Alright.

We were ushered to the seat beside the lake which was now covered with layers of ice, the open area were enclosed with glasses for the cold was unbearable during this period. Spaghetti would turn into Japanese Cold Noodle in a while if we were to have it outdoor. It’s minus one degree for winter’s sake.

How was the pancake session? Nate asked while perusing the menu.

What pancake? I replied nonchalantly. I was mentally deciding what to order, baked salmon or garden salad? After browsing at Miranda Kerr’s pictures in Instagram, I feel like puking up the whole chunk of Big Breakfast I had this morning.

The one that Emy made? He looked at me briefly and returns to the menu. Tapping his fingers on the paper, I reckon he has already made up his mind on what to order.

Oh. I snap. Shit, I let it slipped from my memory. To be a good liar, you absolutely need a sharp memory. I flushed and mumbled, You know, as usual, Emy burnt the cakes, so we had McDonald instead. I shrugged, pursing a convincing smile. There was a pang of guilt and disturbance inside me. I'm next on the list to hell already. But, fifty percent of the lie was true, right? I mean, I still told him that I had McDonalds this morning.

I explored visually at the restaurant and nodded at one of the busy waitresses. Although the restaurant were bustling with crowds, but that did not lead to a disappointing service. She approached us with an overly pretentious smile when she took our order, and her set of glittering white teeth was enough to land her in a toothpaste commercial.

Anyway, Macy is getting married on Saturday, remember?

Uhm... He winced and frowns slightly. Is it necessary, no offense I mean, but do I really had to go?

On the surface, it looks like I’m privileged with a choice, but no, I am left with no choice at all when he showed that stupid innocent face. A shot of heat radiates over my body. It’s totally fine with me, sweetheart. Don’t take it too hard, I mean I don’t really enjoy hanging out with your family too. I shrugged while assuring him brightly, feigning bubbly. Nonetheless, Nate seldom went for gathering with my relatives too, they just don’t click. Nate love to start the conversation regarding economics, politics and investment, oh god, even I loathe this topic and I always pretend to sleep whenever he starts watching ‘Face the Nation’.

He phew in relieved. Oh, come on! I would have appreciated if he at least feigns apologetic? You’re the best fiancée, ever, there, a free-from-danger grin revealed from him. Thank you for being such a jerk.

He sucked a lungful of air from his gritted teeth. Five years with Nate, I know he's got something up his sleeves when he does that. I sat straight, cocking my head slightly and waited for him to start talking. Nate, is there anything you wanna tell me?

Speaking of which, Abby, He leans in nearer to me while rubbing his fingers around the ring he gave me, "now that