Bab 18: This is all too much

By the time they arrived at the scheduled restaurant, it was already past noon. She picked up her red handbag and immediately the car came to a halt, she picked up her red handbag and opened the car door herself.

Her model-built body was covered in a white blazer and matching pants with an inner white shirt tucked into the pant while her feet were on red heels with a silver watch on her wrist.

Her brown-colored hair had been styled into a simple ponytail with a single side curl left out to frame her face, and her makeup was simple and flawless with only a red lip indicating her makeup.

She wanted to come here with a bare face, but she needed something to cover her hickeys with and makeup is the perfect option.

She was irresistible and attractive as it drew attention around to her and at the same time, her charm compelled both genders around.

"Why are the paparazzi around?" she asked Mr. Adam as he came to her side before putting on a pair of white sunglasses on her face to hide her face a little.

Mr. Adams looked around with a somehow worried expression on his face. This isn't supposed to be happening and if it is, it only means the photos have spread already.

"Let's just move inside the restaurant," Arissa started moving into the restaurant taking the thought that they were there for her away.

Mr. Adams looked around before following behind Arissa who walked before him in very long strides.

He hopes that it was nothing concerning the photos because if it concerned the photos, it only means Mr. Lincoln would be livid.

...

Luckily for her, they were able to walk into the restaurant without notice and the fact that she had been away from the media for three years helped a lot.

She drew attention again from inside the restaurant mostly because of her too-strong aura for a lady as fragile looking at her.

A waiter ushered them to a room on the first floor of the restaurant. Her brow furrowed on why they are being led to a room rather than an open place.

"Your parents are inside," Mr. Adams informed seeing how she still stood at the door even after the waiter left and she is supposed to go inside.

Arissa glared at him before looking back at the door. He does not have to look nice and again, he should not think she trusts her parents that much to just walk into closed doors because they are also inside.

She held the doorknob and arranged her emotions before opening the door. And her eyes shrank remembering why she is here.

Arissa sighted remembering how she always wanted to be a people pleaser in the past. But when she turned nine and adding up with how her parents ruthlessly trampled on people with their weaknesses, she realized that the world is just a corrupt place filled with evil people who do not care about other people

She never thought her parents would ever notice her weakness and now that they perceive her weakness they do is to step on it, unbothered about offending her emotions.

Her parent's eyes landed on her the moment she walked in and with a smile, her mother stood up and walked over to her.

"You are three hours late and your husband is becoming pissed," her mother's tune was somewhat different.

Warm if she should say. Her mother's voice is warm. To her?

She flashed a smile at her mother before looking over to the lunch table where her father is sitting, having coffee with her father.

"Let's move over to the table," her mother smiled lightly at her again before walking forward to the table of five where her father is seated with an old stranger.

The table was at the side of the French window where nature is abundant but no, this is not the time to admire.

Arissa thought.

She kept her bag on her seat before sitting with the old man piercing blue eyes on her.

Her husband?

So her guess was right. She is getting married to someone a few years older than her father.

"Father," she called her father with her eyes asking questions but he just smiled at her like nothing is off before facing the old man with a smile again.

"So where is the contract paper, Mr. Lincoln?" the old man pretty much her new husband asked her father and to be honest, Arissa felt a little chill hearing his voice, and the stranger from last night came into her mind.

"Here it is"her father answered hurriedly bringing out the documents from his briefcase.

Arissa looked at her parents before swallowing a lump of hot saliva down her throat. Were they ruining her right now by selling her to an old tycoon?

Her hand turned a first holding the edges of her blazer as she looked at her parents. She looked at the man again and his whole aura screams dangerous just like that stranger and hell, why did she keep on remembering that stranger?

And looking at the old hag reading the contract papers, she immediately felt the urge to leave here. A part of her wants to be selfish.

A small part of her wants to be selfish and back off of the deal, go away from here and into hiding to live her life without Adele or anyone to share an emotional bond with.

It was all too much. She wants to back away.