Bab 8: The official meeting

When Thea reaches the bottom of the stairs, she can hear their voices as she moves in the direction of the living room. Thea's hands and fingers started to tingle, making it difficult for her to move her feet. Her heart began to beat quickly in her chest.

Thea still feels as though this will be her first time meeting Erick; she wonders if he will be pleased to meet her officially as his fiancee, which makes her stomach churn in a knot because of yesterday's unexpected interaction between them. She attempts to calm her erratic breathing by clearing her throat. Thea moved toward the direction of the two men with a stride.

Grandpa Thomas can't help but beam from ear to ear as soon as he sees his granddaughter all dressed up in a Sunday dress with her hair falling down from her back.

Waving at Thea to approach them, he said, "Come here my dear, I would like you to meet your fiancee."

Thea nodded as she wiped an unseen crease from her dress in an effort to calm her racing heart. As she moved forward, her gaze was quickly drawn to a stern guy with a broad back who was standing up next to her grandfather. Her heels' resounding clicks came to a stop next to the two men. Thea bit her bottom lip while gazing at the face of her fiancé.

Thea believed that she had proven yesterday that Erick is a handsome man, but now he appears to be unmatched; he resembles the prince from the stories her mother used to read to her.

Erick appears to be quite attractive. His dark raven hair complements his angular chin and jaw. His two burning dark eyes, which can captivate any woman just by looking at them, were matched by a feature on either side of his straight nose. His stoic manliness radiates from under a pinstriped suit that flawlessly accentuates his well-rippled muscles. The mere sight of Erick's arrival causes Thea to flush.

Thea's Grandfather's voice interrupted her startled expression.

"Thea, this is one of our country's youngest generals, General Erick Warton,"

It's nice to finally meet you, General Erick Warton,"

Erick's eyes enlarge as he fixates on the woman's face. What he saw is unbelievable to him. Erick cast a quick glance at the Old Master Thomas' granddaughter when the sound of clicking heels stopped near them. He first didn't pay attention to her face, but she sensed a familiar sensation that Erick seemed to brush aside.

Erick is now gazing intently at Thea's face. He can't believe his fiancee is the woman he saw at the grocery store yesterday. Erick does not adhere to what is known as fate.

When his senior military colleagues discussed how they met their wives, he would occasionally overhear them say that when you finally meet your soul mate, time stops for everyone else and only you two are experiencing it.

They claimed that simply gazing into their wives' faces caused their bodies to go numb and their minds to go blank, and they delightedly referred to this as destiny.

Since he is a bachelor and seniors often crack jokes around him, Erick assumed it was just a casual conversation and didn't take it seriously. But never did he imagine that all of their words are true. Just by looking at Thea's face, you can experience what they refer to as destiny.

Thea glanced at her grandfather begging for help from the stunned general, he seems to be in his own mind and mute for a long time.

Thea knew that Erick, was shocked judging by the way he pause and stare at her, Thea's felt her heart will drop to the floor as sweat started to emerge from her forehead, she doesn't know if Erick is glad or disappointed to meet her.

Thea gather courage and spoke to the dazed General.

Thea summoned the guts to address the confused General.

"General... ahmm?"

Erick's thoughts were brought back by a familiar voice and woke up from being stunned, he stare at the worried face of Thea and regretted his actions.

He puts out his hand. I'm sorry, I was just caught off guard. Lady La Roche, it's a pleasure to meet you.

Thea willingly extends her hand for a handshake, but as soon as their hands touched, she felt her entire body electrified by an unidentified power, making her feel feverish.

To soothe Erick mind's he blurted out his own thought to start a conversation but instantly regretted it. "I thought you have a fiancée?"

Thea responded in a joking manner after softly giggling in response to Erick's query and receiving a dashing smile from the general. She remembered their silly exchange about her fiancée from the supermarket.

Yes, General, I told you that I was engaged when I met you yesterday.

Erick furrowed his brow in displeasure at what he had just heard. But Thea instantly added as she carefully speak each word to Ericks using her alluring voice.

"....and that is .... YOU... General Erick Warton"

Thea brushed imaginary dust off Erick's suit with her fingers as she advanced, teasing the general as she did so with her devilish smirk and playful eyelashes.

Thea's movement catches Erick's attention as his ears burn crimson from the allure of her voice. His attention shifts to Thea's stunning face, where he takes in her flawless chocolate brown hair that falls just beyond her trim waist and her deep amber eyes that could suffocate him.

Erick notices that every time Thea looks at him, her cheeks tint pink roses and her long lashes flutter, and he finds it endearing that she also has adorably small freckles around her nose. Thea had flawless skin that appeared fragile yet soft, and Erick thought that she had the cutest little freckles around her nose.

His attention shifts away from Thea's face and onto her seductive shape—a figure made just for Erick's eyes. She is gifted with large breasts and a small waist that is concealed by her simple, light floral dress, which highlights her attractiveness and a figure that is too sinful for everyone to see. Erick swallowed, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and blurted out what he had already spoken.

"Lady La Roche, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Thea laughed out, her voice resonating throughout the room, "You already mentioned that General Erick." Even though she had already noticed her husband's crimson ears, she couldn't help but continue to torment him and relish their sweet moment.

Erick massaged the back of his head and muttered, "I did? Sorry, I was astonished to know that the gorgeous lady I've met yesterday was my fiancée. Every time he caught a glimpse of Thea's seductive face, he was unable to comprehend himself, his palms were wet with perspiration, and his heart was racing nonstop.

After meeting a strange woman from the grocery yesterday, Erick can't stop thinking about her face and the endearing smile she gave him. He was utterly enchanted by the woman in the shop, and Erick now regrets not asking for her name. Yet as she turned to face her fiancé, Erick reflected that he is really a fortunate man.

"You think I'm beautiful?"

She charmed the general as she tucked a hair strand behind her ear and smiled at him. Thea found their chat to be enjoyable.

Erick choked as he nodded in agreement and followed Thea's moves.

I did, and I'm pleased you're Lady La Roche now.

Before she spoke, she grinned.

"Call me Thea, General"

"Then you can call me Erick, Thea"

When listening to the two of them, Master Thomas couldn't help but feel relieved. He was concerned that his granddaughter might cause a commotion and upset the General, but the situation ended out better than he had anticipated.

He pondered whether it would be best to marry them as soon as possible.

In order to be heard by the two busy persons speaking lovingly to each other, Master Thomas cleared his throat. Grandfather Thomas spoke to them and gave them a curious expression as Thea and Erick turned to face him.

"You two are acquainted?"

It's a long story Grandpa, but I think if we tell you all the details here Erick will get hungry, so why don't we go to the dining area instead?"

"Then let us proceed, the food might get cold. Come, General, my granddaughter prepared a feast for you"

Erick nodded.

Erick changes his sight to Thea as he looked at her with attentive eyes. Thea caught his gaze and smiled at him before grabbing his arm.

"Come on, Erick."

The woman who had taken hold of Erick's arm and was gently dragging him to the dinner table caught his attention as he chuckled. He is unable to maintain composure in the face of Thea's contagious happiness, which makes everyone around him smile like a small child.