Capítulo 10: 10 – Shock

"Papa, you're joking, right?" Hamir asked slowly after a long pause.

Next to him, Qaya had gone very pale and stiff – almost like a wooden doll frozen in ice.

President Goldstein blinked innocently at his son, and his eyes – the same as Hamir's – glowed warmly. "Not at all," he said. "Hamir, you are my eldest son and my pride and joy, and I worry about you. You've been working so hard, and it has been some time since you broke up with that Marie – let me tell you, I never really liked that girl, you know! I knew she wasn't right for you. But you seemed happy enough with her, so I didn't say anything. And then you were so broken hearted after you guys broke off your engagement that I couldn't bear to say anything. But now that you are back on your feet more or less, isn't it time for you to look for a more suitable partner for yourself?" His voice was warm and gentle, much like Hamir's own, but there was a hint of steel underneath.

Hamir could only stare at his father, unable to respond. His Papa had never showed the slightest dissatisfaction with Marie in the past – he had been perfectly polite to her and had even helped her family a few times when they needed it.

But then, Papa had never been particularly enthusiastic about Marie, either, had he? Compared to how Papa talked about Qaya, calling her his protégé, boasting about her achievements like a proud uncle…

Hamir resisted the very, very strong urge to facepalm. He should have known that this entire matter of him being sent to J Country on the pretext of learning about business from Qaya and his Papa being all worried about Qaya leaving Colossus because she was in trouble – while there were elements of truth to it, that was not all. Papa had intended bring Hamir and Qaya together. Perhaps he had even planned it for a long time, and finally the set of current events gave him the perfect opportunity to do so. He had even conspired to make Hamir's living quarters uninhabitable – and since Papa knew Qaya so well, he would certainly predict accurately that Qaya wouldn't leave Hamir in a lurch and let him into her house until the other apartment could be fixed up properly. Besides, Hamir, who had never been to J Country before, wouldn't know anything about anything anyway, so Qaya, with the double burden of being the only neighbour of Hamir as well as the only person around who knew Hamir's true identity, would most certainly step in to help him with pretty much everything, thus giving them a chance to spend practically all their waking time together!

Well played, Papa, Hamir thought wryly. As for the idea of getting married to Qaya – while it was too sudden and he barely knew the young woman, he realised that he was not as opposed to the idea as he had imagined. This young CEO he had known for barely a couple of days was a very fascinating woman, and he would readily admit that she had piqued his interest.

President Goldstein smiled slightly at the thoughtful expression on Hamir's face and realised that things were actually better than he had expected. There was a natural attraction between Hamir and Qaya, which made him even surer that it was just the right thing to bring these two children together. Then he wouldn't have to worry separately about the two of them in the future!

"Little Qaya, what do you think of my son? Is he good?" the President asked with a smile.

Qaya was jolted out of her frozen state. She stared at her mentor and saviour's face on the screen in dismay.

"President, I…" she began, but then her chin wobbled and she clamped her mouth shut. Her normally cool and elegant face was full of distress.

The smile on the President's face dimmed. "What's wrong, child?" he asked Qaya gently. "Don't worry, I will not force you into anything, nor will I let anyone force you to do anything that you don't want to do. You are such an amazing child, and I am prouder of you than I can ever tell you. You have grown up so well, and I want you have all the happiness you deserve." He paused for a moment. "To be honest, I have been concerned about the lack of your romantic life for a long time now, but you are such a gem, I couldn't bear to set you to up to date any random fellow from somewhere. You deserve the best of the best, and the best man I can think of to match up with you is my eldest son. I wouldn't dare trust your welfare to anyone else!" he said softly, his face full of affection.

Qaya simply stared at him speechlessly, big tears rolling down her smooth cheeks.

"Ah, don't cry, child," President Goldstein said, looking a little panicked – he had never seen Qaya cry in the last ten years, after their first disastrous meeting which had ended up in her being rescued by him. She had been just fifteen, then, barely more than a child herself, and that was the only time he had seen her cry. After that, she had developed into a phenomenal person by herself, and he had been immensely proud of her growth.

With a face full of regret, President Goldstein attempted to soothe Qaya and said softly, "This old man just wanted to hear you call me Papa and be a part of my family, that's all. It was a selfish and wilful thing on my part – I'm sorry I burdened you two with it. Forget I said anything. Don't worry, little Qaya, I will find you a man better than Hamir, all right? This son of mine is lacking."

Qaya shook her head tearfully. "Hamir isn't lacking," she said. "It is I who don't deserve someone as good as him."