Sarah gently clutched her small black purse as she waited in the elevator. She looked down once more at her dress for another number of times. It was a modest and elegant yellow floral fishtail midi dress with an elastic cuff starting from below her breasts down to slightly below her hips. The rest of the dress was a free skirt with light tulle layers. The top part had a small round neck, casually revealing her clavicle and a slightly raised small puff sleeve.

It was her mother's dress. One of the ones she had decided to keep. Now, she was glad she did. She left her hair unbound, although well brushed. She used compact powder on her face a bit and applied very little nude lipstick. Sarah didn't want to seem like she was trying too hard. Simultaneously, she didn't want to step out looking bland as always.

She swung her head around, finally unable to bear the weight of the gaze burning into her.

"What?"

Aaron shrugged. He'd leaned against the side with his arms folded below his chest.

"What? I didn't say anything."

"But you keep staring. It's making me nervous."

She turned from him, looking straight again.

"Well, you look okay."

The elevator doors open.

"What?" Sarah looked at him.

"Nothing." He walked past her, stepping out first.

Sarah stifled a smile as she stepped out, following him behind.

"Wait."

Aaron stopped for her to catch up to him. She looked him in the eyes.

"Please, don't say anything I wouldn't say."

"You don't say anything, Sarah."

He pushed the door open and walked out before she could say anything more. Sarah had no choice but to follow him.

Ramsey stepped down from his car once he saw them exit the building. He wore a custom-tailored beige suit and a white shirt with a button or two unbuttoned.

"Ramsey Blackwell?" Aaron asked while Ramsey was halfway coming to meet them.

"Yes."

"Oh, he's way out of your league." He commented to his sister, along with a chuckle.

Right there, she regretted not insisting strongly that he doesn't follow her downstairs.

Ramsey stretched out a hand to him, an element of confusion detailed from his brows to his eyes.

"You are?"

Aaron accepted his handshake.

"Aaron. Your fiancée's younger brother."

"Oh, hello Aaron."

The teenager smiled. He squinted his eyes, lifted his chin, and folded his arms below his chest.

"I'm just curious. How—How did this happen? You, my sister. What, you saw her dusting your home and thought, oh she looks pretty..."

Sarah hit him in the back with her purse and he slightly jumped.

"Please go inside."

Her voice was calm, low, and yet, authoritative.

Aaron let out a light sigh. He looked from her then to Ramsey. Then he whipped up a smile.

"It was nice meeting you, Ramsey."

Ramsey nodded. Aaron turned and left their presence.

Sarah chuckled uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry about that."

"No, it's fine. I have one just like that."

She blinked, "What..."

"I meant a sister. I have a younger sister and she talks."

"Oh, I didn't know that."

"Yes, she's a bit of a stay-away-from-home kind of person. But you might see her at the wedding."

Sarah nodded with a polite smile on her face.

The wedding.

"You look radiant."

Her eyes lit up and her close-mouthed smile stretched to her ears. She lowered her eyes and gently smoothed her hand over her hair.

"Thank you."

For a moment, she contemplated.

"You're looking han—handsome yourself."

Ramsey put a hand on his diaphragm area along with a playful smile.

"Thank you. I try to live up to the expectation as a knight."

Her cheeks flushed and her eyes staggered between his and any other place.

His laugh was lighthearted and brief. Then he proceeded to open the car's door for her.

"Thank you." She appreciated in a low voice before sitting in the car and he shut the door.

While Ramsey drove towards the other side of the city, Sarah glanced at him. One time, he caught her but merely flashed her a smile.

Finally, she spoke up.

"You mentioned your father has given his consent. Is that true?"

Ramsey spared her a glance. "Yes. For his twisted reason, he accepted."

"I... I guess that's good."

"Sure."

Sarah let out a deep sigh upon recollecting she saw Freya earlier and the woman pretended not to know her.

"I don't think your mother will ever accept me."

"She will... soon. She's just a bit tough to get through, at first. Don't worry."

Ramsey softly squeezed her hand on her lap.

Sarah's eyes widened and she froze. For almost a minute, she forgot how to breathe. Then she stared at her hand which he'd held. It happened quickly and abruptly and the effect of it elicited strange heart palpitations. She looked at Ramsey whose gaze stayed on the road ahead. He seemed normal.

Was she the only one who felt this dramatic about their skin touching?

She looked away from him and touched her cheek.

Although a weird smile tugged at the corner of her lips, a part of her struggled to let it come to fruit.

They walked into the restaurant and a waiter directed them to a table for two.

Sarah's eyes glossed all over the exquisite fine dining space. Black and gold interior décor. Low, romantic lightning. High glass, clear frames on the side. She stared out of it for a while. For her, the night view of the city's skyline, and the harmony of lights was a fresh intake of beauty to watch from the high-rise building they were in. It was somewhere she would never be able to afford to sit down and have a meal.

Her eyes scrolled up and down the menu in her hands. She couldn't understand most of the names of the meals. Worst of all, the price tag scared her. Although she knew she wouldn't be paying, it didn't sit right with her to cost him this much.

Ramsey noticed the light furrow between her brows and her undivided attention to the menu.

"Can I order on your behalf?"

Sarah lifted her eyes to him. After a second of hesitation, she closed the menu.

"Okay." Her weak smile was a bit awkward in the end.

He smiled back and waved to the waiter.

She watched him as he charmingly read out their order. The words rolled off his tongue without a hitch. He then specified how he wanted their meal prepared and ordered a bottle of wine-moments such as this reminded her of how different they were. Afterward, the waiter walked away.

"It's not your first time here, right?"

Ramsey picked up the napkin in front of him.

"Yes."

Sarah nodded. She looked around, and the faint sound of light classical music played in the background. There were barely enough tables for a full house. It was the type of restaurant that accepted reservations ahead of arrival.

"I didn't think you would ask me out."

"Well, we're going to be husband and wife soon. I thought it was right for us to get to know each other. Don't you think so?"

She nodded.

"What would you like to know?"

"Anything. Of course, only the information you're comfortable sharing." He added politely.

She lowered her eyes for some time, thinking hard about what to tell him about herself. No matter how hard she thought, Sarah couldn't think of anything interesting about her life. She'd lived a rather bland life. All she'd done was work. She didn't have a close friend and hadn't ever experienced even one romantic relationship. At age twenty-five, Sarah realised that nobody truly saw her. Perhaps because she was good at blending in with the crowd, or maybe because she never really went after it. Suddenly, she was at that point where she didn't know her left from right and was too embarrassed to mention it.

"I noticed there was only your dad."

She lifted her eyes to him.

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your mum?"

Sarah gulped, lowering her eyes for a moment. She rubbed her hands on her lap together and fought hard to control the flood of memories from that day.

"When I was in high school, there was... um, my parents were in a car and dad was driving. A car rammed into them. My mum..." Sarah sucked in a silent breath. "... she was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital and dad... he slipped into a coma for five months. His leg never truly healed so he limps now. It was... It was a difficult period."

Sarah tried to put up an I'm-okay-now smile but he could tell she wasn't. It reminded him of his loss. Suddenly, he saw her in a new light. She wasn't just the young woman who was kind enough to accept his insane offer but more like a real person. Her strength was admirable.

"I'm sorry that happened."

She smiled a bit wider. "It's fine. I guess it's fate or destiny. Something like that."

"Still..." He lowered his eyes for a moment. "...it's cruel how fate can be sometimes."

Sarah watched him draw in a deep breath. His face declined from its usual vibrant colour. It worried her.

"You've agreed to go on this journey with me. I think the polite thing to do is to tell you the truth."

He paused.

Sarah noticed the toll it took for him to keep going down the path of this narration.

"Four years ago, I met this woman. Beautiful with an incredible heart. She was a teacher. We fell in love..."

Her brows slightly raised for a second.

"... Those first two years together were amazing. Then I proposed. My parents objected because of the difference in our status."

He chuckled dryly. "I was ready to marry her without my parents' approval but she didn't want that. She wanted their acceptance. She was big on families sticking together. But... before we knew it, she was diagnosed with an illness... and she died a year later."

Sarah's lips barely parted. She blinked more. It was a sad story to hear.

"I—I'm sorry. It sounds like she was a good woman."

Ramsey's lips curved into a smile.

"She was. I don't think I'll ever love another woman the way I loved her."

Sarah kept staring at him. His words took precious time to register in her head.

"I... I know expecting you to marry me even after hearing what I said is selfish of me. Yet, it's the truth. I can promise to protect you, take care of you but I can't promise it'll ever be anything more than that."

Sarah stayed still. Her eyes were on him but her mind was travelling miles away. It wasn't more so where her thoughts were at, rather how her feelings got stirred by the information. She didn't want to react. She couldn't let her mask slip off because, well Sarah didn't know why but she knew she couldn't. Yes, Ramsey had said that their arrangement would be platonic yet hearing it again boldly proclaimed after a few weeks of getting to know him, it didn't feel as bland as before.

She lowered her eyes. "I understand."

Ramsey watched her. "Are you okay with it?"

"Yes." Sarah spared him a glance and a wider smile which she struggled to hold any longer.

Thankfully, the waiter arrived right on time with their food. After serving them, he was on his way. Ramsey stretched out a hand over the table. She accepted his handshake to keep the mask on.

"I'm glad we have an understanding." He told her, accompanied by a warm smile.

Sarah forced a believable smile, quickly lowering her eyes to her food when their hands separated. She feared he might sense her true feelings if he looked into her eyes for too long.

Hi! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Pls vote or share your thoughts in the comment section. Thank you. See you soon.