Olivia smiled meaningfully, “You seem to be very surprised. That’s right, we are arranged marriages and my visit to Thailand that day was to confirm the face of the man who will marry me later,” Olivia explained in a soft yet firm voice.
How is this? What should I do now? Am I going to marry this woman later? Emily’s mind was filled with confusion and anxiety.
“Hey, are you daydreaming?” Olivia waved her hand, breaking Emily’s reverie.
“Sorry in advance, but this is too sudden for me. I don’t think I can accept this arranged marriage,” Emily explained in a firm voice.
“Take it easy, why do you have to panic like that? We’re not getting married right away. At least we can get to know each other first, right?” Olivia said in a calm manner, making Emily’s face turn pale and look confused.
“But why did you agree to this arranged marriage?” asked Emily curiously.
“We should order food and drinks first before continuing our conversation,” said Olivia while looking at the menu book, without looking distressed by this matchmaking.
After ordering food and drinks, Emily continued. “You must want love in a relationship. We can’t possibly continue this relationship without feelings.”
Upon hearing Emily’s words, Olivia looked surprised and laughed. “What? Love?”
“W-what’s wrong with what I said?” asked Emily.
“You were joking when you said that, right? You think people like us can feel love like commoners? Those of us who are born into wealthy families don’t have many choices in life. We can only walk on the path that has been chosen for us,” Olivia said.
Emily was silent for a moment, feeling the emptiness in Olivia’s words. She mused about what Olivia had said, considering a different perspective from what she had believed all along.
“But we should have the right to seek true love, right? Do we have to live within the boundaries set by our families?” Emily asked.
Olivia looked at Emily with a gaze full of confusion. “True love? Do people like Mr. Daniel still believe in that?” she said with a voice full of doubt. “Looking at your achievements so far, you shouldn’t be someone who would believe in such things.”
Emily was silent and looked at Olivia with a sympathetic gaze. She had always judged someone by their status, but right now, she could only feel the emptiness of Olivia’s figure in front of her.
‘Was this what Mr. Daniel felt all this time? Is it because of things like this, making Mr. Daniel grow into a cold, heartless and arrogant figure?’ Emily thought.
Not long after, a waitress came to them with some dishes, but unintentionally, the waitress made a faux pas by spilling the drink on Emily’s suit.
“Ah, I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to, again I apologize,” said the waitress.
“It’s okay,” Emily said politely while smiling at the waitress.
Olivia, with a sharp gaze, looked at the waitress who had spilled the drink on Daniel’s suit. “How are you going to take responsibility for your actions? That suit is even more expensive than your salary at this restaurant. Isn’t this a five-star restaurant? How can the service be this bad? Where is your manager?” she demanded.
The waitress looked terrified, trying to explain, “I’m sorry, miss. I didn’t do it on purpose.
“I’m fine,” Emily said, trying to ease the tension created by the incident.
However, the waitress remained where she was, seemingly feeling guilty for her faux pas.
“Please leave,” Emily said softly.
Olivia was silent, staring at Emily with a puzzled look. All this time, rumors had circulated that Daniel was cold, arrogant, and heartless. However, at this moment, Olivia saw a different, more humane side of Daniel.
“Sorry, I’ll have to excuse myself to go to the bathroom for a moment,” Emily excused herself, which was only answered with a nod by Olivia.
Emily stepped hurriedly into the women’s bathroom, forgetting that her identity had been swapped with Daniel’s. Carefully, she opened the water faucet and began to clean the suit that had been spilled.
“Arrghh!” a woman’s scream startled her into turning her head. Emily found that the woman had just come out of one of the bathroom doors.
Emily stared at the woman with a confused look, but she soon realized that she was currently in Daniel’s body. She patted his head lightly before finally bending down to apologize to the woman. “Sorry, I think I entered the wrong bathroom,” she said awkwardly.
Emily finally got out and tried to enter the men’s bathroom. However, as soon as she stepped inside, she immediately turned around not daring to continue after seeing several men there.
“Oh my God! How long do I have to live my life as a man?” Emily whispered and decided to go back to see Olivia.
Emily ended up spending the night eating and chatting a bit with Olivia until they finally parted ways. When the time came to go home, Emily got into her car that had been opened by Daniel’s personal driver. In the silence of the journey home, Emily felt a deep exhaustion in herself. The situation that surprised her as Daniel on the first day had drained her energy.
“Where are you going, sir?” asked Daniel’s personal driver politely.
“Let’s just go home, sir,” Emily replied.
Her gaze shifted to the car window. She stared blankly at the bright cityscape and the night lights. The tall buildings rose in stunning silhouettes, and the city lights formed a dazzling trail of light.
Suddenly, snowflakes fell from the dark sky, dancing in the air before landing softly on the car window. Emily felt a spontaneous urge to open the car window, feeling the falling snowflakes in her hands. The cold, soft sensation of melting snow on her palms made her smile. This was the first snowfall of the year. Emily pondered, mesmerized by the beauty of the falling snow.
“Can we go somewhere first?” Emily asked Daniel’s personal driver.
“Yes, sir,” the driver replied politely, and sped off into the darkness of the night. The snow continued to fall outside, but Emily’s mind drifted to the past. Moments later, the car stopped at a playground.
Emily got out of the car and stepped into the playground that she hadn’t visited in a long time.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here,” Emily murmured softly.
With careful steps, she chose to sit on one of the swings, swinging slowly while feeling the touch of the cold air caressing her face. The park was quiet, devoid of anyone’s presence, there was only silence surrounding her. Next to her, there were some neglected children’s toys.
Emily’s mind drifted far into the past, where the shadows of bitter memories came back to haunt her. She recalled her teenage years filled with ridicule and ostracization from her peers. They laughed at her, made fun of her innocence, and made her feel isolated. It was only in this garden, in this quiet and solitary place, that Emily felt she could let go of all her emotional baggage. This was where she used to be able to cry to her heart’s content, letting the tears flow unhindered.
Emily continued to reminisce about the bitter and sweet moments of her childhood. One of them was when she accidentally fell at school and someone helped her up. The man smiled warmly at her before quickly walking away.
“Thank you,” Emily said in a soft voice, but the man was already hurrying away. Although brief, the man’s kindness touched Emily’s heart. From there, she began to feel moved and secretly admired the man’s figure. After investigating further, Emily learned that the man was named Ethan. Ethan became Emily’s first love, a figure who had unwittingly won a special place in her heart.
Emily has always watched Ethan silently, letting her feelings grow and blossom in a heart full of emotion. Until one day, with determination, she decided to confess her feelings to Ethan.
“Sorry, I can’t accept you as my girlfriend.”
After being firmly rejected by Ethan, Emily’s heart was broken. The rejection of her first love left a wound. Even so, Emily did not just give up. With strong determination, she continued to give Ethan attention and affection, hoping to win his heart.
Although Ethan initially rejected her, Emily’s kindness and attention began to touch his heart. When their graduation day arrived, Emily again expressed her feelings.
“Well, let’s have a relationship as lovers,” Ethan said.
“T-that means you accept me, right?” asked Emily hopefully, finding it hard to believe what she had just heard.
“Yes, I want to try to open my heart to a good woman like you,” Ethan replied softly, ending Emily’s waiting period so far.
Suddenly Emily’s reverie was interrupted by steady footsteps approaching.
“What are you doing here?” the cold voice infiltrated Emily’s ears, making her look up, searching for the source of the voice. However, the dim light of the lamp made the shadowy figure faint in her eyes.