CHAPTER 54
ROBERT’S POV
My mother was all over the place. She dismissed the servants, acting more like the waitress as she filled our plates, poured us drinks and fetched anything we needed without us needing to stand up or lift a finger. She also forced words into my mouth, doing her best to initiate conversations I wasn’t interested in and comfortable in having.
“You don’t need to reveal much about yourself if you don’t want to, okay?” Rosaline said, relishing in the moment. “I already know everything about you. Your mother told me everything! This might be our first time meeting but I already feel a connection like I have known you for ages.”
I was momentarily rebuffed by her words, my mouth rounding in shock as I stared at her in utter disbelief. “Everything?”
“Yep,” she nodded with a smile.
When I glanced at my mother from behind Rosaline where she was monitoring our every move, she half shrugged and nodded proudly, urging me to carry on with the conversation.
“Like how you hate mushrooms and fish, and how all your past relationships ended badly because the women just weren’t good enough for you. The first one, Lily was poor and couldn’t give you a child and the second one betrayed you by using you and tricking you into believing you were the father of her child,” Rosaline rambled away, revealing all my mother had told her.
The level of shock I felt left me speechless and frozen on the spot. When I glanced at my mother again, she shrugged and folded her lips apologetically, letting me know she had no other choice. I couldn’t help but look away and grimace incredulously.
“But not to worry,” Rosaline reassured, smiling charmingly. She has been smiling ever since we got here. Doesn’t she ever get tired of it? Doesn’t her cheekbones hurt from all that nonstop smiling? “After we get married, I promise to be the wife of your dreams. I don’t mind giving birth to octuplets for you and I will never for any reason betray you.”
Reaching across the table, she placed her hand on top of mine, massaging gently and giving me a reassuring smile. She seemed desperate, acting like one brainwashed. I don’t know what else my mother told her or how she even managed to convince her to agree to this but from the looks of it, it was obvious she’d been planning this for quite some time now. I wondered if my father and the rest of the family were aware of this madness.
“This can’t be happening,” I closed my eyes and said to myself. I wished I could bury my face somewhere or even better, just leave this dining table and go get some rest.
Opening my eyes, I could see my mother dropping a couple of wedding magazines on the table. “You two are perfect for each other, a match made in heaven. I’ve already picked out a few venues for your wedding and honeymoon and made a list of the top event planning companies in the county that you can choose from. Your wedding will be a spectacle so grand it’ll be talked about for generations.” She exaggerated with a wide grin.
As I stared at the wedding magazines, my jaw tightened, quivering with rage. I could feel my blood boiling inside me with steam practically billowing from my ears. I was doing my best not to lose it. Normally, I would have burst into anger and left long ago, not caring about anything. But I didn’t want to do that in front of someone I was meeting for the first time, giving her the wrong impression of me and also because of the regard I had for my mother.
“Come on,” my mother urged us like we were some kids on a playdate. “Pick out your locations. Uhmm… Rosaline if you can come sit over so you can be closer to him…”
I didn’t wait for her to finish. I used that opportunity to slide my hand away from Rosaline’s and held my mother back as she was about to pull a chair closer to where I sat for Rosaline to come sit beside me.
“Can I talk to you outside for a minute?” I said, trying to hide annoyance though it was becoming impossible to conceal.
“Oh my sweet boy,” she cooed, coming close and cradling my cheeks. “This evening is all about the two of you. Whatever you want to talk to me about can wait till later okay? We have all the time in the world for that.”
“It’s something important,” I insisted, speaking through gritted teeth. “It can’t wait till later, it needs to be right now.”
Sensing the urgency and hint of annoyance in my tone, she gazed around nervously, forcing a smile before hesitantly agreeing.
We excused ourselves and as we went out, I couldn’t help but notice how Rosaline’s expression turned sour like vinegar, her never-ending smiles finally vanishing. She must think the problem was from her. That she must have done something I didn’t like.
My mother and I settled at the far end of the hallway that led to the dining room.
As I faced her, I stared at her furiously, the anger I felt so intense I didn’t know where to begin.
“Don’t even give me that look,” she said, turning away with a defiant look on her face. “I’m only doing what’s best for you.”
“If it is what’s best for me then you could have at least asked me for my permission…”
“I’m your mother, Robert. I carried you in my belly for a solid nine months and brought you into this world on a sunny morning. So, with or without your permission, I know what’s best for you, and I won’t hesitate to step in when I see it. I’m telling you, that girl is perfect for you,” she said with unwavering resolve.
I scoffed, incredulous at her unyielding determination to push me into this union with Rosaline or whatever her name was. My mother should know by now that I don’t take well to being bossed around or forced into things I have no interest in.
“Too bad I don’t feel the same way,” I said sadly, turning to head upstairs to my room. “Tell her to stop wasting her time on me and go home. All this time spent on me could be better spent finding a man who’d marry her in a heartbeat since she’s so desperate to be married.”
“Do you know who that girl is?” My mother asked as she rushed in front of me to stop me from heading upstairs.
“I don’t care to know,” I said with a lack of interest. “All I just want to do right now is to get off these clothes, take a bath and have a long sleep because there is no way I’m going back in there…”
“She’s the only child of the owner of one of the country’s largest conglomerates. A marriage between you two wouldn’t just strengthen your company, which I hear has been struggling lately but will also enable you to have an equal share in her family’s assets.”