278 The Doorbell They’re Waiting For
Pearl Garden Apartment. D
Ste was utterly speechless as she watched her mother march back and forth like a stressed general. From the dining room to the living room, then to the door, and repeat. She had been doing this for five whole minutes.
She was genuinely worried her mother might faint before Dn even showed up.
“Oh my God, Mom, can you stop pacing?” Ste finally says, showing her concern.
Alicia halted in her steps and hurried to join Ste in the seating area. She dropped herself onto the single sofa, looking far too anxious for a woman waiting for a guest who wasn’t even her date.
“Can you check on him? Is he going to bete or something?” Alicia demanded. “It’s already six thirty. Why isn’t he here yet? Are you sure you told him?”
Ste exhaled silently. She didn’t know whether tough or cry. Her mother was acting like a teenager waiting for her crush.
If anyone else walked in, they might genuinely mistake the situation and think her mother was the one secretly in love with Dn.
“Yes, I told him,” Ste answered. “And he also said… okay.”
Alicia narrowed her eyes, “Did you tell him what time?”
“No. But I told him dinner.”
Alicia clutched her chest as if she had been personally attacked. “There, there… silly Ste. You must tell him we usually have dinner at seven. Maybe he didn’t know.”
Ste silently prayed that Dn would suddenly remember a meeting, a project deadline, or, better yet, a spontaneous trip to the moon. Anything would be better than himing here tonight.
Because looking at her overly enthusiastic mother right now, Ste felt a shiver. If this continued, her mother might start nning a wedding theme before the appetizers were served.
“Ste, hurry, call him. I am worried he might forget.” Alicia urged again.
“Mom…” Ste took another deep breath. “Maybe he is busy at the office. You know he is Axel Knight’s secretary, right!?”
<
278 The Doorbell They’re Waiting For
“Should I call Axel to let him go-”
“No, mom! Please, no!” Ste shot up in a panic, hands raised as if to stop a crime in
progress.
Thest thing she needed was her mother calling her billionaire brother–inw to personally request that her possible future husband be released from work. That would be a humiliation she would never recover from.
Alicia crossed her arms. Her eyes narrowed, “Then call him now. Do not make my cooking cold.”
Ste slumped back down, defeated. Her mother was unstoppable tonight, and she had reached the point where resistance was useless.
With a heavy sigh, she grabbed her cellphone.
As she searched for Dn’s name in her contacts, she couldn’t help but vent her frustration silently, “Why do I feel like I’m the one being forced into an arranged marriage…”
Alicia tilted her head. “Did you say something?”
“No, Mom,” Ste said with a bitter smile. “I’m calling him now.”
Her thumb hovered over Dn’s name as her soul quietly left her body. This was going to be the longest and most awkward dinner of her life.
However,
Before Ste could scroll further in her contacts, her phone suddenly vibrated. Dn’s
name shed on the screen.
Her heart tripped over itself.
She stood up from the couch and hurried to stand by the window, far away from her
mother’s ears.
“Hi, Dn…” she greeted softly, trying her best to sound like she wasn’t internally waiting for his call.
“Hi Ste,” his calm voice was enough to make her heart even more chaotic. “I’m sorry to call just now. What’s your house number?”
“Oh! Sorry, I forgot to tell you. It’s 101.”
She pped her forehead silently. ‘Nice, Ste. How could you forget to tell him the house number? Brilliant.‘
<
278 The Doorbell They’re Waiting For
“I’m heading to your house now.”
“O–okay… I’ll wait.”
The call ended. But her heart was still making strange, squeaky noises.
“Who’s calling you?”
Alicia’s voice popped up right behind her enough to make Ste almost trip on her feet.
“M–Mom! You scare-” Before she could finish her words, the doorbell rang.
Ste looked at her mother in sheer panic. “He’s here. Please. Mom, I beg you… Please act casual. Don’t look at him like you’ve already chosen tuxedos for the wedding. It’s embarrassing!”
er
Alicia’s entire face glowed. Hands sped in front of chest, eyes twinkling like Christmas lights.
“Of course, dear. I will be very casual and won’t embarrass my own daughter. Now go! Open the door. I’ll heat the dinner!”
Ste stared at her.
That smile…
That sparkle…
That suspicious enthusiasm…
Yeah. There was no way her mother would behave casually.
With a doomed sigh, as if epting her fate, Ste rushed to the front door.
She opened the door to find Dn standing there, still dressed in his light gray suit, his hair neat and his expression calm. It seemed he had just returned from his office.
“Hi,” Ste said, trying to ignore the sudden swooping in her stomach. “Sorry for making youe all the way here from
your office…”
“It’s fine,” Dn replied smoothly. “I just happened to not have work… And came to my own house early.” He pointed to the top floor to remind her he also lives in this building.
The tiny pause told her… he was absolutely lying.
She stepped aside, lowering her voice. “Before we go in… Please ignore my mom. She’ll… overreact. She might try to set us up or call you her future son–inw. Just
278 The Doorbell They’re Waiting For
pretend you don’t hear anything.”
“I know,” Dn nodded calmly. “No need to worry.”
“Thank you.”
They walked inside.
Alicia was already waiting for them in the dining room, smiling like she’d won the lottery.
“Dn, wee, dear. Come,e…sit. Dinner is ready.”
“Thank you, Ma’am.” Dn bowed slightly, respectful as always.
Ste sat down, bracing for impact.
Alicia set dishes before them. Then fix her attention on Dn.
“Dn, I still haven’t thanked you properly for saving my daughter from those awful gangsters. You are our family’s savior. We owe you-”
“Mom,” Ste said under her breath, cheeks heating, “please—”
But Alicia continued, eyes shining with gratitude and excitement. “We owe you a lot. If not for you, I don’t know what would’ve happened to her. You’re such a good young
man.”
Ste just wanted to crawl under the table.
Dn, on the other hand, was chill, giving a polite little smile and totally unfazed by Alicia’s intensity.
<
ADMINJ