Chapter 9

Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace!

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Once, there was a man.

Then there was a girl.

And then there was the man's father

Who said, "You will marry this girl."

It was an excerpt from an old book that Eric used to read in college. It's a tragic comedy that explores an arranged marriage and the protagonist's attempts to resist the father's wishes, ultimately failing and ending in tragedy.

Actually, he used to laugh at it when he first read the story. But who would've thought that this ridiculous marriage setup would one day become his life?

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"Sorry if I'm late,"

Lady Annette Oswald gracefully entered the garden with her steward following closely behind. She immediately offered a polite smile and didn't hesitate to give a proper greeting to both Eric and Emil.

And for a brief second, her eyes met Eric's.

However, the young man quickly looked away, pretending to be deeply fascinated by the nearest pot of ferns. It wasn't much of a distraction, but at least it was a decent one. Yes, certainly better than letting the young lady notice just how uncomfortable he was at that moment.

To be fair to Annette, she was undeniably beautiful. She had this soft, wavy brown hair that perfectly matched her gentle green colored eyes and the pale blue dress that flowed elegantly as she moved. Her politeness was evident in every gesture, and you won't find a single flaw, even in her way of greeting and showing respect.

However, the problem was that, no matter how beautiful or impressive Lady Annette was, Eric didn't really feel any spark for her. None. It's not that there's anything wrong with Annette. Again, Eric sees her as perfect. It's just that Eric has a different perspective on the world, especially when it comes to romance and love.

Now that he came to think of it, he felt more emotionally attached to the fictional lead characters in the stage plays he secretly watched than to any real person he'd ever met.

Maybe, Eric thought with an anxious sigh, his friends were right.

Perhaps it was time to see a specialist.

"I really want to apologize..." Annette said softly as she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I had to take care of some urgent business matters before coming here. I hope I didn't inconvenience you...especially Mr. Vale."

"It's no trouble at all, Lady Annette," Emil said quickly. He immediately stepped in and guided the young lady to a seat across from Eric, pouring her a cup of freshly brewed tea. "You've arrived just in time."

Annette gave a relieved smile. "Oh, that's good to hear."

On the other hand, Eric quietly wished Annette had been just a little late—maybe by an hour or two. Or, it would be better if she didn't come at all. That way, he'd finally have a decent excuse to call off the whole engagement and spare them both from this painfully awkward pre-engagement meeting—slash—date, lovingly arranged by his ever-persistent father, Lord Robert Vale.

"Please excuse me," Emil said with a polite bow. Of course, he had to give the two young people some privacy as per Lord Vale's precise instructions, "I'll leave you two alone for now. Please enjoy each other's company while we are preparing some snacks for the two of you."

"Emil—!" Eric hissed as panic started to creep into his voice. But Emil only gave him a meaningful look, the kind of look that said, "Just play along, young master. Sit there and smile." Then, with a knowing nod, he turned and walked away, leaving Eric solely to his fate.

Oh, god, what am I going to do here now?!

At that moment, Eric completely froze in his seat. His palms were sweating, and his soul was almost halfway out the garden gate. Annette, on the other hand, remained calm and polite in her seat while waiting for Eric to speak.

Eric could almost hear his conscience speaking to him, "Say something, you idiot!" and it was getting unbearable, so he decided to speak before the awkwardness between them swallowed him whole.

"Uh...so," Eric started, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace than a greeting, "How are you?"

Annette blinked, then she smiled warmly.

"I'm good. And you, Mr. Vale?"

"Just Eric..." he quickly corrected the young lady, almost swatting away the formality by waving his hands. "I'm really not great with all that 'Mr.' stuff. Eric's fine with me. Are you...uh... fine with that?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm good with that. In that case, just call me Annette," she said kindly before taking a dainty sip of her tea. Then, with perfect composure, she added, "I was a little surprised by your invitation to meet me today."

Wait, me?!

Eric was genuinely surprised to hear that Annette thought it was him who set up that date, even though his father, Lord Vale, was the one who planned it all. Eric couldn't help but frown in annoyance. He wanted to protest right then and there that this whole gunshot date was entirely his father's doing, but he caught himself just in time. He didn't want to give Annette a bad impression just because he couldn't control his emotions.

Great, he thought to himself as he forced a warm smile. Now Annette thinks I actually wanted to go on a date with her. Perfect start, Dad! You really nailed it!

But Eric couldn't just let this misunderstanding hang between him and Annette. The young lady deserved to know the truth, preferably before everything turned into an even bigger mess.

"Well, the truth is..." Eric anxiously rubbed the back of his neck, searching desperately for words that wouldn't sound like an excuse or an escape, but somewhat apologetic. "My father arranged all this. I'm sorry if you thought this was, you know...my idea."

"Oh..." Annette blinked, slightly surprised. But after a few moments, the corners of her mouth suddenly curled into a knowing smile, and she said, "Why am I not surprised? Uncle Robert does have his own way of taking initiative, especially with these kinds of things."

"Yeah," Eric muttered, trying not to sound as bitter as he felt. "That's...one way to put it, I guess."

For a brief second, Eric tried to study Annette's reaction. She didn't seem offended by the fact or even snobbish, despite knowing he wasn't the one who had invited her on the date. If anything, she looked genuinely kind and understanding. "Maybe," Eric thought to himself, "She's the type who can take rejection gracefully...right?

That's when Eric decided to speak now, or he might forever hold his peace!

So, with a deep, confident breath, Eric straightened himself and tried to sound calm and mature as he confessed.

"Listen, Annette," he began carefully. "I want to be honest with you. Like...completely honest. Is that okay?"

"Oh, sure. What is it?"

And as the words began to leave his mouth, his pulse immediately spiked. Because deep down, Eric knew, that nothing good ever followed a sentence that started like that.

"The thing is, I..." what Eric was going to say was, "I don't want to get married", but for some reason, perhaps due to nervousness, his brain and his mouth took a wrong turn.

"I don't want to marry you."

Eric's own words hung in the air like an anvil in the middle of the garden, so that even the birds seemed to stop chirping for a second.

Wait—what did I say? Fuck! Did I say that out loud?

And judging by Annette's shocked face, yes. Yes, he absolutely did.

But for some reason, the young lady calmly set down her cup, folded her hands neatly, and gave her response.

"I see. So that's how it is, Eric."

Eric gulped hard.

Something in Annette's smile and tone told him that this conversation was far from over.

And deep down, he knew...

He had just made things so much worse.