Broken Hearts by Phiya

Chapter Seventeen

Going to his parents' millions of dollars 10 bedrooms and 11 bath extravagant house on a Saturday night was many items below the list of what Tan has hoped to do with his evening. He didn't know what he might have done in his past life but someone up there seemed to be having a good laugh in his regard. Even as he really could be anywhere else, he was here, parked in front of their house, dreading what he will meet if he were to go in. He would go inside eventually. For Gabby, he reminded himself as he reached for the flowers he threw carelessly at the back of the chair. White roses. Gabby loved those. It wanted to turn his car around and take them to her. He wouldn't do that though, instead he would pick them up and go in through the front door and be polite. He'd do that to protect her.

When his mother called him earlier in the day, he'd known within him that she was calling to warn him.

"I assume your father mentioned the dinner with the Parks to you?" more like threatened but who was checking? "I'm calling to remind you, just in case you might have forgotten. We are having the Parks over and I need you here. On time." she emphasized. "I understand you will rather spend your night doing something else, but this is a family dinner so try not to embarrass us."

His mother didn't know the half of it. Even before her call came in, he had every intention of ditching his parents' dinner and call the next morning to say he had forgotten. He hated how they made him want to act like a rebellious teenager when he was in fact a grown adult.

He had to constantly remind himself that they wanted the best for him, that they loved him. The mantra he repeated in his head every time to convince himself that his parents meant no harm, that everything they did was to his favor. It was just unfortunate that it didn't favor him in the least, only that the shackles of outdated tradition kept tightening around his wrists.

"Eliyah will be coming here tonight, with her parents as well, so you must remember to be on your best behavior." His mother continued as though she was speaking to a toddler prone to throwing tantrums. "You two seemed to be talking that night at the company dinner."

"If speaking to a person for barely a minute means we talked then sure Mom, we're best buds." Tan replied with what could have almost been a sneer. If his mother heard the tone in his voice, she didn't mention it. It took everything in him to not say a few choice words that would have his mother gasping in horror. His patience was waning thinner and thinner as the day went by. His parents' relentless campaign to get him married with 2½ on the way was draining all the energy out of his.

"Mom, you don't have to worry about me embarrassing the family at dinner tonight." Tan said after a while. The talk was getting old and he just wanted his mother out of his hair. "I'll show up for it. Just don't expect a super romantic love match. While Eliyah might seem like the best choice for you and dad concerning my own life, I don't want anything to do with her." And if she wasn't stuck in the medieval times like both our parents, she shouldn't want anything to do with me either.

It would not surprise him if just like him; Eliyah's choice was taken from her as well. He wouldn't put it past their parents to put the burden of honoring the family name on her. He'd bet that she was the guarantee for securing her family's fortune just like he was.

"I know you two can't start dating immediately. But I also know she would be a good addition to the family." Tan rubbed his forehead with his fingers in frustration.

"How nice of you to be reasonable, mom. I guess I'll see you at dinner. Have a great day."

He wasn't sure if he wanted to leave the car yet. He knew that he would have to eventually do so with a determination to go through the night as clinically polite as he possibly can he reached behind to the back seat and picked the flower then made his way to the house.