The Painting

Chapter 11

We ended up ordering Japanese food, which apparently is North's favourite. I always thought he was crazy rich, but it turns out he's "rich but broke at the same time"-his words, not mine. He refuses to use the credit card his foster dad gave him and only lives off his pay check. And let me tell you, that pay check is not low.

As we waited for the food, he talked about his trip to Japan when he was 15. It wasn't exactly voluntary, but he actually enjoyed it. Usually, he's a complete asshole but it's funny how he becomes a completely different person when he talks about the things he loves.

He sure is an interesting guy.

"Okay, in the meantime, help me pick a perfume. Lily gave me three samples, and I need to choose one," I said, bringing out three tiny bottles and placing them in front of him.

"Alright, sir," he replied, Somehow, I was starting to enjoy his company.

"So, this one's my favourite," I said, pointing to the small purple bottle. "It smells like a fresh field of lavender type shit."

"Hmm, put it on, and I'll check," he said, picking up the bottle. "Do you even know the right way to apply perfume?"

I raised an eyebrow. "There's a correct way to apply perfume?"

"Yeah, just like there's a proper way to breathe, want me to teach you that, too?" he said and whatever the fuck he meant, I don't get it.

"No, thanks," I said unsure if he was being serious or just mocking me.

He leaned in closer, still holding the bottle. "You start by spraying it on your wrist," he explained, grabbing my wrist gently and spraying the perfume. "Then you rub it on the other wrist and apply it to the sides of your neck, like this." He took my hands, guiding them to the side of my neck, and softly rubbed the perfume in. "See? Easy." He said with a deep voice, he's drunk or what?

"Wait, you wanted me to check, right?" he added.

Before I could respond, he pulled my wrist closer and took a slow sniff, the tip of his nose brushing against my skin. Then, without hesitation, he brought his face toward my neck, his hair brushed against my ear as he took another sniff of that damn perfume. I could fucking feel his breath against my neck, and my heart did a weird sinking in thing, it skipped a beat? IT SKIPPED A FUCKING BEAT??//??//? OH FUCK NO.

"Smells good" he said casually, as if this whole thing was completely normal and started checking other perfume bottles as I sat there in complete unaware about my existence, OHHHHH FUCK NO, NOT THIS GUY GOD.

As everything was going down, North's phone buzzed in his pocket. He picked up the call, and from what I could gather, it was his sister, Moon. The room was so quiet I could hear her voice through the speaker.

"North, I have news. Bad news," she said.

"How bad can it be? What's up?" North asked, clearly not very impressed.

"Mom's back."

North's eyes widened in shock. He looked pale, frozen for a second. From what little I knew, his mom had been living abroad, and that was about it. Whether she was good or bad, I had no idea. But based on his reaction, this definitely wasn't some heartwarming family reunion.

"What the actual fuck?" he said, standing up, his hands gripping his head. "What the fuck does she want?"

"I can't explain everything over the phone. Send me your address, I'll come over," Moon responded urgently.

North than turned to me. "Night, what's your address?"

I than typed my address into my phone and showed him since I don't have his number

"Send me the address I'll be there" Mood responded and ended the call.

"Tell me your number, I'll send it to you," I said, sensing the seriousness of the situation. "So, uhhh... what I gather is, she's not exactly the sweet step mother types, huh?"

North finally sat down beside me. "She's the reason that pig adopted us," he said "She's the mastermind behind all the business and shady stuff. Their marriage was purely business, arranged, and they can't stand each other. Never once slept in the same room. The only thing they love is money and ruining lives."

He paused for a moment, staring at the floor. "Whatever reason that woman is back here, it's gotta be big."

As North busied himself with a few calls, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find Moon standing there. She was a few inches shorter than me, with long, straight, silky hair and serene eyes. I had imagined her to be the cute and bubbly type, but she carried an air of calm that screamed she was definitely part of a mafia family.

"You must be Night," she said with a warm smile, extending her hand. She held a bouquet of white lilies. I couldn't help but smile back-she was sweet, so unlike her sarcastic, nasty brother. I liked her already.

"Thank you so much, Moon," I said, taking the flowers from her.

"YOU BOUGHT FLOWERS?? I'M LOSING MY MIND HERE AND YOU BOUGHT FLOWERS??" North came storming in, peeking over from behind with a look of disbelief.

"Well, you're already a lost cause, so why ruin my first meeting with Night?" Moon replied calmly, setting her bags on the table.

"You better sit down for this, North.....it's really, really messed up," she added, her tone more serious now.

"Just spill it already! You trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Mom bought a girl," Moon said, crossing her arms.

"A girl? Like, another sibling? Wait... did she have an affair? Do we have a new sibling?" North asked, he was completely confused.

"North, She bought a girl-from one of Thailand's richest businessmen settled in China. She's the heir to the Dao Amara family. An only child."

North stared blankly at her. "And what do you want me to do with this information?"

"Mom brought her here to marry you."

"......................................."

The room fell into pure silence. I had no idea how to process that bombshell, and it looked like North didn't either. His eyes went on around the room, his hands slowly rubbing his forehead as if trying to make sense of it all.

"I want you to kill me," he said suddenly, grabbing both of my hands.

"North, shut up and listen to me!" Moon cut in, pulling his hands away and looking him dead in the eye.

"Think about it she's the only child of one of the richest families in Asia. She's not just gonna marry any asshole. So, here's the plan, lose whatever class you don't already have in front of her. Make her believe your IQ is on par with a seagull or some shit. Act all stupid and disgusting-which, let's be honest, isn't that hard for you and she'll eventually reject you. Come on, it's foolproof."

"So you want me to act like a complete idiot? Just to get rid of her?"

"Exactly!" Moon exclaimed. "If you play this right, she'll run for the hills."

"Great. Another absurd thing added into my resume of life, an arranged marriage rejection plan." North said rubbing his hair.

Did my love story just end before it even started? This is all I could think of.

I watched him, trying to make sense of everything. North being forced into some ridiculous arranged marriage, and here I was, catching feelings for him in the middle of this mess. It felt like a cruel twist of fate, like some kind of bad joke the universe was playing on me.