Blank Canvas

●Epilogue●

One week later

I was nervous. Like literally nervous. Atlas didn't even think that it would be better to give me a heads up before taking such an important step without letting me in on it.

I was silently sulking as we cruised our way in his Mercedes convertible on the beautiful streets of Turkey's capital, Istanbul. It was already there in the airport hangar because Atlas told me that his mother makes frequent visits here.

He was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel while I was biting my nails anxiously as I sat beside him on the passenger seat.

Atlas thought that it would be awesome to take me to meet his mother by bringing us here in Turkey. The worst thing was that I was completely unprepared. Well, let's just say that his idea of surprise didn't bode well with me.

The moment he'd put the bomb on me, my nerves skyrocketed to another level where I wanted nothing more than to hide inside my room under the forts of blankets back in America. 

"A little heads up would have been really good, you know? I mean, you could have told me beforehand about this impromptu meeting with your mom," I said, running my hands through my hair.

"Calm down, Aria. She's my mom and I know that she's going to love you," he assured me by patting my arm.

"Yes, that's what I am trying to tell you. She's your 'mom' and it's really hard to impress your boyfriend's mother. I mean they usually search for "something" that I have no clue about. Like... I don't know but... you get me?" I ranted, all the while doing wild gestures with my hands.

"Not a single thing. By the way, I like it when you call me your boyfriend." He grinned and I glared at him playfully. "Plus you'd asked about my family last week, right? So voila here we go." He chuckled.

I gave him an incredulous look. It was like he enjoyed seeing me getting tortured. "Yeah I did but what I didn't expect was such a beautiful surprise," I grumbled sarcastically with a sigh and rolled my eyes.

"Aria," he began softly. I turned to him with furrowed brows to see him giving me a gentle smile. "She's an amazing person and I promise you that you guys will click real quick." His smile widened even more, revealing his dimples. He took my hand in his to rub soothing circles on my knuckles and continued driving.

"Okay... only if you say so," I muttered finally. 

The entire ride he told me everything about his mother. I could tell that he admires her very much with the way he was animatedly talking about her.

After about fifteen minutes, we finally reached our destination at his mother's place. However I wasn't ready for the sight in front of me. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't impressed by the mansion in front of me. The house was huge with a perfectly mowed garden adorning the outside. 

Atlas drove inside the garage doors and parked it amongst the other beautiful cars. 

'Wow! Now I understand what Atlas meant when he said that his mother is a celebrity interior designer.' Guess, the entire family is a star.

As I was busy gawking everywhere, Atlas opened my door. He even extended his hand to offer me his comfort which I was glad for. His warm hand was enough to hush down my ADHD senses. 

"Don't worry, Ari. I know that you're gonna like her," he whispered, caressing my cheeks and kissing my temple.

"Yeah, I take your word but what if your mom doesn't like me?" I asked, doing the jazz motions with my hands. 

"Oh, come on, it wouldn't be that bad anyway. I know my mom and she wouldn't not like you. Now if you may, madame," he said the last sentence with a fake accent and a little bow.