A Long Path Ahead Of Us

Chapter 7 (Lovebirds On The Road)

"What did you say?" It seemed finally she recalled how to speak. "He resigned? But why?"

Mister manager shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know exactly. He said something like he wanted to concentrate on the upcoming exam. You know, he's still a student after all. Thus leaving this job won't be a disadvantage to him."

Annabella held the urge to roll her eyes. It wasn't a big deal to leave such kind of a job whether the person was a student or not. The manager was talking like it was the best job ever in the world.

Later, Annabella returned to her table with a heavy heart. She wished to continue talking with the manager to get rid of that frog. However, although the manager was a talkative man, he was naturally busy with work and he had to leave midway.

Annabella was surprised to see their table was empty. She blinked when she saw the small note on the side where that frog had sat. She bent slightly before picking it up to read it.

'Dear Annabella,

Sorry, Something came up and I have to leave immediately. Let's meet again ASAP until the day of our marriage, hee hee. (PS.Dunno your no. So left u this note) ♡

Yours,
Nicky. '

Annabella raised her eyebrows when she saw that heart-shaped emoji. Even that jerk John never sent a heart to her when he exchanged texts with her. She wasn't lying if she said that it was her first time receiving such an emoji from a man who appeared as her date. Unfortunately, she didn't like Frognick.

Her mom's call came up the minute she left the coffee shop.

"Hello..." Annabella called out tiredly. It was a holiday but because of her mom's torture, here she was... Going on a blind date with a stranger as usual. But this time, she didn't like her date. Not that she liked her other dates. But as for Froggy, he was clearly far away from her expectations.

"How was the date?" Once again, her mother's daily bomb came crashing down to earth and hit Annabella's head directly. 

"Oh Mom, I don't like him." Came Annabella's usual answer.

Mrs Parker sighed heavily. "This child. Tell mom, what kind of a man do you want? So that I can choose a more suitable candidate."

Annabella liked her question. Holding the phone in one hand, she started strolling along the road while pondering how to answer her mother's question.

"Mmm... Handsome." She replied. The figure of the waiter boy's perfect body came into her mind almost immediately. She was surprised as she blushed. What was happening to her? Of all the men, why was she thinking about a mere teenager who didn't even become an adult yet?

"Handsome! Can you eat handsomeness?" Her mother's roar from the other side made Annabella flinch and she snapped out of her daydream in an instant.

"Why Mom? Your daughter is a beauty. Isn't it unfair if your beautiful daughter has to marry an ugly man?" Annabella asked coquettishly.

Mrs Parker shook her head, disappointed. "Sweetie," She started lecturing her silly daughter. "When you guys grow older and older... The handsomeness and beauty would fade away one day. So don't consider the outer surface. You have to think about inner beauty the most. It's the most important thing when you choose a partner to live together for the rest of your life." She paused for a moment to catch up her breath.

Annabella didn't say anything and listened to her mother like an obedient child.

Mrs Parker spoke again. "Can you understand what I'm saying? Look at your father. He's an average-looking man but I still fell in love with him. Life isn't like a fairytale world, okay? You must find someone who can love you, cherish you and protect you whether that person is good-looking or not."

Annabella let out a tired sigh. "Mom, I understand."

Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure from the corner of her eye. She quickly said something to her mother and hung up the phone before hopping over to him. Her face was brightened in delight.

It was a tall guy who had a muscular body. He had a handsome face as well. He obviously looked like the male lead from a Romance novel. It was a pity that he already had a girlfriend.

A long time ago, Annabella secretly had a little liking for him during her days at the university. However, he was surrounded by so many girls hence, she didn't have a chance to get close to him. Coupled with the fact that she was labelled as asexual, Liam, the heartthrob didn't pay attention to her despite her beauty.

"Hi Liam," She stood in front of him and greeted him with a warm and sincere smile on her face.

Liam sized the beauty in front of him up and down. He had keen eyes when it came to women. He could tell what was their purpose just with a single look. Nonetheless, strangely enough, he couldn't find flaws in her honest eyes which sparkled like tiny gemstones.

Clearing his throat, Liam asked politely, "My lady, who are you?"

The corner of Annabella's mouth started twitching and she felt ashamed for a moment. She awkwardly answered him, "I'm Annabella from Greenwich University."

"Aaah," Liam slapped his hip as he blurted out. "You are that asexual girl. Anashi! Sorry, I couldn't recognise you. I think it must be because of your beauty. You are more beautiful than the previous you."

Annabella blushed as she lowered her head. "Thank you." She exclaimed with a beaming smile on her lips.

Damien was driving his car towards his house when he accidentally saw a couple in the corner of the road, standing face-to-face and talking with all smiles and whatnot.

'Lovebirds...'

He was about to avert his gaze to the road again when he saw the girl's face. He instantly recognized her. It was the older sister who went on god knows how many dates.

Damien was suddenly so curious. Why didn't she meet her new date at a café as usual? Instead, why did they choose to meet in the street? Was she serious about this one? Why didn't she learn a lesson from the previous incident?

She was almost raped for god's sake! Why was she believing men without the slightest worries? Really! She was stupider than he thought. What a silly woman! It wouldn't be unbelievable if she fell into a trap again.