[Calum Achorn]
The moment I laid my eyes on Ambrosia's mother, I knew she was trouble. I mean, I had the faintest idea that Ambrosia didn't like her mother, from the way that she avoided talking about her, but I didn't know that the hatred was mutual.
She stood stiffly, smiling at us in that superior way I'd seen so many times on the rich, snobby friends my father had. Ambrosia met her gaze head on, and I almost smiled at the woman's strength.
"Mother, meet Benjamin, my boyfriend." Ambrosia says. A shiver runs down my spine at the word 'boyfriend', and I feel light headed for a second.
"I'm sorry, just go with it." Ambrosia whispers in my ear and I literally deflate, my heart filling with disappointment.
She's just doing this for her mother. Don't let this get into your head!
"Benjamin. It's certainly nice to meet you." Her mother says, even though everything about her expression suggests otherwise.
What is her problem?
"Mrs Bellemore," I greet, evoking a soft sigh of defeat from Ambrosia. I look up and notice that her mother is almost frozen with surprise.
What did I do?
"What do you do for a living, Benjamin?" She says after recovering.
Oh, I make two times the monthly salary of a working man in one day, and at night, I put on my SWAG pendant and pretend to be Ambrosia's fake boyfriend, even though I am her real boyfriend, or not. You tell me.
"He's an artist," Ambrosia says, before I could form a coherent answer. They share a look between them that I couldn't decipher.
"Benjamin, may I have a talk with you? Alone?" Mrs Bellemore asks, gesturing towards the kitchen. I look at Ambrosia for assistance but she looks just as confused as I feel.
Letting go of Ambrosia's hand, I follow her mother into the kitchen where I'd first kissed her. I clear my throat to clean my head.
"Mrs Bellemore?" I ask, when she stops next to the counter.
She turns around and I almost gasp. Her eyes are filled with tears and she looks heartbroken.
What is going on?
"Mrs Bellemore, is everything okay?" I ask stiffly.
I wasn't good at handling emotional women.
"Oh, Benjamin. How am I going to break this to you?" She sobs into her hands. Something about all of this seemed suspicious to me, but I keep my cool.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Ambrosia..." She trails off.
"What about her?" I ask, my patience waning thin.
"She's cheating on you!" She almost screams.
"What?" I ask, faintly.
The woman opens one of the drawers and produces a magazine, flipping it open for me to see. It's a picture...
"That's her," She says.
...of me and Ambrosia in the Venice ball, dancing.
It's such a relief that I want to melt into the floor with a sigh, but I feel the woman's eyes on my face, gauging my reaction, and realise that I've to play this right.
"Who's the man?" I ask, looking up at the woman with saddened eyes. She's smiling, that she-devil.
"It's her boss. She's using him for his money." She says with a shake of her head.
"How could she do this to me?!" I scream, throwing the magazine away with disgust.
"I'm so sorry, Benjamin. I shouldn't have been the one to break this to you. But I've your best interests in mind." The woman says earnestly, but she's smiling so wide with self satisfaction that I want to smack her right in the face.
I take a few deep breaths to calm myself down.
"I'm getting out of here," I say, turning back and storming out of the kitchen. I don't look at Ambrosia for the fear of losing my control and laughing, so I walk straight out of the house, fuming. I stop walking and wait for Ambrosia to follow.
And after a few minutes, she does, calling my name.
"Benj--" I grab her wrist and pull her into my chest. Her voice dies out in her throat. She pulls back to look up at me and breathes a sigh of relief.
"Calum? What did my mother say to you? I can swear she was lying and I--" She begins to say, but I stop her.
"You've been cheating on me," I say, now in terrible danger of smiling.
"What? That's crazy! How could you even believ--"
"With me." I finish, effectively cutting her off.
"What?" She asks, confused.
"And you're using me for my money," I add.
Ambrosia tries to pull away from my grasp, but I hold her tight and tell her what went down in the kitchen, and her eyes go wider and wider until I've to remind her to breathe.
"That conniving, scatter brained, wicked turkey of a woman!" She spats after I finish, running a hand through her hair.
"Calm down," I say, rubbing soothing circles into her palm until she relaxes.
"What are we going to do?" She asks.
"Well, Benjamin is going to break up with you after all the pain you've put him through," I say, as a matter of fact.
Ambrosia smiles, reading my thoughts exactly.
"So what do you think I should do?" She asks, trailing a finger down my face.
"You should say yes."
"To what?" She says, feigning innocence.
"To being my girlfriend." I say, kissing the top of her head.
~•~
ISN'T. THIS. THE. SWEETEST. THING. EVER?!
I know this chapter is short, okay! But I was so eager to finish this chapter that I couldn't add more details. Bear with me until I edit. Aarrrghh! I feel so happy for them!
See you soon, baaai!