The moment Catherine was already out of earshot.
Grace shoot her first question.
"What do you do for a living, John?"
"I'm a businessman. If you want security for your cousin I can guarantee you that she won't have to work hard for the rest of her life. I can take care of her well, provide her everything that she needs. You don't have to worry about her well being, she is my top priority."
"Okay," Grace was impressed with his answer.
"What happened on the first day you meet each other? Where did you two meet?"
John cleared his throat. He knows that her next question would be tricky. He has to give her a satisfying answer or else she will be making things difficult for him and Catherine in the long run.
"I'm sure Catherine already told you about our first meeting. It's not a pleasant first encounter between the two of us. I called it destiny, it was bound to happen, that is why am here wanting to marry her."
"Hmm, y-you just want to marry her 'coz you want to correct your mistake?" Grace was careful not to bring 'r-ape' the sensitive single word into their conversation.
"No. You got me wrong, Grace. I will marry Catherine because I love her so much, what happened between us in the very beginning is an act of fate. What happened after...is our own doing. Catherine and I are on this journey together. Our love for each other is strong enough to make us commit to this marriage."
"Okay. I understand," said Grace. She has lots of question swirling in her mind. For the sake of her young cousin's future which at stake here, she has to ask a lot of question from this stranger. Success in marriage is not all about money, more importantly, it also includes the couple's maturity and compatibility with each other.
There was a paused between them.
"Anymore question, Grace?" John was feeling a bit impatient, he wants to finish their conversation because he wants to get Catherine's attention solo.
"By the way, why are you wearing a mask? What are you hiding behind a mask?" asked Grace in a curious manner.
John groaned. He doesn't want to talk about his painful past with a stranger nor reveal his disfigured face to anyone but this is one of Catherine's close relatives, he must obtain Grace's trust tonight even if taking off his mask for a few seconds.
"I got into an accident a long time ago, my face got disfigured by a stranger." John took off his mask and he heard Grace gasped, probably startled by what she saw in his face. He placed the mask back on his face.
Grace fell silent, taken aback by John's ugly face due to the scars marring his face.
John observes Grace countenance with a piercing gaze.
"What now? Do you think my ugly face is not suitable for your beautiful cousin?" he asked.
Grace blinked twice.
"She must truly love you to see beyond the ugliness," she commented directly to the point not caring if John was hurt or offended by her remarks.
John smiled. "That is why I love her, she sees through me and accepted me not because of my money. My outward appearance has never been an issue with her."
A smiled appeared on Grace's face, she found their love story amazing and cute! She gave him a thumb up sign of approval.
"Does it mean I passed?" he asked.
"You're a Yesss for me!" she clapped her hands with glee.
John grinned. "You're cool Grace! Come into the kitchen, let's celebrate!"
Catherine was waiting for them in the kitchen with apprehension in her eyes. When they burst into the kitchen with their merry faces, she knew John won her cousin's approval. When she glanced at John's face, he winks at her.
They started eating in silence. John took off his mask thinking he doesn't need it anymore, after all, Grace already seen his face.
Catherine was frowning when John took off his mask. When she looked at her cousin's reaction, Grace was just smiling as if seeing John's face was a natural occurrence to her.
Grace saw Catherine's furrowed brow. "Don't worry, cousin. John's appearance is fine with me."
John looked up at Grace then gave her a thumbs up sign and a grin.
Catherine's smile grew bigger. "This is good, better than I expected."
They started eating their dinner.
Grace put some food in her plate and starts eating to her heart's content.
Done eating, they sipped some light wine afterward.
Once in a while, Grace would catch a glimpse of the couple looking at each other's face, sharing a lovey-dovey smile to each other.
Grace giggled at their sweetness.
"Get a room guys!" she said aloud.
Both John and Catherine laughed at each other.
"Do you mind, Grace? We will leave you here alone in a little while. I have something important to tell Catherine."
Grace nodded her head while rolling her eyes at the two love birds.
John pulled Catherine into the master's bedroom. As soon as the door closes behind them, he pulled along Catherine's body with him down into the bed. He shifted on top of her and he starts nibbling at her lower lip, parting her legs with his right hand, his fingers were now resting on top of her panties.
She pushed him away from her. But John was strong enough for her to resist when he starts rubbing her core, a moan escapes her mouth.
"John, we have a visit---" she wasn't able to finish her words 'coz another moan escapes her mouth, as his index finger were now inside her panties strumming her core upon and down, an explosion of mind-blowing sensation wracked her body.
"Hmmm...I miss this Catherine..." John claimed her mouth with a savage kiss that took their breath away.
Then he ran his hand all over her body pinching her private parts that heightened her arousal even more, his caresses brought a soft moan to her lips.
"No we shouldn't do this John, my cousin is there in the kitchen waiting for us," she said between gasping as his mouth was already sucking at her nipple.
John suddenly stopped what he was doing. "I'm sorry I got carried away," he kissed Catherine's mouth and broke the kiss a few minutes later.
They cuddled for a while and enjoyed each other's body warmth.
Fifteen minutes later, they went back to the kitchen, but Grace was no longer there. Instead, they found her laughing uncontrollably while watching a comedy show on the 30 inches flat screen television in the living room.
A few hours later...
Time to go home.
John watched Catherine and her cousin entered the elevator to go home. Today he was able to get Grace approval. In the next day few days, he will try to win Catherine's mother's heart. Hope he won't have a hard time wooing her mother's approval.