He asked her out and got rejected. That must be the most twisted joke. Nicole thought to herself.
When they reached the car, Vance asked her to get in. She opened the back door and was about to sit in when he interrupted her.
"Sit in the front, Nicolette. Am I your driver?" Vance chided her lightly to which she quickly apologized and sat beside him.
Five minutes into the drive and Vance wasn't fond of their silence. "Are you a woman of little words?"
"I am."
"Sure. Were you always this silent? Because that's not what I heard from Nereo."
"All siblings find the other annoying."
"Heh, you really can shut people up." Vance said and turned on the radio on the car.
When they reached the Perrin's, Nicolette quickly went inside the house. She would probably hear it from her mother for not talking care of Vance as the host.
They had dinner together without a certain elder brother who didn't like showing up at home very often. Nereo Perrin would rather live at the company than sleep at home. The Perrins were pretty noticeable in the real estate market. Nereo was still in the training period to take over the company but he was enthusiastic about everything already.
The dinner was pleasant and Vance went home after that.
That day Nicolette slept only after midnight. Everything was rather good. But she felt silly that she had thought he was giving the marriage a try when he said he didn't want to say no anymore. She really was a fool though. She was only an average looking girl and he was too handsome a man to be suitable for her. Till then she had thought that looks weren't really important. As long as you look presentable, that would do. Just as her thoughts were drifting elsewhere, she felt utterly confused. She really wanted her life to be full of freedom and herself.
She strongly believed in a particular thought since she started truly understanding the world. People come to you. They be nice. Everything would be fine. But only so long as there is a limit to speaking with them. The only person she truly talked and chatted with was her brother. Even with her parents she only spoke when necessary. To avoid talking she would give in a lot of times. She was once a stubborn girl but she turned herself into a servile person. Her only goal was to be likeable. But life would not turn as peaceful and so she had to argue with people. In those times, she would try to explain to them softly. If they were unbending the. she would give up and let them be. At least she did not spoil the relationship with that person.
She had heard somewhere before.
Words are sharp. Words cut deep.
Wielding a weapon of words
Killing just the soul instead,
Sometimes instilling fear
To pass this time out in silence.
And die.
She kept repeating those words for a while. Then she thought about what would befall her in the near future until she felt too drowsy to stay awake.
From the next day she didn't care about all of these things. She only focused on her job and played the violin if she had time to spare.
Vance was the same. He too pulled out all the unnecessary thoughts out of his mind and concentrated on his meetings and business.
Soon they were just a week away from getting engaged. The two families went to shop and Nicole was rather enthusiastic about the current predicament unlike before.
The most important thing was the ring. After buying apparels for everyone, Eloise was getting excited about the ring.
"VV, gotta get a ring for the bride! Let's go!" She said.
"You two should go. No one else is going with them." Jean said opposing Eloise, who pouted and playfully refused to talk to him.
"Nicolette? Shall we go?" Vance asked.
"Yeah."
At the jewellery, Nicolette Walked straight to the rings section.
"Hello Miss and Mister. How can we help you?" A saleslady approached them.
"An engagement ring for the lady," Vance said as he gestured towards Nicolette.
"Alright sir," she said as she placed some boxes with rings one beside the other on the counter. Nicolette started browsing through them. Most had single diamonds. Some had too big stones and all were delicately moulded.
"This one Nicolette!" Vance said add he suddenly caught the sight of a beautiful and elegantly designed rose gold diamond ring.
"That?" Nicolette asked him feeling that it wasn't the best one.
"How about this?" she pointed to another one. It was also a beautiful ring. However in Vance's eyes it paled in comparison with what he chose.
After neither for them compromise for a while, Vance told the saleslady to pack them the ring he choose.
"I'm the one whose going to wear it, okay?"
"This is the best one." Vance dismissed her taking the small bag from the cashier after paying. Oh, this guy is stubborn, she thought. Shamelessly stubborn. Who would not buy something that the lady chose to wear for herself?
Once the shopping was done and the venue was arrange, sending out invitations began. Everything went smoothly. Nicolette and Vance had little to talk during the period.
Nicolette had a lot of friends and she had invited all of them personally. She was teased so much because none of them thought she would be the first to step into marriage.
"How's the guy?" One of her friends asked.
"He's nice," Nicolette answered.
After more particulars, someone asked what was in everyone's mind.
"But Nico, you haven't dated that guy nor are you in love with him. Is this okay?"
"Will your marriage be fine?" Of course it would, Nicolette thought. Vance is an understanding person. This marriage would not any difference to the life she had now. That's all she care about.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. We don't know what happens in the future." Nicolette's answer stopped her other friends from probing into the matter further.
"Well, you don't have to worry. If he upsets, you can always come to me!" A senior from another department said.
"She rejected you like three times. Stop it brother." Another guy interrupted.
"Hmm. Alright then, be there on the weekend." She said and bade them goodbye.