After waiting only a few seconds, Arthur turned back to Renata. He held out his hand to her again, ready for a greeting.
"Sorry to be so abrupt. I just don't want us to get to know each other better so I can say something like that. No matter how scary, and even a little psychotic?" He smiled slightly at her as an apology.
Renata looked at Arthur's outstretched hand, hesitating as to whether or not to believe him. They just met and this guy was already saying he would protect her daughter! What kind of situation was this?
But strangely, looking back at Arthur's smile, she felt he was being sincere, and her heart sank to believe him. As much as she presented herself with a strong and tough exterior on the outside, as a martial arts teacher and master, she still lacked some protection and security.
She reached out to greet Arthur, saying, "We'll take our time to get to know each other. Don't think I believe you with words alone!"
As contradictory as her action and speech seemed to be, it still felt right.
"Do not worry about that. I can't get too deep into who I play in the role your daughter has given me, but I'll do my best to fulfill it!"
With that said, Renata more or less understood what Arthur was talking about. He couldn't tell if it was him for some reason, but here he was saying in other words it was.
"Aren't you being very mysterious? How do you want me to trust you like that?" Everything was too strange and vague for Renata to take that trust a step further.
"Sorry..." Arthur gave a helpless smile and a shrug.
"It's okay, everyone has their secrets. As I see you're being sincere, so feel free to come see her whenever you want. We open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday after 7pm." Renata spoke with some considerations and began to organize herself.
"Aren't you trusting me too fast?" Arthur asked as he turned to see where the girls were.
"I don't trust you, but I have my means now. If you do anything to her, don't expect to escape alive!" A sharp look from Renata was enough for Arthur to relax. She saw him sighed and asked confusedly, "Are you relieved about this?"
"I just figured you were the type that trusts too quickly... like your sister." Arthur looked at Priscilla in the distance, and then at the gym door.
"What are you talking about?" Renata was again confused by this statement.
"The only information your daughter gave you was a pair of green eyes. Do you know how many people with green eyes there are in the world for me to bring your daughter in my arms all the way here?" This time it was Arthur's turn to return a strange look.
"Makes sense..."
"Did you know your daughter was with her?" Arthur asked again.
"Yes of course!"
"So you know who is the man that was with them? Is he a friend of yours? Or your sister's?"
"Man?... I think you're talking about Priscila's boyfriend, but they just started dating. Why the question? Are you interested in her? Want to join the family like this? Haha ha!" Renata suddenly started to understand some of the lines and showed a jovial side.
"Ah... it's nothing, leave it." Arthur didn't know what to say and just left it alone. "I'm interfering with your class too much, so I'll be off! It will be a pleasure to meet you!" Arthur only gave her a slight wave.
"I hope you live up to your words that you said so fervently. And if you're trying something different, I've already warned you!"
"Haha, don't worry. I don't make promises randomly!" Arthur gave Renata a steady look.
As rushed and awkward as this conversation seemed, Arthur and Renata understood each other's points very well. One was an adult, while the other was used to dealing with them.
It was a mutual understanding between them that Renata didn't trust Arthur yet, and he knew it, or else he would have tried his best to take this crazy mother away from Julia.
Renata saw that Arthur was a person who hid many things and could not speak. There was no way to trust this type of person, but he was humble and straightforward in showing her that. Not to mention that his words carried the security and truth that she couldn't understand.
That way, Arthur could come visit them, but under no circumstances at their house or even go out with Julia somewhere without them. They were known at most and the future was who would say.
But anyway, everything was more or less settled. Arthur was feeling good about himself and his gaze at Julia was laden with the affection of an older brother. He seemed the complete opposite of his usual coldness when he was alone.
Julia was in Priscila's arms while showing some equipment that she thought was cool... it was the snack machine. She was already pulling out a R$2 bill to fit into the machine.
Emily, Sara and Madison watched with curiosity this cuteness of people showing it with such enthusiasm. Emily would occasionally glance at Arthur, and see him talking to Julia's mother.
Arthur soon arrived at Julia and spoke while pinching her cheeks, "We're already leaving, but don't worry, we'll still be here. Before we go, I'll stop by again to see you, okay?"
Julia soon threw herself into Arthur's arms with watery eyes: "But I don't want you to go!"
"No no, why are you like this? I'm not going to die, you know? Do you want to make me cry here too?" Arthur held her carefully and pretended he was going to cry as he put his hand over his eyes.
"I understand, okay, okay! You can't cry!" Julia soon worried and stroked Arthur's head. This scene felt very strange, as if she was the one comforting Arthur in the first place.
The girls nearby laughed, even some students who liked Julia were nearby.
They soon said goodbye and went to the gym's exit, and Priscila, Renata and Julia were there to take them.
As he was leaving, a large man entered and crashed with Arthur.
"Are you blind, you idiot?" The man pushed Arthur hard on instinct. But the moment he pushed, he only felt the strength returning towards him and he fell backwards. 'Damn, this guy is a wall??...wait, it's him!!'
The man was the one who had been accompanying Julia and Priscilla before. He had gone out for a smoke after all and to get his bodok from the car, and when he got back to the gym, he bumped into Arthur.
"Oh, hey?" Arthur put his right hand in his pocket and just waved with his left hand.
"What the fuck are you doing here??" The guy came back and spoke in a menacing voice.
"Father?" Arthur asked suddenly.
"Who the fuck is your father??" The man fumed.
"Oh, I thought so! Asking that kind of thing! Ladies, please!" Arthur cleared the door and let the girls out first and then followed. He could hear their chuckling even after they left.
"Who does that sucker think he is?" The guy was about to open the door to look for trouble.
"Matheus! Go change now, or leave if you don't want to train!" Renata spoke with authority to him. She was finally showing her authoritative side, like the dojo master that she was.
Things were soon organized inside, and Arthur and the girls had already gone upstairs to the second floor and entered a bakery shop.
'Hunger is great, and even if I don't feel it, a little sugar doesn't hurt.'
The girls ordered a few slices of cake, while Arthur and Emily ordered two slices of strawberry cake. On Arthur's part, he could eat the whole cake, but he had to be modest here.
"This store has pretty cheap prices, right?" Arthur said as he sat down.
The girls understood what he was talking about when they saw the prices of each little thing, which ranged from R$10~R$15.
"It really is a bit expensive, but if you want to go somewhere else, that's fine by me!" Emily was the one who spoke to reassure Arthur, as he was the one who offered to pay for everything.
"No no, it's okay. It's like many say: Why did God give two kidneys, if it wasn't to sell one?" Arthur spoke with a seriousness and nodding his head.
"Hahahahah!" The girls laughed as they realized he was only faking it.
As they chatted inside and the occasional chuckle at the table over Arthur's jokes left, a figure passed through the door and soon saw the four.
This figure's eyes nearly turned red and the veins nearly burst on his forehead, before he could control himself. Arranging his clothes, he took a deep breath and entered the store.
"What are you doing here, girls? I thought you guys only went to the bathroom." It was Caesar there, and his gaze was calm and peaceful.
But as soon as he looked at Arthur, his controlled temper nearly exploded. That's because the wretch in front of him was calmly eating and even chuckled mockingly at him.