"Are you out of your mind?! What have you done?!"
That was what my father said as soon as I opened the door for him. He suddenly turned up in my house one rainy day, looking like a wet fuming doberman. "Dad…"
He pushed past me before I could invite him in.
Despite the chilly weather, his face was beet red from anger. And I have an idea as to what exactly caused him to go raging mad to the point that he would travel all the way to my house just to give me a piece of his mind.
And he didn't waste a single minute to do just that. "Zeanne's father called me this morning and told me that you asked him to call off the engagement."
After formulating my plan, despite Xes' disapproval, I didn't waste a single minute and put my plan in action before I could change my mind.
Finding Choi Jiwoo was not hard because he owns the biggest Entertainment Agency in the country. Getting an appointment with him was even easier because it seemed that he's been wanting to speak with me as well.
That's how I managed to meet him yesterday and asked him to break off the engagement from their side. He was definitely angry and disappointed at first, as expected.
I've never had a lot of chances to get to know Zee's father back in my world. But one thing that I knew for sure and hoped would be the same in this world was that he loved his daughter to infinity and beyond. He would do anything to make his daughter happy.
So when I told Zeanne's father that I could not love his daughter, he agreed to call the engagement off after much contemplation. He said that he would speak to my father about it as soon as he could.
I didn't know that it would be this soon though.
Hands on my hips, I let out a deep breath. "Dad let me explain--"
"How in the world are you going to explain this nonsense?!" He glared at me angrily. "Did you already forget everything that Zeanne did for you while you were in a coma? That poor girl stood by your side while everyone was spreading rumors about you killing yourself just to avoid marrying her. She practically dedicated herself to you while everyone else was telling her to give up and let you go. And now what? You're going to break that poor girl's heart again?"
His words cut through my chest but I didn't let it show as I quickly grabbed a towel from the bathroom and gave it to him which he grudgingly took.
I've always known that this day would come ever since I came up with Operation:Red String. But even after thinking of all kinds of excuses that I could possibly come up with, there was nothing logical enough to justify my actions. Except for…
"I can't marry someone that I don't love." It's very cliche but it was the best among the rest. And it's a method that has been widely used in Asian dramas. "And just for the record, Zeanne is not a poor girl for staying by the side of her good-for-nothing fiance. If nothing else, she's very admirable for choosing to love despite the situation."
"Then why--"
"But are you really going to allow such an amazing woman to trap herself in a loveless marriage?" I said without taking my eyes off my father.
"Love?" He chuckled incredulously. "I didn't love your step-mother when I married her. But I learned to love her eventually. That's how love works. Don't use love as an excuse when you've never experienced it for yourself before."
"Who said that I've never experienced love before?" I answered defensively, feeling a little offended by his tone.
Even back in my world, Dad and I never saw eye to eye. He's too stubborn to believe that I have a mind of my own and I was too lazy to bother explaining my side to him. If it weren't for Zee's mom constantly coming between us, we would have cut ties with each other long ago. Thanks to her, despite our differences and similarities, Dad and I didn't grow estranged from each other and learned that we just express our love in our own ways.
And it was quite amusing how he's exactly the same in this world too. He clicked his tongue with a smirk. "You're actually telling me that you have loved someone other than yourself before? Try fooling the dogs instead, son."
I gritted my teeth, but I tried to keep my cool. From my experience, nothing good comes from going head to head with my father in a hot-blooded manner.
Taking a deep breath, I leveled my gaze to his. "I'm in love with someone else. I can't marry Zeanne because I'm in love with someone else. Is that answer good enough for you?"
He looked dumbfounded for a moment as he stared at me, probably conflicted whether to believe me or not, even I was surprised by how truthful my words sounded. The entire house was filled with nothing but an eerie silence, as we stood there sizing up the situation.
'If this can't make him stop forcing Zeanne on me, I don't know what else could…"
Just then, the door of my bedroom opened and a pair of long and slender legs stepped out, revealing a raven-haired ethereal beauty. Clad in a familiar long-sleeved shirt that looked too big for her size, she left a lot of room for imagination as she looked at me then at my father while rubbing sleep from her eyes.
My entire body froze from shock and the towel that my father was holding dropped on the floor which told me that he could also see what I was seeing.
"Xes." I absent-mindedly called out her name. My brain seemed to have stopped functioning for who knows how long until she stood beside me and bowed to my father.
She was wearing an expression that I've never seen her wear before. An expression that I never imagined seeing on her face ever.
Hands on her lips and looking bashful, she introduced herself to my father in a very delicate manner. "I'm sorry for greeting you in this state. My name is Xescilliz Dela Eodum. I am Arthur's girlfriend."
My father's eyes rounded in surprise but it didn't take long before distaste replaced the shock on his face. "Girlfriend? Are you aware that my son is currently engaged to someone, Young lady? How can you shamelessly introduce yourself as his girlfriend in my face?"
I heard a loud drumming in the background as I remained speechless, hoping that I could read her thoughts to understand what she was planning. And the drumming just grew louder as I watched the bashful expression drain and completely disappear from her face. Then Xes returned my father's glare with a sardonic smile.
"I know." She grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers together, looking proud and confident.
I knew what she was trying to do and what I should be doing, but I was so shocked by this surprise attack that my brain short-circuited.
A smile crept on the corner of her lips. "But then… Why should I be ashamed? I'm perfectly aware that he was trapped in an engagement that you forced upon him. Besides, Arthur and I have been together years before that engagement was concocted."
My father looked at me questioningly and then back at Xes with disbelief. He was definitely in shock, especially by her attitude towards him.
Possessing such a prestigious status in the society and as an owner of the largest hospital in the country, not a single soul has probably dared to speak to him with an air of haughtiness. The word 'IMPOSSIBLE' was practically printed in capital letters on his face.
But he turned to me again, "Is this true?"
I looked at Xes and then at our hands that were tightly wrapped around each other, making the drumming noise in the background grow even louder.
That was when I realized that the loud drumming that I've been hearing was from my chest, making my eyes snap back to her face with alarm.
I've held her hand many times before but this was the first time that my heart drummed this hard against my chest.
Could it be because... her hand felt unusually warm for the first time? I don't really know.
And being what she was, as soon as she heard that my thoughts were wandering somewhere else, she quickly squeezed my hand to snap me back to my senses.
And, as if in a trance, I answered my father's question.
"Yes."