"Thank you." Said Liam. The man with silver hair looked for an empty table and found it in a corner with two chairs that had been left by the previous visitor and had been cleaned by Liza.
"What do you need here?" Aubrey who finished changing into a uniform like a coffee shop waiter approached Liam who had just sat on the chair in front of him.
"I just want to drink coffee and eat the bread here. Can't I?" Liam sat with a smile on his lips.
"Huh, is your rich house doesn't have coffee and bread?" Aubrey quipped at the man who acted timidly like a child.
"Hehe, of course, there is. But I prefer to enjoy coffee here, at my wife's shop." Liam said which made Aubrey widen her eyes.
"Don't talk nonsense. If people hear it, they'll think I'm already married. Huh." Aubrey snorted at Liam.
"But, indeed you are my future wife. We're getting married soon." Liam answered without hesitation.
"Listen to me, I told my father to reject this marriage plan. I still want to teach and work. I don't want to get married right now. If you are in a hurry to get married, there is still my sister who is prettier and sexier than me." Aubrey said with a cynical look at Liam.
Liam was shocked to hear that. So this woman wants to give up this arranged marriage. No, I don't want to marry that childish Chesa who changes dates frequently. Liam's mind said.
"I see, apart from still wanting to work and teach, what other reason that you would not want to marry me? Is it… because I… am not a businessman and I am not perfect like my two older brothers?" Liam said in a low voice.
Aubrey narrowed her eyes. It wasn't because of Liam's status and appearance that Aubrey didn't want to marry him, but it was because she didn't want to be tied to her current marital status. Aubrey still wants to continue her studies to a higher level so that she can become a professor and become the head of the campus. Aubrey still wants her shop to have branches everywhere. There are too many dreams that she wants to achieve and it will be very hampered if she gets married.
"Is it true? You are silent means I'm right. Huh, all right. I will not force a woman to be my wife. But, I also refuse if your sister is going to be married to me." The man with silver hair walked over with his face down and left Aubrey who was still mute with a topsy-turvy mind.
"Huh, that's not what I meant. But, if that makes you walk away from me and I get rid of this arranged marriage, then it's also good for you to think so." Aubrey mumbled. Without hesitation, the owner of the coffee shop cleaned up the coffee that had just been drunk a little and the bread that had not been eaten at all by the customer who was also the man that was betrothed to her. Aubrey looked the way Liam had left and felt a little sorry for hurting a man as innocent as him. "Ah well, at least I can be free from this matchmaking."
"Who is he, boss? You seem to know him." Liza, who had just finished cleaning the table left by the customer, approached Aubrey who was carrying a tray filled with Liam's food and drink.
"Nobody. Have you eaten yet?" Aubrey tried to distract Liza, her employee from the question about the man with silver hair.
"Yes, we have. Earlier, Christin and I took turns guarding the cashier. If there are so many customers every night, we are even more enthusiastic about working." Liza replied with a cheerful smile.
"Yeah, just pray that the shop is always selling well and you can get a raise." Aubrey pinched Liza's adorable chubby cheeks.
"Ouch, boss. I can work here is very lucky. Who would want to hire students who haven't finished college yet?" Liza answered with a sad face.
"That's why you go to college quickly so you can graduate soon and get a more established job with a bigger salary." Answered Aubrey who replied with a sad smile. These two girls really like working at Aubrey's coffee shop because Aubrey is not only a boss but also a big sister to them who is always ready to help with labor, materials, and advice when needed.
Time doesn't seem to be getting darker. Aubrey is helped by two of her employees to get ready to close their coffee shop. Aubrey didn't want to open her shop until late at night because her two female employees would be very risky coming home alone at night. Their houses were far from each other so they would separate halfway through.
The clock shows 10 o'clock at night. Aubrey left the shop last because there was a teaching assignment that she wanted to do in the shop instead of the house which was always bustling with Chesa's screams and whimpers.
"Still not home?"
"GOOD GRIEF! You!" Aubrey felt her heart slip out of place when Liam appeared and reprimanded her suddenly. "Couldn't you ring the bell before entering?" With sharp and shining eyes, Aubrey wanted to swallow the man in front of her whole.
"I've pressed it but there's no answer from within," Liam replied with a sad face.
"Humph, alright alright. Now, what do you want to order? Cappuccino coffee with any bread?" Aubrey forgot that she was listening to a song with a headset on, so she didn't hear the doorbell ring which was lit only at night.
"I don't want to order anything. I just want to be with you here to go home. " Liam replied with his trademark timid smile. Sometimes Aubrey thought she was so fierce that this man always felt scared when she talked to him? Or is it his character like this?
"Sorry, but I don't need company. I'm used to coming home late at night with no one to accompany me." Aubrey answered nonchalantly.
"Wow, my wife is very brave. How could I replace you with a spoiled and childish girl? Liam replied with a shy smile.
"Hi, what is your name?" Aubrey sighed holding back the emotions in her heart.
"Liam, William Knight." Liam stammered with his face down.
"Yes, Liam. Once again you say my wife, I will stuff your mouth with duct tape." Aubrey replied excitedly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just like to say that." Answered the man who was actually handsome with a downcast face.
"You should be worrying about yourself. There's no need to worry about me being used to coming home late at night. Your mother must be waiting at home." Aubrey said.
"It's okay, my mother knows that I won't be able to go far anywhere," Liam replied with a small smile. Aubrey responded by rolling her eyes. Fuh, mama's boy. How can I, who is independent after marriage, even have to take care of a husband who is like a child, stupid, and innocent?
"I'm going home now. You better go home too. It's 11 o'clock at night. The streets are dark." Answered Aubrey.
"Okay, want me to help close the shop?" Liam stood up from his seat and offered to help with his towering posture.
"No, thank you," Aubrey said. The woman with long golden blonde hair rolled her hair up so that her long white neck was clearly visible. Aubrey lifted the visitor's chair onto the table and turned it over. Liam followed and helped her with faster and more nimble movements. Aubrey looked at it with pursed lips. The man's muscular hands were hidden behind his innocent face.
"Thank you, now I want to go home." Aubrey replied as she took the laptop and put it in her backpack.
"I'll take you home." Liam offers his future wife to help escort him home. But Aubrey actually felt that she would be in trouble if she had to walk with Liam who looked like a child.
"No thanks. I brought my own car." Aubrey answered without being rude for having refused another help from a man who seemed to want to get to know her better.
"Alright then, be careful on the road," Liam answered with an innocent face.
"Yes, especially you." Aubrey got into her car and left the coffee shop to be back in the next morning. A glimpse of her eyes saw the figure of a tall man still standing in front of her coffee shop while watching herself let go.
"Sir, are we going home now?" Noah, the driver and personal aide he trusted the most, was waiting for his master in the car hiding at the end of the road.
"Of course," Liam replied with a satisfied smile because tonight he could talk longer with Aubrey, his future wife.
"No, dad! I don't want to marry that sick, geeky, idiot! You just marry him to Aubrey. I only want to marry Martin, the first child of the Knights!" Chesa screamed hysterically when she was told that she had to marry Liam Knight, the youngest child of the Knight family who had many shortcomings compared to her two older brothers, Martin Knight, and Jason Knight.
Aubrey, who had come a long time ago and was in the kitchen, was listening to everything with trepidation. It turns out that Chesa doesn't want to get married, but she just doesn't want to get married if her future husband is Liam.