Marzia was stunned. She didn't expect to see Ian today after what happened, lest to be invited to dinner with them. In an instant, she recalled Romeo telling her that Ian rarely invites anyone to go with him for lunch or dinner. Her eyes landed on the man, and she felt a warm, creeping blush on her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, she answered, "Uhm, sorry. I can't. I have to visit my mom at the hospital."
Ian consciously nodded. His eyes lost the glimmer and his lips turned low. "Oh, okay." He shifted his heel around to look at Chan and averted his gaze back to Marzia. "I can, you know, let my secretary look after her again. Don't worry, Romeo doesn't mind it. I think he prefers to sit all day and gaze at the nurses he could hitch with. Did I mention he likes Grey's anatomy?"
Marzia couldn't help but laugh. Still, she shook her head and just said, "I don't want to cause further trouble. Besides, if you keep on offering help, I won't be able to pay you back for real."
"You can pay me back when you have dinner with me and Chan." Ian's eyebrows wriggled wittily, and his cheeks mounted up, grinning balmily. Marzia's lips parted. "Is that blackmail, Sir Harrison?"
He feigned a peruse and said in a teasing manner, "Maybe?"
She rolled her eyes playfully and walked toward his car without answering him.
"Is that a yes?" Ian asked again, as though he wanted to clarify her gesture.
Marzia turned around and slightly smirked. "Are you going to just stand there, or are we going to have dinner?"
Ian's smile turned wide, beyond his ears and up to the glint in his eyes.
A little while later, the three of them set off to an exclusive restaurant uptown. It was not the first time Marzia had been to a high-end dinner setting. Usually, the Dickins dined in these kinds of posh restaurants, even if there was not a special occasion to celebrate. Also, Scott typically brought her to dinners for their anniversary.
However, eating with the Harrisons was far different from eating with the Dickins. Marzia thought it was awkward at first since she was not related to them and was just Chan's tutor. To add to her stress, Chan kept on making snotty and lurid remarks in the vicinity that were loud enough to be heard by others. The kid will often bring about if Ian and Marzia are dating or not.
Embarrassed, Ian just shoved off the boy's question ad would try to change the subject while Marzia would grab her glass and drink from it. Despite this, Chan was still adamant about the topic and continued to pursue it, just so he could voice his objection.
"I'm not stupid, uncle! I think you two are dating!" Chan sliced the fully cooked meat like a little gentleman and munched it. "I don't think you suit each other, to be honest." Chan dropped his utensils and commented, "Miss Marzia, my uncle is a bad person. I suggest you stay away from him because he will only make you cry like the other girls he'd been with!"
Marzia wiped her mouth and glanced at Ian for a second before shifting her eyes back to Chan. "Oh, is that so?" She rubbed his arms and replied, "Don't worry, dear, I'm not dating your uncle, so you don't have to worry if I'll cry."
Chan haughtily looked away. "That's not what I meant! I said you don't suit each other! I actually don't like how much you make me study, you know?" Upon hearing Chan's words, Marzia couldn't help but slightly choke.
"Hey, come on, bud! Be nice to your teacher," Ian reprimanded Chan as he reached for his wine glass.
Ignoring Ian's comment and drinking a glass of water to clear her throat, Marzia chortled. "I know, Chan." Then, she held the boy's crown and brushed his hair. "I also don't think your uncle likes me too. Apparently, he thinks that I'm a nosy woman."
Ian's eyebrow raised. "I didn't say that! I said you were a swo—" He paused in the middle as though he realized what he was about to say. "Nevermind. Chan, just shut up and chew your food slowly."
Still, Chan was far from over. "Well, I think my uncle's right! You are nosy when it comes to my schoolwork!" The kid pouted, leaning his back on the cushion of the chair.
Shaking her head with a smile, Marzia ignored the kid and helped him slice the meat on his plate into tiny pieces.
"Alright, if you say so. Here you go," she said and forked the tiny piece of meat and offered it to him. Chan hesitatingly accepted it. He munched the meat deliberately while scooping another tiny portion. Marzia went back to her plate and before she could take a bite, she noticed Ian mouthing, 'Thank you.' She then replied to him, mouthing him back, 'You're welcome.' With that, he answered her with a lopsided smirk, to which she responded with a sweet smile.
Meanwhile, the kid had grasped their little world. He intervened in the quiet, flirtatious gazing and smiling of the two by banging his glass of water. "I'm out of water. I'm thirsty!"
Ian broke his longing stare at Marzia and scanned the room to find the server. When he spotted a man wearing a uniform, he raised his arms and said, "Can you refill this?"
"Right away, sir." The server nodded and walked to the kitchen.
Chan couldn't help but leave the two adults a remark. "Why do adult people always like to talk with their wordless nonsense?"
Ian laughed at his nephew's innocent statement. He messed up Chan's hair and replied, "Chan, I said just eat your steak before it gets cold."
On the other side, Marzia hunched her head down and finished her meal.
After a few minutes, the dinner ended in another obdurate situation. The three went back on the road, with Chan sleeping at the back of the car and Marzia sitting beside Ian as he drove her back to her place.
She couldn't help but take a glimpse of the man by her side as she tried to figure out why she felt nervous but joyous at the same time.
It bugged her so much since she had never felt this way before, not even with Scott.
It was late at night by the time they reached Deniece's apartment complex. Marzia didn't bother waking up Chan and bid goodbye to Ian before getting out of the car. However, before she could do so, Ian reached for her arms to stop her.
"Is there something you need to tell me?" Marzia asked while her fingers were curled on the handle of the car.
Ian removed his hand from her and replied, "I've made up my mind."
Her forehead creased, crunching in confusion. "To what?"
Ian wet his lips and looked at her closely. "You don't have to pay what you owe me…"
"Oh, okay. What's the catch then?" She faced Ian and furtively gazed at his mysterious expression.
"You'll be my girlfriend," he said seriously, without batting his eyes.
Marzia was startled by his request. But it was not really an appeal and was more like compensation for her debt. Was she hearing it right? Did he say that he wanted her to become his girlfriend? Ian knew she had come from a toxic relationship, and she was just starting to get back on her feet. Why did he want her to become his girlfriend? How would it benefit him and is that enough to compensate her debts?
"W—What?" she stuttered. "A—Are you serious? Why?"
Ian couldn't answer her question straight away. He averted his gaze and mumbled, "Just because..."
Her face fell with disappointment. Just because of what? because he just felt like it or wanted it? Hell no! Marzia didn't want to experience what she had gone through in her past relationship with Scott again. She abhorred being used for the second time just to become a rich man's pastime!
With that, she shook her head in indignation. "No. Sorry, but I can't accept that term."
This was the same modus that Scott had pulled back then when he told her how he felt. Things moved quite fast, and the next thing she knew, he declared that she was his girlfriend.
Looking back, it was from that moment Marzia's life flushed down the drain! It ruined her to the point where she almost felt like she had lost herself. She couldn't go back to that situation like she hadn't learned anything.
With this, she snidely said, "I'll just pay you the exact amount. I don't care how long it will take me, but I will. If you don't want that, then sue me… Marzia choked as she tried to speak the words distinctly. At that point on, she felt like tears are beginning to form in her eyes.
Ian's expression softened. He realized that he has made a mistake. "Marzia..."