Annabella furrowed her eyebrows, looking confused.
"What did you say? Curry?"
Mrs Parker pulled her daughter's hands away from her waist before going towards a pot and adding some coconut milk to it.
"What are you cooking this time?" Annabella asked again when she didn't get an answer.
"Mmm... Indian dahl curry." Her mother replied absentmindedly as she was immersed in making the curry.
"Whaaat?" Annabella blurted out in disbelief.
"Last week you made Chinese dumplings, noodles and Hunan shrimp. Two days before yesterday, you made... Mm.. yeah, Srilankan fish curry and yesterday Arabic kebabs. Mom, really! What's your obsession with Eastern food?" Annabella took a deep breath after she finished talking.
"What's up with you? Don't you like what I make?" Mrs Parker asked without looking at her.
Annabella let out a loud sigh.
"Mom, I'm a Western girl. How can I eat Eastern food? It's like asking a lion to eat noodles instead of meat."
Mrs Parker chuckled when she heard that.
"In fact, recently I watched a youtube video about a lion who ate NOODLES!" She emphasized the word, noodles.
Annabella blinked her big, round eyes innocently.
"Okay, then. I'll change it to a tiger. Not a lion."
Mrs Parker poked her forehead.
"This child!"
She diverted her attention to the curry again.
"Don't worry. I'm sure that you'll like it." She said firmly.
"Not as much as I like my pizza!" Saying that Annabella grabbed a pizza box from the counter.
Mrs Parker facepalmed herself.
"Put it down." She commanded. "They aren't healthy as my food."
"They aren't healthy as my food, blah blah blah..." Annabella repeated her words mockingly.
"Anna...Bella..." Mrs Parker yelled, this time a bit angrily.
"Wow, Mom. I never knew that you have two daughters. Anna, Bella. Pfft!" Annabella covered her mouth to prevent herself from laughing out loud.
Mrs Parker didn't know how to deal with her nasty daughter. That daughter of hers was very much childish, unlike the other girls at her age.
"Hey, are you looking for a beating?" Mrs Parker used her final card.
"Mom." Annabella pouted her lips cutely.
"I'm hungry. Please, let me eat my pizza for today. I'll eat your food from tomorrow on."
Her mother rolled her eyes. She knew very well that the tomorrow thing she mentioned, would never come in this lifetime. She had no choice but to give up with a final warning.
"Remember that junk food isn't good for your health. Eat less in the future."
"I know, I know," Annabella mumbled half-heartedly while chewing a pizza slice with a happy smile on her rosy lips.
"By the way mom, where's dad?" Annabella asked after a while.
"He went to a party at one of his friends' house. He said he'll be late tonight." Mrs Parker said, removing her apron after she finished cooking.
"Oh." Annabella nodded understandingly.
"Then it's a waste that you tried so hard to make a curry. No one's gonna eat it."
Mrs Parker gave her daughter a side glance.
"Who says no one's gonna eat it? I'll put it inside the refrigerator so that my daughter can heat it up tomorrow and eat it as her BREAKFAST." Mrs Parker stated matter-of-factly.
Annabella: "..."
She didn't dare to speak further and paid her entire attention to her pizza as if she was eating a pizza for the first time in her life.
Nevertheless, she didn't forget to make an escape plan in her mind.
'Plan A- Wake up early in the morning like a rooster, get ready fast and rush to the office like Flash. Yep. As for Plan B-... Hmm... It's the same!'
Under the moonlight, I met you...
Under the starlight, I hugged you...
Under the sunlight, I kissed you...
A ringing tone of a phone interrupted the silent atmosphere inside the house. Annabella didn't want to leave her beloved pizza. Hence, she swallowed a piece before opening her mouth to speak.
"Mom, can you answer the call for me?"
"Mm... Alright. I'll see who's bothering my sweetie."
Mrs Parker wiped her wet hands using a tissue before picking up the phone.
"Hello!"
"Hi, Mmm... Is this Anna?" A male voice sounded from the other side.
Mrs Parker was suspicious all of a sudden. Who was calling her daughter at such an hour? It was 8 p.m. already! Mrs Parker could understand that he might be one of her co-workers or friends. She really didn't have a problem with that.
But the thing was, she would be more than happy if that boy liked her daughter. It was her chance to check on him. Mrs Parker's lips subconsciously turned into a sly smile as she thought of a nice plan.
'Look how I'm gonna act like a cupid now.'
"No, I'm her mother. Who're you?"
The other side chuckled gently.
"Aah, it's aunty. Hi aunty, I'm John. Anna and I met in the evening..."
"Oh!" Mrs Parker clicked her tongue.
"It's Johnny boy!"
"Yeah, yeah. It's me. I called Anna because I want to apologize for being rude. I acted out of my character today because of a stupid waiter. I promise I won't leave her in the middle of our dates ever again."
'Our dates? Does he want to go on many dates with her? Tsk, quite ambiguous.'
"But don't you know that it's mean and rude to leave your date mid-way?"
John let out a huge sigh.
"I know, aunty. That's why I want to apologize to her properly. It's okay if she doesn't like me anymore. At least, I can seek forgiveness for being rude. It'll be a huge consolation for my guilty heart."
"Okay." Mrs Parker gave up arguing further.
"You guys can meet tomorrow evening."
John's face lit up with a beaming smile. He adjusted his spectacles as he nodded like a rat even though Mrs Parker couldn't see him.
"Are you sure he doesn't know how to respect elders?" Mrs Parker questioned her daughter after hanging up the call.
Annabella licked her fingers before looking at her mother.
"Mmm... who?" She asked absentmindedly. 'Shit! This tiny pizza isn't enough for even half of my pitiful stomach! Tch, I have nothing else to eat though.'
She gulped when she thought of the spicy-looking curry.
'No, no. Better to starve than eating such spicy stuff like that.'
"Why aren't you answering me?" Her mother's impatient voice made her snap out of her reverie.
"Huh, what?"
Mrs Parker thought that she should have won a Nobel prize for enduring the hardship of being that good-for-nothing spoiled brat's mother for this long.
"Ugh, I'm asking about that boy, John. You said he doesn't respect elders. But I can't see that. He actually talked with me quite nicely."
Annabella was puzzled.
"How do I know whether he respects elders or not? It's not like I know him for years."
Mrs Parker was at a loss for words.
"Then why did you say that he didn't when I asked you earlier?"
'Crap!' Annabella mentally facepalmed herself. 'What an Idiot I am!'
"Aaah, it's a lucky guess. Hee hee." She giggled like a little fool. 'Gosh, I lost my face in front of my mother. I can't think of anything more embarrassing than this! Aaah, screw you, useless life-ruining devil!'
"Whatever. You guys should go on another date." Mrs Parker strictly said.
Annabella's face fell.
"Nope, mom. I can't. When I said that I didn't like him, I really meant it. I. Don't. Like. Him. NOT AT ALL!"
Mrs Parker shook her head before coming to her daughter's side and sitting down next to her.
She held her soft and slender hands before saying, "Dear, try to understand me. It's okay if you don't like him. At least give this relationship a try. Not every marriage is based on love. Your father and my marriage is a great example of that." She paused and smiled when she recalled her past.
"It's an arranged marriage. We didn't even have a chance to go on dates before the marriage. Because of that, we were total strangers when we got married. But now... I don't need to tell you how much I love your father."
Annabella smiled. "Yeah, I know."
From a very young age, she witnessed how powerful their love was. Initially, she wished to have someone like her father... who could protect her, cherish her, love her, and take care of her for the rest of her life.
However, as time passed, she lost interest in falling in love. To her, it was kind of lame except for her parents' love for each other.
Because of this, in the past, some of her high school friends and university friends even doubted that she was asexual. Her nickname was also related to that as the campus bully addressed her as 'Anasexui.' Eventually, it became Anasexui to 'Anashi' and most of her friends called her by that name.
Did she care about those names? No, the freaking way! She even liked them and when someone mocked her asking whether she wanted to be a monk one day, she literally laughed along with others.
"You can give him a chance, can't you? It's not like I'm forcing you to marry him!" Her mother's voice dragged her into her present situation.
"Arranged marriages are old fashioned." Annabella opposed, taking out her final card.
Mrs Parker snorted coldly.
"Then find someone and love him! Then this matter will be solved and I can eventually rest peacefully."
Annabella's eyes turned red in sorrow.
"Mom, why are you pressing me this much?! Can't you see that it gives me a headache? I can't marry! Why should I get married? Girls can live single lives too, can't they?"
Mrs Parker's eyes widened in shock.
"What are you saying? Don't even think about not marrying!"
Annabella huffed loudly before barging into her room and slamming the door with a loud 'bang.' Even the walls shook because of the strength she used.