"Oh right, you're still here. Whoops. Anyway, you asked a question, so I'll give you an answer. What is the point of going on a blind date with the pretense of hiding who you are? The whole point of getting to know or meet another person is to see if they are compatible in the long run. All you spoke about and thought about throughout the night was how to gain profit and take advantage of my family."
"Of course, you also tried manipulating me into a marriage contract with you. If any person were slightly less confident, they would have been coerced to accept your shameless deal. Why should I dress up for someone who is pretentious and only wants benefits from me?" Ivy slapped one statement after another, rendering Ronald speechless.
"And guess what? Just because I was in heavy makeup and showed up with a figure that was different from your expectations, I was insulted by you. You also talked trash about my family and our business. So, who do you think you are to have the audacity to say this blind date was unfair?"
Ivy slipped her foot into the worn-out slipper and grabbed her belongings. "Lastly, I don't like you and have no intentions of interacting with you."
"Well said. Let's go." Chloe wrapped her arm around Ivy's shoulder as they left the room.
"Hold on!" Ronald attempted to run after them but was stopped by Lucas.
"What do you think you're doing?" He shouted at Lucas. Lucas did not respond. Instead, he took a card scanner device from his pocket before approaching Ronald. He raised the sunglasses on his face and brushed the device by Ronald's pocket.
Beep
"What was that?" Ronald covered his front pocket where his wallet was placed.
"I'm not sure where you're from, but in the Clovers' territory, you must abide by their rules. You've broken numerous rules tonight, with a charge for each. Let's count..the littering fee, restaurant cleaning service, white faux leather boots compensation fee, clown service fee...I can continue with this list, but it won't benefit your blood pressure. I've received the payment, and the transaction can't be reversed." Lucas stretched his fingers as he listed the fees Ronald had to pay.
After double checking the transaction completion status, he took a screenshot of it and sent it to Chloe.
"Oh right, here is a tip for you." Lucas's expression turned solemn. The carefree tone was now filled with seriousness. A sharp breeze followed by an enormous thud in Ronald's ear. Lucas had drummed his fist into the wall. As he retracted his fist, fragments of the cracked wall fell to the floor.
Ronald's legs lost their strength. As he cleaned his fist, Lucas warned, "Keep your eyes and thoughts away from the Clovers. Or the fist I threw just now won't miss the target. Understand?"
"Y...Yes.." He nearly wet his pants from Lucas's threat.
"Good," Lucas returned to his carefree behavior and walked out of the suite with his hand in his pocket.
----
Outside their home, Chloe watched as Ivy inhaled and exhaled deeply. Ivy spread her arms out, trying to absorb as much energy from Mother Nature as possible before she entered the house to have another talk with her mom.
"Whenever you act like a savage during a blind date, you come home to talk to mom. But we all know that she is.." Chloe knew how their conversation would escalate, so she wanted to remind Ivy about their mother's concern.
After all, no parent would be at ease if they knew their daughter has up to twenty-five years to live. The only way to cure this generational curse is to find her Mr. Right, whose birth date must match their calculations. Ever since the twins turned five, it became known fact throughout the family about Ivy's limited life span.
Meanwhile, Chloe was trained at a young age to be the next successor of the Clover clan. Everyone doted on the twins as they were the only two children in the family.
"I know. I know. It'll be the same old, but I will keep telling her the same words until she understands that I do not need a boyfriend, fiancé, or a husband right now. I wish to use my time wisely if I only have up to twenty-five years to live. I want to spend my time with those I care for and love. Of course, if I meet my prince charming or mafia lord by chance, I will capture him or be the one who gets captured. And this also means that even if he isn't Mr. Right for me, I'll still spend my limited time with him."
Ivy may be seventeen this year, but the countless mafia romance books she read gave her different fantasies she wished to explore. This was something she wanted to figure out herself.
"Your lovely speech shall be presented to the empress dowager, who is most likely sitting with her legs crossed on the couch with a remote in her hand," Chloe chuckled, helplessly sighing at her little sister's thoughts.
"Of course! I'd rather die an honorable death and submit to my fate than find someone random to prolong my life." Ivy knocked her fist against her chest as if swearing an oath.
"Then, let's go in together." Chloe took Ivy's fists and locked their fingers together. They swung their arms gently as they entered the villa with a smile.
"We're home, mommy!" Chloe and Ivy said in unison, their voices echoing across the room. If it was any regular day, it would've painted rainbows and sparks across the living room from their cheerfulness. But today was different.
As expected, what greeted them was a gloom-faced Selina, who was sitting the couch with a remote in her hand, clicking through random shows.
"So you know the way home, hmm? I thought you had so much fun you forgot your way home." Selina tapped the remote and browsed through the trending movies on Netflix. However, it was evident that she was not paying any attention to the shows on the screen.
Chloe whispered, "Good luck."
"Mommy, I have a game tournament, so I'll head up first!" Chloe quickly escaped her mother's wrath and ran upstairs.