Derek Brandon sauntered into his apartment and the moment he set his foot into the relatively cozy living room, he met his sister on the floor, struggling to hold onto the tea table at the center of the room and making an effort to get on her feet.

“What are you doing, Pen?” Derek rushed over to her and helped her sit on a nearby sofa. He then crouched to the floor, searching for something.

“Where is your walking cane, Pen, and why are you not with it?” he asked impatiently, looking at her face for answers.

“I’m sorry, Derek,” Penelope apologized while tears trickled down her cheeks violently.

Derek quickly reached out to hold her hands, feeling compassion toward her.

“I just wanted to try finding my way in the house without my cane but unfortunately, I fell and lost my way,” she gave details; her eyes kept circling with more tears.

A veil of despair descended over Derek and the tears in his eyes finally fell.

He leaned closer and wiped out the tears from his sister’s face and took her both hands in his afterward.

“You shouldn’t do this whenever I’m not around, Pen. It breaks my heart to see you struggling on the floor just now,” Derek expressed as bitter as he felt.

Looking in Derek’s direction, her heart was hurting a lot at the fact that she coupldn’t see her loving brother.

“Don’t worry, Derek. I’ll be fine,” she patted the back of his hand to reassure him, indicating that she would be cautious and wouldn't act rashly next time.

“You’ll regain your vision soon, Pen. I promise you,” Derek guaranteed, tears never leaving his eyes as he pushed forward and drew her into his embrace warmly.

*

Karina sat with her legs crossed under the table, gawking at the man sitting in front of her with her natural cold eyes.

“It feels so good to be sitting right before a goddess like you, Karina. You are so pretty,” the young man acknowledged, grinning sheepishly which seemed to annoy Karina more because her expression kept worsening.

“Hmm… I should make a proper introduction, don’t you think?” he let out with a broad wink while adjusting his custom-made blue suit.

“I’m Dave Shaw. The heir to the Shaw group and companies,” he said naturally and laughed shortly at the end of his words and then continued, “I’m sure Mrs. Donovan would have told you more about my family so I should skip that part and get to know you better, right?”

They were in a five-star restaurant with only a few affluent people present in there.

“So is there anything you would like me to know about you? Something interesting, you know,” Dave smiled at her with a charming gaze as he said his words.

Karina leaned closer on the white-linen tablecloth and swept his profile; he looked in his early twenties, probably twenty-five.

Bright green eyes and a tall nose; his masculine jaw had the most perfect contours and his light brown hair fitted his face precisely.

In her opinion, Dave was not as attractive as Derek but he was still a diamond among ordinary people.

Huh?

Did she just think about Derek? No, God forbid, not that asshole.

“I’ll bring you up to speed, Dave,” Karina began, looking as shrewd as ever.

“I don’t want this shit my parents are proposing but then I wouldn’t like to say no to them. Moreover, I don’t like you, Dave, but the whole story is going to be another way round since you seem to be interested in me already,”

Dave’s brows furrowed in confusion but before he could open his mouth and utter a word, Karina had beaten him to it.

“I want you to phone to pick up your phone now and tell my mom that you don’t like me at all. I mean you must emphasize your words and can even go as far as condemning my look, hair, everything you can think of,” she said in a domineering tone as if everything was under her control.

“What are you saying, Karina? I like you so muchalreadydyy_” Dave was expressing his feelings but Karina gave him a look that made him keep shut immediately.

“Don’t you understand what I just said? Are you dumb?” she raised her voice, obviously upset that Dave was not giving in to her request but she would have to make him obey her at all cost.

Dave was stunned and couldn’t help but blink his eyes rapidly.

“Where’s your phone?” Karina demanded, snapping her fingers impatiently at him.

Dave fetched his device from his suit pocket obediently and stretched it out to her.

Karina punched in her mom’s digit and dialed the number and as soon as the phone started ringing, she gave the phone back to him.

“You better corporate,” she mouthed.

Dave didn’t react to her word, only staring at her as if in a stalemate.

“Hello, aunt,” he spoke up the moment the line got connected.

“I’m sorry but the date didn’t go well,”

Karina folded her arms beneath her breasts, waiting for his next words with impatient eyes.

“I don’t like her- Karina, aunt,” he choked out and gulped. “She doesn’t suit my taste, and I wouldn’t like to waste her time,”

A wide grin flashed across Karina’s face and she almost applauded him.

‘What a good actor,’ she thought.

Right after Dave ended the call, Karina covered her mouth in amusement and thought that why didn’t she think of this idea when Irene had first set her up with a date like this?

“Thanks, Dave. I’ll get going now,” Karina uttered and attempted to stand up but Dave’s next question delayed her movement.

“Why don’t you like me, Karina?” he asked, his eyes shining with unshed tears.

“If there’s anything you don’t like about me, tell me, I promise to work on_”

“There’s nothing to work on yourself, Dave. I don’t just like you and to be honest, I don’t think I can ever bring myself to like a man,” Karina chipped in, in a matter-of-fact tone.

With this, she walked out of the table and to the exit without glancing back.

Open-mouthed, Dave stared at her receding figure and back to the foods and wines on the table.

“She didn’t even touch any of the meal,” he mumbled out, disappointedly.

By the time Karina arrived back in the mansion, it was already evening.

She walked past the guard who was still holding out the door handle for her with his head bowed.

Heading to the front door villa, she heard the erupted laughter of her parents coming from the lounge and her pretty face immediately squeezed into a tight frown.

Her parents were in such a spirited mood when their daughter just got rejected?

How strange.

She proceeded to buckle the doorknob and found her way into the relatively yet magnificent living room and true to her guess, her parents looked happy as they were having their best smiles on their faces.

Karina’s face contorted even more deeper as she walked wholly into the room, her heels clanking against the ceramic tiled floor, announcing her presence.

“Here comes our little darling,” Irene notified as soon as she saw her daughter.

She was sitting right beside her husband on a double-settee, her hands dipped into her husband’s adoringly.

Even after forty years of marriage, they were so madly in love with each other.

A very old-looking man who looked dapper in his Armani suit even in his old age. His gray hair was gelled backward and his eyes were so warm and could be compared to that of a day-old child.

Isaac Donovan raised his hand toward his daughter, gesturing for her to come to him with a perky smile staying on his lips.

Karina walked over meekly and sat in the middle.

“Dad, you wouldn’t believe the excessive insult I received from that asshole just because I admired his beauty,” she bewailed, having a grief-stricken expression on her face.

Both Irene and Isaac blinked rapidly at their daughter’s words.

“Did I just mishear?” Irene asked with a laugh in her voice.

“Or our Karina just misspoken?” Isaac interjected, also grinning.

Karina looked from her father’s to her mother’s face in misperception.

“What happened?” she asked carefully.

“Did you really admire Dave Shaw’s handsome face?” Irene quipped, raising her brows.

“I mean you’ve never admired even your gender before let alone the opposite,”

Karina almost rolled her eyeballs but stopped herself.

She was Karina. How could she admire anyone but herself?

“I really did, mom, but in the end, he said I don’t suit his taste,” she lied blatantly but the look on her face would make anyone believe her.

Irene put away some strands on her forehead and then pressed her hand against her cheek.

“It’s his loss, sweetheart. Don’t worry about him anymore,” she said lucidly, having a broad smile on her slightly wrinkled face.

Hearing this, Karina secretly let out a relieved sigh, thinking it was all over with this arranged marriage thing.

“You’ll be meeting Matthew Nelson in a few days, darling. Do you remember him?” Isaac questioned cheerily but Karina could only stare at his father in a daze.

“Dad, please don’t tell me you’re setting me up with another guy again?” her voice broke, looking pained.