Sprinkled with Love

Once dinner ended, Violet left the room to leave Ryan and his mother to talk.

When she walked into the living room, there was no one around. Violet sauntered around the place and finally stopped in front of the Chen's family portrait.

The photo was probably taken a few years ago. 

Ryan looked younger and his father was still alive.

Everyone in the photo had a smile on their faces, showing that they were a happy family. 

Ryan was the third of four siblings. He was the only son of his parents. He had two elder sisters, Katie and Hannah, and a younger sister, Marina.

From what Violet had heard, Katie was divorced. Currently, she is managing the company that his parents had built. Meanwhile, Hannah is married with one adorable daughter, Lily. Violet had never met Hannah's husband and knew nothing about that man.

Then, there was also Marina, the younger sister who had only returned home recently.

From her interaction with Marina during dinner earlier, Violet could tell that she was a sweet girl—completely different from Ryan.

Looking at the photo now, Violet sort of understood why he was such a pain in the ass. Being the only male of his siblings, he was probably spoiled by everyone around him.

The sound of footsteps snapped Violet out of her thoughts.

Turning around, she saw Ryan walking over with a tense look on his face.

Her instinct was telling her that his conversation with his mother did not go as well as he had intended. 

"Do you want to leave now?" Ryan asked. "I'll give you a lift?"

Violet was about to tell him that she could grab a taxi when she realized that his mother probably asked him to give her a lift home. "Alright."

Ryan heaved a sigh in relief when Violet did not try to come up with some excuse to decline his offer. He was quite sure that his mother was still keeping her eyes on them right at the moment.

…

Their journey to Violet's home was quiet.

Violet could see that Ryan seemed to have a lot on his mind and was not interested in disturbing him.

"I'm sorry that you've got to deal with my sisters today," Ryan said as he pulled over his car in front of Ami's house. "I'm sure they've been giving you lots of trouble. Today, it was Hannah who came to look for you." 

Violet smiled. "Not at all. In fact, I enjoyed your sisters' company."

"I'm sorry that you have to agree with my mother's request. Meeting every day isn't going to be easy,," Ryan said. His eyes were firm. But, Violet wasn't sure if he was angry or he was just concerned for her.

"That's alright," Violet chuckled. "We agreed that we will keep pretending. I think it's better to agree now. Otherwise, our parents might come up with another ridiculous request. Violet looked out the window and heaved a sigh. "Do you think what we did was right? I mean, deceiving them and pulling this trick."

"What do you mean?" Ryan looked unhappy." "You want to change our plans and pull out from this agreement?"

"No." Violet paused. "I don't know…" She pursed her lips and considered everything they had done.

His mother and sisters were very good to her. Seeing how everyone was treating her kindly and sincerely. Sometimes, facing them made her feel guilty. " It's just that, I don't feel comfortable with all these lies."

"Neither do I. These lies can get tiring sometimes." Ryan studied her face. "It's just that, we have no other choice but to deceive them. We both did not want to be married this early or looking forward to a relationship, right?"

Violet considered Ryan's words and realized that they made sense. "You are right. I should not ponder over this matter too much." She took a deep breath and looked at Ryan again. "Okay then. I should get going." Violet stepped out of his car. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

xxx

Ryan tossed his key on the table and walked towards the sofa. He closed his eyes and recalled the conversation between him and Violet. 

They were both finding these lies tiring.

But if they were to follow their parents' original arrangement, they were supposed to get married.

This is something that both of them did not want.

But after a few weeks, this arrangement will end.

He won't have to see Violet again.

The thought made Rya frown.

After spending his time with VIolet, Ryan could tell that his perception of her had changed. 

He did not dislike her like he first did. Violet was quite an easy person to talk to. Although they usually argue about a lot of things, Ryan did not find their argument annoying.

"Something is off, Ryan,"

Ryan almost jumped upon hearing the voice. Turning around, he was startled to find Marina sitting next to him, with her arms crossed on her chest. "What are you doing here?"

He did not realize that his younger sister was sitting next to him. 

"I don't get it," Marina said, ignoring his question. "Why are you dating Violet? I mean, I know Mother wanted you to date her, but I don't expect you to be so obedient," she paused and squinted. "What exactly are you planning?"

Ryan leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes. "I'm not planning anything."

"Really?" Marina raised a brow questioningly. "Well, don't tell me that you're dating her because you're interested in her."

Ryan smirked. "Well, what if that's the case?"

Marina laughed. "I doubt that. That doesn't sound like you at all. She's not the type of girl you used to date."

 "Very well. I admitted that I started going out with her because my mother forced me to, and vice versa. But, after all, she's not as bad as I thought. At least she's not after money. After getting to know Violet for a while, I think she is not a bad person.

Marina raised a brow as she looked at her brother with full interest.