The Game

"Rose, wait, wait—stop! We need to talk!" Ryan called out, but Rose did not seem to hear him, intent on pulling him across the park until they reached the road on the other side of the neighborhood.

The short sprint caused her to gasp for air. Ryan could see that her physical condition was poor so any form of running was enough to tire her out. But despite her hurried breathing, she did not stop and she did not let him go, dragging him towards what he could only guess to be her house.

By this time, Ryan was growing anxious. "Rose… you do realize you have put me in danger with your actions then? And what do you mean by 'he will kill me?' Don't tell me your father is a mafia boss?"

If what she said was to be taken literally, then he had to accept her conditions unless he wanted a death sentence looming over his head. To top it off, making her his girlfriend would mean she would likely become his future wife.

As much as he found her attractive, Ryan was not stupid. If ever Rose won his grandma's selection—no matter how small the possibility is—the two of them would be stuck forever. They barely spoke a few sentences to each other. This was too big a matter to be decided by one random encounter!

Rose stopped to take a breather in the middle of the street. "What do you want me to tell you? That I'm sorry?" She turned to face him. "It's not going to change anything. It was my impulsive decision that led to such a situation and I'm trying my best to fix it now."

"About my father," Rose continued, "I don't really know his exact job or title, but he provides various services for different influential people. He just said his job is dangerous and didn't want to tell me any details. He wants me to focus on my studies instead."

"Uhm," Ryan was at a loss how to respond, "then, maybe it shouldn't be that bad, right?"

The blue-eyed girl shook her head. She looked at his face as they walked side by side now and admitted with a serious expression, "I once asked my dad if he had ever killed before and he confirmed."

Ryan almost choked when he heard it. "Is this something you should be telling me…?"

Although there was no visible change to his facial expression, internally, he was starting to panic, thinking her father was some kind of hitman.

"Isn't it fine?" Rose shot back with a smile, finding his question amusing. "You are already my boyfriend in his eyes, and he won't do anything to you. Unless you are going to call the cops on us, right?"

Ryan stared at her, speechless. When the meaning of her words fully sank in, his face paled, feeling genuinely scared, and his legs shook so bad he almost came knocking on the ground.

Being a boyfriend to a hitman's daughter was something he never thought would happen to him, much less dreamed of!

Sweet laughter akin to the chiming of bells pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Look at your face! You are so scared that even your hands are cold. I am obviously joking," Rose admitted as she laughed, grabbing his hands with both of hers as if trying to warm them up. Ryan had never had a bigger up and down moment than at this time. Thankfully, he was just being played.

His hands were still cold even after she rubbed them so she stopped their walk and put both of them into her hoodie pouch. She let him lean against the fence made of flat white rock and shared her warmth, smiling playfully at him.

"Are you feeling better?" Rose asked after a moment, carefully scrutinizing his expression from up close. She was no longer shy and silly, acting much bolder compared to before.

"I'm better," Ryan replied while keeping her at a distance with his hands. She was risking herself once again by letting her soft lips stay this close to his face. This was the wrong time for losing control, not that there was a right one.

He wanted to pinch those rosy cheeks of hers. "Do you want me to get a panic attack? You shouldn't joke like that."

"Well, I did not lie about the cops. They will be useless as my dad used to be in the army so he's kinda chummy with everyone in the city police," Rose replied with a shrug.

"So he killed as a soldier then? Couldn't you say that from the start?" Ryan asked helplessly, not really expecting an answer to that question. Then, he said seriously, "We need to talk about my case. You don't know what you are getting into."

"Does it matter?" Rose casually pulled his hands out of the red hoodie and let go of him, walking slowly alongside the fence. "We don't have a choice anyway. For now, we must mutually help each other. There is no other way. How about you tell me about it after lunch? Actually, we still have a bit of time before lunch. My house is nearby, and we can talk in my room."

She turned back to him and her face lit up with a smile, showing a glistening set of teeth. "Shall we go?"

He stared at her for a moment and realized she was right. They barely had options in their current situation. He was now trapped with Rose as his only choice.

'I guess I will have to wait a bit longer. She will probably give up once she learns of the possible outcomes,' Ryan thought and couldn't help but smile back. 'Though, it wouldn't be as bad to have such a pretty girl as a girlfriend.'

Ryan could not deny that Rose was his type—he was really attracted to her from the moment he saw her. If he were to find a girl outside of his mother's candidates, wouldn't she be like Rose? Sweet and pretty and cheerful, with a little bit of playfulness.

If he wasn't troubled by his grandmother's selection, Ryan would not even think twice and hesitate to agree to go out with this kind of girl, even if they were only to play-pretend.

"Alright," Ryan finally decided, walking up to her and grabbed her extended hand, "You can lead the way."

"Great!" Rose exclaimed as she squeezed his hand. "Let's go!"

While they walked next to a white fence, Rose filled him in with a few basic information about herself and her family, and he did the same. Otherwise, it would be awkward if they were to pretend being a couple yet they know next to nothing about each other. Of course, they were short on time, and only managed to iron some superficial details about each other. At least, now he knew that her whole name is Rose Robinson.

Suddenly, she pulled him to a stop right in front of a gate. It turned out they were right outside her home this whole time.

They went inside and Ryan got immediately captivated by the beautiful flowery garden that stretched throughout the property. The villa looked like a medium-sized house compared to how large the garden stretched.

As they approached the entrance of the villa, they saw a lady standing by the entrance.

"Oh no, my mom is waiting…"

The lady was simply a mature version of Rose, the only difference being her stern gaze. She was wearing a kitchen apron on top of a neat dress, appearing as if she was in the middle of cooking and had stepped out of the kitchen specifically to observe this so-called boyfriend from afar. She didn't look happy about Ryan's arrival.

"Let me do the talking," Rose decided as her hand tightened around his own and called out to her mother with a smile, "Mom, we are back."

Her mother did not spare a glance at her, staring into Ryan's eyes the whole time and asked calmly, "What's your name, boy?"

Rose did not mind being ignored. Instead, she hugged Ryan's arm before introducing him. "His name is Ryan Morgan, my boyfriend. We really like each other but we have been only dating for two months, so don't be too harsh on him. I told him to come today as I couldn't stand your actions anymore."

Ryan wanted to abide by Rose's wish to do the talking, but it seemed impolite to not say a thing. "Good day, Mrs. Robinson."

However, Rose's mother did not even look at him. Her eyes were pinned on Rose, as if trying to analyze her daughter's mood. "I heard from your dad that you two are quite intimate with each other. Did you have sex already?"

"Mom!" Rose couldn't help but blush and cry out, "What are you even saying!?"

She wasn't prepared for such a question and fell victim to trickery.

"I guess you didn't yet," her mother deduced from her reaction, sighing in relief. "You two can go to your room. Lunch will be ready in an hour."

Rose immediately pouted and pulled on his hand, running into the house while dragging him inside.

When they passed by Rose's mother, Ryan noticed a smirk on her face, a smirk he swore he recognized on another's face. His own mother had the same type of smirk whenever she schemed something. It could be translated into one sentence.

The game has only just begun.