Coming Up with Plans

The bakery turned silent after Sarah's words dropped.

Suddenly, the only thing that Violet could hear was the mixer whirled in the background, and Brian's voice, singing at the top of his lung.

Evan was the first who snap out of his thoughts. He gave Violet a look over and frowned. "You're engaged? And you didn't think to tell me about this? I thought we were best friends?"

Violet let out a heavy sigh as she raised her hand to massage her temple. "Don't listen to her. I'm not engaged. Well, at least not yet."

"Wait." Sarah narrowed her eyes at her cousin. "You… Why are you calm? A little bit too calm, in my opinion. I thought you would be upset with your parents' arrangement."

Violet shrugged. "What am I supposed to do? You know my dad. He's stubborn. Nothing I do can change his mind. I've spent all night thinking about this matter and frankly, I'm too tired to think of this again."

"Please. I need details," Sarah said as she followed her cousin around. "Tell me what happened exactly? I can't believe that you can stay calm and act like this thing was not happening."

Violet took few cupcakes on the table and arranged them neatly on the rack, and Sarah followed her around, knowing that her cousin was only trying to find a quieter spot before the others heard their conversation.

"It's not like I could change anything by throwing tantrums," Violet said with a shrug. "I wanted to cry but the tears won't come out. I thought about running away from home just to protest, but then, dad blackmailed me into this arrangement. He told me that he would pull his investments out of my bakery if I didn't comply."

Sarah put her hands on her mouth and gasped. "He didn't! I can't believe that Uncle James would do this to you. This is not fair."

"That's what I said too," Violet retorted.

"Violet, you work so hard for this bakery. Having this bakery cafe has been your dreams for as long as I remember," Sarah said. She bit at her lips and went to her cousin.

Suddenly, Violet felt Sarah's arms, wrapped around her body in an attempt to console her. Feeling the warmth, Violet took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Sarah, you know my dad. He won't change his mind once he makes his decision. I can't talk him out of it. My mom could not persuade him. My brother tried to plead for me and failed."

Sarah shook her head. "I still can't believe your dad would do something like that. Are you alright?"

"I am. For now." Violet stared at the cupcakes for a few seconds and the thought of running away resurfaced again.

"So you have no choice but to agree with this engagement?" Evan asked. He has been trailing after the girls as he was worried about his friend.

"Of course not!" Violet scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't give in that easy. After some thought, I made a deal with my dad. Instead of agreeing to get married right away, I told my dad that I was going to date this guy for a month. If it doesn't work, then, this engagement will be called off."

Sarah gave two thumbs up and smiled. "Smart move! Violet! I like the way you think."

"But you still need to meet this guy and date him for a month," Evan pointed out.

"It was the best plan I could come out with last night," Violet said. "I thought that I could use dating as an excuse to buy myself more time. Anyway, going out was better than married. At least, I can get to know this guy first, right?"

"That's not a bad plan," Sarah nodded. Then, she lifted a hand to rub at her chin. "Going on a few dates wouldn't hurt. In fact, I think this is a pretty good plan. At least you can check him out first. You know, just in case he turned out to be a super-hot." A playful smile curled on her lips. "Then, you decide whether you want to continue dating him or marry him."

Evan who stood at the side as he helped to rearrange the cupcakes on the tray, narrowed his eyes at Sarah.

"Ha! I don't really care what he looks like. I just want to get this over with. I don't actually have any plan about getting married at this time or age," Violet turned to her cousin and continued, "Sarah, you look at me. Do you think I am at a marriageable age?"

"Uh…" Sarah did not think that it was a question that needed an answer. Both of them were in their early twenties. Of course, they were at a marriageable age. However, it was not something that Violet wanted to hear.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Evan spoke. "But, whether you like it or not, you will still have to date this guy for a month, right?"

Hearing her friend's question, Violet was suddenly depressed.

"I have an idea," Sarah said after a while. "Once you go to this first meeting and find that you do not like him, you can always plan something to sabotage this arrangement and get out of this sticky situation." She turned to the tall guy beside them and raised a brow. "We are definitely going to help Violet, aren't we, Evan?"

Evan tapped his fingers on the stainless steel counter and paused before he nodded. "Violet, if you need any help, you know that you can count on both of us."

"Thank you," Violet gave them a warm smile.

"This guy you're going to date for a month... Did you know anything about him?" Evan asked. "Did your parents tell you anything about him?"

Hearing Evan's question, Sarah got curious. "Yes. Tell us what you know about him. Do we have a name at least?"

Violet let out a loud sigh as she tried to recall the conversation between her and her parents last night. "My mom and dad might have mentioned something about this guy last night. But I don't remember well because... I am not interested in getting to know him."

Sarah, who was in the middle of drinking the coffee in her hand almost choked on her drink. She could not believe that her cousin had failed to get important information regarding this enemy.

How were they supposed to come up with a plan without trying to understand their enemy?

Violet frowned as she looked at her cousin. Once she was sure that her cousin was alright, Violet then continued, "All I remember is that... his name is Ryan Chen, and he's a doctor."