Unexpected Development

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"What just happened?" she asked, cocking her head to the man that just got out of the door.

"That's the man who I was supposed to marry when I was nineteen, but now he's acting like a jerk." she clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him. You won't see him as often," she said, climbing the stairs to the second floor with her suitcase in tow.

"But, he's always there…" she jerked her thumb over her shoulder to the direction of the door that leads to the basement.

Laurie didn't hear her for she was already on the second floor, wrestling her heavy suitcase to fit the door.

"Fcuk!" She muttered under her breath when she finally shoved her suitcase inside the room she was going to use while she was here.

The room was too narrow. It has a single bed, pushed next to the window facing the street down below.

There is a side table with two drawers next to the bed, and a closet along the wall next to it.

Because of the closet, she has to walk sideways to climb the bed on that side, or she could crawl from the foot of the bed to get on it. Thank goodness, the closet has a sliding door, so opening it won't be a problem.

She looked behind her and she could touch the door if she stretched her arm from standing from the foot of her bed. Her bathroom back home is bigger than this room!

The only good thing about this room was its big windows. If not because of the windows she would be suffocated inside this bedroom that's making her relate to Harry Potter when he was still living in his aunt's house!

But then, beggars can't be choosers!

She put her suitcase on top of her bed because there is no way she could unpack her clothes if she would open her suitcase on the floor. Taking everything outside of it, she sighed that most of the clothes were something that she couldn't really use.

She has to do some shopping soon. And probably work on earning for her everyday expenses. Since she couldn't touch most of her money for most of them she can't liquidate for the investment where she put them had not matured yet.

She could ask her brothers for some cash, but then, her mother would probably find out about it and that would just solidify her opinion about the necessity of her getting married.

Her mother was stuck in the idea that women had to get married, so they would have someone to provide for them financially.

She has no problem providing for herself. She has enough money, it just happened that she can't move her investment as of this time. She has to wait three to ten years for her to enjoy them.

She shouldn't have this problem if she wasn't forced to get out of the country. The living expenses back home were way cheaper than living here in Japan.

Well, she could choose other Asian countries like Vietnam or Taiwan but then, she has no friends in those countries, and she would die within a week of not being with her friends.

She likes meeting new people but her friends were the same friends she had five, ten years ago. Come to think of it, Bella is the only 'new' friend that she could consider. Other than her, all her friends were her friend way back when she was young.

It's not because she doesn't like making new friends, it's more like she doesn't actively make efforts to be friendly to other people.

"Hey!"

She was startled when someone spoke behind her, and when she turned around she saw Nakamura Mei - the brat of the Nakamura household, the only friend she made from being a student exchange here in Japan when she was a fourth-year student.

However, unlike her, Mei already has a family of her own. She got married last year, in a beautiful vineyard at the foot of a mountain somewhere in the North Region of Spain.

During the three days and four nights she stayed there for the wedding, there wasn't a day that she was sober! Thus, she didn't bother trying to remember the place's name.

"Mei Mei," she pouted and opened her arms to her friend who reluctantly let her embrace her. "I am now destitute!"

"You can marry my brother if you are scared to sleep on the street."

"Well, thank you so much! "That's such a comforting thought," she added with sarcasm, "especially when your brother just told me blatantly that he hates my guts."

"Oh, my brother already met you?" She was taken aback by what she said.

"Unfortunately, yes. We met not even an hour after I entered the house." she scoffed in irritation remembering how Mei Mei's older brother acted all high and mighty towards her. "He said, he was here to welcome me as an obligation to the fact that our family are friends and to inform me that my mother had made contact with your father and that I must be at your family house this weekend!"

Mei Mei giggled with her lengthy explanation. "I don't think my brother hates your guts."

"Are you deaf? I just told you what he did to me."

"Exactly that's why I'm telling you that my brother doesn't hate your guts! I am here because I was asked to do what apparently he already did." she knowingly lifted her eyebrow at her, "My job was done without me doing anything because someone wanted to see you as soon as you entered the house."

"Oh!," she gasped in surprise.

"Yes, oh!" she giggled again.

She hasn't seen her since her wedding that she forgot how Mei Mei giggled in almost everything even when they weren't remotely funny.

She has no idea what to make of the fact that Nakamura Hideaki took time out from his busy schedule to meet her.