Third Time Is Not The Charm

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"Disgusting! Close your mouth, Laurie," she grimaced with how her mouth was agape and the partially consumed burger and fries can be seen in the inside of her mouth.

She quickly closed her mouth and slowly chewed the food inside her mouth. She was staring at Mei Mei's face in disbelief, at her eyes bulging out of their sockets.

"What?" She snapped at her, "Don't tell me you have no idea that nii-chan had or —" she cocked her head to the side, "...still has feelings for you." Her voice softened when she said the last part of the sentence.

"I had a vague idea," she said after swallowing the remaining food in her mouth. She sipped her coke rather loudly, which earned her knitted eyebrows of disapproval from Mei Mei.

"Vague??! Why do you think it is unclear? My brother proposed to you twice —" she raised her index and middle fingers in front of her face, "TWICE! What is not clear with that?" she exclaimed in exasperation.

She rolled her eyes at Mei Mei, "Here we are again!"

"Wh-what — here we are again? Why again?"

"I just talked to Bella about it," she turned her head, looking for Bella, but she was across the street busy directing Andrei's next pose on the curb. She is busy taking photos as usual.

"It's not twice, but thrice," seeing the confusion in Mei Mei's eyes, she added, "Hideaki didn't just propose marriage to me twice but he did it three times."

She hastily stood up from the bench she was sitting on and had her arms in akimbo, "And you thought, my brother's feeling for you was vague?" she asked sarcastically, "He proposed three times and you think it is vague!"

Mei Mei paced in front of Laurie, who was speechless. "She thought it was vague," she mumbled.

"Why are you so upset about something that happened years ago?"

"I don't know if you're just a bitch when it comes to men or just oblivious! If I didn't know how you flirt, I'd believe it's the latter."

"Just like I said to Bella, I didn't take Hideaki's proposal seriously because he wasn't my boyfriend! He kept on proposing marriage when he wasn't even my boyfriend… it's kinda creepy, you know!"

"How is it creepy? Our family knew each other. You know Hideaki personally. Why would you think he is creepy?" A huff of annoyance escaped her lips. Laurie is a friend but they are talking about her brother! There is no way she will take it lightly!

"Do you marry just because you are family friends?" She quickly raised her hand to stop Mei Mei from answering her question, "That was a stupid question. People marry for lesser reasons than that."

She gathered the trash from the burger and fries she ate and stood up. She doesn't feel like she can explain her opinion clearly if she was sitting down and Mei Mei kept on turning around in a circle, she's making her dizzy!

"Listen, the first time Hideaki proposed to me was because — our families are friends," her voice trembled and both of them averted each other's gazes, both avoiding the real reason for that marriage arrangement.

"Given, it was just our father who wanted that wedding to happen," she said in a low voice, with her back turned to her, "How about the second one, or the third one that I had no idea about?"

She cleared her throat before answering Mei Mei. Any mention of her late father always made her throat tighten and her eyes water.

"The first time Hideaki proposed to me I'm very much in a relationship and in love. The second one was when my relationship fell apart — back then when he proposed I wanted to punch him in the face." she couldn't help but chuckle with the memory now.

Mei Mei raised her eyebrow in silent question.

"I mean, I broke up with my first love. And then Hideaki came along - all smug and insistent, telling me he would like to marry me as though he were proposing a business deal. I was twenty then, do you really think I'd say yes?

And yeah, let's talk about that third proposal that you had no idea about. He came to me again, when one of my short-lived relationships broke apart — in the most toxic way possible." she scoffed and rolled her eyes with the memory.

"Your brother came again. This time he was no longer cocky. This time he has a box of a diamond ring with pity in his eyes. Like, I fell too far down, I am pitiful and he came to save me." she breathed out the cobwebs of those memories.

She heaved out a deep breath of frustration. Those proposals of Hideaki had always been seen as something that was romantic. And her mother and most people who heard the story of a guy who kept on proposing marriage to her saw it as a wasted opportunity.

Her wasted chance of wearing a ring and carrying a new family name. Nobody asked her how she felt about those proposals. Or if she was happy, or if she wanted to marry the man.

They just all assumed that a marriage proposal was something that she should be happy about. And she must grab it like some sought-after merchandise that happened to be on sale — that she got lucky enough to have her hands on!

Marriage is not a fashion show where you watch the new clothes for the season and get first dibs on them. Or if you're Laurie Crisostomo, you get to see them before they hit the runway.

An awkward silence hung in the garden air. It appeared like Mei Mei was also one of those people who thought she was insane to reject such an opportunity.

In some sense, she couldn't blame them. Hideaki Nakamura is smart, good-looking, had a good educational background, came from a good family, and is the heir of his father's entertainment business empire!