A Fist Fight-3

"Tamika eat like a proper lady! Is this how I raised you?" Marcella yelled at her daughter.

Currently, the trio of James, his aunt, and her daughter were having dinner in Marcella's mansion in Valgoor. They were all sitting on a huge dining table which was made to accommodate 20-25 people. They all were sitting side by side at one side of the table. Tamika on request of her mother had changed her nightgown with a white color gown. She looked absolutely beautiful. Seeing her like this, James started imagining her in a wedding gown which made his ears turn red.

On the table, many extravagant dishes were laid for consumption. James was having a good time having such a delicious dinner. But the same couldn't be said for Tamika….

"Please get off my back mother," she said annoyingly.

"I will get off your back after you start behaving like a proper lady," Marcella said while sipping her soup.

"I am not A LADY. I am a normal Siberian Girl who is living with her obnoxious mother." Tamika said while cutting her steak aggressively.

"Who said that you are not a Lady? You are a lady of this house. You are my princess." Marcella said with a smile.

"Aww…. I am a princess of a shitty family. That is so nice. Thank you mother for giving me such a wonderful title." Tamika said sarcastically.

"I do not care for your sarcasm. You are a princess. You are a LADY. End of story. Now behave like a Lady and cut small pieces of the steak." Marcella said with her smile gone and now replaced by an angry look. Hearing her mother's remarks, Tamika looked toward James.

She saw that he was full-heartedly concentrating on eating his steak. His eyes were on his meat and he was looking down. It was clear to her that he was not comfortable with their constant fighting. But he didn't want to get in the middle of it.

Tamika when saw James eating with his head down, she hatched a plan to change the conversation at the table…

"So James, what are your plans for tomorrow?" Tamika asked James.

"Huh?" James said abruptly looking up. "Plans… I don't know. I was thinking that maybe I should see Valgoor. I have heard that there is some beautiful forest around this place. I was thinking that I should visit them." James said.

"Wonderful idea! I know just the place that you would love to visit. It is a hill which is located near the ruins of a village. That hill has this view of the ocean. You would love it. Mother and I go there from time to time." Tamika said.

"That would be great," James said. Hearing the conversation Marcella looked at her daughter and then said…

"If I am not wrong, a Lady should ask her mother for permission if she wants to go out with a random boy." She said.

"Mother he is not a random boy. He is James. I know him since we were little kids." Tamika refuted.

"Still you are not an adult and you are going with an adult boy. What would happen if something happen between you two? Do you have what it takes to take care of a little child?" Marcella asked. Hearing her remark, James started choking on the piece of meat. While Tamika's face flushed and became red as a tomato. It could be said that James was still in awe at Marcella's ability to suddenly change her mood.

"MOTHER!" Tamika yelled.

"Alright alright… I was pulling your leg. I am sorry James, I tend to joke from time to time." Marcella said apologetically. While James could just smile as he lifted the glass of water. But one could see the James ear's had turned red due to embarrassment…

For the rest of the dinner, everyone ate in complete silence. When everyone was finished, they all said good night pleasantries to each other and then went back to sleep.

***

The next morning, James woke up early in the morning. He woke up early as today was his first unofficial date with Tamika. And he was very happy and excited about it.

As he woke up, he instantly went to the bathroom and cleaned himself thoroughly. He wanted to smell nice today. That is why he took out and smeared some of the very fragrant essence. He only uses this essence when he is going out on a special occasion. As today is a very important day for him, James smeared some of the essence on his body.

He didn't want to smell like someone who bathed in essence, so he was careful not to use it too much. After he was done, he wore the nicest pair of shirts and pants that he brought. He combed his hair and changed his hairstyle 3-4 times before he settled on one.

After he was ready came out of his room. He then started heading down the stairs. As he was coming down, he saw that his aunt Marcella was up and sitting on one of the sofas and was reading the newspaper. James saw that there was an extra newspaper lying on the tea table. So he went for the newspaper.

As James opened the newspaper, his aunt Marcella put her newspaper down and started speaking…

"James it is rude not to greet your elders after you wake up." She said. Hearing her, James smiled awkwardly and said…

"Good Morning, Aunty Marcella." He said.

"Too late now." She replied.

"I am sorry Aunty. It won't happen again." James apologized.

"It's okay…." Marcella said with a smile. Then suddenly her smile vanished and she looked at James with a serious expression. "Sit down James I want to talk to you about something." She said. Seeing her serious expression, James sat down in front of her.

"I am going to ask you a question. And I want you to answer the question truthfully. Can you do that for me?" Aunt Marcella said. It was then James started feeling that the atmosphere of the room had suddenly become heavier. The large room was engulfed in pin-drop silence. It was so silent that James could hear his heartbeat while sitting down. It was a very tense scenario. James gulped a mouthful of saliva as he felt the tension in the room. Then said…

"What do you want to know Aunt Marcella?" he asked.

"Do you like Tamika?" her words came as an arrow wheezing arrow that hit him straight at his heart.

James didn't know what to say in this case. He had thought about how he would confess his love. But he had never planned or thought about how he would break the news about his lover for Tamika to his Aunt Marcella.

Currently, James's mind started working on overdrive. He started thinking about how should he react to this question. Should he be brutally honest or should he play it cool? Because of this tense situation, James's heart started beating faster and faster…

"Waaaahat? I… Tamila… Tamika…. I" James started stuttering in a high-pitched voice.

"Don't play games with me, James. I want to know and I want to know right now. And a simple yes or no would suffice." Aunt Marcella said while glaring at James. As James stared at his aunt's serious face, he sighed.

"Yes," James said while looking down. For some reason, he was feeling ashamed and couldn't bear to look up.

"I thought so," Marcella said. Hearing this James, looked up.

"You… knew?" James asked her.

"Of course, I knew. I am not an idiot James. I saw how you looked at her. I saw how your whole confidence comes crashing down when you are with her. These are the tell-tell signs that you are in love." Marcella said nonchalantly.

"I.. Me… Um…" James was left speechless. He didn't know what else to say there.

"James… You are a good boy. You are intelligent. And I believe that you would achieve great things in the future. And you know what… I would be happy to hand over my little girl in your capable hands." Marcella said with a smile.

At first, James was shocked to hear what he just heard. It took him a few seconds to realize what he had just heard. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He pinched his thighs to see whether he was dreaming or not. As he felt pain being emitted from the place where he pinched, a very big smile bloomed on James's face.

"Why the hell are you smiling like an idiot. Did you seriously believe that I would say something like this when it concerns my daughter's future?" Marcella said. Hearing her statement, James's smile faded away.

"Huh?" James frowned.

"She is my daughter. I love her very much. Her future husband or fiance would be someone that I approve of. James Tyrion, do you really think that I Marcella Goomer approve the likes of you to be my daughter's fiance?" Marcella asked.

"I… I…" James stuttered as he didn't know what else to say. Nor did he know whether this was a joke or not.

"Let me save you some time. I don't. I don't approve of you. You are a good man and I am friends with your mother. And I could say with absolute surety that you would always keep my little princess happy. But that doesn't change the fact that you are weak. And you will remain that way for the rest of your life." Marcella said.

"I…" Jame wanted to say something to Marcella, but then he snapped again.

"SILENCE! The truth is that you are an anchor James. And with you, my princess will sink because of your weight. So from today onwards, it would be for the best if you stay away from her. Say your goodbye to Tamika, because after today you will never see her ever again." Marcella said. Then she stood up and walked away from James.

James just sat there like a statue. He sat there while processing what the hell happened there…