Lionel was quite serious when he demanded that Belle buy whatever items she wanted before they returned home. Even though she had refused, Lionel continued to insist, explaining that all this was an order from Grandpa William. He didn't want to get into trouble if he went home empty-handed, and he understood his grandfather's coercive character very well.
"But I really don't want to buy anything." Belle was still adamant about her stance. "You can tell."
"Please, Belle. You want to see my neck hung by grandpa, huh?" They continued to negotiate as Lionel was busy driving, the road they were on was getting further and further away from home.
Belle was silent, her expression flat, she was too honest to care about the state of the man beside her.
This attitude made Lionel exhale harshly, he looked annoyed.
"Can't you just cooperate with me a little, huh? Make things easy, you're not as lucky as everyone else, so just take advantage of the privilege, nanny." He chuckled. "I won't care either way, I'm still taking you to the shopping center and picking up anything in your name, Belle."
"You'll do it?"
"Yes."
There was no more reaction from Belle, as if Lionel's words were the final way out. So that the vehicle actually headed to the largest shopping center in Moscow, after all, Belle had no intention of jumping out of the car to avoid this situation, she had given up since accepting the marriage offer.
As long as they were in the clothing boutique, Belle didn't touch anything, she just continued to follow where Lionel went, according to the man's wishes, while her future husband chose dresses or other clothes for Belle.
Lionel thought that this situation had to end soon, so he picked up a lot of items without asking Belle's opinion and ended up carrying a pile of clothes in front of the cashier's desk.
"Do you want to buy shoes? Heels?"
"No."
"Alright, let's find a shoe display."
Belle gaped at that. The woman's rejection was meaningless, so why ask?
"Do you want to buy a fancy bag?"
"No."
"Okay, the next item is a luxury bag. I know what the taste of girls in America is like, I will apply it to you."
"Crazy man." Belle could only swear softly, both of the woman's hands were already filled with many shopping bags, she even flanked two shoe boxes on each of her armpits like an assistant and continued to walk behind Lionel.
"Good choice, sir. These three bags are the latest collection from our brand, which was officially launched two days earlier. You moved quickly to spoil your partner." A staff member was busy praising while taking care of the payment for Belle's three luxury bags.
"Are you out of your mind? What are you buying such expensive things for, huh? Aren't you afraid of being kicked by your grandfather?" Belle grumbled again as she walked beside Lionel, they had left the bag shop towards an escalator.
"Why would grandpa kick me when his grandson follows orders, huh? It was my grandfather who asked me to spend all his money on your needs."
"But, I really don't want to. You're making me feel very guilty, young master."
"Feel very guilty?" Lionel paused, making Belle do the same. The man gave Belle a strange look. "Don't you realize it at all, huh? You've made me do all this, you've made my grandfather spoil you for agreeing to that marriage offer. If you had refused from the beginning, this kind of thing would have been easily avoided, so you're at fault from the beginning, Belle."
The woman swallowed, she realized her guilt at every sentence from Lionel's lips, she had been trapped by the luxury she received, but Belle was really uncomfortable.
"You won't be able to stop anything, Belle. Just accept it, you're just like me, we're pawn players for grandfather who have to follow all his orders when we're tied up by the older man, and the situation will definitely become more tricky for you after the wedding blessing." He stared fixedly at Belle's pair of irises, hypnotizing her into silence, but after being satisfied to intimidate, Lionel walked away, while Belle flinched at the thought of her future'misery'.
Their last stop was a coffee shop after buying a cake for Grandpa William. The two of them were sitting under a table with umbrellas while the sun was still quite hot.
"Yes, Grandpa. We'll be home soon. Belle said that she was tired of traveling around." Lionel spoke through his cell phone, he did not glance at Belle, even though he used her name as an excuse. "She also took the initiative to buy a cake for Grandpa."
Belle glared, she had become the'scapegoat' for all of Lionel's actions.
"Okay, see you at home." He ended the call, then looked at Belle. "Listen to me carefully, be nice to Grandpa when you get home, don't make the older man feel sad because of all your rejections."
Belle flinched, she was quite offended every time she heard a sentence full of intimidation from Lionel. The man was very good at it, making it clear that Lionel easily pressured others or quite often intimidated anyone.
"I'll step aside to use the restroom, please finish your drink before returning to the car," Lionel said as he left.
Belle snorted resignedly, and she gulped down the rest of her iced coffee. She had never visited this place, but the atmosphere and service received were quite comfortable, making it easy for anyone to stay longer to sit and spend time there.
After Lionel was done with his business in the restroom, they returned to the car, but as they opened the door, someone's voice called the man's name, making the two compactly turn their heads and find several girls walking over as they smiled at Lionel.
"Ah, it's you, I thought I had misrecognized you even though I haven't seen you for a long time." The prettiest girl of them suddenly gave a brief hug, then kissed Lionel's cheek, showing no awkwardness in doing so.
"Dasha?"
The girl nodded. "Yeah, you've forgotten me, huh?"
"Not at all, how could I forget you that quickly?" Lionel managed to recognize her.
"Thank goodness. Eum, what are you doing here?" He looked the other way and found Belle, who was standing still near the right side door. "Oh, is she your girlfriend?"
"No—"
"YES."
Belle blinked, she would never have guessed that Lionel recognized her as a lover. Is this man out of his mind?
"Oh, my God. I'm sorry for not keeping my distance." Dasha approached Belle, and she noticed the appearance of Lionel's future wife. "Once again, I'm sorry for not seeing you before and sorry for making the situation uncomfortable."
"Not at all, I'm fine."
"My name is Dasha, Lionel's ex-girlfriend from high school."
The awkwardness intensified as they shook hands, but fortunately, Dasha said goodbye because she had to watch a movie with her friends.
"See you later. Take good care of Lionel, although he's quite annoying, hopefully his childish nature has disappeared." The last sentence Dasha said before walking away with her companion.
"I'M NOT YOUR LOVER."
Lionel chuckled. He opened the car door as he said, "So, what to do, huh? Won't it be pretty funny to admit that you're an old man's nanny and soon to be my wife?"
Belle chose to stay silent, she just wanted to emphasize her existence.
"Dasha is just one of them, and there are many other women next. Are you ready to respond to such attitudes, nanny?"
"I don't care."
"Well, I won't feel bad for you."
***
