Cat amongst tigers

Chapter Seven: Cat amongst Tigers.

 Arya had never seen so many pretty things in one place before. She felt her card will go dangerously red soon but didn’t speak of it to Mr. Wade.

 She ran to a short red dress but when she stood in front of it, the mirror reflected her image on it and she saw it will be quite too short for her.

 “Do you want it?” Mr. Wade asked.

 She moved away, shaking her head. “It’s short.”

With her disappointed tone, Wade looked back on the dress and without her seeing him, picked it up, along with it’s leggings she might not have viewed.

 Minutes later, they walked out of the mall, her hands full with bags. He noticed her little hops when she got outside and could tell she was excited about everything.

 Just when he was about dropping a taxi for her, he sighted a young girl who had been watching him while he shopped. He paused, keeping a distance from Arya.

 The girl came closer and bowed, before passing by. She peeked into his bag and frowned.

 He sighed. Yet another young fan who had recognized him as CEO Damien. If he got close with Arya, they’d easily make a dating scandal on him.

 He knew the girl was still tagging along so he returned to the mall, before Arya would realize.

 “Is something wrong?” Arya wondered out loud, when she saw him walk back in. She didn’t react and assumed he forgot something.

 She tried to fly down a taxi but felt guilty for leaving him. Trying to enter the mall again she saw a young girl staring at Mr. Wade. Was she a stalker?

 The girl whipped out her phone to take a picture of him and Arya, with her instincts, ran and brushed past her making her phone fall into her bag.

 Arya heaved a sigh of relief that the phone didn’t fall on the ground and got broken. “Oh, I’m sorry.” She smiled.

 The girl only took her phone and stormed off.

“She could be an secret lover of his or something?” Arya wondered to herself. Such a nice handsome man would have lots of women dying to have him.

 “Oh, hey.” She turned when she heard his voice. “I’m sorry about that. Wait for me at the park, I’d get a taxi and bring to you.” He handed her the bags.

 She made a bow and took it, smiling to herself. He was very generous to be willing to get a taxi for her. Getting outside the mall, under the sky, she found that it still drizzled. And the weather was cold.

  “Wait for me there, Arya.” He said again.

 She nodded, with pursed lips and hurried under the drizzling rain to the children’s park besides the mall. She looked back, watching Mr. Wade return into the mall and not get a taxi. Was he hiding from someone?

 Few minutes later, the young girl that stalked him walked out of the mall, with a defeated face. Mr. Wade walked out with her. He had to meet her personally and scold her for stalking him.

 “This is why I can’t even publicly announce my wedding till it’s done.” He grunted, glaring at the young girl move away.

 Being the CEO of his business, his father’s group and mother’s company, he was always seen as high and mighty, not to entangle with lesser humans.

 He took the privilege to appear most times in random and open places to lessen the rumors but folks were still interested in his personal life, much that he denied having a sibling so the media wouldn’t be after his younger sister.

 It was in his dire moments to meet up with his sister without paparazzi finding him, that he met Anna, who was a senior in his sister’s school then, and usually helped him sneak her out so they’d talk.

 He caught sight of Arya, slightly shivering under a merry-go-round. He rushed to her, pulling his jacket as he came closer and attempted to hang it over her but unknowingly startled her.

 “Oh, I thought you were trying to hit me.” she smiled, innocently.

 He stretched the jacket to her and watched her take it. “Hit you? Why will I hit you?” he called a taxi for her.

 Arya looked down at her hands. She was used to be in abusive situations that she hoped she wouldn’t show this part of her to Sir Damien, or he’d worry.

 A taxi came and he tapped her shoulders as she was lost in thoughts. “You should head home now, so you wouldn’t catch a cold.”

 She nodded. “Thank you. I very much appreciated your patience with me.”

 “It’s nothing. And I appreciate your honesty, the part about your marriage being arranged. I just wanted to add that, as long as the man you marry isn’t abusive, it’s not big of a deal.” He looked her in the eye.

 Hope shone in her brown eyes and she nodded firmly. Also if he dared, she would swiftly called her elder sister and terminate the contract.

 “To add, back in the days, arranged marriages were a norm, like blind dates now. And they had been very successful and stayed strong.” Mr. Wade added.

 His words made Arya feel better, her predicament wasn’t as bad as it seemed. The only bad thing was the issues surrounding it.

 “Thank you for the help.” She sighed in relief then smiled. He nodded, and helped her get in the taxi.

 The taxi drove off and a smile came to his lips.

 It faded when his phone rang. It was his mother.

 “I am almost home, mother.” He answered.

 “You are an adult and can come home whenever, I didn’t call because of that!” She yelled.

 He took the phone away from his ears. “Okay then, why did you call?”

 “Your sister said you should stop by the mall and get her some clothes for the wedding. She accepted to attend so get her something nice.” She said.

 “She can decide not to attend if she wants…”

 “Damien Asahi Wade! Don’t you want your whole family to attend your wedding? You know you won’t be attending the court marriage so least you can do is make sure we are there!” his mother yelled again.

 He groaned, giving up. “Fine, mother, I’d get something for my sister and for you as well, okay?”

 She made an ‘hmm’ sound. “When will you be coming home?”

 “I thought you said I was a adult and could come whenever?” he smirked.

 “Tsk, I am only asking because you are getting us something. Do you want us to wait till you decided to come home, huh?” she seethed.

 Shaking his head, he changed the phone to another ear. “I will be home within thirty minutes.”

 “Fine.” She hung up. He dropped his phone in his pocket and ran his hands through his hair.

 While acting like a romance counselor, he should have warned Arya about his family, they might be too agile for her, like a cat amongst tigers.