Chapter 2: Chapter 2 - The One Who Should Break Off The Engagement
Shenise wants to go on a rally that moment. She wants to flip the big table in the room upside down and go to the court to sue the government for not lobbying a bill that says parents should not interfere with their child's marriage and that it's illegal.
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Mien, Shenise." Gaville greeted, smiling. But the smile did not reach his eyes, Shenise noted.
"Shall we take our seats?" Heath said.
That was Shenise's cue. The second they're seated, Shenise did the Tip #2 that she had read in the article.
This doesn't apply to all, but most of the time, they doesn't like their partners to be talkative. In that case, Shenise has an advantage.
"So, what shall we have-"
She cut off her father's sentence. "I suggest we skip the meat, Dad, and settle with vegetable salad." Shenise said as she scanned the menu then she met Deive Eclaire's gaze directly.
"Do you know, Uncle, how many people all over the world die of heart attack, high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis, all of which are associated with eating cholesterol-rich diet such as meat?"
"No, Dear. I'm afraid I don't." Deive answered unsurely.
"Three people in every four minutes die of heart attack. One of the primary cause of deaths is high blood pressure for 227,000 Americans, while cases of arteriosclerosis are reported to increase each year. It's really scary to think what a piece of meat can do to your system. Some of the people I know said that I shouldn't worry because I'm still young but I said no. Heart problems can start as early as two years old. I think, meat should be banned in our country and eating vegetables must be promoted. Come to think of it, there's really not much nutrition a person can get from meat. Yes, a hundred gram intake of meat can provide twenty-five percent of iron and B vitamins, but it only gives about nine percent of energy. So, maybe, it is really a good source of protein which yields amino acids. And since our body cannot produce eight essential amino acids, we need to rely on protein foods. But meat isn't the only one that has proteins. Tofu, for one, is high in protein. What's more is that it is low in salt and calories and it's also cholesterol-free! As for vitamin B, well, we've got oatmeal, peanuts, corns, tomatoes, fresh vegetables. For iron, just stay under the sun from 7:00-9:00 a.m. And you can get iron, for free!"
"Anyway, meat doesn't really taste that good. Frankly, I hate the taste of it. Besides, everytime that I see meat, I wonder about the poor animal that has to be slaughtered just for us to eat. Have you seen a pig being slaughtered, Uncle? Pity. The poor animal screams very very loudly. Maybe, if you had observed that, you would agree with me and you won't eat pork or any other meat for that matter. So, shall we order a meat-free meal then?" She asked, smiling sweetly.
The three men around the table was quiet with shock. Shenise peaked at Gaville and she almost burst out laughing at the guy's face. Gaville was staring at her like she was an alien with two heads.
"Well, my child," She heard Deive say after getting over his shock. He was smiling at her and there seemed to be awe in the old man's eyes. "You may look like Eris, but you have the same thinking as your father." Deive chuckled, turning to Heath. "Just like you, Heath, she has an opinion for everything under the sun, eh?" Deive looked at Shenise again. "By the way Shenise, I am a vegetarian." The older Eclaire grinned.
Shenise wants to scream. She feels like all of her hardwork was thrashed. Shit. She thought of that speech for hours and it has no effect?
She grabbed the glass of water in front of her and bottomed it out. Calm down, Shenise, she advised herself. The fight has just began. For sure, after a while, they'll get bored and annoyed.
Shenise continued talking her mouth off like a machine gun until the dinner finished. Even though some of the things that she's saying has no sense anymore, she kept on talking. She did not allow them to even say more than two sentences.
To her dismay, it seemed like the older Eclaire enjoyed her talkativeness. While Gaville kept quiet, but from time to time, she saw the guy stifling a laugh.
They're already done with their dinner and Deive, Gaville and Heath are drinking coffee while she's trying to calm herself with tea. Deive's phone rang and he stood up and excused himself to answer the phone, walking out because the signal inside the restaurant was weak. After that, Heath stood up and excused himself to go to the bathroom.
When it's just the two of them, Gaville let out the laugh that he'd been hiding.
"What's so funny?" Shenise asked icily. She's in a really bad mood now because nothing's going the way she wanted.
"You, who else?" Gaville answered, smirking.
"And what is funny about me?" Shenise answered heatedly.
Gaville laughed again. "Looks like your true colors are already out. Where's the sweet and very polite Shenise who talked endlessly about almost everything a while ago? Is she already tired of pretending?"
It was Shenise's turn to smile, but her eyes were sharp. "And where did the quiet and modest Gaville earlier? What happened and you became talkative?" The smile on Gaville's face disappeared while the one on Shenise's face widened.
Gaville paused then stared at her for a long time before saying, "It's obvious that you're doing everything to sabotage this night but as it turns out, it has the opposite effect. You're not doing your homework properly." Shenise opened her mouth to answer but Gaville raised his hand to stop her. "Hold it. Don't interrupt. You've been talking since the beginning. Now listen to me. Did you know that you just aggravated the situation? My father is pretty old-fashioned, but he also admire a person that is strong and smart. Tonight, you did everything to look conservative with your clothes and smart with your talking. Do you know what that means? You couldn't have been any more perfect in my father's eyes even if you tried." Gaville said, smiling sarcastically.
Shenise doesn't want to admit it, but she knows that Gaville has a point if what he said about his father is true.
She forced herself to be reasonable. "So what do you suggest?"
"I suggest that you tell your father that you would rather jump from a fifty-story building than marry me." Gaville said nonchalantly.
If murder wasn't a crime, she would've stabbed the guy already. "Why am I the one who should say that? Why not you?"
"I can't. My father will surely have a heart attack if I insist what I want. He won't be able to accept it if he will be the one to destroy their pact." He said simply.
"So, it's okay if my father will be the one to have a heart attack and get mad, is that it?" She spat.
"I don't care." Gaville shrugged his shoulders. "You're the one who should break off the engagement."
Shenise was sure her face was beet red. "And if I don't?"
Gaville smiled charmingly. "Trust me, you wouldn't be able to win against me."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone