Chapter 68

“I’ll be moving back to my apartment the day after tomorrow. Don’t forget that, Mr. Veselov.” I reminded Nile as he drove me towards Runner Studios.

Nile was silent while having this deep frown on his eyebrows. I almost wanted to laugh but I held it in because I knew he hates the idea of me moving out of their mansion.

“Come on. It’s not like we are going to be apart hours away. Do you want to fuck in my apartment again?” I teased him in the end.

“I’d rather we fuck in my room, lyuBImaya.” He grunted.

“Wait. My office isn’t in this direction. Where are we going?” I noticed he wasn’t going towards Runner Studios and instead took a different route.

I was suspicious when Nile didn’t answer. It’s times like this that he’s up to something again. His silence is very dangerous for me.

I was right when he stopped in front of a familiar building.

“Nile Veselov, what the hell are we doing in front of that?!” I pointed to the building in awe.

“You and I are going to get a marriage certificate.”

---

Nile

“Darling, come.” My mom called me as soon as I got down stairs.

She was in the living room sipping tea while scanning some magazines. I was on my way to the dining room for breakfast when she suddenly called me.

“I want you to look at this.” She said as soon as I sat beside her on the couch.

I frowned when she showed me the magazine. They were magazines for weddings.

“Do you think five hundred guests would be fine? Look, isn’t this color elegant?” She asked incessantly as she pointed to the champagne color displayed in one of the pages.

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess, that depends. Who are you helping with this wedding… planning?”

My mom suddenly scowled at me. “How dare you be clueless of your own wedding?”

“What? Mother, what are you talking about?” My eyes both widened from shock. “Are you trying to set me up with someone?”

My anger was slowly building. Did she not get that there’s only one woman that I love?

My mom rolled her eyes as a response and muttered, “Baka.”

“Did you just call me an idiot?” I asked incredulously.

She exhales heavily. I could imagine the sarcastic response that was itching to come out from her mouth. “My son, who do you think I’m talking about? With you flashing Kura around and your loud noises, do you think I even have the time to search for another woman to irk you both?”

I blush. I cleared my throat knowing she knew what we were doing with or without them here. Well, we’re not really discreet about it.

“I… I apologize.”

She waves her hand to dismiss my apology. “Whatever. Back to the main issue. Do you think a month of preparation will suffice?”

“Wait. Hold on. I’m getting overwhelmed here. Did you decide on the wedding for us?”

“What? You’re taking far too long. If you can’t do it yourself, I have too. We’re getting older, dear. This is the only progress we’ve seen from you. Seeing your consistent success in business is getting quite boring.”

I stare at my mother in disbelief. “Were it not long ago that you’ve been shooing women around me like flies? And don’t even think that I don’t know that you scared Kura away the first time you met that resulted in her cold shoulder towards me.”

She rolled her eyes again as if she was the one who’s frustrated. “Darling, that’s all in the past now. Kura and I… have a talk.”

I raise a brow. “You did?”

“Oh, don’t act like you don’t believe me.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Let’s say we should move forward to the next stage.”

“Does Kura know about this?” I asked her in disbelief.

I really can’t believe that she was going easy on us. She’s been really tough and cold to the women I dated before. I’ve given up trying to date knowing she was against it. So I am taken aback right now that she’s actually the one who’s setting up our wedding. For god’s sake, I haven’t proposed to Kura yet.

On top of that, the bride in question isn’t even ready yet to be a bride.

“I did. But our conversation was cut off when your father called me.” She shrugs. “She seems to not believe but whatever. I guess I need to put more... effort into this.”

I looked at my mom like she was crazy.

I shook my head. “Mom, I still haven’t proposed to her and I don’t think she’s even ready for that big step yet. After everything that has happened, she’s probably gonna refuse for now.”

She narrowed her eyes at me, her arms crossed. “You sure are certain about that when you haven’t asked.”

That’s because I already mentioned this to her before. I still have a lot of kissing up to do to make her officially mine.

I sigh. “Because I know her better.”

The next day and days after that, she continued to annoy me about the wedding and set her mind that it will be a month from now. What’s more, she made sure to stay in the residence so she could convince me every single day.

---

“Relax. It doesn’t need to be real.”

“What?! What does that mean?!” She exclaimed.

“It’s just something to show my mom that we’ve gotten married. She’s been constantly bugging me about our wedding. I couldn’t shake her off. I reckon this is the best solution for now to shut her up.”

"I don't think she'll shut up. She'll be livid." She stated matter of factly.

"But she'll have no choice but to give up the plan of a grand wedding. And besides, I want us to do this right in our own way without my scheming mother. I mean, she could help in the future but just not now."

“Your mom will be crushed if she finds out the news.” There was a hint of amusement in her statement.

“What do you want to do?”

She was quiet before she replied. “I’m honestly surprised. I seriously thought she was only teasing me about it. I didn’t know it was actually this serious when she kept mentioning it to you.”

I looked at her inquisitively. “Why would you think she was teasing you?”

“Ugh, hello? Have you seen the way your mom looks at me? The way your mom talks to me? It’s as if she’s planning something ridiculous. It’s like she’s planning to have one hundred ways to embarrass me. She’s as mischievous as a brat.”

“Good point.”

She raises her eyebrow at me as if in disbelief that I agree with her. But she’s right. My mom is pretty mischievous. There’s always plans up in her head and execute it whenever she wants. I have a lot of experiences firsthand and this wedding planning of hers is one of them.

“How did you actually handle her whenever she asks about the wedding?” I asked, suddenly curious.

“I answer her truthfully whatever her question is. She seems so indulgent about it so I let her be.”

“Wow, you could actually handle my mother. I’m so proud of you, Kura Kunoe.” I grinned at her teasingly.

“Whatevs, Veselov.”

“Anyways… I know you’re still not ready for this huge commitment and as much as I want to marry you right now,” She grins at me. “As promised, I won’t pressure you. So let’s have this plan instead.”

“Wait- does that mean I won’t ever go back to my apartment?” She asked with wide eyes.

“Good question. But I’m sure you already know the answer to that which is NEVER.”

She scowled in return.

---

After we settled everything with our marriage certificate, we decided to spend the rest of the day off of work. Ever since the start of our strange relationship, we haven’t had a proper date so we did just that.

We went out for a lunch date and afterwards, we decided to leave the car in the restaurant’s parking lot as we took a walk in the nearby park. We went window shopping like a normal couple do. Kura prohibited me to buy anything her eyes loved. She didn’t find that very challenging.

She then suddenly decided that we should go to the amusement park so we rode a cab towards the park. I then found out that apparently this woman is afraid of heights so we didn’t ride anything and just enjoyed touring around the place. She was more interested in the games the stalls offered and of course, the food. She enjoyed junk food more than sweets, I noticed.

When the sun started to set, we finally decided to go home. I watched Kura beside me who never stopped smiling and laughing today. This is the happiest I’ve seen her ever since we first met. I don’t think I want to see her without that smile ever again. I have become addicted to it.

I vow to keep her smile and laugh every single day.

“Did you enjoy your day?” My mom suddenly greeted us somewhat sarcastically as soon as we got inside the mansion. Her arms were crossed as she stood before us in the entrance.

I almost rolled my eyes at her. “We did.” I answered firmly.

“Obviously, since you weren’t there at the company and you’re not answering your phone.”

“Did you need something?” I asked while walking towards the couch, grabbing Kura’s hand so we could take a seat.

“Yes, the wedding.” While narrowing her eyes at me. Her anger seems driven towards me.

I smiled. “You do not need to worry about that, mother. Kura and I are now married.” Her eyes widened, shocked at my revelation.

“What the hell are you talking about?” She then shifted her attention towards my ‘wife’. “What the hell is he talking about, Kura?”

“I… uh…” She was stuttering so I answered for us instead.

“It means we went to the courthouse this morning and got married.” I grabbed our marriage certificate from my pocket and showed it to her.

She snatched it rather harshly. She read the contents intently before scowling at us. Fortunately, she considered it authentic. “You brat. How dare you.”

“What? Now, you don’t need to concern yourself with our wedding.” I smirked in victory. “Dad is really busy these days. You should’ve gone with him when he flew out of the country again. You know he needs you.”

She smacked my arm a few times and cussed me. I restrained a laugh knowing she lost control. This is the first time I outplayed my mother. The victory was sweet and it felt really good.

“You ungrateful brat!”

Kura watched us speechless and in awe. Her eyes were wide while looking at us in shock.

“Umm… I’m sorry.” She spoke lowly.

We both turned to her. I frowned. “Why are you apologizing?” She looked really guilty and I was curious. We already spoke about this plan so why was she acting so guilty?

“Are you really… do you really want us to get married like with that grand wedding you talked about?”

My mom stood straight as she fixed her eyes towards Kura, arms crossed. She exhaled quite heavily. “Of course, I do. I can’t believe you think I wasn’t serious about it. All I want is for my son to have the greatest wedding he deserves with his bride who he loves the most. You two don’t seem to understand my intentions.” She wiped her imaginary tears with dramatic effect.

I finally rolled my eyes. “Oh, please. Whose fault is it that you have become unbelievable?” My mom automatically glared at me.

Finally feeling guilty, I told her the truth that it was only fake. She responded again with a smack. I lost count how many times she did that.

“You insolent brat! How dare you play your own mother!”

“Aww!” I laugh. “It’s your fault. You’re always so cheeky.”

She exhales and straightens. “Now. The wedding.”

“I can’t believe you’re still on to that. You don’t seem to get why we did that. We aren’t ready for that kind of commitment.”

We all know that I am more than ready to marry her and spend the rest of our lives together. However, I don’t want to pressure her. If she’s still not ready, I will respect whatever her decision is.

We both turned when we heard Kura cleared her throat a bit uneasily. We frowned when we saw her acting strange… and guilty when I already told my mom the truth.

“Is there something you wish to say, dear?” My mom spoke for us.

“I don’t think you’ll be happy with what I’m about to say.”

I frowned, somehow feeling nervous about what she’ll about to confess. I hope it’s not something bad. We just had a really great day today. I don’t want it to be ruined by something bad.

“Here’s the thing.” She glances at my mom then at me. “The marriage certificate isn’t fake.”

“What?!”