Chapter 2 The One Who Should Break Off The Engagement

Louis wants to go on a rally that moment. He wants to flip the big table in the private 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. Tomlinson, Louis." Liam greeted, smiling. But the smile did not reach his eyes, Louis noted.

"Shall we take our seats?" Mark said.

That was Louis' cue. The very second they're seated, Louis did the Tip #2 that he 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, Louis has an advantage.

"So, what shall we have-"

He cut off his father's sentence. "I suggest we skip the meat, Dad, and settle with vegetable salad." Louis said as he scanned the menu then he met Geoff Payne'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." Geoff 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 shrieks 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?" He asked, smiling sweetly.

The three men around the table was quiet with shock. Louis peaked at Liam and he almost burst out laughing at the guy's face. Liam was staring at him like he was an alien with two heads.

"Well, my child," He heard Geoff say after getting over his shock. He was smiling at him and there seemed to be awe in the old man's eyes. "You may look like Johannah, but you have the same thinking as your father." Geoff chuckled, turning to Mark. "Just like you, Mark, he has an opinion for everything under the sun, eh?" Geoff looked at Louis again. "By the way Louis, I am a vegetarian." The older Payne grinned.

Louis wants to scream. He feels like all of his hardwork was thrashed. Shit. He thought of that speech for hours and it has no effect?

He grabbed the glass of water in front of him and bottomed it out. Calm down, Louis, he advised himself. The fight has just began. For sure, after a while, they'll get bored and annoyed.

Louis continued talking his mouth off like a machine gun until the dinner finished. Even though some of the things that he's saying has no sense anymore, he kept on talking. He did not allow them to even say more than two sentences.

To his dismay, it seemed like the older Payne enjoyed his talkativeness. While Liam kept quiet, but from time to time, he saw the guy stifling a laugh.

They're already done with their dinner and Geoff, Liam and Mark are drinking coffee while he's trying to calm himself with tea. Geoff'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, Mark stood up and excused himself to go to the bathroom.

When it's just the two of them, Liam let out the laugh that he'd been hiding.

"What's so funny?" Louis asked icily. He's in a really bad mood now because nothing's going the way he wanted.

"You, who else?" Liam answered, smirking.

"And what is funny about me?" Louis answered heatedly.

Liam laughed again. "Looks like your true colors are already out. Where's the sweet and very polite Louis who talked endlessly about almost everything a while ago? Is he already tired of pretending?"

It was Louis' turn to smile, but his eyes were sharp. "And where did the quiet and modest Liam earlier? What happened and you became talkative?" The smile on Liam's face disappeared while the one on Louis' face widened.

Liam paused then stared at him 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." Louis opened his mouth to answer but Liam raised his hand to stop him. "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." Liam said, smiling sarcastically.

Louis doesn't want to admit it, but he knows that Liam has a point if what he said about his father is true.

He forced himself 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." Liam said nonchalantly.

If murder wasn't a crime, he 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?" He spat.

"I don't care." Liam shrugged his shoulders. "You're the one who should break off the engagement."

Louis was sure his face was beet red. "And if I don't?"

Liam smiled charmingly. "Trust me, you wouldn't be able to win against me."