Part 45

45

"But, Celine, I have plans to meet my friends at the university."

"I'll explain to them that you couldn't make it. Don't worry; they're just idle students. I, on the other hand, am a lecturer who has to fulfill my duties by helping students complete their theses. I'm leaving Sister Amber in your care."

Unable to stop her, Celine continued on her way to leave. Vano sighed deeply, frustrated that Celine left him alone with Amber instead of taking him along. He was sure that Amber would be fine since she was an educated woman and a lecturer at the same university as him and Celine.

"Why did that damned Celine leave you here? She knows I need some alone time, yet she just went away like that," Amber grumbled. "She knows that I don't like to be disturbed when I have problems, but you all show up and disrupt my peace." She stared at Vano with a sardonic look that could cut him into the tiniest pieces.

Vano could only rub his neck. He wanted to refute Amber's words, but her gaze was so sharp that he couldn't. He couldn't comment much either because he had no idea what problem Amber was currently facing.

"Now I'm asking you, as a man, please answer honestly."

"Uh..."

Vano looked at Amber.

"Men, what are you looking for as a man that makes you commit to marriage? So you won't run away and truly perfect the marriage. End up at the altar, not just giving false hope like what I've experienced. Please tell me, so I won't face failures in life anymore. It's exhausting to be given false hope. Several times failed to get married, do you think I have no feelings and shame because of your actions?"

Vano could only show his teeth, grinning. He didn't know how to answer because he wasn't the one who left Amber on her wedding day. It was strange; if that man was him, he would know what answer to give.

"Please answer my question. Don't just stay silent like that." Amber slammed the table and stared sharply at Vano, scolding him to speak up instead of remaining silent.

Vano stammered, "W-wait a minute, Sister. I'm not the one at fault here. Why are you getting angry and scolding me like this? It's not my fault. I don't understand the problem you're facing, Sister. But if you want advice, maybe I can give a little advice. How to find a man who is serious."

"Meaning?"

"Well, let me ask you this: were the marriages with your exes that failed arranged marriages, or did you both fall in love? I mean, were you brought together by fate rather than an agreement from both families? Moreover, were these marriages planned? I'm worried that if you..."

"Please excuse me, but Sister is already of age, but still not married. So, it's more like rushing it instead of truly building love from the beginning since your first meeting."

"So, do you think arranged marriages are wrong and just artificial?" Amber demanded, reaching for a bottle of wine in front of her and drinking a glass until it was empty.

Vano could only gulp down a lump in his throat. He couldn't believe that Amber was so casually drinking that alcohol without any discomfort in her throat. Vano, who had never tasted such forbidden drinks, was slightly disgusted by how Amber enjoyed it.

"Well, it's not wrong, Sister, but there shouldn't be arranged marriages to find a partner because those often involve more coercion than genuine love. Imagine, if your marriage hadn't been canceled, there would likely have been a divorce down the road. You can imagine, from a single girl, you would suddenly become a widow. And being a widow nowadays is looked down upon by most people. Do you want that to happen to you, Sister?" "No, I don't."

Vano was now relaxed and daring enough to offer advice to Amber. It didn't feel right watching her keep drinking that way. If he allowed it, Amber might forget herself and end up doing something foolish. Vano was quite worried about that.

"But, unfortunately, everything that happened to me wasn't an arranged marriage. The men came and claimed to be in love with me, said they would try to make me fall in love. And when I succeeded, they disappeared without a trace, as if nothing had ever happened between us. And you know, this morning, I could still contact him, and he said he was on his way to my house. But what actually happened is that he hasn't given any sign of life until now. Where should I put my face? Once again, I've failed to reach the altar."

"Are you sure that the man came on his own, not because of a setup or something?"

"What do you mean?" Amber didn't understand now, even though her common sense was diminishing, she still understood what Vano was saying.

But in this part, Amber didn't understand because the man didn't explain in detail.

"I mean, haven't you ever suspected that the men who came one after the other might be under orders or something similar?"

"Hired men, do you mean he's an envoy from my parents, right?"

Vano shrugged. "Could be, but I can't confirm that what I'm saying is a fact. I'm just expressing an assumption. Not to mention, if a man has already declared his love and claimed to love you, inviting a girl to get married, it means there is seriousness, and it won't be easy to cancel the marriage unilaterally like it is now.

Usually, there would be an explanation or a reason for the end of a relationship. For example, let's say I and you, Sister, are dating. I fall in love with you, and we have a serious relationship. We're thinking about getting married. I couldn't suddenly lose my love for you and say we're canceling the wedding.

Of course, when you ask about it, I have an answer. For example, my parents also arranged my marriage, so we can't be together. Just like me and Celine. So until now, we can't move towards the wedding.

But because of that obstacle, neither I nor Celine dared to touch the relationship to a more serious stage. Or, suppose there's suddenly someone who disagrees, maybe your future husband has an ex-girlfriend or my future husband has an ex-girlfriend, and they don't want us to get married. Now, I want to ask the same thing, Sister. When your fiancé said he couldn't marry you, did he give any reasons? I mean, did he mention something that pushed this to happen? So that the words 'cancellation' came to the surface."

Amber shook her head. "He never gave me any reason why he left me alone. Even though our wedding reception was about to happen, he just said, 'I'm sorry, I can't marry you,' and when I tried to ask him why, he ended the call. And until now, I can't reach him at all. Whose heart wouldn't be in pain?" Amber laughed, trying to cover up how broken she felt right now.

She had been given false hope and forced to love a man because she felt there was nothing wrong with giving a stranger a chance to conquer her heart. And when she was finally able to make up her mind to give all her love and affection, even her time and money, he disappeared, leaving so much pain and embarrassment.

"In that case, I can be sure he was just a hired man because, as I said earlier, when a man is sincere, he'll never find a reason to go away."

"Like you, who never left Celine, even though you still haven't received approval after five years of your relationship?" Amber threw the question back at Vano, which made him laugh again.

Both of them were now laughing at the love troubles that had befallen them. Amber, who always failed to hold wedding receptions, and Vano, who couldn't get approval even though his relationship with Celine had been going on for five years. Yet, until now, his father hadn't given the green light to move forward to the wedding.

"What can I say? The issues in our past have made Daddy unwilling to accept Celine. Whatever the reason, even yesterday Mama asked whether Daddy would give his blessing if Celine got pregnant. Daddy casually said, even if Celine got pregnant or anything similar, he would never give his blessing.

In fact, he would throw me out of his life. Can you imagine, how torn I am? Asked to choose between Daddy and Celine. Both of whom I love very much, but of course, Daddy has to be my priority because he's the one who raised me until now. He gave me the best he could, even putting aside the pain after Mama left his life. You can't imagine how much Daddy loves my late mother."

"Wait a minute!" Amber raised one hand. "Your mother? You said your mother passed away about ten years ago. Which mother is questioning your relationship with Celine?" Amber furrowed her brows. Now she was confused about who was losing her mind.

Either herself, after drinking so much wine, or Vano, who was now telling her a story. 

"Well, my father has remarried, and now I can see that he has found his happiness. You know, they met by chance and wanted to make a plan to fall in love and couldn't find a way to separate. Like I said earlier, when a man falls in love from the deepest part of his heart, he won't be able to hurt the girl he loves. Even just a little."

"Ah, so your father has remarried? Didn't you both say that if your father gets married, then both of you can get married too? But why haven't you gotten married until now?"

"Well, what can I say, my father got married secretly without my knowledge."

"But didn't you know that your father got married?"

"That's correct, but my father is still hiding that he's married to my new mom."

"Wait a minute, Van. Who's stressed here, me or you? Your dad is hiding his wife, so how did you find out he got married again?"

"My mom is a college friend of mine."

"College friend, does that mean she's one of the students where I work?"

"That's right, but I'm sorry, Miss. I can't tell you who my mom is because she's uncomfortable with others knowing her status."

"Oh my... does that mean?"

"Yes, she's much younger than my dad. Even two years younger than me. But that's not an issue because love is blind and doesn't care about anything when it comes sincerely."

"You're right," sighed Amber. "I'm the one who always ends up with selfish and clueless men." She sighed again, showing how much she despised men.

Even though she admitted wanting a real lover, someone who truly loved her.

If what Vano said earlier was true, then all her past failures were due to a lack of sincerity.

"So, what do you think I should do after this? It hurts so much," Amber complained, wanting to take another sip of the wine in front of her.

But Vano stopped her; he didn't want Amber to hurt herself.

"Come on, Miss, don't do this. It's not good for your health. You might not feel anything now, but someday in the future, you'll regret doing something foolish like this just for a man."

"It doesn't matter. In fact, that's what I want. The sooner I die, the sooner it's all over, and my parents won't pressure me to get married when I'm perfectly fine without a husband."

"I understand..."

"You won't understand." Amber looked at Vano. "Because you love Celine sincerely. It goes both ways. So your feelings for each other support and strengthen one another."

"Not really," Vano straightened his back. "There have been many differences between us lately, and we even broke up with Celine yesterday."

"Oh really?" Amber was surprised. "Why did that happen?"

"Because Celine is too selfish and treats me however she wants. She threatened to break up with me so many times; I've lost count. When I finally let her go, she invited me..." Vano paused again.

Rubbing his neck as if he had come close to saying too much, Vano replied, "Ah, it does seem nice to talk to you." Amber handed a bottle of wine to Vano. "Let's enjoy this while waiting for Celine to arrive. The more you drink, the more relaxed you'll become, and you can tell me your problems. Mutual symbiosis, we'll confide in each other and find a way out."

At first, Vano was hesitant and conflicted because he had never tasted this drink before. However, something within him pushed him to reach for the bottle of wine in Amber's hand. He wanted to try and taste what this drink was like.

Instantly, Vano's body tingled with a strange sensation that enveloped him. His throat burned, but there was an odd mix of pleasure and bitterness there. He didn't like the taste, but for some reason, Vano became addicted and wanted to keep trying it until he unconsciously finished another bottle of wine.

Amber noticed that Vano was starting to enjoy the drink and got up from her seat, swaying slightly as she walked over to a cabinet to grab a few more bottles of drinks. Today, she was going to have a party, even if it was just the two of them. Amber didn't mind because Vano was so easy and pleasant to talk to.