10

"What do you mean?" asked Caraline in an angry tone. Her appetite for lunch instantly disappeared after hearing Deric's words just now. Her arms reflexively crossed in front of her chest.

"Miss, I know that this scenario is very interesting, especially since the team that prepared this is very professional. I even thought it was a real wedding and I'm very grateful for all this," Deric replied with a smile.

Caraline responded with wide eyes. Her hands immediately dropped from in front of her chest, landing on the table. Just as she was about to interject, Deric spoke first.

"Miss, can we please end this game?" Deric looked down for a moment, then back up at Caraline. "I think this is enough. I'm sure you've gotten some entertainment out of the scenario you've laid out."

"What do you mean?" repeated Caraline. Her hands pounded on the table rather hard. Her eyes sharpened as if she wanted to skin the man in the wheelchair.

Is the handicapped man in front of her making a joke? This is not funny at all. Can't that man see the sacrifices she's made to get to this point? Caraline thought.

"Do you think I'm playing you?" Caraline asked with a face as red as a cherry. The veins of her neck seemed to pop out of her smooth skin. Her fists hardened until the tablecloth shriveled. "Listen to me!"

Deric smiled and it broke Caraline's concentration and her sentence. Therefore, she needed a little time to rearrange the wording. Not wanting her concentration to be disrupted again, Caraline decided to turn her face to the side. Her body was facing the same direction. 

"Miss," Deric called out. 

"Shut up! Your voice is taking my concentration away!" snapped Caraline. Her right hand was still gripping the tablecloth.

For some time, the sound of music interrupted their conversation. Both Caraline and Deric chose to remain silent. Helen, Jeremy, and his two younger siblings had just left the room. Time and place seemed to let Caraline and Deric enjoy the moment without any interference from anyone. 

"Miss."

Caraline let out a long breath. Her gaze was now fixed on the dancing fountain. The sound of the splashing water became the supporting sound of the music in this room.

"Well, Miss, I'd better get going to make you comfortable." Deric started pushing the wheelchair, then turned around to stretch the distance with Caraline.

"I'm just asking you to be quiet, not telling you to leave. So go back to the way things were," Caraline said in the end.

Deric gave a faint smile, then positioned himself to face Caraline again.

"Do you think this is all a game?" asked Caraline, who was still looking to the side. 

"Of course," Deric answered honestly, "all night, I couldn't sleep because I thought about what you said about wanting to marry me. Jeremy told me that what you said were true. He also told me about the money you sent me shortly after I said those terms. But... all that wasn't enough to make me believe that this was for real. So, I decided to join this game."

"This is real and you need to get that into your head!" retorted Caraline who was beginning to force herself to look at Deric through the tail of the eye.

Deric opened his mouth halfway, then said, "I don't mean to insult Jeremy for agreeing with what he said, but even if this is real, it doesn't make sense for a perfect woman like Miss to marry a flawed man like me. Anyone would agree with me."

"This world is full of nonsense. So get used to it," Caraline retorted, "you being able to even talk to me is pretty much impossible."

Hearing Caraline's reply, Deric laughed until his eyes turned into a straight line. "You're right, Miss. How could I have forgotten about that."

"Shut up!" Caraline smacked the table. "There's nothing funny about what I said. Besides, I have no intention of amusing you." 

Caraline could still hear Deric's laughter. Although it was distracting, she quite liked it. When she decided to change her sitting position to face the man again, she was greeted with a smile.

"Stop smiling!" pleaded Caraline as she hit the table again. "You're scaring me!"

Deric picked up the glass and drank the contents down. Caraline unconsciously watched how the man acted just now. It was just a normal activity that people did, but for some reason, she was interested to see it. 

Feeling foolish for her recent actions, Caraline decided to leave the table. She walked to the far end of the room to observe the view of the beach and the sea. It would be incomplete to just enjoy the variety of flowers planted in this garden.

Deric did the same. His wheelchair was now not far from where Caraline was standing. Caraline noticed, but she didn't say anything.

"I think Miss is obsessed with one of the famous fairy tale series," said Deric, who did not look away from the view of the white sand on the beach.

"What do you mean?" Caraline's eyebrows drew together. Her arms crossed in front of her chest dropped momentarily. The woman instantly turned her head towards Deric. However, the moment the man glanced at her, she quickly turned back to the waves as an escape.

"It made me feel like I was in a fairy tale about a horrible creature living with a beautiful woman."

Caraline chuckled when she learned the story in question. "I don't like children's fairy tales at all. Ever since I was five years old, I've known they were just bedtime stories."

Caraline continued, "Stop talking nonsense."

"I don't know, Miss. Whenever I think of the reason behind all of Miss's actions, my mind always comes back to that fairy tale."

"Well then, stop thinking about something you can't solve," Caraline responded. The woman then stepped away from the glass wall, leaving Deric wordless.

"Miss," Deric called as he turned the wheelchair around.

"Stop calling me Miss." Caraline paused, having no intention of turning around. Honestly, she was annoyed. "I don't want to hear that from you."

"Very well, Miss."

Caraline, who heard this, turned around. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest again. Even so, her gaze turned to the side. "Did you not hear what I just said?"

"I'll stop doing it as long as Miss answers my question." Deric pushed the wheelchair forward.

"Say it and don't make me get stuck any longer with a guy like you!"

Deric paused for a moment before starting to ask, "How long are we gonna be in this situation?"

Caraline fell silent as soon as she was asked that question. Her crossed arms now dangled freely at her sides. She closed her eyes, hoping that the answer would come suddenly when she opened her eyes.

"I... don't know," Caraline finally replied. Her face sank as the words came.

"Alright," Deric said. "What should I call you?"

Caraline reflexively turned to Deric with a confused look. "What happened to you? I was sure your hearing was still normal."

"Ignorance is the answer," Deric explains.

"Call me... Caraline" said the owner of the name after a one-second pause.

"One more thing, No... I mean Caraline. What are your plans after this?"