Chapter Five: Marriage Interview

It was another beautiful morning in Metro Manila but Imogen saw none of it. Their condominium unit in Bonifacio Global City (BGC) had the best view of the fashionable BGC High Street through the bulletproof one-way windows. All she saw was different shades of gray. 

She shivered a little although they airconditioning of her home was climate-controlled. Trembling white hands tightened the sash of her luxurious mulberry silk dressing robe to cover her slight frame snugly. She always felt cold these days.

It was obvious to everyone that she'd lost more weight so the petite woman looked thin and pale like a ghost. Even her Yaya Marie was worried about her.

Imogen arrived at their modern dining room where her mother was having an English breakfast with coffee. She sat down on the chair at her mother's right quietly. The heiress could feel her mother's worried brown eyes focused on her wan face. She looked down on her hands at her lap without meeting Vivian's gaze. 

All of the women in their family were known to be famous beauties who embodied the Filipino ideal. They were all petite with slim frames, fair skin that almost glowed and black hair that resembled the night sky. What really set them aside from the crowd were the unusual coloring of their eyes that showed up in every generation. 

On a good day, Imogen liked her pale complexion. But on bad days, she wished that she was a little more tanned because she always looked pale and sickly without makeup. 

"Imogen, are you listening?" The Madrigal heiress snapped back to reality and glanced up to her mother. 

She belatedly realized that she wasn't even paying attention to her mother who tried to start up a conversation with her. 

Vivian’s smile was understanding. “Darling, you should eat to keep your strength up.”

Imogen had been so absent-minded and listless during the last week that her mother had excused her from her work as Marketing Manager in their family company as well as from her various charity engagements.

The young heiress didn't even notice the full English breakfast in front of her that Yaya Marie set down a while ago. 

"Yes, Mama. I’m sorry if I wasn’t listening." She picked up her spoon and fork but could not find the strength to eat. 

Vivian pretended not to see her daughter picking at her plate. It was a rare occasion for them to have breakfast together. After Imogen's breakdown last weekend, she wanted to spend as much time with her only daughter. 

Of course, Imogen was grateful that her mother had taken a couple of days off to spend more time with her.

They went to their favorite spa and they also went shopping. She was happy that they even watched a movie at the mall. It was really sweet of her mother to put so much effort and energy in cheering her up.

"That’s okay, darling." Vivian smiled warmly. "I was telling you about the marriage interview that I set up for you.

"I think it would be wonderful if you met up with this young man. He's a handsome and successful businessman. Although he's the Belmonte family's third son, he has more potential than his elder brothers!"

The businesswoman brandished the manila envelope to prove her case. 

Vivian’s cheerful chatter filled the modern dining room. In spite of her low energy, Imogen smiled again at her mother's enthusiasm.

As soon she confirmed from her private sources that her daughter's ex-boyfriend was already engaged, she sprang into action. She already had a candidate in mind for her daughter so she’d sent a private investigator to gather as much information about him as possible.

Upon receiving the dossier, she called up the family's trusted marriage matchmaker for a quick meeting. There was no time to waste, Vivian thought. I should secure my darling's husband soon.

Her beloved only daughter still looked very sad and heartbroken. She was staring down at her tea and muffin that already went cold. It broke her heart to see Imogen's depression and she wanted to help her out of it. 

The Madrigal matriarch sighed and got up from behind her desk. She enveloped her beloved child in a warm embrace and kissed her temple. "If he's getting married soon then you should be too. There's no sense in moping around. You're a beautiful, talented and desirable woman who deserves nothing less than true love because you’re the Little Queen of this city."

Imogen smiled at the nickname. It was a title that she won from an amateur beauty contest in her high school's senior culture festival. The name stuck.

"I just hope he's cute," she joked.

Her mother giggled and let go of her. The older woman grabbed the brown envelope again from the table and rummaged inside.

Where's the picture? A frustrated sigh escaped her. What did she even pay that investigator for? She’ll have to talk to him later. 

"There's no picture included. But I'm sure that he'll be young and handsome. Be sure to check his F******k and I*******m accounts if you want to see what kind of man he is.” Vivian suggested mischievously.

Imogen smiled back. She looked a little more cheerful."Then I'll go on a date with him. There's nothing wrong with having more options."

Vivian smiled happily. She finally got her daughter to agree to the blind date.  "That's the spirit, darling. I promise you won’t regret it."

After that, mother and daughter resumed their breakfast in comfortable silence. 

x0x0x0x

Kieran was finishing his breakfast in the formal dining room when he received an envelope made from thick paper with engraved roses from his father. He vaguely noticed that it was also scented with a light floral perfume. 

The successful businessman nodded to his favorite son and motioned for him to open it. 

The letter inside informed him that the prestigious, affluent Madrigal family had requested his presence for afternoon tea. 

He was the candidate that the young lady of the house had chosen. Was he interested? They expected a reply within the day.

Fernando Belmonte went to sit down at the head of the table. A maid hurried forward with a cup of aromatic jasmine tea and his favorite newspaper. He dismissed her after she’d laid down the tray and she left the huge dining room quickly. 

Kieran put down the piece of paper on top of the table to sip his coffee. If his father didn’t want any of the maids to hear about this then it must be important. He looked at his father who was serenely reading the newspaper.

"What's this?"

"You're going to have tea with a potential business partner." There was no room for argument in his father's tone. "You could say that it's like that."

Fernando unfolded the newspaper to hide a growing smile. His sons never figured out his wicked sense of humor. 

"This is a marriage interview, Father. It's not just tea. For your information, I'm not planning to settle down yet." Kieran smiled with bared teeth.

He put down his coffee cup to pick up the invitation again. Rereading the elegant invitation didn’t make it any more appealing.

"I've always wanted to make a business deal with the Madrigal Group but Vivian was not interested. It will be a wonderful opportunity to expand our family business with her assets." Fernando Belmonte, a well-known businessman, replied quietly from behind his newspaper. He coughed slightly and his son went silent. 

Kieran vaguely remembered that Vivian Madrigal had singlehandedly made her success by spreading joy and happiness through toys and technology. He didn't know that their clan had an heiress that was near his age.

This suddenly became more interesting. 

"What does she look like?" he asked coolly. 

His father raised an eyebrow before snickering behind the newspaper. There was a time when his son never questioned his decisions. 

"I met her once. Pretty little thing.” Fernando replied as he tried to mask his laugh into a cough.

Kieran was old-fashioned and it amused him to no end because he never realized that he’d been stalking their social media accounts to find things to tease them about.

His third son was especially interesting because of his close friends, his three month girlfriends and his utter lack of interest in updating his social media.

"I'll attend to it, Father. I’m going to work now."

Kieran nodded to his old man and left the dining room. 

Fernando made sure that his son was out of ear shot before bursting into delighted laughter. He pulled out the latest iPhone from his suit pocket and texted Vivian to let her know that his son was going to attend the blind date.

A minute later, his phone's ringing tone broke the silence.

“Who even says ‘blind date’ nowadays? Kids just say tv and chill, ” she asked him, giggling like a girl herself.

“I do,” Fernando shrugged. “I am flattered that you’ve chosen my son.”

“Oh, he’s your cousin’s favorite. He’s also at the right age for my daughter,” she replied happily.

“Thanks for making him your first choice,” Fernando said warmly.

The two old friends continued their conversation as he cheerfully finished his breakfast. 

Having an unmarried son was a real advantage for him. It was a stroke of luck that Vivian had reached out to him about setting their children up on a date. His Kieran and her Imogen were both in a marriageable age. They were both heirs with successful careers. What a perfect match!

It was just the kind of serendipitous event that he was waiting for.

"Take care of yourself, dear Vivian." Fernando said with a smile as he ended the call. "I will see you very soon."