Sarah chuckled and then looked back at the man with squinted eyes. "Are you seriously unable to unfasten it?"
In the back seat, Grace could only watch the scene with frustration. Because of her cast foot, she was placed in the back passenger seat, while Adro sat in the front passenger seat next to Sarah.
Earlier, Adro had difficulty opening the car door and fastening his seatbelt. Those things had Sarah baffled to the point that she thought he was just joking.
"Adro comes from an extremely… remote village, Sarah. He rarely rode a private car, so, you know, Grace tried to explain.
Sarah just took a deep breath and shook her head briefly. She couldn't believe there was someone as primitive as Adro in this world. To her, it was utterly absurd. Moreover, she had heard that Adro was something like an opera or theater actor, so it was hard to believe that he had never been in a private car, let alone didn't know how to open a car door as basic as hers.
As time passed, Sarah's suspicion grew bigger that something was wrong with Adro, and Grace was trying to conceal it. Could it be that Adro was Grace's new boyfriend and was taking advantage of her?
Without looking down on her best friend, Sarah was aware that Grace was a girl with a fragile heart. She could easily be taken advantage of, especially by a man offering her love that was either fake or real. Even though Sarah was curious and concerned about Grace in all this strangeness, she decided to stay silent. She didn't like her personal life being interfered with, so she wouldn't do that to others.
Stepping into the apartment unit, Adro was astonished by Grace's home, which was filled with paintings and artsy decorations.
"I've bought some reheatable food. I kept it in your fridge," Sarah said. Then she headed for the bathroom after placing her bag on the sofa. "I borrowed your bathroom, okay?"
"Okay," Grace replied.
"Is this your home?" Adro asked, still standing behind Grace's wheelchair.
"Yes. Oh, you don't need to push my wheelchair anymore, and can sit on the sofa. I can move this thing around by myself here," Grace said.
"All right." Adro nodded before walking to the sofa and sitting there. Then he looked at Grace, who was in the middle of the room. "Let me know if you need anything. I'd be glad to help."
Grace smiled. "Thank you."
Not long after, Sarah came out of the bathroom. In a rush, she approached the sofa to pick up her bag. "I'm going straight now."
"You're leaving right away? Don't you want to sit here for a while? I haven't even made you a drink," Grace said.
"I have to go back to the office for some important meetings. Besides, how can you make me a drink in your current condition?" Sarah chuckled a little and continued, "You must be joking."
A wry smile formed on Grace's lips. She spun her wheelchair to follow Sarah's footsteps. "Hey... It's just my ankle that's injured. Both my hands are perfectly fine."
"Yes, say that again when you've proven that you won't have any trouble," Sarah said, reaching for the door and opening it.
Before Sarah left, she turned to Adro. "You, Grace's relative,"
"Yes?" Adro furrowed his brow. He was not used to Sarah's overly dominant nature as a woman.
"Please help my friend with her daily life. Be useful," Sarah said.
A slightly unpleasant crooked smile appeared on Adro's face. "I know what I have to do."
One of Sarah's eyebrows lifted. "Well, that's good then."
"Anyway, Sarah, thank you so much for your help today. If it weren't for you—"
"I know," Sarah said, cutting off Grace's sentence. "You're welcome. I have to go now. Bye!"
Then the door slammed, leaving Grace and Adro staring at it in silence. With an awkward smile, Grace turned her wheelchair to face Adro. "I'm sorry. Sarah is a bit tough, but I swear she has a kind heart."
Adro shook his head. "That's not necessary. I understand she's a good friend to you. Well, I'm just not used to her dominant nature and her fast movements, as if she's always in a hurry."
Grace chuckled. "She IS in a hurry. Actually, she's always like that, and I'm used to it. She is the only heir to her family's giant business, so she's been busy with various things since she was a child. Even so, she's always there to help me."
"I see," Adro said. Then he looked around. "You have a beautiful hose."
Adro's statement made Grace smile. "Thank you. Truly, it means a lot to me. My friends said my home was filled with weird stuff. But I can say it's because they're not interested in art, so I understand."
"In my eyes, your house has a unique character," Adro said. "Incidentally, I appreciate art."
Both of Grace's eyebrows shot up high. "You do?"
Adro nodded. "So far, I've been traveling around various kingdoms and across the sea. The one thing I have to bring back are works of art from various artists around the world. I have a grand room in the palace dedicated to storing my art collection."
With her eyes getting wider, Grace couldn't help but form a broad smile. She didn't expect to meet such a kind man who valued art to such an extent as Adro. Yes, Grace had many art-loving friends because she majored in art for her studies. However, the word Friends needed to be emphasized as classmates, not true friends. She rarely even talked to them.
For some reason, since childhood, Grace ha a hard time socializing. Maybe she was wrong, but she thought her introverted nature surfaced when she became an orphan. The only company left for Grace were Sarah and Bella, her childhood friends. Their parents knew each other as well. Unfortunately, the three of them chose completely different college majors after high school. For Sarah and Bella, university life was something fun. But for Grace, who found it difficult to socialize, most of her days were unpleasant at the university.
Grace always loved to talk about art with other people. However, art wasn't that interesting to Bella and Sarah. That made her have to restrain herself and keep her interest to herself. However, with Adro's presence, Grace felt as if she had found a true friend who could share her interest in art. It was a little evil thought indeed, but she didn't have to be afraid that Adro would ostracize her because, in this world, she was the only person he could trust.
"May I see your collection?" Adro asked, snapping Grace out of her reverie.
"O-of course!" Grace replied with a big smile on her face. "You can also ask me about anything regarding them."
A bright smile cracked on Adro's face. He nodded as he walked with his hands placed behind his back. The first thing he approached was a large painting hanging on the wall.
It was a painting of three naked women sharing a long piece of cloth to cover their bodies.
"Absolutely stunning!" Adro muttered.