Svenoz's Office
Inside the spacious, luxurious room with its modern interior design that dominated Svenoz's office, Mark sat silently in his chair. His left hand propped up his chin, while his fingers drummed nervously on the table. His mind was preoccupied with one thing—how to escape the arranged marriage his mother had prepared.
For the past two years, the woman who gave birth to him has been continuously trying to find a wife for him, as if marriage is the only solution to make his life perfect.
After all, Mark was still only 30 years old. That wasn't old, especially among Palermo men. However, his mother's patience had run out.
The problem is, in this city, age doesn't matter. Good looks and wealth are everything. And unfortunately, Mark has both in abundance. He's the very definition of a too-perfect, weathered bachelor—handsome looks, a toned physique, countless assets, and the status of a single man still roaming freely.
A loud noise made her jump. The door swung open, revealing a furious Dezo.
"How long are you going to sit here?" Dezo's voice was sharp and impatient. "Everyone's waiting for you for the meeting. Are you going to stay here and just think about how to escape another arranged marriage?"
Mark sighed, clearly fed up with the man's ranting.
"Trust me," Dezo continued with confidence, "this time you won't be able to escape from this arranged marriage."
Mark clicked his tongue in annoyance, staring at Dezo with a bored expression. "Really, you talk too much."
Dezo just grinned, while Mark racked his brains again. This matchmaking was clearly no joke, but if there was one thing for sure, he wouldn't give up so easily.
Mark let out a long sigh before leaning back in his chair in a relaxed manner. He folded his arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling of Svenoz's office with a bored expression.
"Life is so good without a woman, why bother with marriage?" he muttered dryly. "It's so boring and a little annoying."
His gaze then shifted to Dezo, who was still standing before him with a distressed expression. Mark grinned slightly before saying playfully, "Aren't you my mother's favorite son? Why don't you attend the matchmaking in my place? And don't forget to give birth to twins for her."
Dezo immediately pulled up a chair in front of Mark and sat down with a frustrated expression. He shot him a sharp glare, as if he wanted to hit his friend in the head with the document he was holding.
"You're absolutely crazy!" he growled. "This time the woman isn't just any woman."
Mark snorted, still uninterested. "Who? Moon goddess? Fairy? Angel?" he asked mockingly.
Dezo cursed before finally placing the document on the table with a thud. "Your mother asked Clasi to come back from Spain to arrange a marriage for you! Do you really want me to be the one to arrange this marriage?" Dezo glared at Mark. "Can you really bear to see me marry your first love?"
Mark chuckled, showing no sign of surprise or panic. He actually looked increasingly bored.
"Who said he was my first love?" she asked confidently. "I've never loved anyone. He's the one obsessed with me."
Dezo shook his head, sighing in frustration. "You really are a heartless man, Mark."
Mark just shrugged lightly, as if it was no big deal. But somehow, somewhere in his heart, the mention of Clasi's name seemed to resonate longer than he expected.
Dezo leaned back in his chair with a relaxed expression before saying, "I won't marry anyone either, and I'll faithfully wait for your niece, Selva."
Mark, who was playing with a pen in his finger, turned his head with a blank look, while Dezo sighed lightly and muttered, "I'm curious, how beautiful is she now? Isn't she graduating from high school this year?"
Dezo looked at Mark with sparkling eyes, then asked in a half-joking tone, "Can I marry her yet?"
Mark, who initially looked bored, suddenly opened his eyes wide, as if he had just discovered something extraordinary.
"You're right... Selva," Mark said in a tone that sounded like he had come up with a great idea.
Dezo frowned, not understanding his friend's strange reaction. "Why?" he asked curiously, trying to read Mark's mind.
Mark grinned slightly, his lips curving into a mysterious smile. "I just found the perfect way to stop this arranged marriage."
Dezo was increasingly confused. "What do you mean?"
Mark glared at her, his smile widening. "If I can't escape this arranged marriage, then I'll just have to make sure someone else makes a bigger mess first..."
Dezo looked at Mark with a suspicious expression. "Don't tell me... you want to use Selva and me as shields?"
Mark just chuckled without answering directly. However, his gaze was so meaningful that Dezo took a deep breath.
"I just fell into your trap, didn't I?" Dezo muttered, realizing that Mark must be planning something crazy.
***
At the Dolton residence, the atmosphere was fully prepared for the planned matchmaking. The rooms were elegantly decorated, and the aroma of delicious dishes wafted through the air. Servants were milling about, ensuring everything was running smoothly.
In the middle of the room, Yeda—Mark's mother—looked a little anxious. She had been calling her son, hoping he would come soon. Her face lit up with anticipation every time her phone lit up, but there was still no sign of Mark.
"Auntie, these are souvenirs from Spain. For Uncle and Mark," said Clesi while handing over several paper bags with a sweet smile.
Yeda immediately greeted her enthusiastically. "Oh my gosh, honey. Why so many? Thank you so much!" she beamed. "Mark will absolutely love it," she added confidently.
Clesi just nodded shyly, while Feros-his father-directly responded with a voice full of pride, "I really didn't think we would be besan."
Dolton, Mark's father, chuckled before chiming in, "It's all because of Clesi. Who would have thought that Mark, who never wanted to marry anyone, was just waiting for Clesi?"
Hearing this, Clesi smiled shyly, her cheeks flushing a faint blush. Although she had known Mark for a long time, this was the first time she had seen everyone so convinced that this match was their destiny. However, one thing bothered her—was Mark really waiting for her, or was this all just wishful thinking?
"Good evening, everyone," Mark greeted in his signature deep voice. He stepped in, wearing a black suit that perfectly framed his figure, enhancing his aura of authority and charm. Beside him, Dezo walked with a relaxed expression, though he knew how stressful this evening had been for Mark.
Yeda immediately smiled when she saw her son finally arrive. She quickly walked over to them. "What took you so long? You've made Mama wait!" she grumbled, her voice a mix of relief and annoyance. Then her gaze shifted to Dezo, "You too, Dezo! Why didn't you just drag him home?"
Dezo swallowed nervously. He had actually wanted to drag Mark home earlier, but Mark kept stalling. Not wanting to be blamed any further, he quickly replied, "Mark's very busy picking out a suit and buying a watch, Tan," he said casually, glancing at Mark briefly.
Mark immediately glared at Dezo with an irritated expression, while Yeda smiled happily, accepting Dezo's words as true. "So you really prepared everything well," Yeda said with satisfaction. "Come on, let's meet Clesi," she continued, immediately taking Mark's arm and leading him to the dining table.
Mark glared at Dezo, his eyes narrowing as if to say, "I'll kill you later." However, Dezo only chuckled and stuck out his tongue before following behind Mark.
Mark and Dezo immediately joined them at the dining table. Clesi hadn't been able to take her eyes off Mark all this time.
Clesi wasn't lying, Mark was getting more muscular, masculine, handsome, and perfect. Truly, God's greatest creation.
Dezo, who caught this, just kept quiet, observing Mark from the side who looked indifferent and reluctant to look at Clesi for even a second.
Feros immediately greeted Mark with a wide smile, "It's been a long time since I've seen you, Mark. You've really gotten more handsome and muscular. How's your company?" Feros asked, which Mark answered with a smile.
"The bigger and faster we grow, the more prominent we will be in the city of Palermo after several clients who previously refused us outright to collaborate," Mark said bluntly, indirectly showing Feros that he could build a big company after 5 years ago Feros refused to collaborate with him and even took the tender that should have belonged to Mark's company.
Yeda immediately elbowed Mark's arm while Feros just smiled awkwardly.
"That's in the past, don't talk about it anymore, now it's time for us to discuss the important and main thing, namely your arranged marriage with Clesi, now you have no reason to refuse, your mother has gone to the trouble of asking Clesi to come home for a moment to carry out this arranged marriage, so decide and finish everything tonight!" Dolton said firmly, making Mark nod casually.
Dezo watched from the side, wanting to smack Mark upside the head. Why was he so relaxed when he should be thinking of reasons and ways to get out of this unwanted arranged marriage?
'What should I do to wake him up?' Dezo thought to himself as he was starting to get angry with Mark.
Yeda immediately looked at Clesi and said, "Why didn't you say earlier that you didn't want to marry anyone because you were waiting for Clesi, if you had known that, Mom would have called Clesi and married you both, so your Mom and Dad wouldn't have to be embarrassed every time friends or colleagues asked about a grandchild." Feros immediately laughed as did Clesi who smiled shyly while glancing at Mark.
Mark took a breath and replied, "Who said Mark doesn't want to get married because he's waiting for Clesi?" All eyes immediately turned to Mark, except for Dezo who looked down playing with his fingers to avoid their gazes which were now directed at Mark.
"What do you mean? Aren't you waiting for Clesi? I saw you kept your graduation photo with Clesi in your reading book. No need to deny it anymore, I know you've never been close to any woman so far, let alone close, I'm even surprised when you always avoid it when a woman approaches. There's only a photo of you and Clesi that I know so far. That means Clesi is the only one you want." Mark shook his head slowly, even very calmly and relaxed.
"Not really, mom was too quick to jump to conclusions, Mark only kept the photo at Gevan's request, he wanted to have a photo of Clesi, at that time he didn't dare ask for a photo with Clesi so Mark represented him, did Mark need to call Gevan to make sure of everything?" Dolton immediately narrowed his eyes when Mark destroyed everything.
"Enough, Mark!" Dolton demanded with a growl.
Mark immediately looked at his father, "Mark is just trying to explain this misunderstanding." Yeda stared at Mark from the side.
"If the photo was for Gevan, why did you keep it for so long? Why didn't you just cut out Clesi's photo and give it to Gevan? Don't give unreasonable excuses, your continued denials are making us even more convinced that you have feelings for Clesi but are trying to avoid it." Mark shook his head slowly.
"Mark wanted to give the photo, but Gevan said that Mark should keep it until he returned from Vanesia, he would take the photo himself, why would Mark lie," answered Mark, who had many answers to every question and accusation from his mother.
Dolton clenched his jaw tightly, his gaze fixed on Mark.
Clesi remained silent, her hands clenched tightly, her breath hitched, and she felt a little disappointed tonight. Meanwhile, Feros felt like this was an insult and Mark's revenge on him for a past issue.
Feros immediately intervened in the argument, "Mark, I apologize in advance for the problems in the past. If my previous behavior really hurt you, please don't retaliate against Clesi. Just take it all out on me." Mark shook his head slowly.
"This isn't about the past, this is an honest expression of my feelings, I really don't have any feelings for Clesi, if we continue, this relationship will hurt each other, so it's better for me to be honest from the start than for you to see your daughter hurt by my attitude," Mark said honestly to Feros.
"MARK!" Dolton shouted loudly in anger, making Dezo jump slightly in surprise.
Mark immediately got up from his chair, making Dezo lift his head.
"What is he going to do? Doesn't he know his life is on the brink of collapse?" Dezo thought, surprised to see Mark so relaxed in the face of his parents, who were currently in a state of emotional turmoil.
"Now Mark asks back, what made my parents pressure me to get married? They just wanted a grandchild, right?" Mark asked as if he was confirming something.
Mark looked at Clesi and said, "Sorry Clesi, I can't marry you. Because I already have the woman of my choice."
Dolton and Yeda stared at Mark in shock and disbelief, curious about who the woman Mark mentioned was.
Not to mention Mark's parents, even Dezo, who always accompanies Mark all the time, is driven crazy and wondering who the supernatural woman Mark is referring to is.
Mark looked at his parents and said calmly, "Don't worry, mom and dad. Mark will come back and bring the girl to you!" Mark immediately left the dining table, even though dinner hadn't even started yet.
Dezo stared at the muscular back that was getting further away with all the questions in his mind.
'A girl? Who does he mean?' Dezo thought in his heart.
Until Dezo thought of the woman Mark meant.
"Don't tell me if he is!" Dezo murmured softly.