That evening, Loretta changed into a simple cream-colored dress. Her hair rested loosely over her shoulders while she stood in front of the mirror looking slightly nervous.
This was her first real date, well, a fake date, but it felt better than any of those that had been arranged by her mother in the past.
A knock soon sounded on the door.
Loretta took a breath before walking over to open it.
Mika stood outside holding a bouquet of white roses mixed with pale pink carnations. He wore a dark shirt with the sleeves folded slightly while a relaxed smile rested on his face.
"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady," he said naturally as he handed them to her.
Loretta froze for a second before accepting them. "Thank you," she said softly, not remembering if anyone had ever brought her flowers before.
Mika's eyes remained on her. He felt his heart stir just looking at the smile on her face. "You look beautiful tonight."
Loretta felt strangely embarrassed hearing that and quickly looked away. Maybe it was because she was not used to getting compliments or because she was shy; she was unsure how to respond.
"You clean up nicely too," she finally managed to say.
Mika chuckled. "I will accept that compliment."
Not long after, the two left the hotel together. Loretta quietly followed Mika's lead without asking too many questions. She thought he would probably take her to some restaurant or café, but instead he drove toward a quieter part of the city.
The streets gradually became less crowded while trees lined the road ahead.
"Where exactly are we going?" Loretta finally asked. She should have been scared; after all, she had not known Mika for long, but her heart felt safe.
"You will see soon," Mika replied with a small smile.
A few minutes later, the car stopped near a narrow pathway surrounded by trees.
Loretta stepped out and looked around in confusion. "This place looks hidden."
"It is." Mika walked ahead before glancing back at her. "Come on."
Loretta followed him quietly.
The moment they stepped onto the pathway, her eyes widened slightly.
Small lanterns hung from the trees, their warm golden lights illuminating the path beautifully against the darkness of the night. Soft flower petals had even been scattered lightly along the ground.
Loretta looked around slowly.
"You did all this?"
Mika suddenly looked awkward. "I wanted to make the evening special."
Loretta could not stop the small smile that appeared on her lips.
At the end of the pathway was a quiet clearing overlooking a calm lake. The moonlight reflected beautifully against the water while warm lights surrounded the area.
A small wooden table had been arranged near the lake with candles glowing softly at the center.
It was simple, peaceful, and romantic.
Loretta stared at everything speechlessly.
"This place…"
Mika rubbed the back of his neck. "I found it a year ago when I wanted to get away from everything. Since then, whenever life becomes stressful, I come here to relax."
Loretta slowly walked closer to the lake, the cool breeze brushing gently against her skin.
"It's beautiful," she admitted honestly.
Mika looked relieved hearing that. "I am glad you like it."
Loretta turned back toward him. "You decorated all this yourself?"
"I had help." Mika would have loved to do it himself, but there was no time to set it up himself and also get dinner ready, so he had his friend help with the setup.
The thought of Mika spending hours preparing everything, even with help, made her chest feel strangely warm.
This was the first time in her life Loretta had experienced genuine consideration from someone.
She felt that the heavens were really being kind to her, allowing her to have such lovely moments before she died.
Thinking of her marriage to Kevin, her heart felt stuffed.
Mika pulled out the chair for her awkwardly. "Dinner, my lady?"
Loretta laughed softly before taking her seat.
Mika sent a message on his phone, and his friend came with dinner. "Thank you," Mika said, collecting the food boxes. His friend left while Mika served the food.
Loretta watched him work and could not stop herself from thinking how wonderful it would have been if the date were real.
....
Hidden in a corner, the bodyguard watched the scene unfold and felt a sense of crisis. Loretta had told him earlier that he did not have to follow, but he did not dare stay in the hotel room when his boss's wife-to-be went out to who knew where.
So he had quietly followed the two. As a trained bodyguard, following them without drawing attention to himself was very easy. Even now, hidden behind a tree, the two people having dinner did not realize they were being watched.
"I have to report back to the boss." If all he had were assumptions before, these two sitting together and having a date was not.
So he brought out his phone, looked for a good position, and took some pictures.
After looking at them, he sent them to Kevin's assistant.
...
On the other side, the assistant's phone was with Kevin, who was looking at trending news online when the message came. Kevin was about to tap on a news feed, but he ended up opening the message instead. He did not mean to pry, but he quickly recognized the lady in the picture.
"Loretta Gladstone." He frowned while looking at the romantic setting.
The assistant suddenly felt a shiver, so he stretched his neck, wondering which media house was acting up again, but when he saw the image on his screen, he almost fainted.
Kevin returned the phone without saying a word.
"You may leave," he said.
The assistant felt like he had been given a lifeline, so he left.
The next morning, the assistant received another message. This time, there was a picture of the two looking like a couple on vacation.
The assistant could tell that the bodyguard had a sense of crisis and did not know what to do.
"Andy," Kevin suddenly called out when he did not hear his assistant following him.
Andy quickly locked his phone and hid it behind him.
"What are you looking at?" Kevin asked, seeing his reaction.
Andy, not daring to lie, opened the phone and showed him the message from the bodyguard.
Kevin looked at the pictures. He knew he should not care about it; after all, deciding to marry her was because of the will. Yet, he found it an eyesore watching her like that with another man.
"Bring her back," he instructed, then took a step forward, but he seemed to remember something. "Forget it," Kevin said as he pulled the office door open and left.
The assistant was shocked for a while. After all, Kevin was not the type to take back an order.
He took a deep breath and followed after him.
"Call the Gladstone family. Tell them to organize an engagement," Kevin said.
The assistant looked even more shocked. After working for a few years with Kevin, he understood him. Kevin wanted Loretta back in the city, but he did not want to do it himself, so he dumped the work on the Gladstone family.
What shocked him though was the fact that Kevin was willing to have an engagement party. He had hated the previous ones and only attend for five minutes.
"Yes, sir," No matter how shocked he was he did not dare ask questions. Kevin continued to walk without turning back.