Gluttony Ugly Duckling

Like everything else, this date was fixed again. Ethan only had his mouth to insult me and nothing else. He could not even tell his parents that he didn’t want a date between us to be arranged. Tom sent me Ethan’s contact number and I saved it as ‘Weakling’. Well, that was what he was. Nothing more.

The date was to be held at a restaurant, and a very popular one at that. Even as popular as it was, I had never visited the place. It was for the financial elites. I mean those who had so much money. I had a rich uncle but, you know, a miserly one as well. I also disliked luxurious things like jewelry. I loved to be simple, and it suited me perfectly.

It was scheduled for four o'clock, but I didn’t get there until forty-five minutes later. Given Ethan’s nonchalant attitude, he might have been too late to mock me. Trust me, I didn’t want to be the desperate one.

But when I arrived and called him, it turned out that this motherfucker, Ethan, was not around. Oh no, I shouldn’t use a curse word. It was truly annoying, and I started to call him via phone. He picked it up the second time.

“Where in the world are you…” I was going to shout at him.

“In the toilet…” he replied. “I wanted to freshen up since you aren’t here already. I guess you are here now.”

“I am,” I replied calmly. “I’m at table twenty-four.”

“Nah, go to the VIP section. Take a seat at the sixth table. It has a nice view. I will be there in five minutes…” Ethan replied over the phone. He cut the call and, for once, I smiled. Probably, this date might not be too bad.

I walked down to the VIP section and sat at table six. I took out my phone and started to scroll through social media. I quit that and checked my favorite fashion blogs instead. I loved everything about clothes, shoes, and bags. I was feminine to that point, apart from the fact that I was uninterested in everything about jewelry.

I was doing this when a waitress walked up to me.

“Please stand up, young lady. This table is reserved already…” the waitress told me calmly. I smiled at her.

“Yeah! It was reserved for my date. You should have no reason to be worried…” I replied calmly. I could see the waitress’s unbelieving eyes.

“I don’t think that’s true, young lady. It might not be table six, and where is your partner? The owner of this table is at our counter asking us why a strange lady was at her seat. She came with two of her friends…” the waitress explained.

“The owner is a lady!” I exclaimed.

“Of course,” the waitress replied. For a moment, I didn’t know what to believe. I stood up and followed the waitress to her counter. There, I met the true owners of table six. They even showed the confirmation of their order. The manager was quite helpful.

“Probably, your boyfriend made a mistake with the number. Please call and ask him again…” the manager told me dryly. I smiled and then nodded. I asked for the way to the toilet, and I was shown. There, I called Ethan. There was no doubt that he had tricked me.

“I am flushing and I will…” Ethan was saying over the phone.

“Shut up, you goddamn liar!” I shouted at him angrily. “I can clearly hear car horns around. You are still on the road, aren’t you?”

Static over the phone.

“Yeah, there was traffic…” he replied dryly. He didn’t sound a bit apologetic about the ruckus he had just caused. I felt like going there and hitting his ass.

“You never made a reservation, did you?” I asked him carefully.

“I didn’t. How about you just making one on behalf of me? I will be there in twenty minutes…” Ethan replied over the phone.

“Just go back home. I will do the same…” I cut the call. I was really hurt, but it was not because I had feelings for him. It was because I actually believed him and thought things would work out well.

Yeah, I would just call it quits now and go back to Smith. He should take me back.

My decision has been made already. Although the backlash from this would be excessive, I was going to make sure I held on.

As I stepped out of the restaurant, I met a familiar face. It was Margaret, Ethan’s mother. I wondered what she was doing here of all places.

--------------

“You were going home, I guess…” Margaret told me carefully. Now, I was in their back seat. Margaret and Richard were in the front seats. The situation was tense.

“Ethan never came. He even tricked me and made me embarrassed…” I told them slowly. “This marriage… Tom must have never told you, but I had a boyfriend. I was forced to break up because of this, but it isn’t worth it. I never wanted it and…”

“You can make it work, my dear,” Margaret told me carefully. “Arranged marriages are reputed to be bad, but trust me, that’s not all. My husband and I were arranged as well. I was just like you then. I had a loving boyfriend whom I could die for. Richard came along, and I can never regret being with him. Yours can be like that if you decide to make it work.”

“I don’t want to make it work!” I replied impatiently. “I have no reason to make it work as well.”

Both of them sighed.

“Ethan is a pitiful child…” Richard was saying.

“I am pitiful as well!” I shouted at them. “I am an orphan and Ethan both have parents. You guys are very rich, but my uncle is a miser. Did you see me with a car? I have never owned one, despite my uncle’s financial status. I am also pitiful!”

Nobody talked. I was angry and I had established this point. This could end up splitting the marriage and that was all I wanted.

“Ethan used to have a girlfriend…” Richard narrated.

“Call it crush. She was never his girlfriend,” Margaret interrupted.

“Oh yeah! So, Ethan was crazily in love with this girl and, at some point, I think some connection was involved. I even thought they were dating already until that day. Ethan came home late. For the first time since I had given birth to him, I saw him drunk…” Richard said calmly.

“I was surprised too!” Margaret continued. “Richard was going to scold him, but Ethan began to cry like a baby. He was twenty-five years old, so it’s three years back. The girl, Sophia was her name. She dumped him.”

“That should be normal. You guys made me dump my boyfriend too…” I replied like it didn’t matter.

“Yeah, I know,” Richard replied. “It turns out that Sophia got engaged to an older man and then, she asked Ethan for thirty million dollars for an urgent deal. Ethan took out all his savings and gave her. She traveled out of the country and got married to that man. I heard he is a big business executive in the country he stays.”

“It’s either France or Germany…” Margaret interrupted again.

“But I thought you guys were rich people? Is that old man richer than you?” I asked carefully.

“Not really…” Richard smiled. “I am a billionaire and my son, Ethan, is a potential one as well. However, we do not show off. It is against what I believe in. I am still the CEO of my own company and Ethan will take over after his marriage to you. That is when he can really claim to be wealthy.”

I sighed.