Chapter 2 Two.

"Great! I'll send the address and picture of your blind date right now." Liam said, his voice laced with enthusiasm.

He disconnected the call, and Ava only criticized her impulsive decision making when the beep sound was heard.

She dialed her mother's phone number again. She should be done making breakfast by now.

The realization that she had been blocked by her mother hit Ava after being unable to reach her on the seventh trial!

Left with no other option, Ava called Piper.

"Uh-oh, I'm currently on my way to my parents, Ava. Why didn't you ever tell me about this?!" Piper's tone was both pitiful and scolding.

Ava received a good telling off from Piper for keeping the rent issue away from her.

Afterwards, Ava apologized, "I'm sorry, Piper. I didn't want to bother you. Send my regards to your parents."

Ava thought she'd be able to go to Piper's house, and stay there for now. She couldn't do that anymore since Piper was on her way out of the city.

Piper's parents lived in the small town near New Omicron, and Piper occasionally visited them. Her parents lived comfortably as they were the governors in the small town.

This also meant that Piper would not be opening her bookstore today since she was on her way out of town.

"You can book a hotel and send me the bill, Ava. I'll pay."

Piper was generous, but Ava declined her offer. She would take all her stuff to Ava Bakies, and spend the night there as well.

Ava hung up.

After a brief second, she received a message from Liam containing the location for the blind date, and the picture of the man she was supposed to meet.

"Ethan Atticus," Ava whispered as it was written on the message sent by Liam. The location for the blind date was not far from where she was.

She stuffed her phone back in her pocket, and ransacked her brain.

The money she was with could only take her to her shop.

Should she call Liam to cancel? It was impossible to make it to the blind date when she was practically homeless.

Where would she keep her property and clothes? On her blind date's head?

Even if she successfully went on this blind date, how would she get back to Ava Bakies?

Would the blind date be willing to drive her? What if he was without a car? Would he be generous enough to hire a truck or a taxi for her?

Impossible! She would not stoop so low to ask a stranger for help or money.

Liam had been her only surviving customer, and she didn't want to ruin her relationship with him by not showing up to the blind date he setup for her.

She agreed to Liam's idea when he proposed it, so backing out now would shed a bad light on her.

An idea struck her!

She would call a cab, stuff her things in and on top of the vehicle, and then plead with the cab driver to give her a few minutes to stop at the restaurant to explain things to her blind date. Maybe they could reschedule.

Brilliant!

That way, her relationship with Liam would not be bruised, and he would keep ordering from her.

Genius!

Or so she thought...

Getting a cab driver who agreed to risk the future of their cabs for such a low price was another hassle.

"Why don't you hire a truck instead?" A cab driver suggested.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Ava gently smacked her forehead with sarcasm dripping from her tone.

Her eyes grew misty under the bright blue sky. The scorching sun pricked her skin, and she missed her father even more now.

Lately, Ava craved the presence of a male figure in her life.

While she enjoyed being an independent woman, she also enjoyed having her father around her even though he was mostly sick before he passed on.

If her father were here, she wouldn't have been forced to ring her mother for help.

Finally, a cab driver agreed to Ava's price. It was already 9:45am. Thankfully, the restaurant was just a block away from where she stood.

Stuffing her things in the cab took another twenty minutes out of her time.

Ava sighted the grumpiness of the driver as he strapped her things on top his vehicle. She turned a blind eye.

She finally arrived the restaurant, and immediately sighted her blind date through the glass window. She was 20 minutes late.

The man who was waiting for her inside appeared suave, and properly groomed.

Although he carried himself with an air of aloofness, Ethan was quite pleasing to the eye.

Ava scanned her dirty clothes, and suddenly felt embarrassed to go in.

She swiftly discarded the thought. She was only going to ask him to reschedule anyway. If he declined, it wasn't her fault.

Ava was just about to push open the door to the restaurant when the cab driver honked aggressively, gaining the attention of those in the restaurant, and also passersby.

All eyes were on the overloaded vehicle.

"Ma'am, I can't take this trip. Remove your stuff from my car."

Ava scurried back to plead with him. She was going to spend less than five minutes in there. Plus, she already gave him the hundred bucks she was left with.

The cab driver refused especially because of the small amount she offered. She refused to top up the price so he couldn't agree. He could see his tires deflating. How stupid was he to have agreed in the first place.

The cab driver brought her things down from the car, tossed them on the ground in front of the restaurant, and zoomed off.

Ava turned around to see if her blind date noticed the scene unfold.

He sure did, and so did the other people in the restaurant.

With the help of the security guard, Ava moved her stuff to the back of the restaurant. The security guard helped her stuff them into a small store there.

The bags that could not fit were carried by Ava into the restaurant. She walked straight to Ethan Atticus who was obviously triggered by her presence.

Ignoring the looks and light whispers of those in the restaurant, Ava outstretched her right hand and greeted, "Hey, I'm Ava."

Ethan ignored her obviously dirty hands, and gave her a nod. He went mute afterwards, and aggressively tapped his phone screen.

Ava helped herself to a seat opposite him. She glanced around the restaurant, and saw that a few eyes were still focused on her.

Shortly after, Ava's phone rang. It was Liam.

Ethan obviously reported the situation to Liam, and Ava honestly did not fault him for that.

Ethan Atticus was the mover and shaker of the business world in New Omicron. He was the present heir of Atticus Corporation.

Despite Ethan's request to keep his identity hidden from Ava, Liam went on to blab about who he was to her. Or better still, Ava found out herself.

Why else would she show up to a blind date, and put up such an act in front of everyone?

She obviously expected Ethan to give her a huge sum for appearing pitiful! She was such a scheming woman!

Well, he was not stupid! He knew a staged scene when he saw one!

Having lost a ridiculous bet to Liam a few weeks ago, Liam came up with the most outrageous task for Ethan to do.

Ethan was pleased with being a single man at thirty. He lived in peace, and spent his time doing what he loved most - working.

However, his very peaceful life pinched Liam's neck, that the latter decided to bring up this idea to spice up Ethan's life.

For losing the bet, Ethan had to go on a blind date with three different women that Liam chose, and pick a wife out of them.

How ridiculous did that sound?

Ethan only agreed because he was a man of his word. His only condition to do this was that his identity would be hidden from the women.

He even arrived the date in a compact sedan that cost around $30,000.

The woman sitting in front of him with different bags strapped over her shoulders obviously knew who he was, and she had the intentions to mooch off him.

Ethan was not against spoiling a woman, but he was against gold digging.

Ethan's eyes narrowed as he studied Ava, his expression a mask of disapproval.

While Ethan judged Ava, she on the other hand, explained her predicament to Liam.

Ethan's tensed facial muscles eased up a bit as he heard the young lady in front of him come clean to Liam about what really happened.

While still listening to Ava speak, Liam sent Ethan a text message, "You ruthless bastard! You didn't even give her a chance to explain herself. I told you Ava was a hard worker. Better give her a house from one of your many properties."

Ethan read the text over and over again. A pang of guilt struck his heart. He should've at least listened to her first.

Impulsively, Ethan sent a text to his PA, "Set up the apartment in Calonia Heights. Furnish two bedrooms with basic interior designs for a high income salaryman. One for me, and the other for a lady. You have four hours to get the job done."

He put down his phone the same time Ava ended her call with Liam.

She spoke first in a low voice, "I'm sorry for this disappointment, Mr. Atticus. I'll take my leave now."

"Stay," Ethan grabbed her hand before she could leave.

Realizing the awkwardness in his gesture, he quickly let go of her hand and continued talking.

"I'm the one who should be sorry. Can we just carry on with the date? I know you have nowhere to go for now, so why don't you just spend some time here to relax?"

Ethan's eyes widened at his ability to coax a lady. He had zero experience with women as he only related with women on business levels.

Ava did not refuse. She had no money on her to leave the restaurant and go to Ava Bakies anyway.

Her stomach growled as she hadn't had breakfast. She also needed someone to distract her from the vicissitudes of life.

If she went to the shop with her luggages now, she would end up balling her eyes out on an empty stomach.

She should eat first and have the strength to question why her life suddenly flopped.

When the food came, Ava did not hesitate to dig in. For some reason, she was not shy to eat with gusto in front of a stranger she had just met.

Ethan ate at his usual pace, observing all the ethics and etiquette of fine dining.

The two discussed about their life, with Ava carrying the conversation. Ethan had nothing to say to her asides telling her that he worked as an executive somewhere in the city center.

He didn't say Atticus Corporation for fear that she would connect the dots, and his cover would be blown.

Ava had no reason to doubt or question a man that she had just met so she believed every single word he said about himself.

With Ava yapping about her life and bad business, four hours rolled by quickly.

Ethan received a text from his PA, "The house in Calonia Heights is ready sir."

Ethan did not respond to the text, but pulled the most outrageous stunt he could ever think of.

Gently grabbing her free hand, Ethan asked, "Ava Waverly, let's go get our marriage license at City Hall."

Ava, who was halfway through her third cup of smoothie, burst out laughing at the joke Ethan made, "You don't speak much, but you're such a funny man, Mr. Atticus."

Seeing that Ethan neither laughed nor retracted his statement, Ava uttered, "You're serious? Why?!"

This date was obviously an epic fail, and... "Who proposes after a disastrous first date?!" Ava blurted out her thoughts.

One would think that Ava's words would knock Ethan's senses back to normal, but the man urged on, "You need a place to call home. I can give you that for free. You don't need to bother your best friend. Let's go get our marriage license."

Marrying her could be the perfect solution to his predicament.

Why not just marry Ava and save himself the stress of meeting up with the two other women Liam would arrange for him?

Ava was in the dark about the primary reason for his sudden proposal.

Her gaze drifted off, her mind weighing the pros and cons of Ethan's proposal.

Just this morning, she wished her father, or any male figure, was present in her life.

Did her wishes come true through this blind date? Plus, it took care of the most pressing issue of hers right now. Her accommodation.

If she agreed to marry this good looking young man, she could channel all her focus into reviving Ava Bakies.

What if this man was a serial killer, or an organ harvester?

Impossible! Liam would not introduce her to someone who would kill her.

"You have to tell me the reason why you want to get married so quickly. Is your family on your neck to bring home a wife?"

"No," Ethan could not possibly tell her that there was a bet, "Like I said before, I can give you a place to call home."

"At what expense? What do I owe you after you've given me a place to call home?" Ava had to ask these questions. Getting married to a stranger was nothing to joke with.

"You don't owe me anything, and I won't force you to do anything with or for me."

Ava noticed the honesty in Ethan's eyes when he spoke.

She squinted her eyes, and stared into nothingness. Since she was on a spree of making wrong decisions that day...