LOVE YOU, UNCLE

From the plethora of food and drinks laid out in front of him, Randy didn’t show the slightest hint of interest. Since he arrived, the chubby-cheeked guy had chosen to lean back casually, playing with his cell phone in his hand.

After his meeting with the last girl named Ghea, instead of going home, Randy decided to visit Darwin and Kennedy, who were playing billiards at one of their favorite cafes. Randy thought, rather than rushing home, which would lead to an interrogation by his mother, he might as well hang out here for a while until it’s time to go back.

“What are you thinking, Ran? Your face has been so crumpled since you got here,” Darwin commented after finishing his game and approaching Randy.

Kennedy, who had just finished straightening the billiard sticks she was holding, also joined Darwin in responding to Randy’s strange and unusual behavior tonight.

“You’re probably thinking about a girl. Like you don’t know Randy’s habits.”

Randy remained silent. Instead of answering directly, he took something out of his pocket, then handed it to Darwin.

“I think I’m in trouble with you, Win.”

Darwin frowned at that moment. On one hand, he was surprised by what Randy had just said. On the other hand, he was also puzzled as to why Randy suddenly handed him several photos of women in various poses.

Was his cousin asking him to choose? No way! He wasn’t a playboy who liked changing partners. Moreover, he was content with Verona in his life now.

“What’s this?”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Photos, right?”

“I know! But whose money is this?”

Darwin asked irritably. “I mean, why are you showing me photos of so many women like this?”

“These are the photos of potential wives my mom prepared for me.”

“You’re arranged to be married?”

Randy nodded weakly.

“Just as you suspected.”

Darwin couldn’t help but burst into laughter at that moment. He had been worried that something bad had happened to his cousin. But after learning that Randy was feeling down because of an arranged marriage, Darwin couldn’t help but laugh. He was satisfied to see his cousin experiencing what he had felt before.

“Damn! Finally, after this, you’ll experience what I went through back then. You’ll know how uncomfortable it is to be matched and married to a woman you don’t like.”

“But Darwin, you’re happy now after being arranged to marry Verona , right? Don’t tell me you regret it?” Randy retorted with narrowed eyes. If Darwin were to say he regretted it, by God, he would report it to Verona . Let them fight a world war after this.

“You know, back then, I really hated being arranged to marry. But now I’m grateful to have a wife like Verona .”

“If Darwin can be happy, maybe you’ll feel the same way later, Ran,” Kennedy chimed in to console her cousin.

“The problem is, none of the candidates meet my criteria, Ken.”

Kennedy then snatched the photos from Darwin’s hand. She looked at each of the girls who were potential wives for Randy.

“I know her, her name is Alesa, the daughter of the owner of Bank Nobu. And this one is Tamara. Both are socialites, right?” Kennedy said, while scanning the figures in the photos she was looking at. “And the last one, Velia, the daughter of Mr. Hartono. Who is the last one? I’ve never met her and I have no idea,” Kennedy said.

“That’s Ghea Mariana. She’s the daughter of Mr. Maxwell Denovan.”

“The one who owns IndoAsia Group?” Darwin added, glancing at the last photo Kennedy was holding. “Could it be that she’s Mario Antolin’s sister? Which means she’s Mr. Maxwell’s youngest child?”

Randy shrugged his shoulders. How could he know and remember who Ghea was and what rank she held?

“I really didn’t have time to assess her that thoroughly. I only had the task of meeting and getting to know each of them before I came to see you.”

“And then?”

“And then what?”

“Well, who are you most interested in? Out of those four, didn’t any of them catch your heart?” Darwin asked irritably. Randy couldn’t believe his cousin didn’t understand the meaning of his question.

“I told you, none of them fits my ideal wife criteria.”

“Probably all of them are busy with image and showing off their parents’ wealth, right?” Darwin guessed, as if he knew the habits of conglomerate kids who were all more or less the same.

Randy nodded. That was the reality. Until recently, he corrected Darwin’s earlier statement.

“But among those four, there’s one who’s the funniest. Her name is Ghea, Mr. Maxwell’s daughter. While everyone else is busy flaunting and showing off this and that, Ghea doesn’t seem to have the slightest interest in me, despite my handsome appearance.”

“But in reality, you’re not handsome and attractive, are you?”

“Damn!” Randy cursed while punching Darwin’s shoulder. “The truth is, there’s something about me, Win. Besides, just so you know, she even casually calls me ‘uncle’ because she knows we’re almost 12 years apart.”

Once again, Darwin and Kennedy both laughed. They couldn’t imagine Randy’s face when the girl named Ghea suddenly called him “uncle.”

Accustomed to being admired by women, it was amusing to hear that there was a girl who wasn’t the least bit interested in Randy’s looks and charisma.

“At least she called you ‘uncle’ instead of ‘daddy,’ right? It would feel so old then,” Darwin joked, still laughing. “You should match up with someone like you, a playgirl, for fairness. It won’t be suitable for the four of them who all seem nice. Especially if it’s with someone like Ghea. It would seem very pedophilic.”

“Yeah, Ran,” Kennedy agreed with Darwin’s statement. “You’re too chaotic for those four, who all look perfect.”

Those two cousins of Randy were really cheeky. Instead of offering support, they were busy teasing Randy to the point where he couldn’t react.

“In that case, it’s best for me, the cool guy, to marry girls who look hot, just to balance things.”

“If you’re cool and your future wife is hot, your child will be like a water dispenser,” Kennedy quipped.

“Why a water dispenser?”

“Well, hot and cool are typically found in a water dispenser.”

“So, if I, the playboy, marry a fellow playgirl, our child will be like a Playstore, right?”

For God’s sake, Darwin immediately shook his head. It was never the right time to discuss anything with Randy and Kennedy. Both of them were not the most sensible when it came to joking around. Even though the topic was serious.

“But seriously, if I had to choose among those four women, I’d prefer Ghea,” Randy suddenly said, making Darwin and Kennedy both raise questioning eyebrows. After all, they both knew what kind of women Randy was usually interested in.

So far, Randy’s partners or dating companions have always been beautiful, sexy, and certainly adults. Ghea herself indeed looked beautiful, but the other two criteria were not present in her. Even from her photo, it was evident that Ghea had a slightly tomboyish appearance. So, was Randy sure he wanted to spend his time living with a woman who was far from his criteria?

“Why?” they both asked simultaneously. “From her appearance in the photo, she doesn’t meet your criteria. Even her age is a teenager, and I’m sure she’s not your type at all, Ran,” Darwin asked for clarification.

“It’s easy when it comes to appearance. It can be polished. In fact, because she’s much younger than me, I can easily control her in the future. And even if we do get married, I’ll still be the dominant one in the marriage. It’s different from the other three candidates who are the same age and surely busy showing off and trying to control their husbands.”

Randy’s words had some truth to them. If he wanted to maintain his ego as the dominant one in a marriage and easily control his wife, he should choose a much younger partner. Besides, he still needed guidance, so Randy wouldn’t have to worry about giving instructions.

“What about love? Are you sure about getting married without love?”

“Come on! How about both of you? Did you fall in love with your wives when you got married?”

Randy asked, narrowing his eyes. He stared alternately at Darwin and Kennedy, who were in front of him. “Love is not a big deal, Win. We’ll see how it goes. The point is, if we don’t get along in the middle of the road and we don’t fall in love, we’ll just get a divorce. No need to worry too much.”

“In that case, instead of going through all the trouble, you might as well choose Ghea, Ran.”

Randy should have agreed, but he appeared to sigh as if he had a burden pressing on him.

“The problem is, it goes back to what I told you earlier, Win. Ghea isn’t the least bit interested in me. So, how can I choose her and ask her to marry me?”

“Well, try to win her heart.”

“What if I don’t succeed?”

“If you can’t win her heart, just take the lesson from this experience.”

Randy grumbled irritably. He wanted to be angry but realized that Kennedy, who was known for speaking without a filter, had just made those comments.

***

“So, Randy, have you chosen which woman is suitable to be your future wife?”

After giving him three days to think, Verona finally pressed her son to make a decision. With the upcoming change in the company’s leadership this year, Verona needed to convince Randy to get married quickly. Otherwise, the coveted position might be taken over by other descendants of the Walters family who had already married.

“Can’t I have more time to think, Mom?”

“No, you can’t!” Verona shook her head as if she didn’t accept any negotiation from her son. Moreover, if he kept overthinking and delaying, nothing would come of it. “As I said before, if you don’t agree with Mama’s choice, you can propose your own candidate who fits our family’s criteria. It’s all up to you now.”

Randy sighed. When it came to finding a dating partner, he could easily find one within minutes. But when it came to a life partner, as his mother wanted, it was certainly not an easy matter. He had to investigate thoroughly before making a choice.

As annoying as he was, Randy still wanted the best for a potential wife. Especially since she would be the future mother of his children. He had to find the best match.

“Actually, out of the four women Mama prepared, there is one who has caught my attention. And it seems she’s suitable to be my future wife.”

Verona was taken aback. The irritated expression she had previously shown turned into a wide smile. Immediately, she approached, eager to know which woman her son had in mind.

“So, who do you think would be a suitable daughter-in-law for Mama?”

Randy then took out a photo sheet he had kept in the drawer. He pulled it out and showed it to his mother.

“This one, Mom. I want to marry her.”

Verona reached for the photo sheet Randy had handed her. She looked at it for a moment and then smiled broadly.

“Good. Your choice is acceptable.”

Elsewhere, Ghea had just finished her management class. Before heading home, Denisa intercepted her and immediately started interrogating her.

“Ghea, you owe me.”

Ghea, who was tidying her bag, immediately looked up, furrowing her brow. She couldn’t remember when she had borrowed something from Denisa.

“Owe you? How much money? I can’t believe I owe you.”

“It’s not a money debt,” Denisa clarified. “It’s a story debt. It’s about your blind date with that Playboy Randy Walters.”

“Oh….”

Ghea nodded in understanding now. It seemed Denisa was referring to the blind date she had with the son of one of her father’s friends not long ago.

“What do you need me to tell you?”

“What was your impression when you met Randy? He’s known to be extremely handsome.”

“Oh, just average. He’s like an older guy. What’s so handsome about him?” Ghea casually quipped. For heaven’s sake, from the moment they met, she had absolutely no interest in a man named Randy.

“Are you crazy? You’re calling a guy like Randy old? How can you call him that?”

“Well, he is older, right? He’s already 35. Should I call him ‘big brother’? That’s just weird. As for the blind date, it was nothing special. Neither of us did anything that day. He said he had to meet me for formalities.”

“So, you two won’t get married?”

“Married? No way! I’m not going to marry a guy like him.”

“Don’t brag too much, Ghe. You might end up liking him. Exaggeration isn’t good unless it’s an exaggeration of money.”

“No way, Denis. Besides, he’s not my type. Anyway, I’m going home; it’s already late. Let’s talk about this another time.”

Without much further ado, Ghea left Denisa behind. Moreover, if she lingered with her friend, she might be late getting home.

Being picked up by her driver, Ghea decided to head home right away. As soon as she arrived and entered her house, she saw her father receiving guests. Even when she walked in, her father clearly waved to her, asking her to come over.

“Ghea, come here. You have to meet Dad’s friends. They came here specifically to meet you.”

Ghea’s eyebrows raised. She wondered what her father’s friends wanted to meet her for. Did they know her?

“Do you want to meet Ghea?”

“Yes. That’s why come here.”

Ghea complied, dragging her feet a bit lazily to approach her father and mother, who were sitting with the guests.

“Come on, let’s introduce each other; they’ve been waiting for you.”

Ghea nodded. She turned around and, at that very moment, her eyes widened. There was one person she seemed to recognize, and now he was looking at her with a smile. Oh no. Ghea was sure she had seen this person before.

“You’re Uncle Randy, right?”