Chapter 3

I met Theo on a blind date.

This year, I just turned thirty, officially joining the club of women who marry late.

Honestly, I didn't mind blind dates at all, and I was actually looking forward to getting married.

In my big family, whether one was single, divorced, or married, everyone was living their best life.

I had been single for a long time, and I was honestly curious about what marriage would be like.

But I had already had two failed attempts, so Theo was basically my third trial run.

He was introduced to me by a colleague, who said he was a distant relative of hers.

She said, "He's pretty handsome, works at the city statistics department, and he's super level-headed. He's an only child, came here for college, and once he settled down, his whole family ended up moving here, too.

"You can get to know him. If you like him, go for it. If not, at least you'll have made a new friend."

We'd already exchanged contacts and set up a Sunday meet-up, but I ended up running into him a day early while helping out with an animal rescue on Saturday.

When we were chipping in for the vet bill through the messaging app, it hit me that he was actually the blind date I was supposed to meet the next day.

He just waved his hand and said, "Let me pick up the bill this time. Think of it as my treat for your kindness, and for the serendipity that brought us together."

Honestly, that really touched me.

I thought he was genuinely kind and gentle.

Honestly, my standards weren't even that high.

Sometimes, just meeting a decent guy on a blind date felt like hitting the jackpot.

We spent quite a while together.

But after all that time, I eventually realized he did have some flaws.

For instance, he could be pretty stingy and a bit petty about the little things.

Since I had always been pretty well-off, it never really bothered me.

But my mom was always against it. She couldn't stand stingy guys, and she always said, "Where a man puts his money, that's where his heart is."

My dad was pretty neutral about it. He just wanted me to be happy.

After my two previous failed relationships, I kept thinking maybe I should just be more forgiving. After all, nobody was perfect.

Maybe because I kept backing down, Theo got it into his head that I was totally hooked on him.

I didn't realize it at first.

But honestly, spending time with his family was already kind of awkward for me.

After we'd been dating for three months, Theo told me his parents wanted to meet me.

The first time, I brushed him off, saying things between us weren't really solid yet.

The second time, I said it was right before the festival, so it just felt awkward.

The third time, I couldn't think of any decent excuse, so I just sucked it up and went.

I grabbed some milk and fruit and headed over to his place.

Ivy handed me a gift worth 300 dollars.

Honestly, that whole meeting was pretty uncomfortable for me.

From the moment we sat down, his parents just kept going on and on about how amazing Theo was. I just sat there, totally embarrassed.

"Theo has always been a top student. Ever since first grade, he's been racking up awards; there's barely any wall space left for his trophy at home," Ivy bragged.

"You wouldn't believe it. Back in middle school, girls were lining up for him, literally from our front door all the way to the school gate.

"He never had to buy his own breakfast; he just opened his drawer, and it was packed with snacks from all those girls," she went on.

"And he's so good to us, always jumping in to help out around the house. Audrey, you've really got great taste. I used to wonder what kind of girl could ever catch Theo's eye, and now I finally get to meet her," she said with a smile.

Ivy kept talking him up for a solid half hour, until even Theo couldn't take it anymore and had to step in.

"Mom, isn't it about time for dinner? What did you cook for us?" he asked.

Ivy blinked at me and teased, "Well, now that your girlfriend's here, she has got to show us what she can do. Go check the fridge and see if there's anything you're good at making."

I nearly cracked up on the spot.

That was so over the top, so staged.

Well, it was time to show her what I had got.