Have no fear of perfection, you'll never reach it
-
Salvador Dali

_________________

"Did I tell you how much I hate you?" I ask Daniel while throwing a glare at him from the back seat of his car.

"You did, just before ten minutes and I told you the feeling is mutual," Daniel replies, sitting on the driving seat.

"I don't get it. Why are you so sad about having lunch with your parents? I think you're overreacting," Ryan comments from the passenger seat for which Hope snickers.

"It's not just her parents, her grandmother and aunt will be there too," Hope says, leaning her head against the window.

Ryan frowns. "So what? Grannies are always sweet and lovely."

"Of course," Hope says sarcastically.

Ryan is right. Grandmother's are generally sweet and lovely towards their grandchildren but mine is an exception. I still remember the days I stayed in my mother's hometown with my grandma. I loved everything about that place except my family. I tried my level best to cause them trouble and it always worked. I was the official rebel of that town so my grandma hated me. I guess she still hates me.

Not a surprise.

I know.

On the night of the my wedding, Daniel promised my parents that we would visit them for lunch and I was so drunk to oppose that. I wouldn't complain if it was just my parents but it's my luck that my grandma decided to join us for lunch. She wasn't there for my wedding so this is her first time meeting Daniel.

I never cared about her likes because it didn't matter to me. She's completely against the idea of me wearing pants so I choose a shorts and tank top as my outfit for today. I would never let go of the opportunity to trouble her.

"We're here," Ryan announces when the car came to a stop.

Oh no!

Yes! This is going to be fun.

Shut up.

"Stop frowning, you look like a devil," Ryan comments, pulling me out of the car.

I glare at Daniel who's smirking at me. I hold Ryan's arm instead of Daniel's and pulls him towards my parents' house.

"Finally, you're here," Maria Marie Martin, my grandma says when she catches the sight of us. She is wearing a blue floral dress that ends just above her calf. Her left hand holding the walking stick, her face wrinkled and her brown eyes staring at us.

"Good afternoon, grandmother Marie," I greet her with a small smile. From the corner of my eye I can see Ryan staring at me as if I had grown two horns.

"Good afternoon, Allison. You're early, you should have been here fifteen minutes later," she drawls and I try my level best to not roll my eyes.

Control yourself, Ally.

"I apologize for the inconvenience caused."

"Do not repeat this," she mutters and I nod my head with a smile.

"Allison," I hear another voice shouting my name.

Nooooo, please let that not be my aunt. Please Jesus! Please!

"What in the world are you wearing?" Lizza, my aunt shouts when her eyes catch the sight of me...or more like the sight of my clothes.

"Nice to meet you, Aunt Lizza. You look good," I said, trying my best to plaster a smile on my face.

"But you look worse. What're you eating, you have gained weight? You're lucky that you got a man already but I don't think he'll stay with you if you be this irresponsible. Men like women with standards," she scolds and I hear Ryan take a sharp breathe. Looks like he's already exhausted.

"I'll be careful from next time," I mutter, controlling my tongue.

"Looks like that notorious behavior of yours is gone. Your husband is doing a great job if he's able to change your behavior," aunt says and I bite my tongue so that I don't reply.

"Allison, you're here. You look ugly," Grace, my cousin welcomes me with her usual behavior.

Relax Ally. You don't want to start a fight.

I sigh and smile at Grace. "You look beautiful, Grace."

Her eyes widens, probably shocked with my compliment. "Since when did you started being nice to me?" she asks and I smile. Since the moment my husband decided to bring me here.

"You look nice, Ally," Tyler, my grandma's neighbor said, giving me an appreciative look. Did she bring the whole town with her?

"Thank you Tyler. You look nice too," I reply with a smile. He blushes and I try not to chuckle. Looks like he still has a crush on me.

Why in the world does people even like you?

Because I'm an angel.

Does angel have the same definition as before?

"How was your journey, Allison?" grandma asks, her face covered with a frown.

"It was good," I reply trying to keep my voice low. I look at my family and I see all of their eyes on Ryan, scanning him completely.

"Grandmother, this is my-"

"Your husband, you don't need to explain." Ryan gasps while Daniel looks perplexed.

What?

"No, grandmother. You're mist-" she cuts me off again.

"What's your name son?"

"R..Ryan," he mutters as if he's trying his best not to run away from here.

"You both look perfect," aunt says grinning and I feel a pinch on my arm. I turn to see Ryan pinching me, I pull away from him.

"It's not the way you think. I'm no-" Ryan starts but my grandma didn't let him complete. I sigh, choosing to keep quiet until my parents are here.

"Who are the people standing behind you?" Grandma asks pointing at Hope and Daniel. "Is this your husband, Hope?" Grandma asks Hope whose eyes widen in shock.

"No," she shouts, moving away from Daniel and stepping towards my side.

Grandma raises her eyebrows. "So you must be the friend of Ryan. Are you a bachelor?"

Daniel looks at me before muttering, "Yes."

What?

Ryan holds my hand and squeezes it harder making me wince. I glare at him and he returns the gesture. Suddenly, he yelps in pain and let go of my hand when grandma strikes him with her walking stick.

"You may be her husband but no physical touch when you're in public. All that stay inside the room," she scolds Ryan and I cover a chuckle.

"Jesus," Ryan mutters under his breathe. I wink at him.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Daniel told Grandma, taking her hand and kissing the back of her hand.

Woah!

He never did that to me when we met for the first time.

That's because he was drunk and had four feets.

"Oh, you're such a wonderful boy. He's a perfect match for our Grace, right Lizza?" What? No! They look like brother and sister.

"Absolutely, mama. Grace, say hello to our guest," Aunt Lizza says, pushing Grace towards Daniel.

Daniel grabs her hand and kisses the back of her hand which looked awfully slow for me.

Calm down!

"You look beautiful, Grace," he compliments her still holding her hand.

"Relax Ally," Hope whispers in my ears, patting my back slightly in order to calm me down.

Ten minutes later, we are all seated on the couch. I sat between Ryan and Hope while Daniel settled beside Grace on the opposite couch. Grandma and Aunt Lizza settled on the accent chairs while Tyler had gone to attend a call.

"What do you think? Poison, rope or knife is the best weapon for murder?" I ask Ryan who stares at me with wide eyes. My frown deepens when I see Grace moving closer to Daniel. "Don't you think she is closer to him more than necessary?" I ask Ryan again who sighs this time.

"Where in the world where you, young lady?" Grandma asks when Greta, my cousin, walks inside.

"I had to attend a call," she mutters, looking down. She's the only person in this family whom I think has sense. Greta was always the shy and silent girl but we never were friends. She was used to obeying her mother and grandmother while I did the opposite.

"Daniel, Grace will show you around," Aunt Lizza tells, grinning wide at Daniel and Grace.

"Why the hell is she trying to set my husband with her daughter?" I ask Hope in a low voice. She holds my hand and gives it a squeeze.

Relax Ally.

What the bloody hell is he thinking? Has he lost his sense?

I think so.

I move closer to Ryan, resting my head on his shoulder and sighing in annoyance. Jealousy will work on him.

It'll work on you too.

Shut up.

"Let's go, Daniel," Grace says placing her hand on his arm. Daniel smiles at her before rising to his feet and following her outside. I catch him smirking at me.

Where in the world are my parents when I really need them? They are the only people who can make my family realize that the guy they're trying to setup is already married.

To a devil!

Shut up.

I'm in a foul mood. Like the worst. I've been like this ever since Daniel went with Grace to take a tour around the house. And now I'm in the garden, absent of Daniel and all I can think is about him and Grace. It should have been me who should give him a tour not Grace.

I rub my temples, trying to stay calm and not bark at Ryan every time he complains.

"Who the hell made these things? They taste like shit," Ryan snaps, sitting beside me on the bench. "How in the world did you drink that coffee? Was it just my tongue?"

"Everyone are used to it." My aunt is the worst cook you can ever find in the world. The only relief is that none died after having her food.

My innermind raises her eyebrows at me.

Okay.. I'm a not a good cook either but she's worse than me.

"Is she planning to cook lunch?"

I chuckle when I see the expression on Ryan's face. "There are maids. My parents would have definitely arranged everything."

"Where in the world are they? And when can I retire from your husband post?"
I glance over at Ryan and watch him nervously run one of his hands through the short hair on top of his head, making it adorably messier.

"Probably busy dealing with some project. Wait till lunch, they'll be here by then."

"I'm hungry," he mutters like a small kid. I grin brightly before turning towards him.

"Allison," Hope shouts my name, running towards me in her cute pink dress. "Did you know I escaped from your grandma and she even gave me a compliment about my dress. Ain't I lucky? She didn't give me those cupcakes this time." Hope speaks settling beside me, leaning forward to rest her head on my shoulder.

The excitement in her voice is contagious, and I can't help but turn towards and give her a wicked smile. "Don't worry, we're here till dinner so I'm sure you'll definitely get an opportunity to have those cupcakes." She scowls at me in disapproval.

Did I tell you how much Hope is scared of grandma? She tries her best to impress my grandma so that she can avoid eating those vegan cupcakes prepared by my aunt. Grandma never fails to offer those cupcakes to the guests and the only way to avoid them is to get on the good side of grandma.

"Want some chocolate?" I ask, grabbing a big chocolate bar from my clutch.

"Yes," Ryan shouts, moving closer to me.

"I want bigger piece," Hope states, her eyes glued to the chocolate in my hands.

"You both are greedy," I complain, crossing my legs on the bench and tore the wrapper in a hurry.

"No, you're the greedy one," Hope complains, sighing in annoyance when I don't give the chocolate.

"Will you both just stop and give me that damn chocolate?" Ryan snaps, glaring at us.

"Say please," I order, holding the chocolate bear to my chest.

"Please."

"Pleasssee."

I grin when I hear their replies so I divide the pieces equally for them but leaving an extra piece for me. I finish my chocolate and glance only to find Ryan eating his chocolate.

I turn towards him with a bright grin. He raises his eyebrows when he catches me staring at him. I lift my hand and touch his hair causing him to freeze. My finger trail down his temple and rests on his cheek.

What in the world are you doing?

"What are you doing?" Hope asks, leaning towards me.

"Shut up if you don't want me cutting your raise," I tell her, my eyes focused on Ryan. That shuts her up immediately.

"What are you doing?" Now it's Ryan's turn to ask.

"I'm going to kiss you," I state, leaning towards him.

No!

"What?" Ryan and Hope snaps at the same time.

"Don't move," I order Ryan, leaning towards him and cupping his cheeks.

"Is this a bad time?" We here a voice causing me to grin wider. Ryan's eyes widens in shock, he immediately gets away from my grip and turns towards the owner of the voice.

Oh! So this was your plan.

Yup!

I do a victory dance in my mind before turning towards Daniel with a serious expression. Daniel raises his eyebrows as he looks at me and then at Ryan.

"Do you need to finish what you were doing?" Daniel asks, glaring down at me.

"No," Ryan replies immediately, rising to his feet. Daniel glares at him.

"Yes," I speak in a high voice as I stand  up, my eyes landing on his gorgeous blue ones.

"What are you doing here?” I ask in annoyance, not caring one bit about manners or the fact that he's my husband. The time for such things is long gone.

"I thought we should talk. Greta told me you were here," he replies with a shrug and a glare that I refuse to think is in any way adorable.

Greta is officially off my Christmas-card list.

"We have nothing to talk about, and I'm kind of busy here. . . ." I trail off, pulling another chocolate from my clutch.

He grabs my chocolate from my hand before taking a hold of my wrist and dragging me out of the garden. He stops near the hallway and pushes me against the wall. He steps over to me and stands toe-to-toe with me, and I have to crane my neck to look up at him. I keep my arms tightly crossed over my chest and my feet planted where they are, refusing to move. I'm afraid if I move, I might rest my palms against the muscles in his chest just to see if they're firm, or to punch him.

"Don't you dare do it again?" Daniel growls, taking another step towards me. "No kissing other guys when you're married to me. Got it?"

"I can do anything I want and you don't get to argue about it when you wandered off with my cousin. Bachelor, huh?"

Daniel chuckles, tucking my hair behind my hear. "Jealous?"

"I don't want her anywhere near you," I state, glaring at me.

Daniel sighs in annoyance. "Everything is not the way you want it."

"I want this to be exactly the way I want it to be," I tell him, referring to Grace.

Daniel expression turns cold. "I guess this isn't exactly how you're used to, right? Sorry I didn't do as your wish, daddy's princess is always used to getting what she wants."

Ouch!

My whole body freezes when I hear his words. My blood boils, causing me to push him away.

"That has nothing to do with it." I shake my head at him, annoyed I wasted so much time thinking he was cute, and sweet, and wondering if I really could enjoy the next six months.

"I'm sorry," he quickly says in a low voice, pulling me towards him. "That was a dick thing to say. I'm just having a stressful morning. I know you're not a spoiled brat, you're a sweet feisty one," he tells me, when I open my mouth to argue. "Can we just forget I was a dick and go back to the matter in hand. I swear I'm not interested in your cousin."

The corner of my mouth twitches with the need to smile. "Then who are you interested in?"

He leans in towards my ear and whispers. "There's this attorney who loves my hotness."

"That's a stretch."

"Is it though?" he muses. "I believe you were behind me for sex."

My face heats in mortification and I shake my head at him. "No, I wasn't."

Daniel smiles before grabbing my waist and pressing himself against me. "Were you really planning to..." he trails off, frowning.

I give him a wicked smile, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Planning to what?"

Daniel groans. "K-kiss him."

"Kiss who," I tease him.

"Allison," he growls, earning a chuckle from me.

"No, I wasn't. I saw you walking towards us so I just did what I had to do to make you jealous." I smirk at him. He groans before pressing his lips on mine and I respond immediately. My hand move towards his hair, pulling them. I let him enter my mouth and our tangle in a passionate kiss.

"Ahh!" I stop when I hear a shouting. Daniel freezes before pulling away from me. I still when I see Greta standing there with wide eyes and her hand covering her mouth. She stares at me for few seconds before she finds the courage to speak.

"You're cheating on your husband?" she asks and my eyes widens.

Wow! That's interesting.

You got to be kidding me!