rebirth in another world

CHAPTER 3

Joan went downstairs to meet her grandfather. "good day grandfather " she greeted with a smile " yes Joan , how are you " he asked " I am fine grandfather" she answered as she sat down on a sofa close to him. " Joan, I heard you broke off the alliance with Ivan, is that true" he asked while looking intently at her, " yes grandfather, it is true but I want to know who told you " she said with a questioning gaze " well..." he hesitated " it was Ivan who told you right?" she asked before her grandfather could say any thing " h..how did you know " he asked with surprise "I just guessed" she shrugged " but why? , weren't you in love with him" " yes I was but.." she stopped halfway ". " but what?" he asked her " it's nothing, forget about it" she said " ok, if you know what you are doing then I won't get in your way" He said and Joan could hear the indulgence laced in his voice , Joan's grandfather had always given her what ever she asked for , he was a very nice person and Joan promise to make him happy but she would have to first break his heart when she would make her cousin who was also his granddaughter pay for deceiving her.

the grandfather and granddaughter had a bonding session. In the evening after their dinner when Joan and her grandfather were in the sitting room, her grand father receive a phone call and Joan noticed that her grand father seemed very happy to receive that call, he stood up an left to answer the call. when he came back he was full of smiles, Joan asked him why he was so giddy " I just received a call from one of my old friend , he and his grand child will be coming over tomorrow to pay us a visit" he said with smiles " oh ok" _ I don't know why, but I feel that something is off, their timing is too coincidental _ she thought , and her instinct was right.

The next day his friend arrived, his car stopped at the entrance of the house , Joan and her grandfather were already waiting for them . As the door opened, an man who looked around her grandfather's age came out first, and next a young guy also came out , the young man was so handsome, his face looked like it was carved by angels, he was very tall, Joan deduced that she would only reach his chest at most.

In her past life she had seen all manner of handsome men but the one in front of her beat them all by a long shot.

she finally snapped out of her fantasy world when she saw her grandfather move to greet them " how are you old friend" Joan's grandfather said " I am fine old timer , I can see that you haven't change at all , you still look as young and vibrant as ever " her grandfather's friend replied " so do you" her grandfather said. " this is my grandson his name is Zain" he said while pointing to the young handsome young man that came out of the car with him " and I suppose that Is your granddaughter " he asked. " yes this is my granddaughter and her name is Joan" her grandfather said with pride written all over his face. " hello grandfather's friend and hello Mr Zain" she said with a very cordial smile " hello Joan, don't be so formal you can call me grandfather Kudo" he answered her " ok grandfather Kudo "

" ok if you are all done with your introduction can we go inside " Joan's grandfather beckoned " ok, we can go, my old legs are already tired " grandfather Kudo said. they all went inside and sat down on the chair while the maids brought some refreshments. from the beginning Joan noticed that Zain was silent and he only talked when he was asked a question , it was as if his mind was somewhere else , grandfather Kudo also noticed it and was a bit embarrassed that his grandson was not being attentive.

the two old men looked at each other and it was as if that had a tactic understanding. " ehhm, Joan I heard you studied business and finance in the US " grandfather Kudo asked " yes, I did " she answered " well my grandson here is also very proficient in business and I think that you both will become good friends" _ oh so this is what my grandfather and his friend is planning, they want to set me and Zain up together I wonder if Zain understands this too_ meanwhile

_ I can't believe that grandfather would still set me up with somebody when I told him I don't want to be in any relationship_ Zain thought

" yes I hope we can become good friends" Zain said with a smile that was hard to decipher, he pretended not to know what his grandfather and his friend were planning. _ is this man stupid , can't he understand what they are planning_ she looked at him as if he were an i***t " me too" she said with a forced smile.

" so we will allow you youngsters to go and chat " said grandfather Kudo. Joan was the first to stand up and walk up the stairs towards the balcony and Zain followed behind her, as soon as they were gone the two told men gave each other a secret thumbs up.

When Joan and Zain finally reached the balcony it was a little awkward because of the silence but then Joan broke it by speaking first " why did you agree to what your grandfather said , don't you know that he was trying to matchmake the both of us" she asked with a puzzled expression. Zain suddenly came very close to her " why, should I have told him that I don't want to be friends with you at all, don't you like the idea of being shipped together with me" he asked with a dark smirk.

for the first time in a long time Joan felt a shiver run down her spine , but good thing she knew how to quickly adapt to any situation. " that's not what i meant" she tried to explain " I did not think you would want your grandfather to meddle in your love life" she said while trying to move back from him because although she didn't want to, she felt a little inferior because of their height difference.