Sudden Love (English Version)

Chapter 9 part 1

APHRODITE’S POV

I was completely caught off guard. As soon as Meg left, Godric gently took my hand, his grip firm yet comforting, and guided me toward the parking lot. My mind was still racing from our previous conversation, but nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see.

As we stepped onto the pavement, my eyes locked onto a pristine, gleaming white Porsche parked effortlessly in the lot, looking as if it had just driven straight out of a luxury car commercial. My breath hitched, and without thinking, I covered my mouth in sheer disbelief.

WHAT?! A Porsche?! Was he serious?

My heart pounded in my chest. Was this what it truly meant to be wealthy? And to top it all off, he was about to drive me to school in this outrageously expensive car? Me—a literal nobody compared to him? It suddenly hit me like a freight train; this was probably the most "humble" of his collection. He likely had an entire fleet of cars waiting for him at home, ones far grander and more extravagant than this one.

If my heart had fallen for him before, then at this moment, even my soul was ready to sign up for a lifetime contract.

Godric caught the stunned expression on my face and chuckled, stepping closer with that smug yet impossibly charming grin of his.

“What? Is something wrong?” he asked, his laughter soft but unmistakably amused.

“Y-yes! Are you seriously driving a Porsche?! Your Porsche?!” I stammered, my hands still covering my mouth as if the car would vanish if I blinked.

He smirked, nodding. "Yes. I didn’t feel like being chauffeured today. It makes me feel like a child again, and I kind of hate that."

Ah. So he had a personal driver too. Of course he did.

“Ah, okay. I’ll just sit in the back then,” I muttered, moving towards the rear door, but before I could reach it, Godric swiftly blocked my path, still grinning.

“My date sits next to me,” he declared smoothly, and for a moment, the world stopped.

DATE?!

Did he just say date?!

I felt a rush of emotions slam into me all at once. Panic, excitement, curiosity, nervousness—I was basically malfunctioning. My mind screamed at me to keep it together, but my heart had other plans.

“D-Date?” I echoed, trying and failing to keep my voice steady.

Godric leaned in slightly, his gaze unwavering. “Yes, a date. Lunch with my parents.”

Oh.

So that’s what he meant. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, mentally scolding myself for jumping to conclusions. But still, the word date lingered in the air like an echo that refused to fade.

With a smooth motion, he opened the passenger door for me, his hand lightly guiding me inside. That smile of his... It was utterly impossible to refuse. It had this magnetic pull that made people bend to his will without even realizing it. Slightly manipulative, but... oddly endearing.

P.S. This is definitely peak season for me. LOL.

As we drove in comfortable silence, the hum of the car engine filling the space, Godric suddenly broke the stillness.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” he asked, his voice light yet oddly serious.

My brain short-circuited for a second. Wait, what? Did he not already know the answer to his own question? Was he playing innocent now?

But wow. He was so cute. Psychologists could never compete with this level of teasing. He had completely messed up my behavioral processes.

“Well,” I started, trying to sound composed, “I’m not really sure... Maybe a crush at first sight, but love? Hmm... How about you?” I tilted my head playfully, watching his reaction.

And then he laughed—a deep, rich sound that sent warmth straight to my chest. How was he this effortlessly attractive? Was that even legal?

“Well,” he mused, his eyes flickering with amusement, “my high school teacher always insisted that there’s no such thing as love at first sight. Something about a psychological error in human perception. But...” His voice softened as he trailed off, his gaze shifting to the road ahead.

“But what?” I pressed, suddenly intrigued.

He smiled, a little more subdued this time. “But I still believe in it.”

And just like that, silence settled between us once more, but this time, it wasn’t awkward. It was charged with something unspoken, something I wasn’t sure I was ready to understand.

When we finally arrived at the mall, Godric effortlessly parked his Porsche right in front of the entrance. My eyes narrowed as I noticed the sign: RESERVED PARKING FOR THE OWNER.

Wait. Owner?!

Before I could even process that information, security guards approached his car, their faces lighting up with admiration.

“Good morning, Young Master! It’s an honor to have you visit,” one of them greeted, bowing slightly, and the others followed suit.

Young Master?! Oh, now it all made sense. He owned this mall.

“Good morning, Loy,” Godric responded casually. “I’m taking this girl out, so I need you to help us out.”

Loy’s eyes flickered to me, and I swore I saw a knowing smile flash across his face.

“Of course, Sir. We’ll take care of everything,” he said without hesitation.

Godric took my hand once again as we made our way up the grand stairs to the entrance. But before we stepped inside, he turned slightly, his voice lowering.

“Thanks, Loy. I had already forgotten about it. But now, I’ve completely forgotten about it,” he murmured with a cryptic smile.

Wait. Was he referring to an ex? Or... could he possibly mean me?

No way. I'm definitely not his type... Right?

We strolled through the mall, the hum of lively chatter and the scent of freshly brewed coffee filling the air. My heart still hadn’t quite settled from everything that had happened earlier, but walking beside Godric, with his effortless confidence and firm grip on my hand, felt oddly reassuring.

After a few minutes, we arrived at an upscale boutique, the kind that looked like it catered to the elite—a place where every fabric dripped luxury and even the air smelled expensive. The kind of store I would never dream of stepping into alone.

As soon as we crossed the threshold, a bubbly voice rang out from the counter.

“Hi, Papa Goddy! Are you shopping today? I see you brought your… helper along. Should I carry the bags for you?”

The moment the words left her mouth, my breath hitched.

Excuse me? Helper?

My entire body stiffened as I processed her tone—syrupy sweet, yet condescending. The way she glanced at me, up and down, as if mentally placing me in a different social category, sent a prickle of irritation down my spine.

Godric, however, wasted no time in correcting her.

“She’s my date,” he stated, his voice firm and commanding, his brows knitting together in clear disapproval.

The assistant’s eyes widened, her face draining of color as she stumbled over her words. “Uhm, I—I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”

She looked genuinely flustered now, but Godric wasn’t about to let her off the hook that easily.

“My date,” he repeated, this time slower, as if making sure she fully absorbed the words. “Not my helper. You should be more careful with your words.”

By now, the air had grown thick with tension. Shoppers had stopped browsing, their curious gazes flicking toward the unfolding scene.

Before the assistant could stammer out another apology, a woman emerged from the back room—poised and professional, with a sharp, assessing gaze. The store manager.

“Sir Godric, is there a problem?” she asked, her voice polished but tinged with concern.

Godric turned to her without hesitation. “Ferta, you need to train your employees better. Teach them to think before they speak.”

The manager’s brows furrowed. “What happened?”

The assistant practically shrank under the weight of everyone’s attention. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

“She called my date a helper,” Godric said, his tone sharper now, his patience clearly thinning.

Ferta’s eyes darted to the trembling assistant. The shift in her expression was instantaneous—one moment neutral, the next filled with blazing fury.

“You called her what?”

A hush fell over the boutique. Even customers who had previously been pretending not to listen were now openly watching the drama unfold.

The assistant’s lip quivered as she rushed to defend herself. “I—I didn’t mean it like that! I just assumed—”

“I don’t care what you assumed,” the manager snapped, her voice rising. “This kind of behavior is unacceptable.” She then took a deep breath before delivering the final blow. “Pack up your things. You’re fired.”

A gasp rippled through the boutique.

I blinked. Whoa. That escalated fast.

The assistant looked like she was about to cry, her hands trembling as she whispered a flurry of desperate apologies. For a moment, a pang of guilt tugged at my chest. Sure, she’d been rude, but did she really deserve to lose her job over this?

I reached out and gently placed a hand on Godric’s arm, silently urging him to de-escalate. “It’s fine,” I said softly. “Really. She didn’t know.”

Godric met my gaze, reading the sincerity in my expression. After a pause, he exhaled and nodded.

“She doesn’t need to be fired,” he told the manager, though his tone was still firm. “But let’s make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

The assistant turned to me, her eyes glistening with gratitude and embarrassment. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “Really. It won’t happen again.”

I gave her a small, understanding smile. “It’s okay.”

As the tension in the boutique began to dissipate, Godric gently tugged me forward.

I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was just another glimpse into the world Godric lived in—a world where power and status spoke louder than words. And whether I liked it or not, I was now standing right in the middle of it.