Not the Wife He Wants

CHAPTER 6. Angela

Angela's POV

I didn't know that the older man who is my cousin's boyfriend, now seriously driving the car, turned out to be clever as well. Somehow, he managed to persuade my father to be on his side. And when my father wants something, I can't refuse him. It's like an obligation, no matter if it's good or bad, and my brother Davin, whom I hoped would always defend me, doesn't care either. You could say I actually live alone in the world.

"Then I'll sleep, uncle, wake me up when we arrive." I said weakly. My head really hurt, and I felt like my body was getting more feverish due to lack of rest and not eating. Sometimes I imagine my life story is like Cinderella's, hated at home and treated poorly. Maybe if I could hope, one day a handsome prince with a kind heart would save me from this house that feels like hell.

It wouldn't matter if he's not rich, as long as he can give me sincere love and make me happy. A hope that feels childish, doesn't it? But indeed, in my life, it feels like there's nothing to hope for anymore because my father and brother seem not to want me around.

"Just sleep on the plane. We'll be there soon." He replied, making me sigh. I really couldn't take it anymore. My vision was already blurry, and I felt like I was going to faint. It seemed like Rick was the kind of person not much different from Zia and the others because he also seemed intent on torturing me.

Rick wasn't lying, in less than five minutes, we finally arrived at the airport. And I was surprised. It turned out the plane we were going to board was a luxurious private jet. Just how rich is this handsome older man? I glanced at him, a bit surprised, and it seemed like he noticed.

"Why? Never been on a plane?" He asked in an annoyingly arrogant tone. But I nodded because I had indeed never been on a plane and had only seen what a plane looked like in the movies I watched. Seeing me nod foolishly, Rick was astonished. "You've really never been on a plane?" He asked again, and I nodded again convincingly. Rick gaped even more. "What have you been doing all this time while others have been traveling the world?" He added with an increasingly arrogant tone.

"At home, studying, playing games." I squeaked. Then I heard his sigh.

"How can a creature like you exist in this world?" He muttered softly, but I could still hear it clearly.

"What's wrong with never having been on a plane? Is flying a necessity? Just because you're rich doesn't mean you can call me a rare creature like that." I protested, and I saw Rick smile amusedly.

"You really are a rare creature that should be preserved." He chuckled, making me glare.

"You're such an arrogant old man." I snapped, then turned my face away and closed my eyes. I could still hear his annoying laughter.

"Eat first, Angela, then you can sleep!" He ordered. And not long after, a flight attendant brought me a delicious-looking chicken porridge.

"You don't have to tell me. I'm starving." I replied while taking a spoonful of chicken porridge. But then our plane shook a little, causing me to scream in fear, and my porridge bowl almost fell. And that annoying old man laughed heartily.

"Besides being talkative, calling me uncle, and being fierce, it turns out you're also tacky." He said, still with the remnants of laughter. I was a bit embarrassed, and my face was surely red now. Initially, from seeing him briefly when he dropped off Zia, I thought Rick seemed like someone who was stingy with words, cold, and curt to others. But it turns out, after knowing him for a few days, he's quite talkative, annoying, and loves to mock others, and most importantly, he likes to force things. The type of selfish man who always wants his desires fulfilled without caring about the means.

"Annoying uncle.” I muttered in embarrassment.

"You are completely the opposite of Zia, who is classy and experienced. How can people living under the same roof be so different? Your style of dressing and messy hair don't resemble Zia at all, as if you two aren't living under the same roof at all. Can't you learn to be more graceful like her?" Rick remarked, increasingly irritating. I absolutely hate being compared to Zia. Of course, we're different; the way we're treated at home is different, so naturally, the outcomes are different too.

"Don't compare us! Of course, she's beautiful and classy because she's supported from all sides. Meanwhile, me? If it weren't for a scholarship, I wouldn't even be at a prestigious university, let alone on the path to becoming a doctor. Our lives and the way we live are clearly different, Uncle, so don't compare us! There's a huge difference." I said flatly. My heart was raging with anger, remembering every second I witnessed how privileged Zia was at home while I was just a child whose presence was never wanted. And maybe if the marriage with Rick really happens, I will also become an unwanted wife.

"Learning starts with yourself, not from others. Basically, you just don't want to learn to be graceful." Rick replied annoyingly.

"Why should I be graceful by wearing sexy clothes like Zia's? I'm not a seductress." I said angrily.

"Seductress? Zia is not a seductress." Rick objected.

"Showing off her sexy body to everyone's the same as being a seductress, isn't it? Because every man who sees her will surely be tempted." I replied again, and this time I saw Rick snort, annoyed, wanting to argue with me again but didn't.

"Enough, if you're done eating, go straight to sleep! Your sleep time is short." He said, his tone turning flat. It seemed he didn't like it when I criticized Zia's work. Of course, since Rick is her boyfriend. What boyfriend wouldn't be angry if their partner was spoken of badly? But I didn't care, after all, Rick was the one who started this conversation.

***

It felt like I had just slept for five minutes and was already woken up by Rick because we had arrived. Our plane landed safely, and when we arrived at the destination city's airport, there were already people picking us up. My head hurt a lot because I had barely slept, so I just followed Rick without much talking.

One of the men in a neat suit immediately spoke while reading his tablet, matching his steps with Rick. Their steps were very fast, while I, who was dizzy, was left behind. Then I felt a severe headache, so I approached the nearest public chair to rest for a moment while massaging my aching forehead. Just for a moment, but when I lifted my head and looked around, Rick and his group were nowhere to be seen. Of course, I panicked. I had no money, didn't know where to go, and had never been to Bali, then left alone at the airport in an unhealthy state.

I glanced around frantically, running in the direction we last went together, calling Rick several times, but he was nowhere to be found. I was already on the verge of tears because I was so scared. But I tried to strengthen my heart because I had to find Rick before it was too far and I was truly left behind.

"Uncle Rick!" I shouted weakly for the umpteenth time. My legs were tired, and my body was weak until I finally leaned against the wall near the toilet, squatted, and started crying. I couldn't take it anymore, but Rick was gone. I was really scared.

For about fifteen minutes, I kept crying, and people just kept passing by without caring. If only someone asked about my problem, maybe I could ask for help. Finally, I buried my face in my arms again and cried. My legs could no longer stand, and I didn't know what else to do.

"For God's sake, Angela, why are you here? I was—"

"Uncle Rick!" I cried even harder while hugging him tightly. It felt so relieving because he found me here. For a few minutes, I kept hugging him while crying, and he tensed up, not responding. Until I realized that we were in front of everyone, and it wasn't appropriate for me to hug a man who was my cousin's boyfriend, so I quickly let go and mumbled an apology.

"Stay close to me and pay attention when walking. If you get lost, your father might kill me later." He said, and I nodded while wiping my tears. Then he reached for my hand and helped me stand, but I couldn't manage it, so I started crying again. "Aishh, stop being such a crybaby! Come on, get on my back, I'll carry you! But stop crying first." He said, making me nod again while wiping my tears with my hand. Then I climbed onto the back he offered, and it felt so warm. The first time I've ever been carried, because since childhood, I was only cared for by a nanny and forced to live independently without simple affection like being carried.

"Why do you walk so fast, uncle, that I got left behind?" I said, still with a trace of tears in my voice.

"It's because your legs are short, so you walk as slow as a turtle." He teased, making me pout.

"What if I got lost and some bad person kidn*pped me?" I said again.

"Who would want to kidnap a loudmouth like you, huh? No one!" He replied, even more annoyingly.

"Well, maybe some lecherous man, for example."

"Do you think you're pretty enough for some lecher to be interested in you?" Rick chuckled after saying that, and it was annoying.

"Yeah, I'm not pretty, so don't marry me!" I snapped angrily, and Rick just laughed again.

"Do you think I'm marrying you because you're pretty?" He asked, becoming even more irritating.

"Uncle Rick, you're mean." I squeaked.

"Don't badmouth your future husband, or you'll jinx it." He chuckled.

"Who's the future husband? You? Sorry, uncle, this not-so-pretty girl is being fought over by two princes at college, so don't get too full of yourself." I replied boastfully.

"Who are the princes? Cowards like Bruno and Aaron, huh? You're so confident, they're just using you as a wager." Rick said, then laughed, even though it wasn't funny at all, just annoying.

"You think you know everything!"

"I do know, Angela! Don't be too naive as a girl. How could they possibly like you?" He said, hurting my pride.

"Am I that ugly, uncle, that no guy could possibly like me?"

"Not really, it's just that you're noisy. You ask everything, forcing others to keep answering and talking a lot like you. Not everyone likes to talk a lot." He replied.

"Ah, yes, there are people like you, a walking refrigerator, who don't like talkative girls like me, right? But Bruno and Aaron like to talk, they're not stingy with words like you, Uncle Rick."

"The more I get to know you, the chattier you get, huh?" Rick commented. And without realizing it, I indeed started to become very talkative around him. Usually, I would be quiet around people I didn't like.

"That's why you shouldn't marry me, or you'll get stressed because I'll talk about many things every day." I said.

"In that case, I'll find a way to shut you up."

"What weapon? Are you planning on domestic violence, uncle?" I asked sharply, and Rick laughed.

"Your mind really works in mysterious ways." He said, still with a trace of laughter.

"Yeah, what kind of weapon could make me quiet?"

"Maybe a kiss, or threatening to drag you to the bedroom?" Rick said with a mischievous laugh. My face heated up and surely turned red hearing his suggestive answer.

"I'll gouge out your eyes if you try anything perverted." I threatened fiercely.

"Wow, that's scary." Rick laughed again, even more annoyingly.

"I'm serious, uncle. If you try anything while I'm asleep, I'll gouge out your eyes so you can't be perverted." I replied, provoking more of his laughter.

"Before you gouge out my eyes, I'll tie you to the bed first."

"You're such a sneaky, evil, perverted old man!" I shouted angrily.

I didn't realize that during our journey, while I was on his warm back, I started to get to know him better. I began to feel that Rick wasn't as bad as I thought because he was willing to carry me, feed me, and let me sleep on the plane, even if only for a short while. But of course, I had to guard my heart against falling in love, because he would always belong to Zia. He wanted to get to know me for reasons that didn't benefit me or consider my feelings at all.

"You sleep until tomorrow morning, but take your medicine first. I have some business to attend to tonight, so I have to go. I'll be back by morning, so don't go anywhere, okay?" He ordered, and I nodded obediently because my eyes were still wide open, admiring the beautiful villa Rick rented for us to stay in. "If you're hungry, just call the number I showed you earlier and order anything you want. Don't leave the villa, or you might get lost again and be kidn*pped by bad people." He ordered again.

"Didn't you say no one would want to kidnap me because I'm noisy and not pretty?"

"Aishh, Angela, don't argue! You're so talkative!"

***