"Trisha, don't be mischievous. I am just here to congratulate your teacher since today is the anniversary of her yoga center," The man said with a refined smile.
The ex-military women also smiled at this man since they were quite familiar with his face and also knew that he was Trisha's elder brother and was a gentleman in their eyes, especially seeing how sweet he was to his little sister.
So instead of driving him out like the other men and youngsters around, they greeted him as he greeted them back with a smile as well.
His name was Linard, and he was quite the reputable bachelor in town since not only did he graduate from one of the most prestigious universities in the world, he also worked at a top managerial post in Vision Biosolutions, one of the most leading biopharmaceutical companies that had been making the headlines recently in the country of Ashua.
He had a clean-shaven face with a square jaw and well-combed hair, parted towards the side, and thanks to his genes, he had quite the boyish charms to his face despite his age, which would surely make women look at him for a while in admiration.
Trisha had been coming to Umilia's classes for the past five years, and this man always accompanied her to pick her up after the class, and it was not a secret that he was trying to court Umilia all this time.
Since the moment he laid his eyes on Umilia, he didn't feel like looking at any other woman, and hence he was still single to this day. People found it such a pity and wondered why Umilia never accepted this man's advances despite being so handsome and a gentleman with a respectful background and job.
He was surely like a gold package deal for all those unmarried women out there who would definitely reach for him the moment he was open to getting married to any one of them.
Unfortunately, he was smitten with Umilia, and even his little sister Trisha felt pity for him and always tried to match the two of them but miserably failed since Umilia just was adamant about not dating anyone.
Still, she didn't give up, just like her brother, and wanted to see what was stopping Umilia from dating anyone.
As the last of the women came out of the class, Umilia was about to close the door when Linard came forward with a smile and said as he offered her the bakery box in his hand, "G-Good evening, Umi. Here, please take this to celebrate the anniversary of your yoga classes."
Linard couldn't help but hold his breath since Umilia's beauty was just too intoxicating for him, and he had to gather all his willpower to not look down below her face since that might make her look down on him. But even his willpower seemed to falter, and in the end, he had to distract his mind by thinking of how much toilet paper he used this morning.
Trisha stood a few steps behind since she wanted to give her brother some privacy while hoping to see whether he would be able to make Umilia fall for him.
Umilia had a surprised look since even she didn't remember that today was the day she started her yoga classes all those years ago. But to be polite, she accepted the bakery box with a pure smile, "Thank you, Linard. But you didn't have to go to such trouble for such small things."
"Please…it wasn't really troubling at all. It is my pleasure to make you happy. I mean…uh…anyway, can we have a coffee sometime this week? I am up for it whenever you are free," Linard asked with an awkward smile and continued, "In fact, my mother wants to meet you since she had heard a lot about you from Trisha and me. Would you be free this weekend?"
Linard had no choice but to bring in his mother since he knew Umilia wouldn't come if he asked her out alone. But he doubted if Umilia would refuse if he included his mother just to make her feel comfortable. Usually, no man would try to bring their parents the first time they try to court a girl, but Linard was just becoming too desperate all these years.
If it was the previous Umilia, she would have agreed, thinking that since an elderly person was involved, she should at least show her face and see why his mother wanted to meet her.
But the Umilia standing before Linard could read his thoughts like an open book and knew that this young man wanted to court her, and it felt no different than a child asking for her affection.
'Sigh…' Umilia knew her appearance would always attract these kinds of situations, especially now that she had retained some of her otherworldly characteristics. But she loved how she was, especially since she wanted to look good before a certain man.
So she said politely, "I am sorry, Linard. I would only be wasting you and your mother's time since I am not the one you are looking for. You should find someone of your age and someone who will like you for who you are, and that woman is not me. Then I am sure your mother would be even happier to meet her."
Umilia said in a low voice so that others wouldn't hear, but Trisha heard her since she was right behind Linard and felt complicated and surprised, not expecting such a direct answer from Umilia.
Umilia knew that this young man was too infatuated with her, and it was better to nip it in the bud before giving him any kind of false hope. She couldn't stop someone from liking her, but she could at least warn them to not waste their time and prevent any misunderstandings, even if it meant she would be hurting his feelings now.
Linard had a stunned expression since he never expected that he would be rejected outright, just like that, even if he didn't directly ask her out. He had always tread carefully around Umilia since he was afraid of getting rejected if he pressed too much.
But now, it seemed as if all his efforts for the past five years were for nothing. He thought that as long as he stood around Umilia and she stayed single, he would finally get his chance someday.
Umilia felt pity seeing his disheartened expression and knew that it was best to leave things at this and give him some space.. But just as she was about to close the door, wondering where Viktor was, she suddenly peeked out the door and looked at the corridor as her dreamy eyes gleamed.
