Viktor knitted his brows, "What is it?"
"We have received a marriage proposal."
"What?!" Viktor was flabbergasted and asked, "For Taya?"
Brad shook his head, "No. Besides, she is not interested in marriage, not again. It's for Tia. Apparently, the chairman of JK Group, Juro Ken, had approached us, mentioning that his grandson, who was the same age as Tia, was very much fond of Tia. In fact, he even applied to the same college as hers in hopes of wooing her. And he is being taken care of by his late father's close friend since both his parents died some time ago."
Viktor raised his hands, "Hold on. What is with all this marriage talk when Tiana is only eighteen? I mean, she hasn't even finished her studies, and you plan to marry her off before that? Don't tell me it's because you want to discipline her."
Viktor was not unfamiliar with the concept of marrying early, but this was modern times, and as far as he knew, women usually married at least after they finished their studies.
Brad sighed, "Well, Taya and I discussed and came to the conclusion that Tia will need a good and capable man to handle her in case she fails to take on her mother's responsibilities. But we are not planning to marry her off right away but looking at our options to see which man would be best for her early on so that we could make decisions accordingly. We just want to be prepared."
Viktor didn't expect Taya to already think about finding a man for Tiana and wondered if it was because she was finding it hard to manage Tiana's behavior.
He knew that most parents marry off their children so that they would become more mature and settle down. He didn't think that this was necessarily true and could sometimes backfire, but this was the common notion people held.
"But do you think Tia is going to agree to this? I can already imagine her vehemently protesting unless she likes that dude or something," Viktor said offhandedly.
Brad nodded, "Yes, we know that she will refuse if we bring this topic to her now, and we won't. That is why Juro Ken's grandson, Jason Ken, would be trying his best to woo her. And once he had won over her affection, then who is to say she wouldn't want to marry him?"
"And most of all, you know how powerful and influential the JK Group is. After all, they have been around since the 1900s, being experts in the food chain business right here in our city. In fact, they are well known just like us in this Olknard City. So Taya and I couldn't help but consider this proposal, especially since they say that Jason fell in love with Tia at first sight when coming upon her at a party."
"But is this guy good enough for her? How is he as a person?" Viktor asked as he raised one of his brows. Since Tiana was Taya's daughter, he inherently felt a need to protect her as well, even though he didn't know her well and even if she appeared annoying.
But most of all, he did promise Taya to protect her from anything, and that included men as well.
Brad said with an excited gleam in his eyes, "I heard Jason is not only excellent in his academics but also a good-natured boy who also spends his every weekend volunteering for community activities where he serves the poor and needy. I also conversed with him briefly and found him to be a well-mannered boy and a gentleman just like his guardian as well who was a very close friend of his late father. So that's why I thought of consulting you as well since you might know better."
"His guardian? What was his name again?" Viktor could see that Brad was completely impressed by Jason, and he could see why after hearing how bright his halo was.
"Yes, his guardian, Denys Mai, is the CEO of JK Group, but he rarely ever shows his face in his companies as Jason's grandfather, Juro, manages most of the work. But Denys is a well-renowned doctor and works in one of our hospitals coincidentally, the same place where Taya works. In fact, he has been good friends with Taya for a while."
Viktor frowned and asked, "How long has this Denys been lingering near Taya? And how old is he?"
Brad could feel the change in Viktor's mood and felt sorry for Denys as he said earnestly, "He is actually 42 years old but looks very fine in his age. Taya has been working in our Snow Healthcare's headquarters here for the past ten years as a plastic surgeon and also in some other fields while Denys showed up in our hospital to work as her colleague in some common departments, specializing in different fields, just like her."
"I heard his main specialization was in Orthopedic surgery in his previous hospital, but strangely enough, he shifted to the departments Taya was in when he came here. But he did have experience and achievements in these departments, so Taya took him in since at that time her hospital was still budding and needed capable doctors and surgeons to grow."
Viktor's eyes narrowed as he asked, "Where is Taya now, and when does she return?"
Brad cleared his throat and said, "She is uh...she should be in her hospital now since she works till late night while managing company affairs in between. Why do you ask?" Brad's expression seemed like he was confused, but inwardly he was hoping that Viktor got his point without spelling it out.
He knew that even if Viktor appeared nonchalant about many things on the outside, there were a certain few things he couldn't remain nonchalant about, especially when he witnessed it himself all those years ago.
He was also eager to see how Viktor was going to react. And indeed, his eyes gleamed when he saw Viktor suddenly getting up and asking in a taut voice, "Do you still have my old bike around?"
Brad happily said, "Of course. I have been taking care of and keeping it polished all these years in case you came back."