*Bzzt… Bzzt…*

The consistent vibrations from her alarm woke Yvonne up. 

‘Stupid alarm.’ She shut it off and sat up in her bed. 

It was 8 PM and she had to go downstairs to have dinner with her family.

She strode out of her room after she washed up and quickly reached the dinner table.

Vince and grandpa Leo were already there and they smiled when she arrived.

“No more fighting?” She suspiciously asked and they both rolled their eyes at her.

“We can be loving if we want. Hmph!” Grandpa Leo harrumphed and Vince nodded as well.

‘Something’s going on!’ She eyed them, trying to find any clue as to what they were hiding but found nothing out of the ordinary.

‘Let’s just eat and go back to sleep.’ Her headache had only intensified after she got up from her power nap and she decided to get a massage before going back to sleep.

The chef prepared spaghetti with meatballs and cheesy garlic breadsticks, Vince’s favorites. 

As always her grandpa had his mushroom soup and Yvonne gorged on the breadsticks with relish.

No one would believe that one of the richest families in the country would have such a simple dinner. 

But the St. Claires were used to eating extravagantly when they socialized and hence they preferred a more simple meal when they were at home.

Soon they finished their dinner and the chef brought out Yvonne’s all-time favorite chocolate cake. She had named it ‘Double chocolate decadent feast’ because of how rich and heavenly it tasted.

“Ok… What is going on?” She glared at her grandpa when the chef cut a huge slice for her and placed it in front of her.

Soon all the servants withdrew and only the three sitting at the table were present in the silent room.

Vince did not lift his head up from his plate and quickly gobbled up his cake, trying to minimize his presence.

Being subjected to her sharp eyes, grandpa Leo tapped his fingers on the table nervously.

“Stop that! You only serve this cake when you want me to do something for you” She saw Leo flinch and knew she had guessed it right.

“Where do you want to invest this time? I heard glass blowing is the new trend.” She joked and saw him glare at her.

“That was one time! Get over it!” Grandpa Leo stabbed the cake on his plate and pouted.

Yvonne shook her head and waited for him to speak while she ate her cake but when he did not open his mouth after a long time, she ran out of patience.

“If you have nothing to say, I am going to leave now.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin and got up from her seat.  

“Wait!” He yelled at her as she was about to take her first step.

She stood there with her hands folded on her chest and waited for him once again.

“Spill it out, Old man!” She urged him impatiently.

“I received a proposal today.” He blurted out and took a huge breath.

“Okay? Discuss it with Vince, he is the CEO now. Why are you telling this to me?” She looked at Vince who still had his head buried in his plate, though it had been empty for a long time.

“It wasn’t a business proposal.” Leo clarified and saw Yvonne’s brows scrunch up.

“It was a marriage proposal and before you walk away, I want you to think about it carefully. I’ve investigated him, he checks out.” Leo saw her expressions change when he mentioned marriage and so he hurriedly tried to persuade her.

This was not the first proposal that she had received but what drove Leo insane was that each of those proposals was an indirect means for the men to join hands with his family’s business.

Leo did not want his granddaughter to be a stepping stone for someone else who would discard her after she completed her purpose and hence he never spoke about the proposals to her.

But this proposal was a genuine one, he could feel the sincerity when the young man had come to him and asked for her hand in marriage.

But how was he supposed to convince his granddaughter that, when it looked like she was going to breathe fire through her nostrils and burn them alive?

‘No wonder that brat calls her Von-Zilla!’ Leo peeped at Vince and saw him slowly sliding down from his seat.

‘Trying to escape huh? I won’t let you!’ Leo smirked at him when their eyes met and Vince knew that he was done for.

“That brat was also there when it happened! It looked like he was more excited than the groom himself!” Leo pointed at Vince and saw him glare viciously.

“What groom? This is no groom!” Yvonne then turned to her brother and smiled.

“You were more excited huh? Why don’t you marry him then.” She sweetly suggested and Vince shook his head violently.

She held her hand in front to stop Vince from giving some lame excuse and looked at the two men sitting before her.

“I finally have some free time after so long, don’t mess it up for me by bringing up useless things like marriage.” She warned them and headed to her room.

“We messed up.” Vince said as he looked at his sister stomping her feet as she walked away.

He then picked up his phone and sent a text.

*It’s gonna be harder than we thought.*

—

Inside her room, Yvonne called the maid that usually gave her massages and asked her to give more attention to her shoulders and back.

After half an hour, she was all relaxed and sleepy because of the effects of the amazing massage she just received.

She thanked the maid and dismissed her. She jumped onto her bed and got comfortable under her warm sheets.

‘My weeklong vacation, here I come!’ She snuggled with her pillow and soon fell asleep.