Adam's POV

Around six in the evening, I returned to my luxurious mansion to get ready for dinner. According to my mother, our partners had a daughter two years younger than me. She was very beautiful as a child, but after being sick for a couple of years, she gained weight and was now slightly above her ideal size. I thought they had the ridiculous idea of trying to pair us up, which was strange considering they also invited Helena. That only confirmed my suspicion.

My mother had invited Helena for one reason only: to humiliate her. I had warned her. If my mother would rather see me with an overweight woman than with Helena, then Helena never stood a chance of becoming my wife. That didn't make me sad. But marrying a fat woman? That was absolutely not happening.

When it was time for dinner, we headed out to the garden of my mansion. My mother adored that garden because she had designed it herself. There was a space set up for business dinners beneath a bamboo-and-jasmine canopy. Street lanterns lined the entire garden. The bushes, hydrangeas, and the main pond gave the place a romantic atmosphere.

My mother was a landscape designer. Her company handled the decoration and design of open spaces like parks, gardens, outdoor terraces, and venues for important events such as weddings and New Year's parties for powerful people. She also owned an events and catering company, which had become the largest in the country and one of the top three worldwide.

Since she loved showing off her work, she always hosted her business dinners there.

The three of us were ready. Dad (who barely spoke to me because he preferred my younger brothers, supposedly because they were less egotistical. I thought they were worse, they just hid it better.), Mom, and I. Helena, the chronically late one, hadn't arrived yet. My brothers wouldn't be attending either, which meant I was the one being offered up for sacrifice that night.

My butler approached.

"Sirs and ma'am, tonight's guests have arrived."

"Show them in, Joseph," my mother said.

"Right away, ma'am."

After an unnecessary bow from the butler, we stood and received our partners. There were only two of them. A blonde woman with green eyes, very beautiful. She had to be around my mother's age, about fifty, though she looked incredibly well-preserved. I hoped her daughter had inherited her looks. If she had, I might have even agreed to marry her that night.

Beside her was her husband. A truly handsome man with green eyes and fair skin. His serious, elegant appearance was slightly intimidating. I hoped I would look that athletic at fifty.

Their daughter wasn't with them. At least the idiot Helena wouldn't be the only one embarrassing someone that night.

Suddenly, an annoying, shrill voice I knew all too well interrupted the garden in a loud and completely uneducated way, making everyone turn around.

Guess who it was? It was none other than Helena.

"Excuse me. Good evening. Sorry for the delay. I had a problem at the entrance. A disgusting fat woman parked her car right at the mansion entrance and that delayed me."

"Good evening, Helena," my mother said.

My mother nearly devoured Helena with her eyes as she greeted her. I did everything I could not to laugh. I just hoped the fat woman she was talking about wasn't the partners' daughter, or we were in serious trouble.

"Please excuse Helena," my mother added. "She's a bit… unpunctual."

"Punctuality says a lot about a person," the woman replied calmly. "Although considering that our daughter hasn't arrived either, it seems they're tied."

Well then. My mother's business partner, whose name I didn't even remember, seemed quite demanding. And she clearly saw Helena as competition for her daughter.

Was it really that bad? Were Helena and her daughter actually tied?