The Unexpected Bride-Book One in Taming of the Shrew

Chapter Sixty-Eight

"So, what is the real reason for your call?"

He questioned after his laughing sobered.

"The real reason for my call? So, what I asked earlier was not that a real reason?"

"No, it did not sound like it was."

"Then, I wanted to discuss Sharlene's mother with you, Helena. She will be a tough cookie to crack. I have known her for a long time, and she is still the same. Inferiority complex? What lies. She was only making excuses so her daughter would not marry you. Though she gave her consent or a fraction of it, she could change her mind faster than a topee. Helena's family is worse. Sharlene is the apple of their eyes, and if she gets taken away, they need to know she is in good hands. There will be questions asked that I am sure would make you feel uncomfortable, Nick, but you have to answer them with sincerity and truth."

"Am I going to face giants, mum? Or people with torches and pitchforks?"

He teasingly questioned.

"What?"

Evelyn was confused.

"You speak about Sharlene's extended family like they are scary villains."

"You could say that."

Now it was his time to be shocked.

"What?"

"They are worse than me."

"Worse than you?"

He questioned with scrunched eyebrows, the thought incredulous. His mother's daily activities were difficult to handle, if not for his father always hovering around. The worst time to speak to Evelyn was when she was seriously planning an event. She was like a cat out of the water, her talons raised and eyes sharp. She turned into a fire-breathing monster if provoked, or at least that was what Riana said.

"I find that hard to believe. I don't think no one is worse than the Evelyn Ross."

"Oho."

Evelyn chuckled as if she knew something Nick did not know, and he became worried.

"Why use that expression?"

"What expression?"

Evelyn innocently asked, and Nick frowned.

"You said, 'oho,' when I said they could not be worse than you. You only use that expression if something bad is going to happen."

"Oh, well, you will know when you find out. Just be prepared."

And before he could question further, she swiftly changed the topic.

"Your grandmother had a similar attitude to Helena. She was hell-bent on making my life difficult but little did she know; I was professional at making people fall for me. I started small. With warm greetings every morning, afternoon, and evening with a big and contagious smile, I made her feel the power of my kind personality. Then, I started making meals which I explained every day. I called this strategy the effort to reach the belly."

Laughing at her joke, she continued.

"Then I would take her out for walks and shower her with love and affection. Hoho. She slowly began to warm up to me while still saying; you have bewitched my son. Hehe. I..."

Blah. Blah. Blah. That was what he heard his mother say as she rambled on and on about how nice she treated his grandmother on his father's side of the family. Stubborn, straightforward, observant, and poised was how she described Bianca Ross, his grandmother. His mother also mentioned Bianca was the one who named him, about his grandfather, Tyrone Ross, who had an obsession with seeing his first grandson in a suit, and other useless nonsense that went from one ear to the next.