Arthur wasn't really planning to follow them but he was curious as to whom she borrowed the car from. He knew that Cayenne didn't have much money and it bothered him a little that someone took her away from him. He wouldn't let anyone take her away.
As he continued to follow them, he saw Cayenne and her mother got inside the blue BMW convertible car. His eyebrow raised as he tried to take a glimpse of the driver.
Stefan made sure that all his car windows are tinted, therefore, no matter how much Arthur wanted to see him, he couldn't see his face. After making sure that they were both settled down, Stefan turned on the engine and drove out of the hospital's parking lot.
He drove in a fast speed which hindered Arthur from reading the plate number of his car. Cayenne also breathed a sigh of relief after she lost sight of him. She knew that he was following them but she couldn't get enough courage to tell him off. If things go wrong, she will have to depend on Stefan on how they can resolve it.
"Uhm…Yen, who's this?" Her mother asked while looking at Stefan who was driving carefully.
"Ma, this is Stefan. Stefan this is my mother." Cayenne introduced them.
"Hello, Auntie. Nice to meet you." Stefan greeted with a smile while looking at Cayenne's mother from the rearview mirror. "I hope you're doing well."
"I'm not doing well." Cayenne's mother responded while looking at him with disapproval. She likes Arthur for her daughter so, it was obvious that she wouldn't like Stefan. And her hate would even increase if she knows that Stefan and Cayenne had a very complicated situation.
Feeling that things weren't going well, Stefan just kept quite while giving Cayenne a helpless glance. Cayenne was lightly bothered with it as well. She didn't want her mother to hate him specially that he provided so much help to her and to them.
"Ahem." Cayenne cleared her throat and smiled at her mother. "Ma, I have something to tell you."
"About you and this man?"
Cayenne smiled helplessly while squeezing her mother's hands. "Hn. I want to tell you about us. Stefan had been wanting to meet you because he wanted to formally court me but, you've been staying at the hospital and I didn't want to bother him. Today, I told him that he can meet you since I am finally taking you home."
"Why didn't he take the initiative to come and find me even if you are not around? Is he afraid that I will disapprove of him?"
"I told him not to come if I am not around. We promised to tell each other whatever plans we have in mind. We are not keeping any secrets between us."
"And you believed him?"
Listening to the conversation between the mother and daughter, Stefan could tell that the road to get close to Cayenne's family will be a bumpy road. Even though Luiz and Kyle had accepted him, they were still a little wary of him and overprotective of their sister. Now, her mother didn't seem to trust him.
"Ma, I believe him because he is the man I chose."
"Well, it's up to you. You are big enough to know what's right from wrong. Just don't come crying to me when he breaks your heart." She didn't bother to hide her distaste towards Stefan at all. Even though he was sitting right in front of them, she made sure that her voice was loud and clear.
Stefan slowed down his speed and looked towards Cayenne and her mother at the backseat. "I know that I didn't formally introduce myself to you Auntie but if there's a chance, I would welcome you to come and get to know me better. Aside from that, I can promise you that I will never hurt Cayenne."
"That's what he told me before." Cayenne's mother mumbled before looking out of the window. "You are both old enough to know what you are doing. I won't meddle with your relationship but that doesn't mean I'm approving of this relationship."
Stefan didn't say anything anymore. He knew that his words will never reach her so, he decided to just put his words into actions. He firmly believed that he would be able to get her approval one day. It might not come so soon but it will surely come to him.
Cayenne kept quiet beside her mother as well when she noticed that Stefan had been stealing glances on his sideview mirrors. She turned around to look outside of the car and sure enough, Arthur was following them. He wasn't following closely but he was certainly following them because the road he was taking wasn't leading him to his home but to her address instead.
"Ayen, since your mother just got out of the hospital, I don't want to put stress on her. I'll just come and visit again sometimes." Stefan commented while looking at Arthur's vehicle through the side mirror.
Cayenne understood his point and she also agreed with it. Aside from making her mother think that Stefan was really concern of her, he would be able to escape from Arthur as well. They don't want any other people to know of their relationship. A handful of people is more than enough.
Soon, Stefan arrived at the apartment building that Cayenne stayed at. After dropping them off, he bid farewell to Cayenne and her mother before driving back to their house. If Arthur didn't show up, he would have stayed back with her and her family. He wanted to show to them how important Cayenne is in his life.
Arthur was slowing down to find a place where he can park his car and follow them to her house by foot. However, before he can stop his car, he saw the same blue BMW convertible car passed by him. It didn't slow down and just disappeared in the neighborhood.
His suspicious cleared off after seeing the car leave, not even staying for few seconds in Cayenne's place. If the owner of the car stopped for even few seconds, his doubt would double. Now, he was just relieved that Cayenne hadn't taken any man to become her boyfriend.
He will never allow that to happen.
Luiz looked behind his sister and mother to see Stefan but he didn't see him come inside. "Where's your boyfriend? Did he run away after getting scolded by mama?" Luiz teased which earned a chuckle from Cayenne and Kyle.
"He didn't run away. He will be coming back once mama settled down. He was worried that our relationship is stressing her out so, he decided to give our family some space."
"That's very considerate of him." Kyle commented while arranging the dishes on the table for lunch.
"That's what I like about him." Cayenne responded to her siblings. It wasn't a lie. Although their relationship was a lie, she was being honest when she said that she liked his considerate attitude. He had been putting her above his own issues and he always make sure that she was doing fine. Who won't like a man like him?
"Then, why don't you like Arthur?" Luiz asked his sister. The whole family knew how much Arthur cares for her and how much helped he lent to their family. They were very close before as well. So, what went wrong?
Kyle looked at his sister and gave her a faint smile. "When a person isn't destined to be yours, no matter what he/she does, you won't feel the love that he deserves. And you shouldn't force yourself as well. A forced relationship will eventually fail over time." He answered to save his sister.
Actually, Kyle had a secret that no one in the family knew. On the day that Arthur's mother visited her sister, he was on the way home from school and arrived at the scene when Cayenne was shamefully discriminated by the rich lady. He knew that his sister would feel even more embarrassed if he showed up at that time so, he decided to hide behind a huge and thick post to keep them from finding him.
That day, his sister received a blow from being compared to socialites. Arthur's mother was degrading her sister just because they were poor and she even told her to stop getting close to Arthur.
On that day, Cayenne cried quietly in the bathroom. When Luiz arrived home, she pretended to be sleepy and that she wanted to sleep. It was also the day that their sister stopped smiling.
The next day after that incident, Arthur needed to leave for States. He was rejected by Cayenne and after talking to him, they moved out of the small apartment.
Up until now, he never told Cayenne that he knew about what happened. He helped her keep it a secret from everyone else and specially from Arthur. This was also the reason why Kyle started to distance himself from the man. Only Luiz held on to the hope of having Arthur as his future brother-in-law. And it seemed like their mother was holding on to this very same hope, too.
If Stefan will keep Cayenne happy, then he will vote for this man whom he just met few days ago.