There was Amelia standing in a midnight blue satin dress. The dress was fitting on her all the way to her thighs where it came free with a slit that showcased the slender beauty of her well-shaped legs. There were three jewels right above the slit, and three more on the single cap sleeve that she had on her right arm. He couldn't deny the stunning beauty of Amelia. She didn't do much for her hair, but the simple way it fell around her shoulders, smooth and silky, elevated her look. He hadn't even realized he had been staring for a while, until Amelia raised a hand to her neck, feeling shy. "Is it a little too much? I just thought…" "No way. You look marvelous. You are just so pretty that I can't seem to stop staring. Come in please. I'm sorry I made you wait." He said, widening the door, and Amelia stepped in, with a faint blush on her face. James closed the door, and watched her stare at the petals he had arranged on the floor. There was a beautiful smile on her face, as she followed it. She seemed to be pleased with it. Amelia liked it so much that she raised the lagging parts of her dress, so they wouldn't destroy the petal line. Then she made it to the living room and let out a gasp of awe. There were the dim lights James had arranged, which were romantic for any date. "Woah… you really… seriously. The petals, the dim lights, I'm glad I dolled up. At least I match with the living room." She said, with a bright smile, as she sat. "Should we go to the dining room? I prepared a little something for us." James said, gesturing towards the dining. "Oh, yes!" She replied, getting to her feet immediately. James led Amelia to the dining room where he served her the meal he had spent so much time and effort to prepare. "What is this?" She asked, with an expectant smile as she laid her hand on the covering. "Nothing much. Just surf and turf." He replied, sitting opposite her and trying to sound as casual as he could. "Wow. You really cooked that? Well, let's see what combination you chose." She said, lifting the lid. The aroma wafted upwards into her nostrils, and she marveled. "Steak and lobster tails." She let out in a little excited voice, and immediately took her cutlery to start eating. Then she stopped. "How rude of me. Where's yours?" She asked, with her fork stuck in position on top of her steak. "This night is all yours. Not mine." "No way. You'll make me out as a glutton if I eat all this in your presence." She said, taking up the plate, and moving to sit next to him. "Oh no, no. I'm full just by looking at you." "Let's not start with pick-up lines." She said, cutting up a piece of steak, blushing and James laughed. "Alright, well. You know I made this for…" He couldn't complete his sentence as Amelia shoved the steak into his mouth. Then she giggled, and being satisfied with her laughing and being so happy, James also laughed, taking in the steak and chewing slowly. The both of them ate, and after eating, it was finally time to talk, so they both went to the living room. "So, okay, I really owe you an apology for breaking your heart a lot of times." She began, with her hands on her knees, and face cast downward. "Okay. It's fine as long as you're going to be better, right?" "Yes. I think… I think I was just being a coward. You know, my father… he's an… What do I call it?" Amelia struggled for words, "An authoritative person. He… he likes things to be perfect. Add being so dictatorial to being a perfectionist. It's… it's just too much." She paused and took a deep breath, before continuing. "He… he wants me to be perfect just like he thinks he is. I'm always handling business matters, sealing contracts and even going on blind dates with different potential suitors. He… he even made up a schedule for me and guess what? "There's no single day he set up a time to rest for me. I'm always busy all the time. Including Sundays. Each time he finds out I've been doing something else apart from what he set for me, he gets really mad. Like… gosh, you should see him when he gets mad. No one likes it."He screams, shouts and trembles so hard that it makes everyone scared, and then he tightens the schedule. More meetings, more business trips, more… gosh, he was just so frustrating. So, I… I really liked you, but couldn't keep on taking time to meet up with you because of my father. "He's always watching my back. I didn't want to keep on hurting you, so I thought maybe if we broke up, you'd be able to forget about me not having any time for you. Although it killed me to see you think I didn't love you anymore. "And that's why I decided… I decided I want to be with you forever, and not with my father forever. I'm going to stand up to him, and tell him no. I'll tell him I don't want to keep being his puppet. Just look at all those demands, James. It's enough for anyone to break. "Meanwhile, I'm… I'm just someone who wants to lead a normal life. Wake up, go to work at a normal time, not four in the morning, so I can have a traffic-free ride to meet a client in a nearby city. "I also want to come back around five or seven in the evening, not climbing up the stairs like a zombie in the middle of the night, and falling asleep without even eating. I want to go on dates with you, James. I want to spend the weekends at your place, cook together, watch movies and talk like we're doing now. That is all I want." Amelia finished, and felt lighter. James had listened to her long monologue, without cutting in, or doing something distracting. She felt happy that he listened to her patiently. And then he hugged her. A hug that spoke comfort in its warmth.