The embrace lasted for a long time...
Aria also realized that she was calling Nathan "hubby" even though they weren’t married yet!
Her hands trembled around Nathan's waist, and she screamed internally, What shall I do, what shall I do?
Nathan felt the oddity in his embrace. His initially stiff face softened, his eyes brightening.
Just as he was about to stroke Aria’s silky black hair, they heard rustling sounds.
Aria and Nathan looked towards the noise.
They saw Mrs. Lawson and Mrs. Harrison standing at the entrance, watching them.
Especially Mrs. Lawson, her eyes glaring at Aria with disappointment. Unable to hold back, she stepped forward and grabbed Aria’s ear.
It was obvious that Aria was the one hugging, with Nathan protecting her.
From a casual look, anyone could tell this girl was forcing herself on him!
"You shameless girl! First, you call out his name early in the morning, and now you're forcing yourself on him! Have some dignity!" Mrs. Lawson scolded while dragging Aria out of the restroom.
Aria, once again feeling the violent side of her mother, forgot the previous awkwardness due to the pain in her ear.
"Mom, let go, it hurts!"
"Hmph! If I don't discipline you, Nathan will be scared off!"
In Mrs. Lawson's mind, Nathan was that good-tempered, handsome, and accomplished child from other families, while her own daughter was lazy, bad-tempered, and unaccomplished.
So she had no doubt her daughter was forcing herself on him.
Mrs. Lawson's forceful actions broke the awkwardness between Nathan and Aria.
Nathan's lips curled into a charming smile, his gaze tender as he watched Aria leave.
"What, are you really interested in her?" Mrs. Harrison walked over, seeing this rare sight of her son, "What happened to that obsession with cleanliness? Doesn’t apply to her?"
Nathan knew his mother was seizing the chance to tease him. He candidly looked at her, "Mom, if we don’t go back now, Dad might come looking for us."
Mrs. Harrison, stumped by his words, huffed and turned back.
Seeing someone approaching the restroom, Nathan quickly left the ladies' room.
Just as he exited, two women saw him coming out of the restroom, and they froze, stunned by his looks.
Back at the table, Aria now had the urge to jump off a cliff.
Her mother had just painted her as a desperate girl, scolding her while reminding her not to be too forward with Nathan, a high-IQ intellectual who wouldn't be able to handle her.
The worst part was, she had made such a scene that her future in-laws might think she was truly smitten with Nathan's youthful looks.
Holding a fork in each hand, Aria wondered what it would feel like to stab them into her own flesh.
"Don't glare at the meat like that, it won't run away."
Hearing this, Aria saw her intact piece of meat cut into pieces.
"Nathan, don’t be too good to her, or she'll get even more shameless."
Aria's hand shook, and she took a deep breath.
This was her mother, who carried her for ten months and raised her for over twenty years.
She had to endure, had to stay calm.
