Curtis was wearing loose black shorts.
Though not dressed in formal attire, standing tall in front of Greta, his defiant eyebrows and confident demeanor still exuded a sense of pride and resilience.
But considering the person in front of him was an elder, Curtis had already restrained himself a lot. Normally, he rarely knew the meaning of restraint, but he kept his demeanor lowest in front of Dakota, and the person before him was only getting this treatment by association.
"What do you want to talk about?"
After a long standoff, it was Curtis who spoke first.
Greta could sense the looming pressure from him, but she was used to being assertive herself, maintaining her dignity as an elder, "Curtis."
With that address, the hierarchy was clear.
Greta raised her eyes to look at Curtis, scrutinizing him for a moment before saying, "You disappoint me."
Curtis: "..."
He looked calmly at Greta, and after a long silence following her words, he said, "To be honest with you—"
"I thought a mother who has never cared for her daughter would never express disappointment because of her lack of concern."
Greta's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
She didn't like the aggressive pressure from Curtis, "Kota may not be aware of this, but Curtis, you should know why the two of you got married."
Curtis slowly narrowed his eyes.
He looked at Greta, his thoughts returning to the time before they got their marriage license, when Dakota was still working on her thesis in Italy, and Greta once found him for a talk, asking if he was willing to marry her daughter.
At the time, Curtis found it absurd.
He and Dakota grew up together, so it wasn't an exaggeration to say they wore the same pants, except that while others walked side by side, they fought each other.
Over the years,
they went through the early teenage years where crushes were common and the youth where everyone was vying for dates, yet the two of them never sparked any romantic interest in each other.
Even their friends thought that if anyone started dating among their childhood friends, Curtis and Dakota were the least likely pair.
But when Greta was selecting a son-in-law, after a thorough search, she ended up choosing him.
Curtis was not flattered by being chosen.
He had always been a proud man, used to being defiant. As others would say, he could find any woman he wanted, and the Pineda family could protect him, so he didn't need to sacrifice his love for a business marriage.
He rejected Greta.
In a café, crossing his legs and laughing disdainfully, "Why would you think I'd be interested in her?"
Greta did not force him.
She had experienced an unhappy marriage and didn't want her daughter to suffer the same fate, so she wanted to pave a smooth path for her.
She selected all the men in J City who matched Dakota, categorizing them strictly based on their character, talent, cooking skills, and ranked them accordingly.
And among them, appearance was the most heavily penalized item in Greta's scoring system, with more attractive looks resulting in higher deductions.
Greta feared that her daughter, like her younger self, would be deceived by mere appearances and believed that attractive men were often unfaithful.
But even so, Curtis still ranked first overall.
With his excellent upbringing, superior culinary skills, and talents praised by everyone in J City, he received the highest score, also losing the most points due to his appearance.
There were still a dozen or so other men listed, many of whom were considered unsuitable, making it hard to judge.
After rejecting her, Curtis left at the time.
Later, he accidentally heard during a drinking session that Greta had continued interviewing several people on her list.
A few had already been rejected by their families, naturally. It seemed that when she reached the fifth candidate, he readily promised to marry Dakota and treat her well.
It was a childhood friendship after all.
Curtis specifically went to investigate the man and found it hard to comprehend. Further investigation revealed that the man actually had a girlfriend, a college student, who was far less advantageous than marrying Greta's daughter.
He really couldn't understand Greta's actions and didn't know what standards she used to choose a partner for Dakota.
He didn't want to intervene.
But one time, he accidentally ran into the man at a bar and saw him bragging to his buddies when he was drunk, "How about that? Jealous, aren't you? Dakota, that girl, is going to be my wife! With her slim waist and long legs, she's perfect..."
The last dirty word hadn't even come out.
Curtis strode up to him and, with one hand, grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up and punching him right in front of everyone.
He chose the most irrational method, solving the problem with his fists, demanding that he go to Greta to cancel the engagement and to have someone relay these events to her.
Curtis thought that Greta would give up on the idea after learning that her choice had issues, but she changed her scoring method and continued interviewing candidates.
Curtis was very annoyed.
Finally, he went to see Greta again, "Greta, must you arrange your daughter's marriage this way?"
Greta countered, "Then what does your suggest?"
Curtis couldn't answer.
But he felt an indescribable annoyance, seemingly standing up for Dakota. After much deliberation, he lit a cigarette to clear his mind.
After confirming his thoughts hadn't changed, he looked at Greta through the smoke, "Alright, then I'll marry her."
Thus, the matter was settled.
The Pineda family was surprised when they learned about it, but after understanding the whole story and knowing that Curtis had proposed it, they had no objections.
As for Dakota, she knew nothing about this.
She didn't know the process, only that the final conclusion was to return home quickly after graduation and get married to Curtis.
She had long expected that Greta would arrange her marriage. Though unhappy, she didn't resist and got the marriage certificate upon landing in here.
Curtis came back from his memories.
He looked at Greta, listening to her say, "I thought that when you offered to marry Kota, it was because you would treat her well."
"What do you mean I haven't treated her well?"
"I love burgers, mangoes, and the center of watermelons. It's you who doesn't understand me, not him."
Curtis laughed in frustration after hearing this.
He retorted with a mocking laugh, "Then may I ask, do you really understand Kota's preferences? Are you really sure that she doesn't like burgers, doesn't like mangoes, and doesn't like the sweetest part of the watermelon that everyone wants?"
Greta didn't expect such a counter-question from Curtis. His firm tone left her speechless.
"Greta."
Curtis suddenly changed his address, "I like Kota. Although we are already married, I am currently pursuing her. Please keep being my mother-in-law."
