Exiles discussion

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Exterior:


Parlour:


Carolien's Room:


Guest Bedroom:


Dining Room:


Library:


Garden:

Ryosuke enjoyed the ceremony as much as he could. It was all a big show, just like any other gathering or social event that he attended for the sake of appearances. And this particular party was centered around him, so there weren't nearly as many opportunities to escape or give himself time to break the charade. On the bright side, the food was good, the music was merry, and he received many nice gifts from their guests. Well, he and Carolien.

His newlywed bride looked very pretty as expected and the two played their part, regardless of their own feelings. They kissed once and briefly during the ceremony to symbolize the consummation of their love and officialize the marriage. It felt odd to him, especially considering he had never kissed a woman before, not sober at least. Some friends of his had told him about occasional events when they had gotten blackout drunk, but nothing he remembered. They leaned in close and there was a soft sensation on his lips briefly before it was over and they were looking at each other momentarily before moving on with the ceremony. He felt his cheeks warm in embarrassment. Having his first kiss in front of a room full of people wasn't exactly ideal, especially considering he didn't even have feelings for the person he was kissing.

What was important was that his parents were happy and could at least get along well enough for the ceremony. He met Carolien's mother briefly and she also seemed elated at the match. She gave him a summary of the living situation that she had arranged with his parents. Apparently, Ryo was now to inherit the Rivers Estate with his wife and Mrs. Rivers had already found a new residence to call home. He smiled, nodded, thanked her, and promised to do his best to make her daughter happy. She warned him briefly about some kind of science issue, but he paid it no mind.

~~~

Once the festivities had long since ended, it had been arranged for Ryo to move out of his home and into the Rivers Estate. He wasn't exactly happy about it. He had assumed, originally that Carolien would come to live with him, but it would seem the Rivers women had other plans. He'd liked his house. It was simple and comfortable and perfectly fit him and his pet. Arrow was staying with a friend during the moving process and Ryo would pick him up later after he got settled.

((The wedding dress: (view spoiler)[
(hide spoiler)]))

The wedding was perfect. Perfect location, the weather was wonderful, and people were happy. Carolien wore a gorgeous dress that made her feel like she came from another world, a princess of the stars. It was the perfect wedding in the sense it would be everything a girl would dream of since she was old enough to know what a wedding was and plan for the rest of her life until she met the match of her dreams. It was the kind of wedding Carolien heard other girls in boarding school dream about when all Carolien wanted was to curl up in a corner to read.

The only real consolation Carolien had was that she wasn't alone in this. Even if she wasn't interested in Ryo, at least she had someone who sort of knew what she was going through. It was odd, in a way, to be comforted by him when she only met him a few times. And it was even stranger to her when she had to kiss him. She wasn't sure if he dated around a lot, but the only time she ever kissed someone was when she was seven years old.

But thankfully the ceremony part was over and the celebrations afterward was something Carolien was used to after the many social gatherings and parties her mother dragged her to. It was easy to don her socialite face and drift among the crowds, pretending to be interested in talk about the weather and about family gossip people passed around.

She kept up that pretense into the night, making sure to be polite to Ryo's parents and after giving her mother a hug, finally Carolien was free to return to the Rivers Estate.

***

When it came to having Ryo moved over, Carolien disappeared into the house, hiding herself into a corner as if she could ignore the reality of her situation. Despite the house's size, Carolien thought it was going to be strange to have Ryo in her home and she couldn't help but think they'll probably have awkward run-ins in the halls where she wasn't sure if she should just be friendly or polite or just go on with her own business and leave him be. Her most favorite hiding place was in the gardens at a table with a tree at its center.

As she sat there reading, she could hear the distant sounds as things were moved inside.

Fortunately, Ryo was a pretty simplistic man. He had his clothes, toiletries, a piece of furniture that he actually bought himself (and his mother let him keep it- a nice dark wooden rocking chair that he would sit in by the fireplace to read), and then just the sports equipment. Ryo had a horrible habit of collecting sports equipment not only for him, but also for the kids he would coach. He had to maintain everything himself, however, so he always ended up with more balls and nets than he could handle. He wasn't sure how much storage the Rivers' women had, but he hoped it would be enough.

Carolien was spending the day reading as it would seem, so Ryosuke just went about his own business. He didn't expect her to help just as she wouldn't have expected him to ask for help. If their marriage continued like this, he had a feeling it would run smoothly. By the time he finished loading most of his equipment into the garage, his friend arrived with Arrow.

He'd had the dog for two years now and the two had had a rough start to their relationship, but now they were inseparable. Arrow was an Akita with a red inu coloring and a torn right ear with a lot of energy. Ryo greeted him warmly, thanking his friend for watching him for a while. It didn't occur to him until he let Arrow inside that he and Carolien had not discussed house rules or boundaries regarding pets. When Arrow dashed off to explore the large home, he knew he should bring it up sooner rather than later.

Making his way to the library, he found his wife nestled in with a book.
"Carolien, do you have a moment?"

(view spoiler)[ Arrow the Akita :) (hide spoiler)]

With the coziness of the room and the chair she was in and the rather dull plot of the book she was reading at the moment, Carolien had begun to nod off when she heard her name. She gave a little jump, banging her leg against the coffee table, and a little muttered "ouch" escaped her. Then she looked up at her new husband, her brows still furrowed in pain. "Yes, of course. What is it?" she asked, maybe a little terse as she distractedly rubbed the spot where she was sure a bruise was already beginning to bloom.

Ryo couldn't help but stifle a small laugh at the sudden banging sound before hearing her response. Apparently she had been taking a nap.

"I just realized that I forgot to tell you earlier. I have a dog, Arrow. He's well behaved for the most part and you won't have to take care of him or anything, but I just wanted to ask if it is alright that he lives here? I wasn't sure if you're allergic or have some traumatic experience or anything." He asked. He'd put the Akita in the back yard for now. It should have provided him enough room to run out his energy or at the very least not stick his nose around the house too much before he got Carolien's confirmation.

Her irritated expression transformed into a look of absolute delight, but she managed to keep herself in check as she leaned forward slightly, interest clearly in her eyes. "Arrow? Oh, I've never had a dog before, but I don't think I'm allergic. What kind is he--I assume Arrow is male name?" Carolien asked with a smile, perching her chin in her palm, her elbow on the arm of her chair.

She recalled once asking as a child for a pet, but it was probably soon afterwards her parents divorced and the novel idea completely escaped her mind after that. It was strange to recall that memory. Her father had promised her, and she often dreamed up names and things she'd do with the pet she got. It was like those kind of things evaporated along with the complete disappearance of her father from her life until she saw him again.

The heir looked out towards the backyard almost as though he needed to check that, indeed, his dog wasn't going to tear up the place. He knew Arrow would settle down more once he had acquainted himself with the building and Carolien, but the initial excitement might be a bit excessive and hazardous.

"Uh... yeah. Arrow's a male Akita. When you meet him, make sure I'm with you. He tends to get really excited around new people and jumps. He's knocked over people before." He recalled the day his mother came over and met his new pup. He nearly had a heart attack when his mom went down hard. His father had even been hesitant after hearing about what happened with Mrs. Ojinike.
"He'll calm down a lot more once he's more familiar with the house, though. He's actually really well trained, but initial meetings tend to be high in excitement." He assured his wife, not wanting her to be overly concerned or cautious. "I'm just about done moving in. I was going to take a break, if you wanted to get acquainted? Or if not, we could always do it later."

"Are those the fluffy kind?" she asked, though the question was more under her breath as it was said in wonderment than to get an answer from him. She glanced over at Ryo, smiling as she imagined what it might be like to see her mother being tackled by a dog. It gave her a little childish, devious sort of glee, imagining her mother's immaculate hairstyle being ruined and have her perfect image smudged.

Nodding as she listened, Carolien scooted forward in her seat. "Sure thing. I mean, this house is huge, so he'll definitely have a chance to run around. And I would love to meet him. I, uh, suppose you might want to tour the place yourself? We can do both at the same time. I get to know Arrow, and you two get to know the place."

To his surprise, Carolien did not seem at all adverse to the prospect of having a pet. He honestly had counted on working harder at convincing her.

"Yeah... yeah, I suppose you're right. I'll go get him." He affirmed, heading towards the door to the yard. Was it a yard? It seemed far too huge for such a simple term, but he supposed he didn't know the proper term and accepted his ignorance.
He opened the door and let out a sharp whistle three times. It took him a few moments, but before long the happy dog was darting past his owner into the library, sniffing around until he latched on to Carolien's scent. Arrow made his way over, wagging his tail frantically and sniffed up and down the woman's leg, licked her knee and proceeded to jump into her lap to assault her face with kisses.
"Arrow! Down." Ryo commanded fruitlessly. It wasn't until the third order that the beast obeyed and came to an anxious sit, though it was obvious from his whining, that Arrow was eager to run around and explore more.

Carolien opened her mouth to protest, wanting to urge him that the library might not be the safest bet. But, before any words left her mouth, a sudden ball of fur darted inside and next thing she knew, slobber was on her leg and a huge weight was on her stomach. A rather embarrassing wheezing sound mixed with a squeal of surprise escaped her. Then as the dog's tongue met her face and cheeks, huge laughter escaped her; as huge as she can manage since she couldn't take very deep breaths with the dog on top of her.

And then suddenly the dog was gone and sitting on the floor next to her. Her back was pressed into the chair and it took her a moment to relax back into a normal position. Glancing up at Ryo, Carolien brushed down the stray strands of hair that had come loose in the encounter. "Arrow has to meet my mother. I would love to see her face as she gets tackled," she said with a mischievous grin, slowly getting to her feet and straightening the knee-length dress she wore.

Ryo nodded, smiling mildly. "Like I said, he really likes meeting new people, your mother being no exception." The heir knew Carolien had a difficult relationship with her mother. It wasn't uncommon for children of their social status to feel animosity or anger towards them, but Ryo had nothing but love for his family. Even his own mother, who was insistent on having him married and being seen in society, had only wanted his happiness, or so she was constantly telling him and his sisters. "A happier life than hers" was the way she phrased it. At the same time, she couldn't stand Ryo's father. The two were hardly ever together and fought constantly when they assumed they were out of earshot of their children. And she didn't know about their family's connection to the Overlooked, but it was better this way.

"Shall we?" He asked, ready to get better acquainted with the house. He likely could have learned where everything was eventually, but it would be faster for him and Arrow to have a bit of a tour. He'd found his own way to the guest room depite the obvious newlywed congratulations that had awaited them in the bedroom. He assumed it was their friends and family's doing to remodel the master bedroom for the two of them, but Ryo had opted for the guest bedroom out of decency and courtesy to his new wife. He didn't care either way for the small feminine touches such as the butterfly decorations and the potpourri. His last bedroom had been a simply bed, dresser, and desk, so he supposed this would be a stylistic improvement for his tastes. He'd dropped his bags off there earlier in the day, but all the other rooms and floors were a mystery to him.

Inwardly, Carolien sighed to herself. Ryo's lukewarm response to her words made her a little put out. Immediately the mischievous air left her, her face falling into a blank expression. Rising to her feet, she set her book down on the coffee table.

She gave a short nod. "Yes, we shall," was all she said before she fell into the robotic role as tour guide of her home. Only when they came to the garden did she light up again. With a flourish, Carolien smiled as she opened the doors leading out to a seating area in the garden. "And here is my most favorite part of the house. The gardens."

Ryo's wife was not at all enthused to give him a tour of her home and as time went on, he could understand why. The Estate was very large and she'd likely given the exact tour to other guests nearly a hundred times. He started to feel slightly apologetic and opened his mouth to insist he could figure out the residence on his own when suddenly her face lit up and she smiled widely, introducing him to the gardens.
"O-oh?" It was amazing that the change in her spirits was so drastic. He supposed she must have had some kind of deep connection to the place kind of like how he had a deep connection with sports. "You must spend a lot of time here then?"

Arrow sniffed around excitedly, enticed by all the different smells and bugs that fluttered or crawled about. He'd bark lightly at them and chase them until his alpha called him back two or three times.

All the greenery immediately lifted her mood. Carolien almost wanted to just forget the tour and go wandering the garden by herself. But that small thought disappeared when Ryo's voice intruded on her thoughts. "Hm? Oh, yes. Too much sometimes. Mother always pesters me that it will ruin my skin being out the sun all day," she replied, watching Arrow with amusement and fascination.

Perhaps a reason she was drawn to the gardens was because her earliest memories of her father were the times he took her out on an outing and they went to various parks and gardens. He would tell her the names of plants, but mostly he would be interrupted by Carolien and she would put a flower crown on him. It always reverted to them playing some make believe game and Carolien would run around giggling until her father was exhausted.

Personally, Ryo didn't care much for gardens. They looked nice, sure, but he enjoyed having space to run around and do things in more than sitting and thinking how pretty the flowers were. Of course, it would be a nice place to read, but he could do so just as well in the library.

His wife seemed to care about them, though, so he didn't mind calling the space hers and leaving it alone. Ryo shrugged, "That's what sunscreen is for, I suppose. I'll be sure to look here first if I can't find you."

Carolien made a face at the mention of sunscreen, suddenly thinking of her mom berating her to keep putting some on. In her defense, she always thought sunscreen was a little oily on her face. But it seemed Ryo was the type of person to be on the practical side. She wondered if she could manage to break her new husband out of that mold, or if she wanted to in the first place. Could they even be friends? They felt so different.

She gave an answering shrug. "Yes, I'll probably be out here unless the weather is bad." For a moment she fell silent, unsure what else to say or do now that they have pretty much reached the end of their tour. Briefly she glanced up at Ryo before she turned her gaze to the side. "Perhaps I should find some occupation to do something with myself. I doubt I should hang out at home all day."

The heir felt the tension thicken as silence fell after her sentence. He wondered if dropping his socializing persona from the start had been a wise choice. At first, it had seemed that she didn't care to be on any terms with him since she was more interested in finding another mate rather than getting to know him. He didn't need to try with her, he had assumed. However, now when he needed his talkative self, the situation would have been too late for him to switch.

Thankfully, his wife added another conversational piece to the mix that he could latch onto more comfortably. "Yes, staying in the same place too long isn't good." Nailed it. "I mean, I'm usually moving around a lot during the day so I like getting out of the house. I'll stay out of your hair." It got worse, "Your mom said you like science? Maybe you could do something involving that?" He offered, not really remembering what his mother-in-law had said at the wedding, but remembered it had something to do with her liking science. Her father had been an important scientist before he had been Exiled. Recalling that information, he remembered his objective, "Maybe you could continue what your father had started working on and dig up some of his old research."

"My mother said that?" Carolien's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Her mother never liked that she was more into academics than into beauty products and fashions, so the fact she even mentioned her interest was strange. Then again, she supposed her mother would say anything to make her look like a good match.

Giving a soft sigh, a regretful smile crossed her features as she gave a short nod in agreement. "I suppose it would be nice to continue his work. Despite what has happened to him, it would be nice to get to know him more, even if it's through his notes." She looked thoughtful.

Then she turned to him, a little sheepish expression on her face. "Oh, you said you move around a lot all day? What is it you do? My mother never really told me what your occupation was."

((The poll was decided so I was looking at dresses again. (view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]))

Ryo nodded, hoping his suggestion would take root in her thoughts well. He wouldn't push the subject too much though. If he was obvious, it would just give his wife reason to distrust him and who knew what kind of complications that could bring to their already fragile relationship.

"Oh, well, I work for my parents a lot of the time either in the office headquarters or off on business meetings. Our business is materials and resources, so it requires a lot of on site examination to make sure quotas are being met but also that regenerative measures are being met as well." He explained, then added, "That's my job, but I also have activities I do in my free time. I coach a couple youth sports teams in the area and I'm pretty outdoors-bound, so I'm out of the house a lot. Arrow comes with me a lot, so you won't have to worry about him much either." Then again, she didn't seem to mind Arrow much, so maybe she wouldn't mind if he had to stay back occasionally.

Nodding to indicate she was listening, Carolien was prepared to respond with polite interest before he added more. Tilting her head, she blinked in surprise and let out a soft laugh. "Really? You coach for your free time? What made you decide to do that? Isn't it exhausting? I mean, kids can be so rambunctious," she said, a little smile on her face to indicate she didn't mean to insult him with her words.

Genuine curiosity bubbled up to the surface. From first glance, Carolien would never have guessed the man would coach children in his free time. She thought he did what other businessmen might do like some pompous sport with others and flaunting their wealth and such. At least, that was her experience when she came across young men at the various parties her mother dragged her to. It always annoyed her when they were too drunk to keep on an intelligent conversation. All the time she would fake laugh to supposed jokes and try to pry herself away from conversations. She hated it.

"Ah, actually," He hadn't counted on follow up questions. Was she actually interested or was this the polite upbringing talking? "I like working with the kids. It's relaxing." He summarized. After he spends most of the morning in meetings and putting on his other face, it felt amazing to just go see kids who were actually excited to see him and look up to him. The energy they had could be demanding, but when he was in that kind of athletic environment, he thrived and felt more energized than after drinking a cup of coffee in the morning. The kids loved Arrow, too, and Arrow loved to run around with them, so it worked well for him.

"Thanks, by the way, for the tour. I'll be a lot less likely to get lost now." He offered a small smile. Their interactions were still far from natural, but maybe they'd work up to it one of these days. It was still the first day moving in. It would get easier. "I better, uh, go finish unpacking. I'll see you around." He whistled for Arrow to follow as they made their exit back into the house.

***END OF SCENE***

A week into their marriage, Ryo and Carolien had managed to avoid each other for nearly the whole week. Ryo came and went as he pleased, avoiding the library and garden so that his wife could have her space. Occasionally he'd run into her in passing when he'd try and sneak a book from the library or they both happened into the kitchen. Arrow was finally becoming accustomed to his new home and was growing more and more fond of Carolien because she pet his head and scratched his belly.

Today, however, Chaos had plans to barge into his life. He'd just returned from a meeting and was throwing his jacket on the kitchen counter before turning his attention to the fridge, when he heard the familiar chitter of three girls at the door. The doorbell rang and Ryo mentally cursed himself. Carolien wasn't home, was she? He didn't ever bother to find out her schedule for the day. He silently padded over to the front door, debating if he should pretend to not be home.

For a while, Carolien could have forgotten her marriage if it weren't for the rare occasions she saw Ryo around the house and hearing the click of Arrow's claws on the floor. Most of the time she had spent her time reading, delaying looking for a job just a little bit more. But that dullness was interrupted when she heard the door bell ring.

Frowning to herself, Carolien thought her mother was paying a visit, which was odd since her mother would have notified her. Sticking her bookmark in between the pages and closing the book, she set it down and made her way to the front door. She opened the door. A look of confusion crossed her face as she took in the visitors on her doorstep.

Three women stood on the doorstep dressed in highly stylish but business appropriate attire. The center one had blonde highlights and lifted her sunglasses to appraise the homeowner. The other two smiled easily, recognizing Carolyn from the wedding.

"Carolien!" The center one greeted, immediately pulling Ryo's wife into a tight hug. "You must be Carolien, right? The twins told me a few details from when they saw you at the wedding, but I wasn't able to attend because I had business matters to attend to that, unfortunately were too pressing for the entire family to ignore. I'm Hani, though I'm sure you already knew from my brother. Speaking of which..." Hardly bothering for the woman's response, Hani moved past her new sister in law to search the room for her older sibling. She caught his gaze and immediately frowned. "Brother, you weren't going to ignore your family at the door, were you?"

Ryosuke shrugged awkwardly, trying to think of an excuse except that was exactly what he had been considering doing, "I didn't know you were coming over." He grumbled, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Hani huffed, but let him off with a harsh gaze. "You're lucky I'm here to make a good impression on my new sister or you'd be getting bruises." She warned, "Now, Clara, Reina." The twins came forward, also greeting Carolien warmly.

"Carolien! It's nice to see you again. We met briefly at the wedding, but I was off dancing a lot of the time and I'm sure you probably were busy meeting people all night and it was a lot of fun! You seem really nice. I love your style, so chic." Reina gushed easily, fawning over her new sister.
"Nice to see you." Clara smiled brightly.

"What brings you three here? Should we prepare lunch?" Ryo interjected, feeling an overwhelming embarrassment over his overbearing sisters. Carolien hadn't signed up for this. They were supposed to be staying out of each other's way.

((Ah, gosh, it has been crazy. I think my eyes are going to burn out from all the reading I have. But I'm okay. How about you?

Also, I think it would be great if there is someone like noona Gu Jun Hee. I loved her character in Boys over Flowers, so I think it would be nice to have some sisterly bonding too.))

Carolien blinked owlishly in response, rather overwhelmed by the sudden appearance of the three. It took her a while to respond, opening her mouth, but no words came out. Giving a cough and clearing her throat, she could just imagine her mother scolding her for her lack of refinement. Inwardly, she sighed. She hated that her mother even haunted her in her thoughts as a constant pesky reminder to be a "proper" lady.

"I, um, yes, hello. And thank you. I'm sorry if I didn't greet your properly at the wedding. Good to see you as well." Carolien smiled politely, casting a small glance over at her new husband. There was a hint of desperation in her eyes as if asking him to help her out, though with what she didn't quite know.

Ryo returned his wife's helpless plea with a look expressing regret. It doesn't matter if we actually marry, he recalled bitterly, We can just avoid each other. The thought had not occurred to him that it would be impossible to avoid their families, especially his overbearing sisters on his end and Carolien's mother on hers. Thankfully, they hadn't received a surprise visit from that woman. Still, as much as he loves his sisters, he felt bad for Carolien to have to be subjected to all three of them at once. She was under attack and he could do nothing to save her.

Arrow yipped and rushed to greet Reina, thankfully stealing the bubbliest sister's attention. Clara remained silent, allowing Hani to continue on her mission. The eldest of the sisters fixed Ryo with a menacing glare.
"It's past noon, we've already eaten of course. What am I going to do with you? Keeping our sister all to yourself. I get you're newlyweds, but more than a week? You know my schedule is so unpredictable I thought you would at least let me meet her."

"Hani, it's... complicated. We're temporary- I mean don't get attached-well, uh, she's great-it's just-uhm" He struggled for the words. His sisters didn't know why Ryo was accepting of the engagement or that their father was involved with the Overlooked. Under most circumstances, he could be completely honest with them, but now? He wasn't sure what to say. Ryo couldn't put on his other persona with his sisters without making the situation worse and even if he did, they knew him too well to fall for it.

"Ryosuke!" Hani growled dangerously. Before he knew it he was being whacked with a purse rather brutally. "How dare you say such things in front of your beautiful wife. I don't care if you think they're true or not! That is no way to treat someone."

"Han-ah! Hani! Stop! I get it, I get it please stop!" He held up his arms in surrender.

"These two are always like this." Clara noted softly to Carolien with a smile, "You'll get used to it. I apologize if our brother has been a rude husband so far. When he's not socializing for work, he can be difficult to get along with."

Hani gave Ryo one final whack before finally letting off him. "Are you going to apologize?" She warned, raising a brow threateningly. The eldest brother turned to his wife, face bright with an embarrassed blush. He hated when Hani did these kinds of things in front of others, let alone his temporary wife.
"I'm sorry if my words offended you." He robotically complied.

Once satisfied, Hani took a breath before she resumed smiling. "Anyways, we came by to greet our sister and welcome her to the family. Me and the twins are going shopping and having dinner later. We wanted to invite Carolien along if she was available. It's only right we get to know each other properly and embarrass you with old stories."

((Maybe you can give me a breakdown of each sister? It's hard for me to keep track of them a bit so I didn't want to dip my toe into that just yet. ^^;

I think it would be fun to see Carolien and Ryo chat after this too. Unless somehow he gets dragged along into their shopping trip and they all hang out. Or sisterly bonding. Hmm... ))

((Ryo's sisters (Hani, Reina, and Clara) are all individuals with vibrant personalities. Hani is the commander of the trio, constantly eager to make friends and usually organizing family get-togethers and usually directing the twins' antics. She also takes it upon herself to discipline Ryo if his actions or words are rude or inconsiderate in her opinion. Reina is just as energetic, but less focused than Hani and excels in artistic endeavors and creative thinking. Clara is the brains of the trio and uses her reasoning to make Reina's ideas a reality and she is quieter than the other two but by no means considered quiet in general. She has a scary way of arguing and convincing people to comply. (view spoiler)[ Hani (24)
The Twins (21) (hide spoiler)] Ryo is the oldest, but that doesn't stop the girls from behaving like his equal and often his superior.))

She could see Ryosuke was struggling on defining their relationship and while it annoyed her slightly that his sisters didn't seem aware of their arrangement, Carolien also felt some pity for him. Again Carolien wondered why he was so agreeable, but that was all forgotten as she watched Hani beat her brother with her purse.

At first, she was astonished, her eyes wide and she looked over at the others to see if she should step in. When Clara leaned in and spoke so reassuringly to her, a burst of laughter escaped Carolien before she could help herself. Quickly she held her hand up to her face, slightly embarrassed for laughing so loudly, but at the same time, her shoulders still shook as she watched with amusement.

She had to bite her lip to force herself from smiling. "I accept your apology," Carolien said slowly, her voice somewhat shaky still. A small voice in the back of her mind noted how cute he looked with the blush on his face.

"Shopping? Me? That's really kind of you to offer. But what about Ryosuke? He'll be all alone and to be honest, with all the moving, I haven't seen him much," she replied, a mischievous look flashing briefly in her eyes.

Ryo's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something but remembered his sisters and bit his cheek, merely giving his wife an exasperated look as opposed to a glare. Had she no heart? He'd been so good and left her alone all week. Why did his life always toss him impossible women?

Hani smiled brightly and moved to embrace Carolien once again, "I like you, you catch on quick. Ryo, you're coming too. I know you don't work today. Cancel the soccer thing just for today and have that tasteless friend of yours watch Arrow."

"Woah, woah, woah. This was your whole 'sister' day. Why do I have to come along you know it's important to-"

"Ugh! Ryo, we know but you can spare one day for family. Clara, what were you telling me earlier?"

"It's been roughly five months since Ryo has socialized with us voluntarily while not at a work party. If he goes to six, he warrants unanticipated revenge for the offense. Also, birthday gifts will be optional." The woman flashed a devilish smile, leaving Ryo with no options but to huff and accept his fate.

When Hani hugged her, Carolien faltered, her eyes widening slightly as she realized her mistake. Her idea was to use Ryosuke as an excuse to stay at home, but instead the sisters interpreted her words differently. Then again, when she met Hani's eyes, she flashed her a wink that made Carolien suspicious that she purposefully chose to interpret her words differently.

Carolien tried to catch Ryosuke's gaze, trying to silently apologize through her expression. But she figured that this was a perfect way to at least have fun. She didn't know what it'll be like stuck with Ryosuke in the house after the moving is all done. So far, it felt lonely and perhaps his sisters would be a nice change.

Putting on a smile, Carolien gave a small shrug in self-defeat. "I suppose I should grab my purse. We shouldn't delay any further, right?"

"Absolutely not!" Reina suddenly interjected. "I don't know how you normally shop, but we are going to revolutionize the way you buy clothes. We have sister trips every so often but it's so much fun, you'll love it! I can totally just see you in a lavender patterned sundress and some cream flats or ooh! Ooh! Maybe some leather pants and an emerald green blouse with a- oh my gosh you're so pretty it's going to be so hard to choose what look to go with you have one of those faces that could do sweet or edgy or-"

"Reina, those are some very nice ideas. Let's head out and see which one she likes best." Hani smiled, butting in so they could head out before Ryo wriggled his way out. "Alright you two take Ryo's car. We'll meet you two at Rose Villa so Carolien has time to grab her things and get ready. Ryo, practice your best bag-hanger arms." She smiled menacingly before the trio filed out the door, the whirlwind leaving just as soon as it had come.

Ryo sighed after the door closed behind them and looked over to his wife momentarily. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel embarrassed, irritated, or both but he knew the day was going to be exhausting. He just looked at Carolien for a moment, just trying to read what she was thinking, which was impossible obviously, so he gave up and shook his head, rubbing his temples.

"I'll just pull the car around." He stated simply and turned to do just that.

"I don't normally shop. My mother always picks out my clothes," Carolien muttered under her breath in response to Reina's words. She wasn't sure if Reina heard, but then she decided she didn't care.

Offering a polite smile and a wave, Carolien watched them head out the door, as quick as they came. She let her hand stay raised for a few moments longer until she realized that she was completely alone with her husband and perhaps she was looking ridiculous in her frozen pose. Letting out a small cough, Carolien didn't know what to say afterwards and a silence filled the air. She had to resist shifting around in the awkwardness.

She startled when he spoke up. Giving a stiff nod, Carolien replied, "I'll get my things quickly, then." And then she turned her own way.

Her mother picked out the clothes she wore? Ryo fought the urge to shake his head and laugh. For a grown woman, she really had no sense of independence. His sisters may just eat her alive with no hope of survival. He smirked to himself at the thought of Carolient drowning in a sea of clothes, whimpering while Hani, Clara, and Reina chittered non-stop at her.

He bit the inside of his cheek hard when the girl was still waving after his long gone sisters, mind still not yet comprehending what had just happened. She was hopeless.

He pulled the car around while his wife grabbed her things and they drove off to the shopping center. The first few minutes were pretty quiet and Ryosuke wasn't sure if he should say anything to break the ice or if he needed to warn her further of his family's personalities. He opened his mouth a few times to start, but struggled to find the right words.

"I-uh-they- hopefully we can make a quick trip of it." He finally settled on, though, he still didn't feel satisfied. "Sorry in advance."

As Carolien joined her husband in the car, she felt a silence settle that made her want to squirm like a little child. Why was it so hard to even talk? She took so many cursed lessons from her mother about how to be the perfect woman and talk away, even if she was bored to death by the conversation topic, but she still couldn't find a way to talk to her husband. She almost decided to speak up when he did instead. Inwardly, she gave a sigh in relief.

Giving a small nod, Carolien forced a small smile, glancing over at him briefly. "Hopefully. But it seems like your sisters are determined so you'll have brace yourself. You might have a chance to escape while I distract them. Maybe when trying on clothes, I'll take a ridiculous amount of time and while your sisters wait, you can sneak off and do whatever men do."

Ryo smiled a bit at his wife's suggestion. He could almost see into the future where he would make a break for it while Carolien had them distracted. The result of which would likely either getting a beating from Hani or his wife coming to resent him for abandoning her and locking him out of the house or a combination of the two.

"A daring suggestion," he acknowledged, "though I may be beyond saving at this point." He chuckled lightly. "I'm more worried about you. One or two at a time is a bit more manageable, but all three of my sisters fawning and fussing over you at once is a lot for anyone to handle." Carolien was the first to marry into their family. Hani was engaged, but even that poor man still had the ability to avoid the trio and the rest of the family to a certain extent thanks to his demanding job. Ryo's wife spent her day lounging about the house and reading, with hardly any choice but to be inducted into the cult of sisters against her will. It was embarrassing to be sure- wait. Did he just admit to being worried about his sham wife? He felt his cheeks begin to tingle as a blush came on.
"N-not that I'm- I mean- they can be a lot- I'm sure you can handle yourself- I didn't mean anything by it-" His mouth fumbled for words.

((OH, yeah, I totally forgot those details. That would be fun to do something. ^_^ I wonder what could happen. Like an important business event they have to attend to and she gets lost or maybe I should make her more claustrophobic and at one point they get stuck in a small room or elevator or something?))

Carolien blinked, looking to the side so that her puzzled expression was hidden from him. She wasn't sure why he stumbled over his words, but she was pleased to know that he wasn't as robotic as he first seemed. She cleared her throat delicately and chose to continue their conversation as if he never stumbled.

"True. I probably could handle myself. After all, I survived years at a girls-only boarding school. But I appreciate your worrying anyways," she replied lightly, flashing a smile.

"A girls-only boarding school?" He was thankful the woman didn't seem to mind his sudden lack of composure and even gave him a moment to collect himself. He glanced at the lady, considering her for a moment. "You don't strike me as a boarding school kid. You don't have that rebellious, wildness about you that parents try to snuff out by sending their children away."

He wondered what his wife had been like when she was younger. Had she always had the personality of a doormat?

"No, I don't, don't I? Maybe I would have been rebellious if I didn't start boarding school when I was, oh, around eight, nine years old." Carolien spoke very matter-of-fact, though there was still some bitterness laced in her words that was barely perceptible.

She wanted to add how her mother's drunken habits didn't help a young child grow up, but she kept that to herself. Even if Carolien hated what her mother has done over the years, she was still her mother. And she was always told never to hang out the family's dirty laundry to outside people. What secrets are in the family, stayed in the family.

But then again, Ryosuke was family now, wasn't he? Carolien had to resist the urge to make a face at that thought.

"Ah, I guess she was being proactive to try and snuff it out before you got any ideas." He commented conversationally. "My parents tried sending Hani to boarding school once. She's strong-willed now, but when she was even younger, there wasn't a force alive able to tame her. She would hit kids who so much as insulted her. She did not believe in dress codes and would often completely ignore teachers during class. Let's just say my parents were disappointed when she came back just as rowdy as she was when she left."

He glanced over briefly, but noticed his wife had little interest in the topic, so he dropped it, leaving them in silence. He wondered if they would ever become friendly simply by living in proximity to one another. They could divorce once he got his hands on her father's research, but at the rate they were going, that wasn't going to be for years at least. He shook his head, focusing instead on the road.

Carolien nodded as she listened, feeling a touch of envy. Sometimes she wished she was someone else, someone braver or more passionate. In some ways, Carolien wondered if she had any of that spirit when she was younger in the first place. Perhaps becoming close with her husband's sisters might be good for her. Certainly she didn't think Ryosuke would want anything to do with her, let alone share her interests. From what she'd seen so far, her husband only wanted the outdoors and keeping to business rather than sit down and try to chat with her beyond politeness. Like asking about what she liked, didn't like.

Then again, she didn't do those things either.

But I did that out of spite. I was hoping that by being unfriendly he'd still try to call things off, or Mother would do something like realize she was selling off her daughter.

As silence fell upon them again, Carolien silently prayed for them to get to their destination faster.

The remainder of the drive passed in silence, but thankfully it was only another fifteen minutes until they arrived at the mall. He let his wife out of the car because he knew if he didn't his sisters would make an annoying fuss about it.

They were all smiles, waiting out front of the main entrance, bouncing and bubbly, planning their attack on the boutiques and trying to decide how to best abuse their only brother no doubt.
"CarolienI You've been to the mall before, yes? Which places do you like best?" Reina cooed, linking arms with her new sister.

Ryo eyed the signs before commenting. "I'm going to grab a snack from the food court. Does anyone want anything?"

Clara nodded, "I'll have a lemonade and Reina will have something salty. We'll text you the location we decide on and your expected arrival before revenge is in order. You know we dislike when you take your time to avoid us."

Ryo rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Carolien, do you want anything?"

Carolien had to resist the initial urge to lean away at the sudden, unexpected closeness as Reina linked arms. But then she forced herself to relax and smiling tentatively at all of Ryosuke's sisters in turn. "I like the gift shops and art galleries, to be honest. And the bookstore. Mostly to browse. But I like looking at new dresses as well," Carolien answered, but began to trail off into a softer tone as she thought back to many times she had to fight with her mother about shopping. Always her mother enforced her opinion until Carolien regretted picking anything at all and usually she ended up so exhausted that she gave in to her mother's whims. And as for gift shops and bookstores, well, she remembered a few times going to those with her father.

As she listened to Clara absently, Carolien was trying to recall if she remembered to eat anything at all that day. Blinking, she frowned slightly as she realized she was so absorbed in her own world that she hadn't. Her expression cleared though as she looked at her husband and she offered a small smile. "Something savory would be delicious. Like a cheese pastry or a pretzel or something. Whatever sounds good to you."

Ryo nodded briefly and left the girls to escape briefly.

"If we take the gift shops and galleries into account... We should head left first, then loop around the top floor before descending in a clockwise pattern. I'm looking forward to going to the book store as well. I'd love to get some recommendations from you if you don't mind." Clara thought aloud, directing the group along.

"I'm excited to see your thoughts on the art gallery! We can pick out some new art for your home! It didn't seem like you guys personalized the decor much..." Reina chittered on.

Hani smiled as well, falling in step with the sisters. "We're really excited to get to know you if you can't tell. And we're always open books for family, so feel free too ask us all about Ryo's embarrassing childhood." She slung an arm comfortably around Carolien's shoulders, hugging her briefly.

Inwardly, Carolien breathed out in relief. It seemed that Ryosuke's sisters weren't held to the same standards--or more accurate, restrictions--that her mother enforced. She let herself be guided with them, a small pleased smile on her face. A little glow of warmth filled her as she let their chattering surround her.

"The art gallery would be amazing. I can finally remove that boring picture in the library that my mother put," Carolien agreed, silently wondering if Ryosuke would even care if she redecorated the manor.

Glancing over at Hani, Carolien's eyebrow raised with curiosity, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Embarrassing childhood? Did that even exist for him?