6:01pm

[ mom ]

mom
I'm visiting you.

y/n
oh okay

rn or

mom
Yes, right now.

I'm almost at your apartment.

y/n
alr

when did you get back in liyue

mom

y/n
how was your business trip

mom
It went well, thank you.

I take it that you've been well, yes?

y/n
yeah i've been alright

mom
Wonderful.

See you soon. 😊

y/n
see you soon

seen

○●○

all you could do was sit down while patiently waiting for your mother to arrive.

the same questions from yesterday swarmed your mind and you've never felt more troubled.

a small gasp escaped your lips once you heard the bell ring.

you quickly got up from your seat and rushed towards the door, opening it.

"hello y/n, how are you?" your mother asked as soon as she saw you. but her attention was more so focused on your apartment rather than you.

you quickly composed yourself. "i'm good."

she then walked inside, still looking around carefully. "i'm surprised it's so clean here. it's a relief to see that you've been taking good care of yourself."

you nervously laughed, rubbing your neck. "yeah... have a seat, mom."

she nodded at you before walking towards the sofa, where you both then sat down.

you waited a moment for her to say something and when she didn't, you decided to say something instead. something you've been meaning to ask her for awhile.

"hey mom?"

"yeah?"

"have you ever heard of a company called fatui inc?"

just as you finished your sentence, your mother's entire expression changed. as if she had gotten a series of distressing flashbacks overcome her.

"why do you ask?" she asked you.

you shrugged your shoulders, playing it off as nothing. "no reason. just curious."

your mother breathed in before continuing. "it's an awful company. filled with a bunch of criminals, if anything."

her response was rather alarming to you. while fiddling with your fingers, you averted your gaze from her as you grew more unsettled.

"what makes you say that?" you asked in a quiet tone.

"i've had a few encounters with them. they always have some sort of ulterior motive," she explained.

sounds similar.

then she glanced at you while raising a brow. "but why are you so curious?"

you shook your head, "like i said. no reason."

"oh alright. well then!" she got up from the sofa and walked towards the window, moving the curtains to one side as she gazed outside at the quiet neighborhood. "i have some good news for you."

"ah, what good news?" you asked. she turned her head back to you with a jaunty smile.

"well as you're already aware, my previous business trip took place in mondstadt."

you hummed with a small nod, as she began walking to you. "during my time there, i attended a business meeting with another company. the ceo was a kind man, quite humble too."

you continued nodding, growing wary of where this conversation was headed to.

"i decided to partner with his company. and that's where you come in," she sat down beside you and held onto your hands.

"i don't understand?" you tilted your head in confusion, feeling the tension in your stomach grow worse.

"the ceo has a son, whom i got to meet awhile later. and he's incredibly kind, as well as intelligent. oh and very charming too and—"

"where are you going with this..." you interjected, suspicion lacing your tone.

the woman sighed to herself before stroking her bangs sideways. "to strengthen our company's bond with his, i believe you should marry his son."

she didn't have to finish her sentence for you to know what she was going to say. you knew it was coming yet it still struck hard.

and as she gave you a small reassuring smile, you could feel your heart sink deeper and deeper. there were simply no words left for you to say.

"i understand this may be a hard decision for you," she spoke in a comforting tone, "but it will be incredibly beneficial for us both. you won't have to be alone anymore and the partnership will mean a lot to our company."

you gripped tightly onto your left arm, furrowing your eyebrows in agitation.

the worst part was, you couldn't say no. if you were to say no, she'd ask why. then you'd try explaining why. and then she'd ultimately try convincing you otherwise.

it was suffocating. you didn't know what to do. there was only one thing you were thinking of. or rather, one person.

even if you didn't want to believe it—even if every part of you hated yourself for feeling this way—the primary reason why you didn't want to accept her offer was because of childe.

you wondered why. why was childe your biggest concern? the answer to that was obvious. it was because a small part of you wanted him to be the man your mother was talking about.

as dumb as you felt about it, it was indisputably true. and no matter how many times you kept denying it, you could no longer refuse the fact that you did indeed love that man.

and you were absolutely terrified of losing him.

this was exactly what you kept frightfully hoping against. an arranged marriage. and ironically enough, fate brought it right to you.

"well? what do you say?" your mother looked straight at you, observing your face, your eyes, your behavior, every small detail.

all you could do was simply look at her in disbelief. in pure dreadful shock. until, the words you wanted to oh so badly say came out by themselves. "no," you mumbled.

your mother raised a brow. "what?"

"i don't want to marry someone i don't know."

a small scoff left your mother's lips as she looked away from you. "that's not a reason. besides, once you do get to know him, i'm certain that you'll like the boy. he's sort of like you, you know."

"still."

noticing your reaction, your mother exhaled tiredly. "unless you have someone else on your mind, there shouldn't be any reason for you to refuse such an offer."

any other person on my mind.

you wanted to say something so desperately, but no words would come out. you wanted to tell her that you did already have someone you liked, but you couldn't.

you were aware of her distaste towards fatui inc now. how would she react if she found out that the very man you liked worked for that company? and was a director nonetheless.

you pursed your lips, averting your gaze from her. still no words left your mouth.

your mother frowned, unable to comprehend what was going on in your mind.

"i'll give you a day to decide," she got up from the sofa again. "remember, your decision will have an impact on our company. it wouldn't be wise to refuse for no valid reason."

she approached the door, before turning around to look at you one more time.

"by the way, the boy's name is diluc ragnvindr. in case you were wondering," she said in a somewhat stern tone. "goodbye then."

and with those words, your mother went out the door, closing it from behind.

you simply continued sitting there, with a million thoughts striking you at once.

what would you do now? especially with these newfound conflicting feelings. and more importantly, what would you tell childe?

was telling him this necessary in the first place? since well, did he even feel the same way?

that should be obvious to you, but you hoped he didn't. you desperately hoped that he only saw you as a friend.

regardless of that, you were fully aware of one thing; if you were to accept this offer, then surely, you'd never be able to face childe again.