The Oasis was a restaurant built in the middle of a lake. Not only was it on water, it was made completely of glass with opaque panes being used to give the illusion of privacy to the customers.
Despite looking delicate, the place was actually made of reinforced glass. The material so strong that even a missile would have trouble getting through. Not only would weapons have difficulty cracking it, regular people stood no chance. The only way to reach the place was by boat. With only the elite, able to get reservations and the rest of the population, only able to spy on the place from a distance, most of them using binoculars.
Normally, it was not a place that Haley would be caught dead in. She had always felt that it was far too pretentious and wasteful for her tastes. But, for what she and Roth were going to do, it would serve their purposes perfectly.
Had they been anybody else, the moment that they had called to make a reservation, they would have been told to wait in the three-year-long line. But when they had mentioned who they were.
The restaurant owners had been bending over backwards to assist them. when they had mentioned that they would be bringing their families along. The people at the Oasis had nearly lost their minds.
Now, the day of the revelation had finally come, and Haley, despite it being her plan to tell their families at the same time, and do it someplace in public, was actually regretting it.
She actually found herself wondering if Roth's plans to just casually broadcast the news would have been all that bad.
"I am sure that if you were to make a call to prince Victor, he would be very understanding. Just explain to him that your meltdown the other night was due to you being very tired. Prince Victor is very forgiving in nature. There is no way that he will hold it against you,"
From the moment that they had sat down, her grandfather, who was under the impression that Haley had invited them out in order to take back her behavior towards Prince Victor had been talking about the man non-stop.
Not seeming to take the hint whenever Haley just grunted instead of engaging in conversation with him.
"Emily, how are things at the company?"
"Good. We have a few projects lined up that I am very excited about," Emily did not seem to want to say more, so Haley did not push.
"Oh, that is good. And what about you, April? Anything new in your life?"
"Nothing much, I'm just thinking of going back to painting. It has always relaxed me," Haley wanted to talk about how yoga did the same for her, but her sister did not seem interested.
For a few seconds, the table lapsed into silence, and Haley, though she did not like it, was glad no one had left yet
But then, her grandfather decided to pick up where he had left off.
"That Prince Victor really is something. The day after the whole incident he actually called to apologize, saying that he probably caught you off guard. Can you believe it?"
Subtly reaching under the table, Haley typed out a quick text to Roth, 'Hurry up.'
The text, along with the eight others that she had sent before it, went ignored, and Haley seriously began to doubt herself. Was Roth coming, or was he going to let her go through this thing on her own? She had never known him to be late before, and it was putting her on edge.
"Haley?" Emily calling her name softly, had her looking up.
"Yes?"
"Why are there extra seats at this table? Has the restaurant made a mistake? We should call them in, and have them rectify this immediately. If this is the service of the oasis, then I…" Emily's words were cut off by the door opening.
And in an instant, the mood in the room shifted, going icy.
The first person to walk through the door was none other than Roth, her Roth, Deacon, and their eyes met briefly, relief flooding through Haley at the sight of him, before anxiety kicked in.
She was about to be in a room full of Roths, and he was amongst Slaters, things were going to be interesting even before they shared the reason for the meeting.
Right behind her Roth, was his father. The man's face instantly looked as though he had swallowed a lemon when he saw who the occupants of the room were.
"Deacon, we seem to have come to the wrong room. Let us leave and go to the one that you reserved for us, my son,"
"Oh great, Slaters, no wonder the whole place stinks, just what I need to ruin my appetite," And that, of course, was Deacon's younger brother, Brian.
"Mr Roth, your family has just come into our area of the restaurant and already your youngest is misbehaving. I would have thought people like you who prided themselves in order, would have a better hold of their household,"
"If my son needed a firm hold, then I would gladly provide it. But so far I am yet to disagree with anything that he said," Lucas Roth's eyes were narrowed, and Haley could already feel a headache building.
She glanced over at Roth for support, but he seemed just as tense as she was.
Right when she was thinking that things could not get any worse, Brian, who had just been complaining about his appetite being ruined, glanced over at April, then he winked at her.
"Hello there darling,"
"How dare you!" It was Emily who intervened, instantly shifting to shield their younger sister from the lecherous attentions of Deacon's playboy of a younger brother.
"Brian have some self-respect, flirting with a Slater!"
"And just what is wrong with my granddaughter. She's as lovely as any young lady, nothing at all like your womanizer of a son,"
"Stop it, all of you," Mrs Roth did not raise her voice, but she instantly caught everybody's attention.
"If you continue to snipe at each other, the people outside of this room will see. Right now only the foggy glass is shielding us, but they can see your body movements. If you come to blows, trust me, within a matter of seconds the whole world will know. Can our families' reputations really take such a hit? We do not need unnecessary trouble,"
Just like that, everything instantly went down a notch, everybody settling down, with even Brian, whom Haley had never seen regret anything, looking apologetic. He actually seemed as though he wanted to drop to his knees and beg his mother for forgiveness. But Mrs Roth was not done yet.
"Deacon darling, you are the one who brought us here. Why?" At those words, her grandfather turned to her.
"For us, it was Haley who invited us out. What is the meaning of this child?"
As the rest of the Roth's took their seats, Deacon remained standing. He looked over at Haley, and she found herself getting to her feet and walking over to him.
"It is true, Deacon and I met up and decided to bring all of you here,"
"Why on earth would you be meeting with my son, and why would the two of you decide to call us out?" His father looked seconds away from accusing her of being a witch who ate babies for fun.
Suddenly feeling nervous, Haley reached out blindly for Deacon's hand, and felt him, wrap his fingers around hers, the gesture not going unnoticed. Her grandfather's eyes went as wide as saucers as he stared at them.
"Haley, what is the meaning of this?"
"Deacon, surely you are not dating a Slater"
Deacon shook his head.
"No father, I am not dating Haley Slater" Lucas Roth, made a sound like a great calamity had just been avoided.
"How silly of me, of course you are not. No self-respecting Roth would ever…" Before he could say anymore Haley decided to just hit them with it.
"The two of us are not dating because…" She paused for effect. Then she brought their joined hands to her lips and planted a soft kiss over Deacon's knuckles.
"…We are married…"