A Long Path Ahead Of Us

Chapter 7 (Lovebirds On The Road)

Annabella blinked her eyes, perplexity written all over her face. Nevertheless, she snapped out of it before waving her hand at him, motioning him to eat with her. The man nodded with a smile and started eating as if he had starved for days.

"So Miss Annabella, I couldn't even properly introduce myself to you. I'm Frognick."

"Cough, cough, cough!" Annabella choked on her juice and started coughing continuously. Her little face flushed red and her throat was hurting like it was burning.

"Cough!" She gulped down some water and coughed for some time before managing to stop herself eventually.

Frognick sighed. "I know my name is weird."

Annabella looked at him, shocked. 'Mister, it's actually beyond weird.'

"Who gave you such a name?" Annabella thought it through and asked what she felt was more suitable.

"It's my mom. Lots of friends, teachers even my relatives asked me to change my name. But I refused. Do you know why?" His voice turned serious.

Annabella shook her head. "I have no idea."

Frognick continued. "It's because it's a memory, a recollection from my mother before she left me. So no matter how ugly and gross it is, I still love it and cherish my name for the sake of my mother's love."

Annabella looked at him with admiration. "Why did she leave you when she clearly loved you so much?" She couldn't help asking.

Frognick sighed again. He put a slice of bread in his mouth before answering. "When I said she left me... I meant she's no longer in this world."

Annabella let out an 'Oh'. "So it's like that. I'm sorry, Mr Froggy."

Frognick chuckled when he heard her. He chewed a pancake saying, "I prefer Nicky as a nickname."

Annabella gave him a low giggle in response. "I think Froggy is better."

Frognick shook his head helplessly. This time, he was eating some Chinese dumplings. He spoke with food in his mouth which made his voice turning a little hoarse. "Imagine me being your husband and you call me 'Hubby froggy' in public. Aren't we humiliating ourselves by acting like that?"

Annabella's eyes widened in disbelief. How could she possibly accept a frog as her husband? Even so, she could just console herself by thinking that he was the Frog Prince from the fairytale and came into her life with fortune. But this frog wasn't a normal one... He was a glutton as well.

She excused herself to the bathroom and quickly escaped from him for the time being. She really didn't like that man. It wasn't only because of his greed towards food. She just realised that he wasn't her type.

After coming out of the bathroom, Annabella went to meet the manager of the coffee shop and asked, "Mmm... There was a teenage boy... He was around 17... Black hair and blue eyes... Handsome..."

Annabella's face blushed as she continued. She felt embarrassed. She couldn't understand why she took the initiative to ask about that life-ruining devil. Maybe it should be due to her massive curiosity. He always spied on her, didn't he? What happened to him now? Was he bored of spying on her?

"Are you asking about Damien?" The manager couldn't help sighing in his heart. Really! That boy's capabilities were beyond words. He could even attract older sisters. What a handsome peacock!

Annabella tilted her head. 'Oh, his name is Damien.'

"He resigned not so long ago." The manager continued, carefully examining her reactions. As he expected, the beautiful girl showed a stunned expression. She kept staring at him as if she couldn't believe what she heard just now.