[quick author's note: This chapter is dedicated to Chrysbliss (thank you so much for your insightful comments! I'm really touched by them and whenever I read them I feel even more motivated to write to the best of my ability!) And please note that Panjilia is one of the small towns of the country, Songjiria. Orina is the central town of Songjiria.]

"ARE WE EXPECTING a swarm of people to come? Are we, by any chance, serving dinner to the Songjirian Parliament too?" Joaq enquired slapped his thighs when he saw the grand display of food on the table.

"I'm elated that you're content with our food." I sarcastically jested back but deep down I acknowledged that Pat and I might have outdone ourselves.

In the centre was the main dish- a steaming pot of home-cooked army stew- and the other five side dishes were artfully displayed in a circular arrangement. The side dishes consisted of a medium-sized plate of Italian vongole linguine that had caviar sprinkled on it, crab, fresh store-bought Korean kimchi, pumpkin soup, eggs Benedict.

But that wasn't all that Pat and I had prepared- that was dessert too. A mini-sized store-bought tiramisu (from 'Judge Me by My Cakes, of course), one homemade creme brulee and last but not least, kueh lapis.

In total, Pat and I cooked 7 dishes and served 9 for the celebratory dinner. The scrumptious is without any dubiety, fit for a King.

"Well..." Pat glanced at the cramped table and grimaced, hastily glimpsing at me before biting her lip. "You're only seeing six dishes here, Joaq. There's dessert too."

At that, Joaq became slack-jawed and was understandably rendered speechless. "Thank you for sending me a text to come here ravenous."

At that moment, the doorbell rings again and I rush to greet my boss. Sometimes I don't know if I should think of Libby as my boss or my friend. Isn't there supposed to be a line drawn when it comes to a boss and employee relationship? Darn it, I should've been focused on my earlier jobs...

"Hi, erm..." words fail me as I struggle to piece together the right words to call her. "Erm..."

"I've told you this before: Just call me Libby."

"Ok, Li...Libby."

"Oh, I brought Moscato along with me. Are fruity wines fine with you?"

"Yes, it is."

While I watch her prance in my home, my mind abruptly flashes back to my first meeting with her- those same precise words she had used at the end of the impromptu interview were "Call me Libby" too. So why is it so tough for me to address her by her name now? I had done what she had requested unbothered back then. What has changed?

___

"Let's share some stories about one another." A tipsy Libby suggests while she chugs down another glass of Moscato.

When she had casually brought up that she brought along Moscato with her, I had ludicrously assumed that it was the cheap, $8 kind. I had momentarily forgotten that she was a wealthy woman and had even moronically complimented the wine by saying that it was the richest, more flavourful cheap Moscato I've ever drunk in my life.

I felt as asinine as a turkey when everyone else in the room judged me heavily when that sentence escaped from my mouth.

"Irina... can't you tell that it's the Poli Grappa di Moscato you're drinking?" Joaq's eyes were full of ridicule and his matter-of-fact tone made me feel small as a dot.

"I, oh, sorry."

Despite that happening two hours ago, my brain was still relentlessly replaying it in my mind, the way KPOP armies would for a newly-released KPOP music video. The celebratory dinner that was meant to serve as a jovial memory for me was turning into more of a nightmarish one instead.

I was about to object to Libby's suggestion when an oblivious Pat merrily consented, and so the first round of sharing our stories began.

"What topics should we start from?" Libby asked after downing another glass of Moscato.

"Let's try this randomiser app," Pat proposed and after we nodded our heads in unison, she launched it. And the first topic that the app chose was...

Friendships.

"Gentleman first," Libby recommended but Joaq refused. "Nah, ladies first. Then me. I want to know what mood you're gonna set."

"Very well. I have neither a wide or small social circle. While it is blindingly clear that I am rolling in money- sometimes literally too- it comes at a price. I am a real-life heiress; my father is the CEO of Orina Cosmetics, and I started Libby's Bath with 20% of my trust fund. But all the people that mingles with me are leeches. They always want something from me because they know of my extravagant background. Due to this, I never had the privilege of having a best friend or a confidant. Even my own father wants to be a stakeholder in my business.... So when it comes to friendships, I really have no tale to tell.

I mean, yeah, I hosted a yacht party for my 16th party and kept the alcohol and cocktails like sangria, tequila, champagne, brandy flowing... I've indulged in hook-ups and dated a string of men.. but when it comes to buddies? I never had one."

All of us were silent as a mouse after hearing her sob story. The atmosphere was so heavy that one could cut it with a knife but Joaq managed to lighten things up. "You're a mood-killer, Libby. Maybe that's why you're friendless."

Thankfully, Libby didn't take his words to heart and chortled at that. "Then you go on. Spin the wheel."

Joaq bowed mockingly and did so anyways. The topic he got was dating.

"So we're going down this route I see... very well, let's go! Well, I'm currently a single pringle, so hit me up ladies, but I will share my unforgettable breakup experience. This happened at my first relationship. My first girlfriend broke up with me because I made her too happy."

"What? Seriously?" I couldn't help but gasp as I was flabbergasted by his answer. "Happiness can lead to a breakup too?"

"Ya. I have no idea what was going on in that gorgeous head of hers. You know, I told her that I won't treat her too well as a way to get her to change her mind, but she bawled her eyes out at that. She just kept insisting on breaking up so..." Joaq sighed and treated the Moscato as a shot. "No matter how hard I fought, our relationship eventually met its untimely demise."

"What happened to your second?" It was glaringly obvious to me, Pat's friend of nine years, that her drunkenness was causing her to be out of her mind. Joaq clearly hadn't completely gotten over his first love's perplexing end and here she was, demanding for a story that would remind him of his second.

"Pat!" I hissed and facepalmed when she blew me a kiss. "I am so sorry about Pat... this happens when she's really intoxicated..."

"It's okay... and since you're sorry, tell me a story."

Wow, I'm paying for Pat's mistake? Ah, it's fine. She's like family to me after all.

"Okay," I agreed and tapped the 'spin' button on the app.

And of all topics it had to land on, it had to go there.

My topic was...

Family. 

this is a slightly shorter chapter (please let me know if you'd like them to be longer!) and I hope you enjoyed it! I hope everyone has a happy March!! (Can you believe that it's already March??? 😶😨😝) What some of your plans for this month? Let me know by commenting! 

What do you think will happen in the next chapter? Will Irina choose another topic or will she reveal her past to Joaquim?

Also I'm really curious about your opinion of the characters- mainly Irina, Joaq and Libby- so please let me know what you think about them😄