"Hello, Miss D'Waner." I heard a girly voice behind me when I had my attention about how Zearo was acting like a kid with Mr. Stone. Their conversation was so different from the usual grown-ups that I wondered how close they were to acting so carefree.

"Hello- "I turned towards the source and for a second I thought I would lose my shit and perhaps do something that I would regret later. Had this been my place, I would have walked away, but I was the guest and had to respect the host no matter what. My jetlag had the best of me, giving me a hard time focusing and thinking properly. Despite that, I mustered up enough courage and smiled, though I knew I was bad at showing fake smiles.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't introduce you to my sweet child." I heard Oliver rushing towards his daughter with a smile on his face. Looking at how happy he was, I smiled. A proud father, to be exact. There was a surge of pain in some tiny place of my heart considering my luck in this department, but never mind. Life has its fun toying with people.

"This is my precious daughter, Diana." He said, and I nodded at the girl beside him. She looked so delicate and innocent, and I wished that she never had to go through any hardships.

"I've been hearing so much about you and now that I finally saw you, I feel so blessed." She beamed with joy, making me laugh.

"Thank you so much, Liara here," I responded, holding my hand up for a proper greeting. She held my hand between both her palms, and I could say she was nervous by how sweaty her hands were.

"You don't have to be nervous around me," I added, concerned about her.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. It's just that you are my female crush and I'm so excited to meet you in person." She beamed with joy. Her voice had a nervous vibe, and I acknowledged her views about me.

"It's all right." I smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Aren't you going to meet your male crush?" I heard Zearo say near my ear. His face was too close to my ear, making my body shiver, but I hated every bit.

"Oh, give her some space. Will you? She is already nervous in Liara's presence and you just adding fuel to it." She said, squatting Zearo's shoulder, and I gritted my teeth.

"You tell me why are you here? Aren't my wife and I invited today?" He asked, and I thought he wasn't aware of this.

"Oh, no. It was all because of me. I invited her. I knew nothing about your favorite other than some dishes my father cooked for you. Julie said she'd help me when I met her in the store near the alley next to your house." Diana explained in a hurry. She was still nervous, but her words hit my nerves agitating me. Instead of enjoying the dinner, I found it suffocating.

"You alright honey? You don't look too good to me." I heard Mrs. Stones as I took a few steps back to get fresh air.

"No, I'm good. It's just that I'm jet lagged." I admitted. I should have postponed the dinner plan, but as I saw the preparation, my heart was not ready to spoil the mood.

"Oh dear, we are so sorry to burden you like that." She said dejectedly, and I tried hard to convince her otherwise.

"May I use your washroom? I will feel better once I freshen up." I said, as I needed to splash some water on my face to cool off the anger that kept bubbling in my veins.

"Oh, it's this way. Take your time." She said and showed me the way. I was so thankful for their hospitality and splashed ice cold water on my face that relieved my tense nerves. I needed to think straight and stop getting bothered by someone who had nothing to do with me.

"Is everything alright? You don't look good." I gasped at the sudden intrusion and accidentally splashed water over my body.

"Don't you know how to give some privacy to someone?" I asked, glaring at him, who stood as if he did nothing wrong.

"I just came to check on you when Maria said you didn't feel good." He said as a matter of fact. I tore the tissue from the stand and tried to clean my top, but it didn't help.

"Let me help you." He said and walked towards me, closing the door with the other hand. I shook my head and took a step back, but my body hit the sink and I bit my lips to stop myself from cursing, as my heart wasn't giving me a rest.

"I will not harm you. Keep breathing." He said, having a sly smile on his face as he saw my t-shirt getting see-through after getting wet.

"I can help myself. You should leave." I said, pushing him away.

"They might think that I am not a good husband who just left his wife in the washroom alone when she was not feeling well." He said in his deep, husky voice. His breath fanned my face, and I blinked twice to adjust my views and my thoughts.

"Get over me," I said through gritted teeth, and tried to push him away from me. His closeness irritated me, as my heart wasn't helping my situation.

"I'm just helping you." He said, holding both my hands in one and tearing the tissue from the stand behind me from the other effortlessly. I stared at him as he wiped the excess water from my face down to the throat. His eyes focused on my face only and never went down.

"All well." Had someone else treated me like this, I would have sliced his hands, but I felt powerless in front of him and I hated every bit. Slowly losing his grip, he took a few steps back and stared at me as I was applying my lip balm.

"What?" I asked.

"What's bothering you? You weren't like this when we arrived." He said and paused. I preferred not to answer.

"Is it because Julie is here? I swear I didn't inform her about the dinner." He said, and I took a peek at him to read his expression and it was genuine.

"It's just that I'm tired and I want to get over this," I said in a hurry, masking my actual feeling.

"We could have postponed it to another day." He said, and I shook my head.

"I'm not idle every day to entertain your plans. I needed to get over this as soon as possible." I held back my urge to confess that her presence affected me. But I hurt him. He looked sad, but I was helpless.

"Let's go," I said and walked away from him. He didn't follow me immediately, and I knew for a fact that my rude behavior affected him. But what could I have done? She lived in his house and while I was away, he was in his apartment with her. How should I have reacted to that? She has been constantly hitting me on my nerves and I have had to endure it.

"There you are! You love birds know how to spend time with each other." Mrs. Stones said as she saw me coming.

"No, it's nothing like that." I tried denying it, but Julie cut me off. "Liara isn't the type of person to show affection that easily." I raised my eyebrow at her comment and felt the need to push into her face.

"That's not true. She is an angel, just like her grandmother. I know this more than anyone else." Oliver supported me and I smiled at the mere mention of my grandma.

"I'm nothing compared to how graceful she was," I said and sat near him.

"Oh, you are just like her. Soft yet hard to not let just anyone walk over you." He said and directed his attention towards Julie. I was surprised by how he caught up with the tension between us and I felt ashamed to behave like a kid.

"Please enjoy your dinner. I'm sure you must be hungry," Diana said as she stood beside me, holding a plate full of delicate and beautiful starters.

"Thank you so much for this treat." I thanked her when I knew she made the entire diner herself.

"Oh, it's my pleasure. These are the crabs that I roasted delicately and added spices to enrich its taste." She said, and I held my hands away from the plate.

''I'm allergic to crabs." I replied, apologizing to them.

"Oh my, but I thought you liked it. Julie said crabs are Zearo's favorite, and we knew nothing about your likes." Diana said and I took a peek at Julie, who faked her concerned look.

"No worries. I will have something else." I said and searched for something else that I could eat.

"Mom, I made five crab dishes, and Ms. D'Waner could taste, sadly, none of them. I'm so sorry." Diana was sad, and so was I.

"No baby, I made some dishes that Ms. D'Waner should try." Maria rushed to the kitchen, and I sat idly on the table with an empty plate.

"Wow, Crabs!" I heard Zearo and lost my hold on the spoon. I glared at him and he cared less, but dug into the dishes like a hungry wolf.

"Oh, these are so tasty!" He moaned, and I had the urge to stab the knife right into his stomach for eating improperly.

''Thank you, but sadly, Ma'am couldn't have any of them." Diana said with a sad face and I felt bad for her as she fell for Julie's trap.

"Why?" He asked, and I had the urge to facepalm.

"Don't you know she is allergic to it?" Oliver asked, surprised, and I kicked him below the table to get his shit cleared.

"Oh yeah, I remember. It's just that I couldn't control my appetite when I see these delicacies." He said, shamelessly acknowledging his behavior.

"I'm so sorry for his behavior. He has been through so much today that he hardly got time to eat. Ouch!" Oliver winced, and I looked down under the table and saw Zearo kicking him on his leg.

"What happened today?" I asked as I held a piece of watermelon and took it to my mouth.

"Nothing happened. He is just joking." Zearo cut Oliver off and I sensed something fishy. They both looked at Julie and then I followed their line of sight. Something happened, and he lied to me right in front of everyone. Something that he didn't want me to know, but Julie had the idea.

"Here, try this." Maria brought a table full of yummy dishes lined especially for me. Everything looked so pleasant to my eyes and new as well. I hardly knew what the dishes were but just melted with the smell of em.

"Oh, you didn't have to do that! Thank you so much." My heart was so overwhelmed by the love and affection they gave to me.

"These are typical dishes that I have made since my childhood. Homemade spices and the vegetables and meat from our farm. All healthy and rich in protein that would help you get rid of your tiredness." Maria explained proudly and I, even though not being a foodie, the smell made my mouth water. I felt embarrassed as my stomach growled and everyone laughed.

"My sweet child, you have to work so much that you don't have time to have a proper meal. Here, have them." Maria kept on piling my plate with all the dishes she made. The food tasted heaven and I bet I ate too much to even bother moving.

"I bet she is going to sleep like a panda now." Zearo mocked me, and I mouthed him with jealousy.

"Well, of course I'm jealous. I hardly had anything to eat as you finished them." He said, pointing at the empty dishes.

"You had your crabs. Isn't that enough?" I snapped and wiped my mouth from the tissue and excused myself.

After everyone had their fill, they planned some games, and I barely had energy left for that. I talked with them for an hour, but soon my eyes started getting heavy.

"You should take her home. She looks exhausted." I heard Maria say, but had no energy to talk to them.

"Yeah, I think I should." I heard Zearo and slowly felt his hands snake around my waist, lifting me slowly. I was awake, but not enough to talk or walk. My body felt so heavy, and so did my eyelids.

"You've got to tell her sooner." I heard Julie whispering to him. I was just mere inches away from her and I guess she made sure I heard it.

"I will do what needs to be done. Just let it be." He said in an angry tone and I wondered what was wrong with them.

............

"We will take our leave, and I'm sure she had a blast here. Thanks for having us." He acknowledged their work, and it impressed me.

"I will cook some healthy food, so next time bring her home. She looks so drained. I want to cook for her and feed her." Maria showed concern, and I felt like Dima was talking. I missed Dima.

"Of you go, lady." He said, and I felt a push into the seat. I tried wiggling away, but he fixed my movement by the seat belt.

"You work too much for your own good. Look at how exhausted you are." He said, and I felt his fingers tracing my eyebrows to my nose and my lips. I felt itchy, and I furrowed my brows, as it was still too dreamy and I felt like I wanted to catch whoever was near me, but when I lifted my hands up, they were miles apart. I sighed, giving up my struggle and slowly drifted back to nothingness.

**†****†****†****†****†****†**

❤Vote, Comment, and Share❤