[Kennedy's POV]

The atmosphere was more tensed than a war ground. Kennedy didn't know what she should do at this moment.

She couldn't even find any topic to continue a decent conversation. Well, at this point, she wasn't sure if they would ever have a decent conversation.

And more than that she was terrified of Merrick Johnson. He was the person whom she had given her peaceful mind. It was very peaceful indeed. He wouldn't know it was her on the phone, would he?

Should she try changing her voice?

She made them tea, and coffee for Dean and Samuel. She came near and placed the tray with a smiling face on the tea table. But inside she was shaking like hell. She had no idea they would come.

She sat beside Samuel, taking another chair and offered them the snacks she had made for the little party.

Richard Johnson was certainly the god of the most handsome men chart. He looked composed and insanely sexy but Kennedy saw Samuel and Dean were no less than him. They were on their own league of handsomeness.

The certainly got some genes...

The senior Johnson sipped on the tea and nodded, "You certainly know how to make good tea but I never had spicy tea before..."

Kennedy smiled and said, "Well, my grandfather used to work in India for a few years thus he had learnt their cuisines also my mom has Asian genes. You can see I got every skills of cooking from them."

Merrick Johnson nodded with a slight smile lingering on his lips while Richard Johnson only sipped with a bored expression. He was least interested in engaging into the conversation and she could see why Samuel was bitter about him.

And they were once again quiet and the tension around them grew more.

But as soon as Merrick Johnson finished his tea he said, "Samuel... I just came here to visit you. I am glad that you are fine..."

Samuel's eyes were on him, not blinking just watching him with cold and intense glares. Kennedy had no idea why he was so hard on his father, surely Samuel told her a little bit about their business dispute but she could see he didn't like any of his family members other than Dean.

His father looked at Richard and nodded his head as Richard immediately took out a file and gave it to Merrick.

He looked at it and then said, stretching his hand toward Samuel, "Just take a look at it and tell me in my birthday if anything is not in your liking..."

Samuel asked, "And why do you expect me to come to your birthday?"

Merrick Johnson nodded giving a tired and dried smile. "Because I hope to see all of my sons together on my last birthday."

At that all of them froze including Kennedy. What!

Merrick Johnson said, shaking his head and giving a small chuckle, "Oh, no! I'm not dying it's just after this year, I will be retiring from everything and I don't wish to celebrate my birthday anymore so..." He looked at Samuel and gave him a tender smile. "I hope you attend this party..."

No amount of tenderness could melt Samuel as he was still looking at him with cold eyes. It seemed like he knew what was in the file as he took it and placed it on the table. It was insane that how much distant he was from his father and his heart had become so cold that even hell fire wouldn't be able to defrost the ice around it.

He said, "I will see about that."

At his answer, Merrick Johnson looked down and nodded, seemingly he knew Samuel would say this but still there was a little hope which Samuel crushed brutally.

Kennedy felt really bad for him but her hands were tied. She wasn't part of this and she wasn't his girlfriend either to decide for him or to give him advice. But she hoped that at least, Samuel would fulfill his father's wish of attending the party.

And then Merrick Johnson turned his gaze toward Kennedy and said, "I would be very happy if you attend with Samuel, young lady."

Kennedy nodded with a smile and said, "Of course, sir."

And with that both Merrick and Richard Johnson stood up and left.

Samuel glared at Dean as Dean said, surrendering his hands in the air, "Alright! I may have told him that you were admitted in the hospital but I didn't expect him to give you a visit and invite you personally..."

Samuel hissed, "Who told you to tell them that?!"

Dean shrugged, "Because he is our father..."

The muscles clenched on Samuel's jaw as he directed his gazes toward Kennedy this time. Kennedy gulped.

There he goes...

He asked, "Why did you invite them to have dinner with us?!"

Kennedy said, "You don't expect me to be impolite to them just because you hate them, right?"

Samuel hissed, "This appartment is mine! So I will decide whom to invite!"

And it made Kennedy to get angry as she crossed her hands above her chest and said, "But I cooked the food."

"The kitchen is mine!"

"You don't even use the kitchen!"

"That doesn't matter as long as I had paid for it besides, that food! I paid half of it."

"I paid the other half then!"

And they both got angry as they came closer with angry gazes directing to each other, no one faltering back. How could she be rude to someone when they came and the table was set with foods! Kennedy thought.

Dean looked between them as it was about to get to a heated argument and he intervened, "Alright! Stop your couple quarrel or you guys can both enter the room for your heated fight."

And they both looked at Dean with angry gazes while saying together, "We are not a couple!"

Dean looked at them with an irritated face as he said, "Of course, you aren't! You live together, you sleep on the same bed, she cooks for you and takes care of you and she has hickeys all over her skin."

Kennedy got awestruck as her hands instantly reached around herself, hiding her neck and she asked, "But I had hid them with the concealer! Are they still visible?!"

Samuel rolled his eyes as Dean gave them a bored look.

Samuel said, "No. They are well hidden but you just fell for his tricks."

Dean smirked as Kennedy's face resembled the tomatoes. Damn! She certainly blurted out that she had a ton of hickeys!

Dean said, "Anyways! I got you an expensive champagne so postpone your argument until the champagne is finished."

Although Kennedy was still mad at Samuel for lashing out on her, she nodded. Samuel didn't say anything and the doorbell rang.

It seemed tonight's guests had arrived to enjoy the recovery of Samuel but Kennedy didn't want to talk to him now. She went to receive the guests as it revealed, Noah and Gwen.

She smiled as Gwen entered and hugged her. Noah said, "Buddy! So glad you came alive!"

"I wasn't dead!" Samuel hissed which he disregarded.

After a short while, Adam and Sheila came as they brought the twins with them and Samuel's appartment filled with laughter, chatting and food.

Dean finally introduced himself as he couldn't do it at the time when Samuel was unconscious.

"Hello, I'm Dean Johnson..." He said as Adam added, "I know you and your brother Patrick."

He asked, "You know?"

"Yeah, he was my batchmate." Adam said as they got into their conversation.

As they were about to eat, Kennedy stood up as it was time to give Samuel his medicines before the dinner. She took them and recalled she decided not to talk to him but how else she would give him the medicine?

Noah was talking with Gwen and Samuel while Sheila was helping Kennedy. The twins were now with Samuel as he seemed to be quite fond of them.

He was playing with the kids as Kennedy's eyes lingered on him. Without her knowledge, a smile spread across her lips as Sheila asked, "So... You are into your flatmate, I suppose?"

Kennedy's head snapped at her and she shook her head vigorously, "What! No!"

Sheila narrowed her eyes at her and said, "Yet after a few minutes, your eyes are on him..."

She felt her cheeks were burning as she looked down. She couldn't lie to her best friend because Sheila knew her too well.

Sheila smirked, "So, you do like him, don't you?"

Kennedy froze because if Samuel knew about it he would become distant to her especially when he said the deals would be off if either one of them would fell for the other one.

She looked at Sheila but her eyes unconsciously went toward Samuel and she found he was watching her too as she looked away. Kennedy said, "I don't like him!"

Sheila gave a lazy look at her as she muttered, "Really?"

She nodded. "Yes! What is there to like? All he does is vent out his anger on me and not apologizing because of his too much egoistic self! He is even rude to me all the time even when I took pity on him and have been taking caring of him!"

She huffed. Certainly! What was there to like about him?

Sheila nodded. "True. There is nothing great about him because all he does being rude to you... You shouldn't be liking him yet you are..."

Kennedy looked up and her eyes met with Sheila who had a genuine smile on her face. "Don't lie to yourself... Your face, your eyes, pretty much everything about you is screaming that you like him..."

Her eyes looked around her neck and said, "And I can see you have tried to hide those hickeys..."

Kennedy once again tried to hide herself by her hands but Sheila added, "People may not find it out but you can't hide it from me because I had crossed past the things you are experiencing now."

Kennedy was surprised that she could guess as she asked a bit flustered that she got caught, "H—how did you know?"

"How would I not know?! I'm a married woman, Kennedy." She said with a smirk, "I knew there was something going on between you two but I didn't know you were screwing around each other too."

Kennedy had no words to say as she got speechless...

Sheila added, "Both of your attitude for each other and the way you guys look at each other. It's no wonder, you are in a relationship..."

Well, she was wrong. She wasn't in a relationship with Samuel, she was in a lust-ship with him.

She didn't want to spill it to her so she said, "But we aren't in any relationship... And I don't like anything about him..."

Sheila scoffed, "Really? Is there nothing you like about him? Other than his pretty face or his little buddy down there?"

"Sheila!" Kennedy punched her shoulder as Sheila laughed and butterflies fluttered in Kennedy's belly.

She was sure there was nothing to like about him other than his face and...

Then she recalled how he punched Mac on behalf of her, he had never fat shamed her and he certainly never made her feel insecure of herself. Even in their intimate moments, he had worshipped her like she deserved it.

He might be a sharp-tongued person with a straight forward personality which made him rude often than not but he was an amazing person. At least to her...

Sheila patted her shoulder and said as she got up to take her babies for feeding, "Kennedy, there must be something that you found something great than his looks. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be coping up with his rudeness and still like him."

Maybe she was right...

And once again, she looked at Samuel who was playing with the twins.

She took a long breath and stood up as well since she needed hand him his medicines and she wanted to take care of him, herself.

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24th March, 23