"Why did you ask me for information about that girl?" Ivy asked Diana as soon as she stepped out of her room with Angel. She could not sleep the whole night because she kept thinking about it.
Diana paused.
''I don't mean to meddle in your business,'' Ivy pouted, ''But I thought about it the whole night. You asked me to get a college girl's information. Is she your ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend or anything as dramatic? I am way too curious.''
''Curiosity kills the cat,'' Diana winked at her as she walked towards the dining table placing one hand on her stomach while she hugged Angel with the other.
''But Dee—''
The sudden ringing of her phone interrupted Ivy's chatter.
''Hold her for me,'' Diana passed Angel to Ivy before she went back to her room and picked up her phone.
The unknown number gave her danger alerts in her head.
As expected...
Closing her eyes, she answered the call, ''Yes, this is Diana Chen.''
...
In a black sedan.
Sitting beside the rows of shopping bags, the middle-aged woman lowered her sunglasses in contemplation, ''It's quite sus~"
Logan, the woody butler, who was sitting in the driver's seat kept his face straight under the woman's narrowed eyes.
"Boy, what is my son up to lately?" Hazel Warner leaned back on the car seat.
''Work.''
''Other than work, I mean,'' Hazel said, ''My bugs at his workplace aren't giving me any updates about his relationship status. It has been weeks since he broke up and there has been no new cake-faced woman in his vicinity. Whenever I talk to him about visiting his place, he says he is busy which means I should not go there.''
Logan's expressions remained unchanged as he drove. But Hazel spotted how his grip on the steering wheel had visibly tightened.
''Did you two finally give in to your urges? Are you dating now?" Hazel stroked her chin.
'Screech'
The car came to a halt as the man stepped on the brakes all of a sudden.
''Good Lord, I was right, wasn't I?" Hazel sighed, ''It has been years since my son started dating women. I can barely keep count of all women he dated in these past few years but none of them got his seeds at all. Look at my poor self. I just wanted a grandkid, was it too much to ask? He never told me he was into men but I could tell. I just knew you both had chemistry.''
''There is nothing like that,'' Logan clarified, ''He has been busy with work,'' his face frigid.
''What's with that long face? You can come out—'' Hazel stopped speaking when she noticed the scene outside their car.
Logan followed her gaze.
"What's going on there?" Hazel quickly alighted the car.
Logan helplessly followed her, ''Ma'am, it's best for us to not meddle in anyone else's affair.''
''First, don't call me ma'am if you are going to be my son-in-law in the future,'' Hazel glared at him, ''Second, can't you see what's happening there? If you have the heart to stand at the side and watch then I might deduct your brownie points.''
Logan: "..."
''Maxim and I are not dating,'' the man said.
''Is that why he isn't willing to go on blind dates? He won't settle with the women he dates and his girlfriends change faster than the weather," Hazel cut her words short when they reached the other side of the road.
An old lady was sprawled on the streets while a man was standing in front of her, chastising her.
''People like you are just out to extort money, aren't you? You just had to run in front of my car like that and if I didn't stop in time then you would have gone running your mouth about how injured you were, demanding heavy compensation from me. Don't think that I don't know you well...''
The old lady was trying to reach for her cane and Logan stepped forward as he helped her up to her feet, ''Are you fine?''
''What happened to her?" The man from earlier who was chastising her could not help but interrupt, ''On the other hand, my car has got some scratches because of her cane,'' he fumed.
''I will send you to the hospital,'' Logan said.
The old lady shook her head, ''I am fine,'' she said calmly.
For someone who was almost hit by a car, she seemed calm but having noticed how the car barged in the wrong route and the audacity of the man driving it, Hazel could not help but frown.
''If you are fine, it's time for you to pay for the damage you've caused to my car and the emotional distress as well. I was scared shitless when you came out of nowhere,'' the man said.
''How about I compensate for her?" Hazel stepped forward with a sweet smile on her face.
People on the streets were noticing the chaos but nobody bothered to stop. When she was young, her father used to tell her that you aren't a true American if you haven't cried on the streets of Los Angeles.
Years after his death when she moved here with Maxim, she ended up crying on the streets after working overtime and being cornered by her boss.
It was only then did she realize why he said that. Because no one cared. People just walked past her like it was absolutely normal to have a breakdown in the middle of the streets.
It was common.
Just like nobody cared at the moment.
The man gauged Hazel from head to toe, noting that she looked rich.
Hazel approached the old, ''You also need to come with us," She avoided Logan's 'We don't need to meddle in their matters' gaze as she offered a kind smile to the man who was waiting for his compensation.
US Police Department.
"...And they manhandled my grandson. His face...'' Tears rolled down the old lady's cheeks as she held onto her grandson's arm, "When I walked out of the library, he had passed out there in the hallway and these two people were all smiling and talking. This girl even refused to apologize to my grandson for what they did.''
Diana glanced at the Old Lady who was sitting next to her grandson's chair.
She expected this but the logical part of her head calculated all possibilities and she ruled this possibility out. After all, there was no evidence of what happened there but it looks like this old lady was not going by logic.
She loved her grandson too much to care for the rest.
The officer in charge of this case glanced at her, ''Miss Chen, did you go over there for an interview?"
''Yes,'' Diana nodded at the man. She was sitting on the left side while the guy from yesterday whose name was supposedly Ben, sat in between his grandmother and her.
The Old Lady attempted to grab her hair as soon as she saw her here hence the sitting arrangements.
''Then, did you both know each other before this incident?" The officer exchanged back and forth between her and Ben.
''No.''
''You are not capable of punching him like that. And from the lady's statement, there was someone else with you,'' the officer leaned closer to the desk, eyeing her suspiciously.
"I have been trained in Jiu-jitsu since I was young. While I might not excel in it, I can throw a punch or two,'' she narrowed her eyes at the culprit who leaned back into his seat, warily averting his gaze.
Diana was called here because of the information the old lady had collected about her from her resume. And she could not help but be relieved that they were clueless about Maxim.
He might not be a celebrity but he was famous enough in his field for his successful projects in the past years despite his young age.
His residency years were over way before she expected and that only proved how good he was at what he did.
As for her, her life was in shambles right now and she could afford one more mess instead of leaving a dark spot in his career.
No way she was going to get him involved in this.
Her gaze snapped at the culprit who shrank back in his chair further. His face was red and swollen, almost purplish and the impact of Maxim's punch was pretty visible here.
The said culprit gulped softly under her gaze.
''Don't be scared, Ben. You know grandma is here with you. Everything that I have belongs to you. There is no way I am going to let someone get away with this,'' the old lady's concerned voice pulled Diana into a trance momentarily.
Family... was supposed to be like that, wasn't it?
She sighed softly, ''I will apologize to you for what happened,'' she said to the old lady, ''I won't apologize to him but I'll pay for his medical charges,'' her voice was soft.
Rage flashed on the woman's face as she mocked her, ''You think I want money? I have enough money to afford tens of you,'' there was an arrogance in her voice that was replaced by anger when she turned around and spoke to the officer, ''I want to press all possible charges on her for this. My lawyer should be on his way. She is not going away with this physical assault she inflicted on my grandson.''
Diana frowned, looking at the culprit who was sitting quietly, ''You agree to her?" her voice deepened.
He looked at her before tilting his head towards the officer, ''It's not her who punched me. It's her boyfriend,'' he said, misunderstanding her question as he believed she wanted him to clarify for him.
Diana blinked. Given how quiet he was, she thought that he did not remember about what transpired there but it looks like he remembered Maxim punching him.
Her head throbbed.
Maxim Maxim, why did you have to get involved? I would have kept myself safe...
''Is that true, Miss Chen?" The officer turned to look at her.
Diana opened her mouth to deny it shamelessly.
''Very true,'' came the voice from behind that had her stiffening.