It was about 9 or 10 in the evening when Nat and Damien arrived at the palace he was living in. her breath caught in her chest when she saw the well-lit and vast estate.
"Holy fuck! You didn't tell me you lived in a castle!" she accused her brother with a heated glare. "How much do you pay to stay here?"
It infuriated her when he just shrugged before he slipped out of the car and she wasn't given a choice but to get out too. She was so mesmerized by the castle that she didn't notice him walk by her with her luggage. Who would have bought such a huge place? It must have cost billions of dollars just to have it. Maybe the owner is some stingy old witch. Or maybe a handsome prince. Wouldn't it be awesome to live in such a place?
"You coming or not?"Damien's voice came from the front door. He seemed stressed but she didn't feel any guilt. She was proud that she got to leave the house and live with him.
She ran to him and took hold of her luggage. "I can manage this," she told him but her eyes wandered the huge foyer with the gigantic chandelier that dripped a million crystals that gleamed and winked. "Wow…"
"Pick your jaw from the floor and follow me," he ordered, already climbing up the stairs with her luggage in tow.
Her steps were huge to keep up with his even bigger strides. It always amazed her how tall her brother was. He was pretty popular in school since he was big and strong. Plus he was funny too. It was a puzzle why he couldn't seem to handle relationships well.
She entered the room after he did and stopped when she saw him plant a kiss on a woman's lips. Well, well… now, who was this woman?
Her eyes scanned the stranger from top to bottom. It was weird to see that she was an adult but was short enough to pass as a middle school kid, plus with a body like that? Oh, man, maybe she's a middle schooler after all? Nope, she knew her brother too much. He wouldn't have a relationship with someone under age no matter how beautiful.
She raised her brow at the stranger. It should be illegal to tie up a gorgeous mane of wavy hair that way. Hair like that should be flowing freely and driving men and women alike crazy. Her eyes were wide but almond in shape. She immediately put her as Asian. The eyes confirmed it. Plus that color and texture of skin? No European or American could pull that off unless they have Asian in their blood.
She wasn't sexy. Not by any standards. Her breasts and belly were almost the same sizes so there were no distinctive curves present. Her hips were not wide either. She was chubby. That was the word that popped in her mind.
Another once over made her blink. Was she wearing one of Damien's shirts? It would have been long enough to reach her knees if she hadn't tied the hem behind her.
Her thighs and legs looked muscular enough to be able to kick her brother's ass with no problem at all.
"This is Natasha, my sister," Damien introduced with pride shining in his eyes. What a wonder it was to see him be proud of her. "Nat, this is Professor Calliope Fitzgerald."
Natasha blinked at that. Professor? But she looked way too young to be a professor. She managed to hide her confusion by smiling at the older woman. "It's nice to meet you." Her eyes widened when her hand was wrapped in a tight grip and not with gentleness just like what she expected. So this woman had strength behind the soft façade. Interesting.
"Welcome to our place, Nat." Her smile was so innocent that it was unnerving. Her voice was surprisingly loud, too. Not high but almost boyish. It was the voice of someone who was used to speaking in a huge room. "Just call me Lie. Have you guys eaten?"
Wow, she smelled surprisingly like Damien did. Peculiar indeed. Was she wearing the same scent as her brother does or are they so physically connected that they started to smell alike? "Not yet. I'm starving."
Lie's eyes landed with accusation on the older Criss before returning to Nat. "Shall we go grab something then?" she asked with a grin. "Do you like pasta?"
"I love them."
They walked out of the room arm in arm while giggling like old friends, leaving Damien alone to follow if he wanted. If this was the woman Damien was dating, it was not even surprising for Nat anymore.
"So are you my brother's girlfriend?" She believed in going straight to the point when it comes to her siblings. She didn't want any of them to have bruised or broken hearts.
"Maybe, maybe not," Lie replied and gave Nat a wink before bending forward and whispering, "maybe I'm still trying to make him believe it would be his idea if we did end up being boyfriends and girlfriends."
Oh, she liked this woman, alright. She liked her well enough. "Oh, okay then." She grinned and bumped Lie's hips with hers. "Do you like him?"
Their voices were low as they giggled with each other.
"I'm attracted to him," the professor admitted with a wink and a hush sign to the girl as if she was a woman and not a child.
Nat didn't feel like she was talking to a professor at all. It was like she was talking to a childhood friend and they were sharing some secrets.
The meal they shared was composed of pasta, pizza, and roasted chicken all made by Damien's friend Michael.
"Want some dessert?" Lie tempted the siblings with a mischievous grin.
"What do you have to offer?" both Crisses asked simultaneously.
"How about some ice cream?"
The tub of ice cream was brought to Damien's room. They sat on the floor of the veranda with Lie in between the siblings. She really was chill. She would be anyone's wish of a dream sister.
It was a wonder to see her brother looking down at Lie that way. It was as if the professor was the only woman in the world. Did he realize that he was doing that? Did Lie realize it?
Lie was sat between the siblings with the tub of ice cream on her lap while she was looking up at the sky. "That's Cassiopeia right there," she pointed up at the pattern over them.
Nat looked up and stared at the starry sky. Maybe it was another thing that the professor was interested about.
"What's your favorite constellation, Nat?" Lie asked eyes still cast up.
"Big Dipper, I guess." She mumbled the first constellation to pop in her mind without even thinking about it. She dipped her spoon into the ice cream and shoveled a spoonful into her mouth. She was a sucker for Rocky Road.
"You have another sister, right?" Nat realized that Lie was already looking at her for answers.
"Yeah… Cassandra Dylan Criss," she replied with pride.
"Can you tell me about her?"
Nat raised a brow at her brother. He was pretty talkative when it comes to his sisters so why is his prospective girlfriend pretending not to know anything about Cass? Or… She looked at Lie and smiled. "Why aren't you asking my brother though? He's like… your friend, right?"
"Well… people tend to have different perspectives on people around them. I'm writing a novel so I would like to see how your perspective differs from Damien's."
It sounded so logical that Nat found herself answering Lie's question without much cajoling. "Cassie, for me, is pretty annoying. She's bull-headed and sometimes mean. She tends to have a very short fuse and it just makes me want to tease her more." She paused and shoved another spoonful of sinful ice cream into her mouth.
"But even all through that, she is the most stable of the three of us. Damien and I? We could be pretty impulsive but Cassie is different. She thinks things through before deciding what to do. She's disciplined and she's bound to be very successful in life. She has an admirable sense of responsibility." She looked at her brother who was now slightly leaning against Lie. Did he realize that he had almost never let Lie away from him for more than a minute? Did he realize that he was always touching her one way or the other?
"That's all."
Lie nodded and looked at the ice cream on her lap. "You both agree on the point that Cassie is the most disciplined and reasonable one. I like that. It makes me want to meet her." Her eyes seemed to darken even more from the information she had just gotten. She put the tub of ice cream on Damien's lap and stood up. "It's getting late and I don't want to disturb you anymore. If you need anything, I'm just in the next room, okay, Nat?"
Nat nodded and raised a brow when her brother stood up too and gave the tub to her.
"I'll just walk her to her room. I'll be back later."
She watched them walk away with a smirk. There he is again with his hand on Lie's lower back. The professor smiled up at her brother as if it was the most normal thing to do. Those two looked so good together. She had to admit that.
"Good night, Nat!" Lie waved from the door before leaving with her brother.
It seems that someone had managed to capture her brother's heart without even realizing it. It'll be fun to watch. How long will it take them to realize the speed of his falling? Will they realize it before he hits rock bottom?
Will the professor realize that she was not far behind Damien on the way down? Those secret smiles that only belonged to her brother were a sight to see after all.