"Black coffee with 20% sugar, please" Summer smiled at the waitress as she handed the menu. She looked at Tristan who was sitting across her—still reading the menu—and waited for his order.
They were currently in one of Summer's favorite well-known coffee shops. Apart from their tasty beverages and snacks, the coffee shop also had a private room that was perfect for the celebrities' rendezvous.
Its main goal was to make the VIPs comfortable and unbothered, which they were experiencing right now. Both of them were genuinely pleased and satisfied with the solitariness and cozy atmosphere, plus the excellent services.
"Uhm. May I have Moch—I mean... Macchiato for me, please" Tristan awkwardly smiled.
He almost ordered his favorite drink again as soon as he saw it on the list. Fortunately, he smoothly covered it up.
"Thank You, Ma'am and Sir... Your orders will arrive shortly" The waitress lively said then left.
Summer glanced at Tristan. Again, she was battling with herself whether to start a conversation or not.
But it would feel bizarre if she will just sit still and wait for the moon to talk for her, right?
"So... Uhm... About last night..." Summer started while shyly staring at Tristan.
"I wasn't mad at you... I was just preoccupied at that time... I-I got overwhelmed so I... I'm not in a good shape when we talked."
"You don't need to apologize... I understand... Besides, you're here talking to me as you usually do, that's enough for me." Tristan smiled.
"Y-Yeah... Thank you"
They both became silent that wrapped Summer up in extreme awkwardness. She tried to sort her thoughts and spill any topics to talk about, but she failed. Though she knew Trish was quite reserved ever since she just couldn't blabber as she normally does.
Her muddled emotion and choking palpitation were overpowering.
A moment after, the waitress came back with the tray of their orders. She placed down the nice wooden design coffee cups above the square, dark-brown wooden placemats.
Summer picked up the spoon beside her cup and stirred her coffee. She peeked at Tristan who was now sipping his drink.
Yeah. Summer definitely lost her words... She couldn't create any sentences. She was completely swallowed by her diffidence and was like a teenager on a first meet-up. Sooo gauche...
Tristan cleared his throat as he gradually felt the discomforting silence between them. He looked at Summer who swiftly averted her gaze as soon as their eyes met.
He slightly smiled at her cute sneaky reaction while putting down his almost empty cup.
"It feels like this is our first time seeing each other"
Summer flinched at Tristan's remark. She slowly looked at him. "Ha ha ha... You think so?"
"Is there something you wanna say?" Tristan seriously asked, noticing Summer's strangeness.
"H-Huh?"
"You seemed so—" Tristan's phone rang that stopped him amid his sentence. "One second."
He immediately picked up the call from Whifler.
"Yes, Manager Whifler?"
[I'm sorry to interrupt your leisure time, but you should be here now. You only have 30 minutes left and you still need to prepare prior to your scheduled appointments.]
Whifler explained to the other line that made him sigh.
"Alright. I'll head now" Tristan responded then hung up.
30 minutes was fine enough. Thank goodness the coffee shop was just walking distance from the Fuenta Glamouroza.
"I need to go" Tristan told Summer as he put his phone inside his pouch.
(If you all forgot, Tristan was still dressed as Trish. Elegant dresses, high heels, fashioned bags, and other accessories made him look so feminine. Also, suppressing his masculine side to perfectly act as his sister.)
"It's okay. Uhm... I'll go with you... I still have..." Summer glanced at her watch. "an hour"
Tristan nodded then stood up after finishing his drink. Summer also emptied her cup then followed Tristan.
For a celebrity like them, It's not safe to openly walk in the streets... So, of course, they went back by car.
When they arrived, they were about to enter the entrance but Tristan's body arched when his hair was firmly hauled back by someone.
"YOU BITCHES! You're having fun, huh! While I'm miserable!" Tristan immediately recognized the voice and the hands grasping his hair.
Summer on the other hand was also stupefied seeing her pulling Tristan. 'Oh. Shit!'
As she came back to her senses she grabbed Gale's hair, parting her from Tristan.
Yes, it was Gale who berserkly approached them.
"Son of a bitch! Why haven't you been to hell yet?!" Summer exclaimed, dragging Gale.
"Ugh! You too!" Gale groaned then twisted her body to reach Summer's head.
"You're the reason I lost EVERYTHING!!"
Several guards of the Fuenta Glamouroza rushed to separate them. Also, Whifler and the other staff came out, alarmed by their screams.
People started to surround them and gossips. The tugging and exchanging of curses, entertained the crowd as if they were watching Summer shooting a scene live.
Tristan was about to help Summer but he was stopped by Whifler and placed him on the safer side.
"Stay here." Whifler told him then meddled in Summer's and Gale's clash.
But the two were like fighting lions. They were so strong and unstoppable... Even the guards couldn't separate them, they've got scratches instead.
A blue car stopped in front of the chaos. Blake got out of the said car with a panic seen on his face. Ron also got out after him.
"Gale! Gale!" Blake called, pushing everyone that's on his way. "GALE!"
Mightily, he pulled Gale closer to him and Ron also helped Whifler to stop Summer. The two wild women tried to break free and were now kicking, like spiders on a stick.
"Stop it, Gale! That's enough!" Ron shouted that shut her up. Gale glared at her uncle.
"LET. ME. GO!" Gale attempted to escape from Blake's arms but she failed. His hold was so firm.
"Please. Calm down!" Blake softly but authoritatively told her that brought her back to her senses.
Yes, Blake was her tranquil.
Gale may not realize it yet but Blake affected her big time.
"You really don't know how to stop, didn't you?!" Summer blustered.
"Enough, Summer!" Whilfer warned her, then looked at Ron. "What happened?"
"I'm sorry. We didn't notice she sneaked out of her room" Ron explained.
"Who would not!? I've been isolated there for a long time!" Gale retorted.
"This will never happen again. We deeply apologize." Blake stared at Whifler, asking for consideration.
Whifler got the message from his eyes and just sighed.
"Alright. Next time, no excuses"
"Thank you" Ron smiled at Whifler. He faced the people around them and bowed. "I'm sorry for the commotion we made. Hopefully, this won't lead to any worst issues"
After Ron stood straight, he signaled Blake to go with him. Although Gale was resisting, Blake never let her go and even forced her to get in the car.
Gale's face peeked at the window and gave Summer a death glare. Ron noticed what she did, so he covered Gale's face with his palm and pulled her head away from the window, then they left.
Whifler roamed his eyes around him. The crowd was still bickering and buzzing.
Whifler approached the head of security and whispered.
"Make sure no one took a video. If they did, make them delete it. And if they resist, charge them."
The head of security agreed to Whifler and disseminate the order to his underlings. The scene should only remain here.
"Where's Trish?" Summer got Whifler's attention. He looked at her and then in Tristan's direction.
"She's there" Whifler pointed inside, where Tristan was seated on a long couch in the lobby and surrounded by several guards.
"Okay" She responded then went ahead to Tristan. "Trish!"
Tristan jolted up and worriedly looked at Summer approaching.
"Are you okay?" He checked Summer's head and tilted her face from side to side as she came closer to him.
"I'm fine... I'm fine... What about you? Are you hurt anywhere? Huh."
"I'm alright..."
"Thank goodness" Summer felt relieved, then rested her forehead on Tristan's chest.
Whifler saw Tristan's flustered face while looking at Summer. His stiffened body was confused about whether to hug her or just stood still and wait for her to stand straight herself.
Whifler glanced at his watch and panic a bit. Oh. boy, they were almost late!
He cleared his throat to get their attention, and he succeed.
Summer's eyes widened as she realized her position. Her face started to heat up and her heart became wild. She stood properly while hiding her blushed face by looking down to the floor.
"I-I'm sorry! U-Uhm... Your appointment. Right! Your appointment! You'll be late! You should head now!" She stammered.
"Y-Yes... Uh... What about you?" Tristan's eyes were averted. He was also deafened by his racing heart and wrapped in discomfiture.
"She will be accompanied by Tanya, so you don't need to worry." Whifler butted in. "Can we go now?"
Tristan nodded while scratching his temple.
"Yeah. Sure..."
Summer and Tristan were glancing at each other, then quickly averting when their gazes locked.
Whifler just shook his head, slightly understood what's going on between them... Well, it's not that hard to notice if they were not good at hiding it...
Meanwhile, Gale was screaming at the top of her lungs while being dragged by Blake on her right arm and Ron on the left.
Andrea immediately came out of Blake's house with a troubled face when she heard the shouting.
Kicking and berserk Gale in their arms greeted her at the front door. "Oh my God!"
"Out of the way! Out of the way!" Ron shouted, struggling on holding Gale who was now resisting.
Andrea immediately stepped aside so that they could go inside.
Honestly? They were like nurses escorting a mentally ill patient to the padded cell.
"What happened?!"
"Ask later, locked the doors first!" Ron commanded that was instantly obeyed by Andrea.
"You can't do this to me! You can't lock me up here forever!" Gale flared.
"Gale. Please. Calm down!"
"NO!"
"We're doing this for your own good!"
Gale sneered at Ron's statement.
"My own good?! Is this good for me? Being Isolated? Where the hell is good on that?!"
"You've been treated and taken care of!"
"Should I thank you for that, huh?! I don't want it! I don't want any of it!"
"GALE, ENOUGH!" Gale was taken aback at Blake's sudden bawled. "I don't... Want it, too"
Blake's voice was cracking. His eyes were now sparkling, not because of joy, but by the tears that were starting to form.
"I don't want you to do such a thing again. Just like what you did earlier... That's why we're doing this."
Gale was hurt seeing Blake made that expression... But, he didn't understand... Even he tried, he will never understand.
"Do you think that's helping me?" She asked.
Gale got emotional all of a sudden while reminiscing the unpleasant happenings in her life. Well, was it the happenings that were unpleasant or her life itself?
"It's not, Blake... Even you confined me here to death and do a lot of counseling, nothing will change... Everything was still messed up and that's because of them!"
"So what? Hurting them won't change anything, too... Right?" Gale's expression turned blank at what Blake asked her.
"Yes... It won't change anything... But it will satisfy my grudges!"
"Gale that's not r—"
"SHUT UP! What do you know uncle Ron? Nothing! Nothing at all!" Gale glanced at the knife in the kitchen.
Everyone was confused as she curled her lips upward. She let out a displeasing chuckle then threw a death glare to each one of them.
"I... Will kill them... I'll make sure their blood will stick on my own hands... Just see... I will make them feel the HURT and suffering they've caused me! Especially that Summer!"
Gale frightfully remarked then paced towards her room. She left a heavy and bothersome atmosphere around them.
Blake couldn't believe what he just heard, even Ron didn't expect it.
"S-She was just joking, right?" Andrea uncertainly asked. But she didn't receive any response from them.
"I-I think... She got worse" Andrea added.
Everyone became silent... Blake clenched his fist. He didn't like it... He was greatly dismayed... He just wanted to help her... He just wanted to soothe the sore, but he failed...
Ron noticed how dejected Blake was, so he put his hand on top of his shoulder to console him.
"Don't give up. She will be fine soon, trust it."
Yes... Ron was right... He shouldn't give up, instead, he should try harder. This time he won't fail, he should not fail.