To say that Alethea is shocked would be an understatement. She is beyond shocked and happy and angry; she doesn't really know which one to feel. She's overwhelmed.
She looked down at the phone ringing in her hand and looked at Maddy and Nicky. With shaky hands she answered the call.
"Hello? Adi, it's me" Alethea heard a familiar voice over the phone.
MEANWHILE:
As soon as Alethea stepped out to answer her phone call, Jacob couldn't keep his eyes off of her even though she was outside talking to her brother.
Jacob heard a man's voice over the phone and he can't help but think that she is currently in a serious relationship and that thought made him jealous.
He has been trying to distract himself by paying attention to the conversation Ben, Hazel, Nicky and Maddy are having but he just couldn't shake it off.
As much as he doesn't want to admit it, he is jealous and he has no idea how to deal with it. He has never been jealous of anything or anyone in his life.
The life of a billionaire doesn't really allow him to be jealous of anything at all since he has everything and anything he ever wanted.
"Yo Jacob, you cool man?" Ben asked him seeing that something is bothering his cousin in law.
"Hmm yeah uhm sure. I'm good man no worries" Jacob replied trying to sound cool and unbothered by a certain black-haired beauty standing outside having the conversation of her life. Jacob thought bitterly 'What is with her smiles anyways? What is she so happy about anyways? There are guests in her place and she is out there talking to God knows who. Who the hell does she think she is to make me feel like this?'
His thought was interrupted when Alethea came back inside with a big smile on her face. It blinded Jacob for a while and he was entranced only for awhile until he thought that the reason for her beautiful smile wasn't because of him, it was because of whoever was on the phone. With that thought in his mind he felt really hurt, down and sad.
Hurt that he is not the reason for that beautiful smile, down because he now knows that he doesn't have a chance with Alethea and sad that he will cut more people off from his life.
"So, who was that on the phone Thee- Thee?" Maddy asked Alethea as soon as she started setting up the table for dinner.
"It's a surprise guys" she says before she went back to the kitchen to check on dinner.
"Arghh, I hate surprises!" Nicky exclaimed.
"I do!!!" Maddy shouted with both of her hands up and she seemed really excited.
Jacob now really curious about who was on the phone and whoever is joining the for dinner.
Alethea finally sat down after all the dinner preparations and setting of the table with the help of Hazel.
Ben was about to say something about family coming together but was suddenly interrupted with the doorbell.
"Hmm expecting someone?" Jacob asked bitterly.
Alethea noticed the change in his tone but paid no mind to it thinking that he is just grumpy from not having any food for a few hours.
"Nicky, do you think that is the surprise?" Maddy asked Nicky subtly as Alethea stood up to go open the door.
"Maybe but we'll see in a few seconds aye" Nicky assured Maddy.
Maddy is so excited to see who it is and Ben is curious along with Hazel but Jacob is just feeling really jealous, angry and possessive.
"Look who it is!!" Alethea exclaimed as she makes her way inside the house with an army bag behind her.
Jacob looked over to see who it is and to silently judge.
"Jamie!" both Maddy and Nicky exclaimed as they ran towards James for a huge hug.
"Hey little fellas" James exclaimed as he gathered both Maddy and Nicky into his arms and just hugged them for a whole minute.
'Great! Even Nicky likes him and Maddy too. Maddy likes me but she loves this Jamie dude. Who is this Jamie guy anyway? How long have they been dating? It must be pretty long since both Nicky and Maddy knows him pretty well, I mean look!! They're still hugging?!!!'
Jacob's thought was all over the place with Nicky and Maddy both still hugging James and didn't hear Ben calling him for a few moments now.
"You're just in time for dinner cuz" Ben explained as he pulled out a chair for James to sit on and join them for their dinner.
'Really?? Him? Beside me?' Jacob grumpily thought as he sat down and started shuffling food into his mouth just to keep it close and shut so he wouldn't say something he would regret later.
Jacob can handle anything at all but not these foreign feeling slowly creeping in his emotions.
'DING'
'You've been attacking that potato for a while now cuz. Are you ok?' – Hazel
Jacob sent a glare towards his cousin for texting him that message mainly because its true but quickly sent a reply back to her.
'I didn't know that her boyfriend will be here' – Jacob
After he sent that message Hazel coughed trying to get something out of her mouth that's stuck in her throat.
"Eiii, Hazel kana vamalua" Ben said clearly in Fijian language. (Hey, Hazel eat slowly)
Ben offered Hazel a cup of water and started massaging her back.
Hazel after a while calmed down and sent a hateful glare towards Jacob to which Jacob just shrugged clearly not knowing what went wrong.
'Did I say something wrong?' he asked himself.
"So, James when was the last time you saw Alethea and the twins?" Hazel asked but looked over at Jacob with her eyebrow raised.
"Uhh, I think it was right after Mom and Dad passed" James mumbled as he looked down.
"It was a month after Mom and Dad passed" Alethea said as she looked over to James and held his hand for comfort.
Jacob then looked over between them and then towards Hazel with a confused expression.
'DING'
'Got it now?' – Hazel
'What am I supposed to get?' – Jacob
'Their Mom and Dad?' – Hazel
'Their parents passed away around the same time?' – Jacob
'No, you idiot!' – Hazel
'Then? Just tell me cos I am hella confused' – Jacob.
'They are all siblings. James is Alethea's younger brother by a year!!!' – Hazel
Jacob looked up at Hazel and then towards the siblings sitting across from him and to James sitting beside him. Now it finally made sense to him, as he looked around, he can now see the resemblance between all of them without anger and jealousy clouding his eyes and emotions.
And then with Hazel looking at him with amusement a big broad smile was present on his face as he finished up his dinner happily like a 5-year-old who's just received candy for the first time in a long time.