Ding-dong!
The buzzer sounded, Aryanna rushed to answer the door. The valet beat her to it and opened the door to welcome the guests.
"Surprise!" Clara energetically exclaimed at Aryanna and the valet. She waved a huge bag of snacks from the central mall happily in the air while waiting by the door.
Aryanna veered around the valet to greet her. She was an unexpected, lovely surprise. "Clara, I'm so happy to see you," she gave Clara a warm friendly hug.
Clara buoyantly hugged her back. The valet took the snacks from Clara's hands without interrupting their moment.
"I'm happy to see you too, Arya."
"Welcome to Leerstrom abode, Mrs. Nelleda," he greeted her and stepped out of the way to give them room to walk in.
"Thank you," Clara and Aryanna stepped into the house hand in hand. Clara was floored by the Leerstrom mansion.
She walked down the carpeted hall with Aryanna before coming to a halt at the living room. She recalled her entry outside, it was nothing short of breathtaking.
Clara passed rows of expensive parked cars and suited valets as she neared the entrance. Inside the living room, it's even more lavish, with floors and gold-plated embellishments decorating the walls.
Everything was bigger, bolder and more expensive than anything she'd ever seen. From the comfortable luxurious sofas to the imported glass tables.
"What do think of my home?" Aryanna asked.
"I think I had a rather limited definition of wealth," Clara answered, Sebastian and Henifer's taste sparkled in every corner of the room. From the furniture to the decoration, all the way to the curtains and carpets. "I didn't know Sebastian lived in a palace," she let out, awed by all her eyes took in.
"Wait untill you see his glass house. Your socks will be knocked off," Jalana uttered, walking into the room holding an iced Americano in hand.
"Jana, how are you?" Clara hastily closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms lovingly around Jalana. "I'm good, but I won't be for much longer if you don't stop hugging me," Jalana said, pushing Clara off.
"That's not nice. Clara is..."
"It's alright, Arya," Clara motioned Aryanna to let it go. "I'm used to her 'i don't like being touched' phase," she added in a mocking tone.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to your 'i hug everything I see' phase," Jalana fired back.
"You're lucky you're cute, little girl."
"You're lucky we're related, old woman."
The two of them burst into laughter. Aryanna looked at them confused, their interacted flowed smoothly, like they'd known each other along time.
"I didn't know the two of you were friends," she spoke feeling a little left out.
"We're more than that, Clara is my cousin and oddly the daughter my mother wishes she had," Jalana let out. "I don't see why thought, I'm a million times better than her," she added.
"Keep telling yourself that, little girl. If it helps you feel better," Clara said.
Aryanna's jaw dropped. She had no clue that Clara was a blood relative of the Leerstrom family. However, it did explain why she kept referring to Henifer as her aunt. It also elucidated their friendly ambiance from the gala.
"I didn't know."
"I thought you figured it out at the gala. Anyway, aunt told me you were home alone with Jana and I thought I'd join in on the fun," Clara informed Aryanna.
Aryanna offered her a weak smile. She loved Clara; the girl's sweet friendly aura and her welcoming persona but she couldn't help but feel a tad bit jealous of her.
Clara had this beautiful presence to her that seemed to win over everyone around her flawlessly. Her friendship with Henifer made Aryanna anxious.
"Mother told you to come over and check on us?" She snapped,her voice sounding harsher than she intended for it.
"..."
Clara felt the hostility in Aryanna's voice and paused. She ran over their interaction since her arrival to see if she did something to offend her host but nothing came to mind. She failed to register why Aryanna was feeling defensive towards her all of a sudden.
"Chill, Aryanna. Clara is here for the movie marathon. I texted her to bring snacks," Jalana cut in through the tension. "I thought we could get around to watch Love Rain, I heard it's a good movie," she suggested.
"It's a super gay series!" Clara exclaimed.
"Jalana prefers to watch that genre. It's nothing to be surprised about, if you don't like it, you can pick something else for us to watch later," Aryanna let out, her tone subconsciously more defensive than ever.
"Hahaha," Jalana laughted out loud.
"What's so funny?" Aryanna inquired.
"Clara is a huge fan of LGBTQ movies. She's my all time favorite movie buddy, Aryanna," Jalana brought to light. "Love Rain is adorable and not-so PG-13," Clara cut in.
"But I thought..."
"You thought wrong, Missy. It's my first time coming here and I'd like it not to be the last so pick something else," Clara ruffled Jalana's hair as she scolded her.
"You're so not cool right now!" Jalana feigned a pout but hopped on the couch with the remote to search for another movie.
Aryanna watched from the sidelines feeling left out again. This was supposed to be her day with Jalana, to prove to Henifer that she's responsible and make Sebastian happy by befriending his little sister. All which seemed impossible to do with Clara's presence, at least that's how she felt.
"I'll get the snacks," she excused herself. Aryanna headed to the kitchen to arrange for snacks. A twinge of jealousy squeezing at her heart at the close bond Clara had with Jalana.
She'd imagined and planned every minute of the day and her plans didn't include Clara walking in and raining on her parade. Aryanna was lost in her thoughts when she walked into the kitchen.
The kitchen-maids took notice of her and hastily went about their duties. They set the snacks on several plates, including the ones Clara brought, and waited for orders to send them out.
'I know I shouldn't feel jealous of Clara. She's my friend and she means well,' she thought.
Unfortunately her insecure feelings didn't fade, instead it left a sour taste in her mouth.
Clara's presence felt like a shove into the shadows, the background, where she was used to biting her tongue and being invisible. A place she grew to hate after Sebastian pulled her into the light.
"Let's send out the snacks," she snapped out of her daze. The maids carried the trays of
snacks and headed out at her orders. Aryanna followed lazily behind them, fuming as she went.