Chapter six: the dinner party.
In his office, Xavier sat behind his desk looking through some documents, his secretary, Mick, occasionally placed files on the table for him to sign. This went on for quite a while before they were done and Mick left the office.
In the now silent office, Xavier took off his gold- rimmed glasses and massaged his forehead. He turned around on his swivel chair, staring at the city down below. With a sigh, he rested his back on his chair and closed his eyes. The silence accompanied by the summer breeze that blew from time to time, gave a somewhat serene ambiance.
Unknown for how long, Xavier sat on his chair, his position not changing at all. The peaceful silence was suddenly broken by Jerry's voice.
He strode into the office, " Xavier, we have to go now." He sat on the chair from across Xavier.
Casually, Xavier turned to stare at Jerry, without speaking, he threw him a questioning glance.
Seeing his friend's reaction,Jerry clicked his tongue in annoyance, " can't you at least say something? If not your words, then at least an expression change will do."
With a dead pan look, Xavier replied curtly, " what is it?" His flat tone went an extra mile at angering Jerry.
Swallowing down the frustration caused by a certain friend, Jerry's irked expression melted immediately and was replaced with a smile.
Resting his hands on the table, his eyes were bright as he spoke. " We have to welcome someone at the airport." Jerry smiled.
Yet again, without any words, Xavier stared at Jerry with raised brows, his gaze urging him to complete his sentence.
Jerry rolled his eyes in defeat and continued, " Stella is back. We have to pick Stella up from the airport." He stopped, his eyes studying Xavier, hoping for a change. Yet, Xavier the wood didn't react at all. He only responded with a low, " hmm.." before he went back to staring at his laptop.
Baffled, Jerry shook his head, " nothing, just " hmm"? Xavier, with the past between the both of you, all you have to say is hmmmm?"
Staring at Jerry like he was some kind of clown, Xavier asked leisurely, " why? What's wrong?" His expression looking somewhat innocent, he smiled as he stared at Jerry.
" Okay. Good. Good." Knowing the kind of person his friend was, Jerry decided to save himself the trouble of arguing. It wasn't worth it.
As he pulled his chair, which he had at some point stood up from while talking, closer to sit, he mumbled to himself, " that's right. Now you are married, and I have a sister-in-law, of course its for the best to forget about the past." Although his voice was low, Xavier heard him, but didn't say anything. He only glanced at him and then focused once more on his laptop.
...
At the airport, both Hannah and Casey sat on a bench at one of the exits, waiting for their friend.
While Hannah turned her head from side to side, looking through the crowd, Casey sat quietly, her gaze solely focused on her laptop that was placed on her thigh.
While looking around, Hannah caught sight of Casey who was diligently typing on her laptop, from the corner of her eyes.
She turned to face her as she spoke, " what are you doing?"
Casey glanced at Hannah, " just sending some mails." She replied, before returning her gaze on her laptop. Even though she didn't have to go to the company today, she still had pending works to submit, so she couldn't afford to be negligent.
With a faint smile, Casey continued, " why? Bored?" She asked, glancing at Hannah, and then on her laptop once more.
" Sigh... Yes. I'm bored to tears right now." Hannah replied with a pout.
Shaking her head, a smile spread across Casey's lips. Hannah had been too happy that she had forgotten to bring anything with her, including her phone. There was still quite sometime before Esther's plane lands, and with nothing to do, Hannah could only stare around.
Hannah held onto Casey's hand with a sheepish smile as she spoke, " please, let's talk together. If this continues, I might actually cry." She pleaded with a sulky expression.
Glancing at Hannah and then at her laptop, Casey sighed in defeat. She closed her laptop and placed it aside.
" Okay. Let's talk." Casey crossed her legs, placing her hand on her thigh.
Hannah beamed happily as she adjusted in her seat to a more comfortable position.
Casey stared blankly at the beaming Hannah.
" So, tell me, how's your internship going so far?" Hannah leaned forward, propping her head up on her hand that rested on her thigh.
Suddenly a sort of gossipy vibe enveloped the girls.
Sigh...
" Well, not bad. The company treats the interns well. Although the department I'm under are almost always busy. " Casey started after a sigh. Gesturing to her laptop, she continued, " as you've seen, I still have some pending files to work on, and I also have to submit it before the given deadline." Casey exhaled staring out.
She turns to Hannah with a smile, " actually, for a new company, they are well organized and have a good sense of business."
" Funny. Who's going to start a business without knowing the necessary things." Hannah chuckled softly hearing Casey's last statement.
Scratching her left eyebrow lightly, Casey gave a sheepish smile, " you know what I mean."
" You're the one who surprised me." Casey said staring at Hannah.
" What do you mean?" Asked Hannah with a confused expression.
" You were asked to work as an intern to gain more experience and to put to use all that you've studied so far, yet you opened a store."
" Yes. Just like you said, all that matters is to gain more experience and to put to good use all that I've learnt, so, why not just open my own store and do just that?" Hannah shrugged and then continued, " when I make my store popular and well known, then I've fulfilled my internship."
" Can you do that during the period of the internship?" Casey questioned with raised brows.
Feigning anger, Hannah responded, " don't you have any faith at all on me?"
Staring into her eyes, Casey answered back without blinking, " no." A teasing smile on her face.
With puffed cheeks, Hannah gave a polite smile and nods. Just then, the announcement that Esther's plane had landed rang in the airport. Other people who were also waiting for their friends, family or loved ones all stood up.
While Casey was distracted, Hannah launched a tickle attack on her, causing her to erupt in laughter.
Hannah only let go when Casey pleaded with her.
Adjusting her cloth and her hair, Casey glared fiercely at Hannah.
With an innocent smile, Hannah shrugged.
A box standing by her side, she watched this scene with a nostalgic smile. Her gray eyes shone brightly as she whispered beneath her breath, " I'm back, finally. It's good to be back."
Stalking silently, Esther stood behind the duo. " Having fun without me, isn't something you can afford to do."
With wide eyes, both girls froze on their seat, stood up, then slowly turned around.
" Miss me?" Asked Esther with a smile.
Casey and Hannah both stare at each other and let out excited squeals.
Esther quickly took few steps back, wore her shades and looked around, her eyes darting from place to place, except the corner where they stood. She ignored them, acting like she didn't know them.
With almost everyone in the vicinity staring at them, Casey and Hannah blushed, covering their face in embarrassment.
" Why bother covering your face, we've already seen you. There's no need to hide." Stella teased, standing beside Esther.
Surprise painted their faces, " you came too?" Both girls chorused as their questioning gaze fell on Esther.
Waving her hand defensively, Esther retorted hastily, " don't look at me like that. Even I only found out when I got to the airport."
Walking over, they had a group hug.
" Since you're here, we can all go together." Hannah suggested.
With a smile, Stella patted softly on Hannah's shoulder, " you don't have to worry about me. You girls just take care of yourselves. I'll manage." She declined politely.
Shaking her head, Hannah didn't give up. " It's better to come with us than having to come alone. We can all just go back together." Hannah argued, hoping to convince Stella.
With a smile, Stella declined once more, " you really don't have to..."
" I insist." Hannah cut in before Stella could finish her statement.
Casey and Esther could only watch silently from the sidelines.
" Aiya, you really don't have to. My fiance will be picking me up soon. And after that, I'll have to meet up with old friends."
" Ahh!!!" They all gasped surprised.
" Here we go again." Esther rolled her eyes on hearing her sister's words.
" You're engaged?" Casey questioned doubtfully.
" How come you never said anything?" Hannah questioned, her hands on her waist.
Stella shook her head, completely ignoring their questions. Instead, it was her little sister, Esther who replied.
" You actually believe her?" Slapping her forehead dramatically, she continued, " just ignore her. Recently, she's been going on and on about the same thing. With time, you'll be immune."
"Ahh!!! It's a lie?" Both Hannah and Casey chorused together, their gaze darted between Stella and Esther, asking for an explanation.
Stella sighed, " I'm not lying." She argued, glancing at Hannah and Casey, but her gaze rested on Esther.
" Okay. You aren't lying, then proof it. Who's your fiance? What's his name?" Esther replied provocatively.
" Of course I can proof it. He'll pick me up soon anyways. And knowing him isn't hard, he's someone you've all heard of before." Stella replied, staring solely at Esther, she didn't back down.
" He's name is Xavier Blackwell." Stella replied. " Oh! He's here." She giggled pointing at the door.
Without wasting time, she pulled her box and ran out, waving her hand excitedly.
Hannah, Casey and Esther turned around simultaneously to see her boxes being loaded into the trunk of the car. The door opened with two figures inside, it was actually Jerry and Xavier!!!!!
His gaze met with hers momentarily before the door was closed and the car sped off.
The world seemed to stand still at that moment. 'He was engaged! He's engaged? Is he engaged?' Casey's thoughts were a mess.
"Oh! My! Gosh!" Hannah exclaimed as she turned to look at Casey. " Isn't that..."
Knowing what Hannah meant and what she was trying to find out, Casey glanced at her and nodded, confirming her thoughts.
Suddenly, Hannah's expression turned to that of anger as she stumped on the ground furiously, probably picturing the floor as you know who.
Esther was surprised as well, after all, each time she'd heard her sister talk about having a fiance, she never took it seriously. Although she was as surprised as Casey and Hannah, she couldn't understand their reactions.
Shaking her head, as if to get rid of her thoughts, Hannah pats Casey softly on her back, " let's go." Nodding slowly, the trio left the airport, while Esther looked confused. She could not understand why they were both behaving the way they were.
She sat in a daze in the car. Her gaze remained on the scenery outside as the car moved.
Was she jealous? No. Was she disturbed? No. Was she angry? Yes.
Yes. She was indeed angry. While she couldn't speak to Jason because of their marriage, the annoying guy was actually busy picking up his fiancee from the airport?
Where did that leave her as his lawful wife? Even though the marriage was due to revenge, that didn't mean that he should disrespect her.
She felt angry that while she had to adhere to her role and duties as his wife, he was out there picking women. The man didn't respect her at all. This made her feel annoyed.
In the car, Jerry tapped Xavier, " just now, wasn't that Casey at the airport?" Although he spoke softly, his words were heard clearly by everyone, Stella included.
A look of surprise flashed across her eyes, her gaze focusing on the duo opposite her, she asked, " you know Casey?" A doubtful expression on her face.
" Yes. Of course we know her." Jerry nodded lightly, after a short pause, he continued, " after all, she's Xavier's wife." He finished and glanced at Xavier who remained quiet all along.
Stella gasped, her expression was one of shock. " You mean the lady he's married to is Casey? Like Casey from just now?" She leaned to the side, her shocked gaze darting between the two. Her breath hitched and she struggled to stay calm.
Was this news surprising? Yes, it was, but there was something wrong with her reaction. She looked guilty.
With a frown, Jerry asked the question that was on everyone's mind, " you... What did you do?"
Even Xavier who hadn't been interested, stared at her. Silence accompanied Jerry's question. Stella swallowed saliva, her back stiff. Under their scrutiny, she gave a dumb smile.
She started, " Well... You know how I always used Xavier's name while we were in college to get rid of excess trouble...." She said, playing with her fingers as she spoke, her eyes staring down, not daring to look at them. With a nervous smile, she went on, " I might have, kind of, told them that you're my fiance." Her gaze lingered on Xavier as she spoke.
He didn't say anything, no, not even a word. He only stared at her.
The silence was nerve-racking for Stella. " It isn't my fault. If you're to blame someone, blame Esther. She's the one who kept questioning me. I was only trying to be positive, I didn't expect her to call me out on my lie." She explained hastily. " Neither did I expect that in this big world, your wife will be present when I bluffed about my relationship with you. What are the odds?" Her nervous voice, carried a tint of sarcasm.
Jerry and Stella stared at Xavier waiting for his reply. After a long moment of silence, Xavier replied with a short, " hmm."
With dumbfounded expressions, the both of them stared at him.
Stella leaned forward to say something, but was cut off by Xavier before she even had the chance.
"To the Ryan mansion." His commanded, then turned away, ending their conversation.
......
At Devons restaurant, in one of the rooms, Casey, Hannah and Esther sat around a table in silence. Ignoring the food on the table, Esther stared at both Casey and Hannah in disbelief.
After leaving the airport, they'd decided to eat out together. When they arrived, Esther had demanded that they told her what they were hiding, so...
" So you're saying my sister's fiance is your husband, who you got married to to repay a debt?" Esther asked, doubt clear in her tone of voice and on her face.
Glancing at each other, they both nodded.
" And this husband of yours is Xavier?" She added with raised brows.
" Yes."
" Can we maybe stop talking about this?" Casey asked.
" No can do." Esther smiled. " Now, forget about my sister. Let's talk about you."
" How can you be married? What about Jason? Does he know? Are you keeping it from him? Did you get married without inviting your friends? How could you? And how does getting married to repay a debt work?" After Esther's question assault, Casey took in a breath, and began answering slowly.
" Because I am of age."
" What about him?"
" No he doesn't."
" Yes, I am. Although not for too long, just till I'm comfortable with telling him." While answering, there was a tint of guilt to her voice.
" Yes I did."
" There wasn't any wedding, just paper signing. And I wasn't in any condition to think beyond my little box of ensuring my father safety. My dear friends were not really around neither were they in places where they could be summoned back."
" And like I said, a marriage to repay debts. That's not really the kind that you celebrate with friends and family."
" I don't know. Why ask me?" Casey finally ended with a shrug.
While Esther processed the replies, Casey gulped down water, with Hannah watching silently.
....
Xavier!!!!!!!