Dad opens the door wide, I sneak a glance at him and he has this huge smile on his face, I can tell it's fake and I can feel fear circulating him. I can not understand why dad is so afraid of Zion and his family. It is so frustrating and disgusting some times, most of the time actually.
"Welcome Mr and Mrs Clark. It is such a huge honour to have you at our house." Dad says grinning widely. He nudges me to greet Zion's parents but I ignore him because my eyes are not on them but on Zion.
He looks really handsome in a white shortsleeve shirt that hugs his muscular build perfectly. A pair of black suit pants are clad to his long legs and his hair is styled neatly falling across his left eye. He looks perfect, like a mannequin. He is just as tall as I remember him to be.
"Zion, you look so grown up now, I mean look at how big you have gotten." Dad says, he attempts to touch Zion but to my surprise Zion dodges his touch and I see an irritated look appear on his face. Wow, he is still as arrogant as always.
Dad clears his throat and bursts into laughter to break the awkward silence.
"Please come in." Dad says making way for Zion and his parents to step into the house. Dad turns to shoot dagger glares at me. He leans close to me and whispers harshly into my ears "You better snap out of your thoughts and act maturely Rachel. This dinner must go well."
He scoots away from me and scurries towards Zion and his parents. He leads them to the dinning room and allows them settle down. Dad urges me to sit close to Zion and I obey so I do not cause a scene.
"Rachel, am I correct?" Mrs Clark speaks up with a look of disdain on her face. Mrs Clark has never liked me even when I and Zion were friends. She always saw me as a pushover. Mr Clark was the only one who was always so nice to me.
"Yes ma'am, Rachel." I say curtly.
"What do you do for a living Rachel?" Mrs Clark asks. What is with the interrogation and why is she pretending like she does not know I run dad's company?
"I am the CEO of my dad's company actually, Jackson's Loanable company, we deal with loans." I say with a proud smirk playing on my lips. Dad nods his head in agreement and surprisingly for me Mrs Clark scoffs and makes a small snickering noise.
"You do not have anything else you are doing Rachel? I believe a lady should be independent as well. Why depend on your father's business? That is rather lame." Mrs Jackson says with an irritated look on her face.
"Mum." Zion snaps at her with a frown on his face.
"No, it is fine. She is right actually. A woman should be independent. I am a writer actually. I do not just depend on my father's business." I say with a smile. I sneak a glance at Dad and he gives me a thumbs up. I hope after this dinner, he will give me the opportunity to venture in my writing career.
"Yes yes, Rachel is an excellent writer. She has a few books published." Dad says. That is a lie actually, I have not published any book and that is all thanks to my dad.
"Yes, I remember Rachel loved writing a lot." Mr Clark says. I flash him a small smile. Mr Clark has actually always been so fond of me.
We eat in silence and although I can feel the awkwardness because of Mrs Clark, she makes it obvious that she hates me, as a matter of fact, she hates my family.
"It is time for adults talk. You and Zion probably have a lot to catch on." Mr Clark says wriggling his brows at me. I chuckle nervously and shake my head in disagreement but surprisingly for me, Zion pulls me up from my seat and says "We will be upstairs in her room."
He does not allow me say a word, Zion pulls me upstairs and I do not bother to struggle out of his grip. Zion is way too strong for me.
He pushes the door to my room open and the both of us step in. He shuts the door behind me and looks around my room. Thank God, I arranged my room just earlier today. Zion can be very judgemental.
"What are you doing?" I snap at him with a frown on my face.
"I see you got back home safely last night." Zion says avoiding eye contact.
"Yeah I did. Thanks." I mumble.
"You should careful you know? You also should not wear dresses like that. What were you thinking?" Zion snaps at me. He finally looks at me but not the way I want him to. He looks at me angrily.
I scoff and shake my head at him. "I can do whatever I want Zion. I am old enough." I say.
"It is not about you being old Rachel. The streets are dangerous especially at night time. At least hire a driver if you choose to be reckless. I had to call Daniel to follow you all the way just to make sure you get home safe." Zion blurts out. He sighs immediately he realizes he might have said too much.
"You asked your driver to follow me?" I ask with a confused look on my face.
Does Zion still have feelings for me just like I still do for him?
"Why did you do that?" I ask in a low tone. "why do you keep confusing me Zion?" I ask maintaining eye contact with him. I try to search for an answer in his face but I do not get any.
"We need to talk Rachel?"