It had only been days since she arrived here and already she was status to miss the comfort and that spark being alone gave to her, most definitely Christian gave her the leisure that was needed to be free, but when it came to the most trivial of things which was his attention, it was the thing she felt was lacking at that moment…
Not that it really mattered, but it was easy to guess that when you share a past with someone just the way she did, it was hard to ignore the feeling of thrill that may arise from being jealous at certain times.
She expresses this worry to Riley as they worked together to clean up the patio, having sent the twins off to bed. With the stress from everything that had been happening, she gets tired easily and relaxes while gulping down a cup of water.
On the other hand, Riley gathered paper plates and napkins, she glanced towards the front of the room where a few people still remained talking to Antonia and Chris.
Among them had to be Laura’s mother, as the two bore similar resemblance enough that it was a bit difficult to tell them apart.
Riley’s attention was drawn to the man at the far right corner, standing near the edge of the group and seemed to be trying to stay as far away from the bustle of the party.
In a way he looked sad, almost as though he had literally been forced, she had tried all evening to catch Damien’s attention, but the man was too lost in himself to notice.
“Have you spoken to him?”Laura who had been aware of everything asked.
Riley let out a deep breath of concern and shook her head inevitably. She was even confused about how to start a discussion with him, especially with the way he had looked at her when he walked in earlier.
“You know standing here won’t solve anything, he is angry and you are proud.”Laura shrugged before walking away.
At first Riley hesitated but slowly the last word came rushing through her mind again along with the heavy flow of adrenaline –
She walked by with the remains of the slab cake and paused, taking in the scene. She had to do something about all of this, she thought to herself, it was better to go down fighting than not shooting a quiver at all.
She had made a strategic error and now when she should fix it, she’s trying to backpedal.
Riley dropped the cake in her hands and attempted to go speak with him, raising her eyes…She saw that he was gone.
She stared back at Laura who shrugged-
*****
Christian somewhere in heart age always loved the feel of kids around his home, it was just that he imagined it differently – Most definitely with the woman he loves.
As it was, he was relaxing on a recliner enjoying the view of everything. He loves this place and he’s been worried sick about losing even a corner of it.
Earlier on, Laura new lawyer and talked about getting fifty percent of the apartment, In a way it still didn’t go well with him, she was a pretty smart business woman something Tonia lacked and could get away with it, but still he who opted for something different all thanks his own lawyer’s.
He knows she was a crafty coot and was setting things up so the facts could be stated; all she had simply wanted was a guarantee but the way she went about it was crazy as she was
planting seeds of doubt.
As it turned out It’s going to take something pretty big to get her back into his good
graces after that one stunt, he thought to himself how much it was necessary to get himself along with Antonia plans for ignoring Laura during her course of staying.
“I am about to leave sir.”Damien walked up to him.
He stared at his watch and back at the face of the man he would call his friend in unusual circumstances.
“That is unusual, unlike -“he stalled when he saw Rhys walking toward where he was.”Oh, now I get what this is.”
“Good morning, Mr. Christian.”Both men shook hands.
“It is good to see you come around.”
Chris patted Damien back as he made way out , his and Rhys’ voices faded away as they talked business, all Damien could do was watch.
Fucking Rhys!
****
Smiling smugly, Laura looked at her secretary way and nudged at the door, Riley who has just finished collecting the garbage looked up to the direction to survey and there –
She was looking distinctly at the last person she had thought would show up, her heart felt like racing, she felt the need to do something or she might as well go crazy.
As the men approached her, she began to gather the chairs, stacking them in the corner.
I can do that.”Rhys began to walk away from Chris, but he grabbed his arm.
“Man, I need to talk to you-“The other man looked stunned at the fact that he’d walk away as soon as the first glance he shared with her.
“Common Chris, I am not your Damien.”
Laura’s jaw dropped and so did Riley. She watched the whole incident with interest. She couldn’t tell who was right, but it was quite notable that Chris was upset.
As the four stood together, the entire atmosphere looked weird and absurd, she knew she had to say something to get everyone going on their good sides.
The thought pleased her, and she was barely able to stifle her smile.
In a way she felt the need to support Chris, and while she wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about him, she did know that she couldn’t tolerate the idea of him getting that bit of shade because of whatever controversy was between him and Damien.
There was only one thing to do, she looked around.