Chapter 4

William checks his watch while he sits in the corner of the restaurant. The waiter stops at the table and checks if he wants to order. He declines and explains that he is still waiting.

Giggles erupt from a few tables away from him. Two girls are staring at him and wave when he looks at them. He gives them a quick smile and waves back. They giggle again before standing up from their chairs.

William rests his hands on the table, keeping his eyes on them. They quickly make their way over to him.

“Can we get a picture with you?” they ask innocently, and he smirks.

“Of course. Here,” he says, standing up. They put their arms around his waist and the girl lifts her phone to take a picture. He places his arms around their shoulders and gives his signature skewed smile.

She snaps the picture and checks to see whether they look good. She nods her head and takes her friend's arm. They thank him as he sits back down and they head back to their table. He watches them sit down and smiles to himself. This is too easy.

His eyes shoot to the far side of the restaurant. He touches his nose to let his bodyguard know he is still good. Blake bows his head and stares at the menu again.

 “I’m sorry, I'm so sorry. I got this amazing idea and had to tell my producer.” The guy sits down across from William. William smiles at him and relaxes against the chair.

 “Isaac. I was starting to worry. I’m glad you could make it,” William says and motions for the waiter to come over.

“When I got your message, I had to hear for myself.” The waiter appears and William orders for himself. He waits for Isaac to order. He scans through the menu and places his order.

“How are things going with you?” William asks.

“Seriously, Will? It’s going great, but I came here for you. I haven't seen you in a while, and you get yourself into such a mess. Who are you even? What have you done with my brother?” Isaac asks with a melodramatic act. A ghost of a smile appears on William's face. Isaac would get along with Lianna.

“It wasn’t me. It was Mother and Father.” Isaac taps his hand against the table and shakes his head.

“They have been pushing you to get married again. I just can't think that Mother would approve of this girl. From what you told me, she sounds wild." Isaac picks up the file on the table.

"Trust me, I don't think Mother is very fond of Lianna," William says and watches Isaac's eyes while he reads through the file on Lianna.

"I can only imagine. Why did you not agree to live with Mr. Evans? I know for a fact that the flats there are insanely small. How did you survive one night there? I almost fell out of my bed this morning when I read that you had to make yourself breakfast.” William chuckles at the memory.

“I don't want to intrude. It's better when parents are not involved. I can get to know her better like this." Isaac hums in agreement.

"And how did you succeed with the breakfast?" William inhales and lets out a silent laugh.

"There was a note on the counter saying where the cereal is and that I had to make my own breakfast.” Isaac laughs and claps at the image.

“I cannot believe it. I would pay good money to see that. Was she awake when you left?”

“No, I came back from the gym and she was still asleep. Even when I left for work, she was still fast asleep. That was about seven o’clock.”

“I cannot believe you might get married. But this Lianna seems different, in a good way. How is she, apart from what the file says?" Isaac closes the file and places it back on the table.

“She is not at all what I thought she would be like. She is . . . “ William trails off as he does not know how to describe her. Isaac watches his brother struggling to find the words. “She might be crazy for all I know. She had blue highlights when I went to her apartment. Did I tell you? And her hair is crazy. I do not know how she managed to tame those curls when she had it in a bun." Isaac laughs. "And she lies on the floor. The more I think about it, the less sense it makes. I don’t know. You would love her. She is in her own world.” The waiter arrives and they make space for the plates.

“Well, at least she isn't boring. And nothing weird in her history either.”

“Exactly. The only thing that stands out is the fact that she was suspended from one of her high schools. There is no information about the incident. On paper, she seems normal. Did you see it? She doesn’t even accept any money from her father. She lives only on the salary she gets from the school.” Isaac nods and takes a bite from his omelet.

William takes a sip from his tea. He is still full from the cereal he had for breakfast. He glances at his watch again. He has a client at twelve, and he still has to get to his office.

While Isaac tells him about his newest album, William sits back to enjoy his younger brother’s company. He misses him and sometimes wishes Isaac could stay with them, but he knows his brother should be out of reach of their parents.

“You should probably get back to the office,” Isaac says and downs the last bit of his hot chocolate. William sighs and looks at the golf course through the open windows. He hums absent-mindedly.

William got a good night’s rest. For the first time in quite a while and he feels more rested. There was nothing that kept him awake. He thought there would be a lot of noise in those areas, but it was calmer than his home. He would not be able to live like that for the rest of his life, but it is like a mini vacation.

“Are you invited to the family house this weekend?” William asks as he pays the bill. Isaac knows he should not even bother persuading his brother to split the bill.

“Yeah, and Bianca will be there too.” A smile spread across Isaac’s face. “Will Lianna be there?” William nods and Isaac stands up. He walks around the table to William and throws his arms around William.

“I cannot wait to meet her,” he says, and William groans in protest.

“I must go, but it was nice to catch up. And you’ll like Lianna,” William says as he gets up.

“Bye, Will. See you this weekend.” Isaac waves to William and his bodyguard as they leave the restaurant. He cannot wait to meet this Lianna.

Lianna indicates for the solo to begin and Cheryl starts. She has a captivating voice which causes Lianna to get goosebumps. When the rest of the choir joins in and the chorus kicks in, Lianna wants to cry. It is lovely.

She wished these kids could compete in the big leagues. They have been winning the competition for the last three years, so it would be nice if they could compete against other schools. They might even win international competitions.

Unfortunately, they do not have the money to fly to other countries. Most students do not have enough money to pay their school fees for this month. She counts softly and moves her hand up and down. They follow the rhythm and finish the song with a soft hum in unison.

“Well done, guys. That’s a wrap on the last song. From now on, we only have to rehearse the songs. We have worked through all the songs we needed to prepare for this year.” The choir erupts into a loud cheer. She looks at the clock and realizes that they went a bit over time. She also needs to buy some groceries for the apartment.

“Okay, everyone can head home. I’m sorry for keeping you longer.” Lianna walks to her desk and starts to pack up. She waves to the kids as they exit her classroom.

Once everyone has left, she locks her class and walks to the nearby store on the corner of the road. She checks the time on her watch and fastens her pace. She has to get back home.

William unlocks the door with the spare key Lianna left for him this morning. He enters the apartment and throws his stuff onto the island. He loosens his tie and sits down on the couch. The sun shines through the window, and the heat warms his skin. He lies back on the couch with closed eyes.

“Lianna?” A high voice calls from behind the closed door. William frowns and looks at the door. It swings open and a small figure walks into the apartment. A little girl appears next to the island. She stares at William with big eyes.

“Where is Lianna?”

“She’s not here.” William sits up. Who is this girl?

“When will she be here?”

“Probably soon.” The little girl walks over to the coffee table and sits on the chair, crossing her legs. William notices her dirty feet on the light blue chair.

“What’s your name?” she asks and tugs her hair behind her ears with both hands. William stands up and walks back to the kitchen.

“William,” he answers and closes the door.

“I’m Daisy. And I’m seven,” she says proudly. William gives her a polite smile before he returns to the couch. As he sits down, someone knocks on the door. He lets out a soft groan and gets up again. Daisy has a paper in her hand that she is playing with. Whose child is that?

He opens the door and the same woman from yesterday stands in front of the door. She smiles at him, and he bows his head.

“Hello, Mrs. Davis. What are you doing here?” She looks past his shoulder and waves to Daisy.

“Is Lianna here?” He shakes his head, and she pushes past him into the apartment. “Excuse me, I’m just here to get some milk. Here,” she hands William a paper with her name and an unknown symbol on it. “Just give it to Lianna when she gets home, all right?” She takes the milk from the refrigerator and leaves as fast as she arrived.

Daisy is still sitting in the chair and her eyes follow William. He falls onto the couch and closes his eyes. Where is Lianna? The door opens again and William shoots up.

“Who-“ He stops when he sees Lianna. “Ah, you’re finally here. You have a guest,” he says and gestures to Daisy. Daisy leaps out of the chair and runs to Lianna. Lianna closes the door behind her.

“Daisy! What are you doing here?” she asks and places the bags on the island next to his stuff. Daisy hugs Lianna and shows her the paper.

“My teacher said it is the best drawing in the whole class.” Lianna gasps and takes the drawing from her.

“It is so pretty. Did you draw this yourself?” Daisy nods. “Are you sure?” She giggles and nods again. “Well, I think this deserves a cookie, don’t you?” Lianna asks and walks to the cupboard above the refrigerator. She opens the cupboard and takes a jar from it. Daisy giggles again and waits for Lianna to open the jar and hand her a cookie.

“Thank you, Lianna,” Daisy says with a sing-song voice and runs to the door. She opens the door and rushes out without closing the door behind her. Lianna laughs while she closes the door, locking it this time.

William stands up and walks to the kitchen. Lianna smiles at him.

“Hey, what are you doing here already? I thought you would only get back later.” She opens a bag and takes the groceries out.

“I only had to see one client today. It was a slow day,” he says and gives her the paper that Mrs. Davis gave him. She looks at the paper and takes another cookie from the jar. She hands him the cookie. She laughs at herself and takes the paper from him. She walks over to her board in the kitchen and puts the paper against the board.

William inspects the cookie. Lianna notices him hesitating to eat the cookie. She walks past him and takes the cookie from his hand, using her mouth as her hands are full. She tilts her head back and chews it. William looks at her with his mouth slightly agape. She just continues to surprise him.

“I’ll make dinner for tonight,” William says. Lianna folds the bags and places them into the cupboard below the sink.

“What? You don’t have to. I’ll make dinner, so don’t worry about it,” she says.

“I want to try to make dinner. I managed to make breakfast this morning, so I want to see what else I can do.” Lianna stares into his eyes for a moment. He made himself cereal and now he wants to make a whole dinner?

“Okay. Will you be fine?” she asks with a hint of hesitation. William nods.

“You can relax for a bit,” he says and she smiles at him.

“Thanks.” She walks out of the kitchen and heads to the bedroom. She closes the door and not long after, William can hear the shower running. Okay, time to start dinner.

Lianna sits on the floor while she grades some papers. She hates grading papers and she can tell that the students did not do their research properly. William is still busy in the kitchen. She chuckles whenever he sighs or clashes the pots together. If it fails, she can always order pizza.

“Okay, I think dinner is ready,” he says, unsure of himself. Lianna places the papers on the coffee table before she gets up. She watches William take the plates from the cupboard along with knives and forks. How did he know where it is?

He gestures for her to sit, and she takes her seat. He brings the food to the island when he finished setting the table.

“Spaghetti Bolognese,” he says. Lianna laughs. “What?”

“You should say it with an Italian accent,” she jokes. “Like this. Spaghetti Bolognese,” she says with a horrible Italian accent and her hands moving around. A smile spread across his face and he shakes his head. Lianna laughs at herself. She holds her hand out and William takes her hand. She says the same prayer and she even prays for him.

William is tense as he waits for her to take a bite from his food. She closes her eyes for a moment and really takes a moment to enjoy the food.

“How is it?” He cannot hide the nervousness in his voice. She smiles at him.

“It’s great. Are you sure this is not your first time? It tastes fantastic.” She leans closer over the table. “And I’m not lying,” she says with a wink. He also takes a bite and is surprised to taste something not too bad.

“Yeah, it’s okay,” he says and continues to eat. Lianna rolls her eyes and clicks her tongue.

"Stop it," she scolds softly. His brows furrow together as he looks at her. "Seriously. You, people, are always so hard on yourself. Okay is fine. Not everything has to be perfect," she says before she continues eating. It tastes great. “And this is better than anything I have eaten in the last few years. So it is beyond perfect.” Lianna takes another bite and watches William. He looks uncertain.

William stares at his plate as he takes in what she said. "Okay is fine". He takes a bite while the words replay in his head.

“What do you mean you people?” he asks and Lianna tilts her head.

“Self-made rich people.” William scratches his head as he stares at her.

“Okay,” he says, still unsure what she meant by that.

“Okay,” she mocks him and continues to eat. She finishes before William. He still has half of his plate left.

“Thank you. It was delicious. Now that I know you can make food, we can take turns with dinner.” She folds her arms on the island, waiting for William to finish. She takes his plate when he is done, and put it with hers into the sink. She then heads to the radio but stops next to William.

“Thanks. And this was truly the best Spaghetti Bolognese I ever had. I don’t believe that it was your first time,” she says and bumps him with her side. He chuckles and nods. She then walks to the radio and turns it on before she returns to the kitchen.

 “Well, I need to plan my day for tomorrow. I’ll be on the couch,” he informs her and heads to the couch. She just listens to the songs while she washes the dishes. William stares at the empty PowerPoint in front of him. He lets out a silent sigh and turns his eyes to Lianna.

She is swaying her hips to the song and William decides to stop for a moment. He listens closely to the song playing and for the first time in his life, he feels light. Maybe he should listen to more music. Lianna sings along as she makes her way to the coffee table and she flops down onto the ground.

William places his laptop on the coffee table and intertwines his hand. He waits for her to find a comfortable position before he talks

"Thank you for washing my shoes," he says and bows his head. She supports herself on her elbows to look at him. She flashes him a smile and shoots him a thumbs-up before laying down again.

“What time did you go to bed?”

“About two this morning,” she says nonchalantly.

“What? How is that possible? I would be a walking corpse.”

“I am currently a walking corpse.” William stares at her while she laughs and sits upright, taking the papers to continue grading them. He picks up his laptop again and works on the PowerPoint he still needs to present to the directors. He looks at the time and sees that it is already nine o’clock. He should get ready for bed.

“I am going to take a shower.” Lianna puts the papers down on the coffee table and laughs at him. He frowns while he closes his laptop.

“You know, you don’t have to announce everything you're going to do. Mi casa, su casa,” she says and laughs again. He nods slightly and heads into the bedroom. He stops before he enters the room and looks back at Lianna.

She bops her head to the song and her lips move along with the lyrics. He steps into the room just as she glances at him. Is he okay?

“Yes, this weekend. Everyone is meeting there on Friday. William will also be there. This can be your chance to get him back,” William’s mother says over the phone. The woman smiles and looks at her nails.

“Mrs. Rhodes, isn’t he getting married to someone else?”

“Yes, but he needs to realize he still loves you. You need to be there for that to happen. If you can remind him of the good times you had, he will leave that girl for you. Don’t you love him?”

“Yes, I do. I never stopped loving him. It was a silly mistake, and I know he still wants me.” She pauses and walks around to her desk. She sits down, resting her arm on the armrest of the chair. “I’ll be there,” she says and puts the phone down. She turns around and stares out at the city through the glass. This is going to be fun.