I got dressed in a floral free gown. The length was a bit over my knee but nice and still decent. At least the gown didn't have a low cut or anything. I'm surprised Ash even has a floral gown.
I packed my hair up in one breezy ponytail and decended downstairs. The sweet smell of food led me all the way to the kitchen and I stopped in my tracks when I saw Hunter cooking. He even had on an apron. I chuckled.
"So you cook?" I came and sat by the counter looking at the already made dishes on the table. Pastrami on Rye, black and white cookies, , Bagel and cream cheese.
"Yeah" he replied and placed a plate of creamed cheese in front of me. I inhaled the sweet aroma that suddenly made my tummy growl. "You better take care of that" Hunter grinned.
I served myself some Pastrami and then stuffed my mouth. I won't deny, this is good food. At Ash's place, sphagetti and meatballs were the common. On some evenings, we'll have tacos.
"You should view the garden once your done eating"Hunter said slicing through the comfortable silence that was in the room. My mouth was too full to talk so I nodded.
I swallowed harshly. "Sure sure. "
"And .... I'll like to take you shopping tomorrow morning" his voice didn't sound demanding or anything but it had that firm tone to it.
"You don't have to do that"
"If your going to act like a billonaires wife, you might as well dress the part" he stated. True but...
"I'm no billonaires wife, Hunt". I downed the carton of fruit juice I saw on the counter and then I winced when I noticed there was a glass cup nearby. Good one Elaine. You've really outdone yourself this time!..I looked at Hunter and he was smiling at me. Dang! He saw that. But he didn't seem to mind though. I brushed my shoulder and sat upright.
"Well, we want them to think that right?" He asked while scratching behind his neck.
"Yeah but..."
"Don't fight me on this one. Please" he begged.
"You've already done enough. I mean, you bought this whole damn mansion just for an act. Who does that!" I flung my hands around in demonstration.
"It was nothing" he shrugged.
"Nothing huh? Is there something you want to tell me? Why are are you even helping me?" My tone was getting higher than I wanted it to now.
"Because I want to help!"
"That's not enough reason" I shook my head in a whisper.
"Just let me help you"
I sighed. I'll never understand why he's doing all this but its got to be more than just caring. And I'm going to find out. He's hiding something from me. I dabbed my mouth with the table napkin. For once, showing the lady side of me.
"I'll be in the garden" I say and got up. Hunter didn't say a word, just watched as I pushed through the huge back door and walked out.
The summer air quickly whipped around me flinging my hair to my face and I brushed it back. The sun wasn't too hot today but enough to allow one shed their skin into liquids.
The white roses drew my attention and in seconds, I was kneeling over them and inhaling their sweet scent. I took a walk round the garden to discover a gazebo at the corner, well designed with pink flowers round it. A table sat in the middle. To the left side of the garden was a gigantic pool and from there, you could overlook the mountains and trees. Captivating sight. I walked back to the white roses. I've always wanted to grow some of these.
"My bug! It flew away!" A tiny voice caught my attention. I flung my head to the direction the voice came from. From the other side of my garden fence was an older lady trying to comfort a little girl with dark strawberry hair. Autumn! And she was crying.
My heart ached as I walked over to the fence to get a good look at her. She looked so beautiful in her garden jeans and tucked in yellow shirt that has ladybug printed all over it.
"We'll get you another bug" said the older lady. From my recent research on the Rivera family, I know her to be Nicole. Ethans younger Brother's wife.
She knelt to the height of Autumn and I was trapped between running to hug my daughter and just staring so I did neither when I spoke out.
"Hello there, Neighbor!" I called out. Both heads turned to me.
The older lady waved as she skipped over to me in a bunchy red gown.
"Oh hi... you must be new here. I heard a new Neighbor moved by" she smiled.
"Indeed. I and my husband just moved in yesterday" I returned the smile. I peeked over at the little girl hoping for an introduction. Anything to just say a word to her. Nicole shrugged.
"Ah! That's Autumn. She's my husband's niece" she said and bellowed the girl to come over. My heart raced faster as she shyly walked to us. "she's usually shy around people" Nicole said.
The little girl grabbed her aunt's knee length gown. "Say hi to our neighbour"
"Hi" Autumn finally glanced my way and she smiled. "Nice to meet you" she stretched out her tiny hands and I took it.
"Nice to meet you as well" I say fighting a tear from falling from my eyes.
Nicole kissed the girl's cheek and beckoned her to run along and she did. I watched her until she disappeared into the house, then I blinked.
"Little Autumn here lost her dad some few years back" she said and I sensed a hint of sadness but I know better. "I and my husband are trying to adopt her"
I licked my lips calming my nerves from exploding. "What about her mom?"
"She died too. Some months back. She was never really good for Autumn anyway" Nicole said and I winced. How dare she decide what's good for my daughter and what's not good!!
"There you are" Hunter said. He came and stood beside me. His arms went round my waist and pulled me near him. I looked at Nicole and she was smiling at us.
"Good to see you Mr Grayson" she said to Hunter and For the hundredth time since I met Hunter, I froze. Why don't he just put me in a freaking iceberg!
I stared between Hunt and Nicole,waiting for Hunter to correct her but he didn't. He only grinned and stretched his hands out to her. We have a lot to talk about."You know her honey?" I ask with a side grin and clenched teeth."Nicole is a good friend" he smiled at the blonde and I blinked. Is this a game? How did he know Nicole and they seem to be so much good friends.A plump lady came out from the Rivera mansion with a worried expression on her face."Ma'am....Autumn won't have lunch" she said with full concern. I held my hands up to say something but Hunt pulled me away."See you around" he told Nicole before leading us back into the mansion. I found the nearest chair and sat down burying my face in my palms."Tiff. Are you alright?" Hunter asked kneeling in front of me."Why call me Tiff when you know who I am?"He smiled. "I guess I
The fair bob lady in front of me kept trying to steal glances at Hunter. When she tried looking at our direction again, I scowled at her and she cleared her throat looking away.We both stepped into Kennedy & Co boutique. The lady by the counter smiled at us and did a full glare at Hunter. Can I ever stop calling him that? His name is Lucas.I glared at him and he wasn't even noticing all the attention seekers around him. His right hand was tangled with mine while the other punched into his phone. He's here with me beat that.... i grinned stupidly to myself."We're here" he suddenly announced beside me.Once more, we're greeted with a fair blonde but this time, Lucas does seem to know her. He hugged her, kissing both her cheeks."Content de te re voir, Lucas" she grinned at him. While I never paid much attention during french class, now i wanted to gnaw my eyes out fo
Staring at the woman in the mirror was just as inspirational as any motivation I could ever need. Myself. The Cocktail dress I and Jacq finally picked out was as dashing as ever on me. On the hanger it looked pretty and all but wearing it now, I feel powerful. Intimidating.It was a red Sheath/ column off-the shoulder Assymetrical cocktail dress, with sequins. Jacq finalised the entire dress with a pearl earring and diamond necklace."Make sure to not loose this" she said pointing to my neck. I stared at the necklace through the mirror as it shone like thousands of diamonds. It wasn't huge or anything but looked simple and intimidating as ever."Why? Has he got his family fortune on it" I said with a grin but Jacq shook her head. "So what?"She pushed my cheek gently to the side applying a little rosy blush to my cheek making me look plush."You wanna know what's on your neck?"she asked st
My palms felt sweaty and often times, I'd touched the diamond on my neck so the cold feeling of it soothed me. Hunter placed his warm hands on my cold ones."You'll be fine. I've got you" he said with a smile but that didn't stop the nervousness that still ran down my spine."Tell me... how's it going to be like?" I asked him and he looked at me in disbelief and a raised brow."Ethan never took you to charity balls?" He asked and I was shocked to notice how freely he'd mentioned Ethan's name. I don't think I've heard anyone say his name for a while now. Myself included. And Lucas just said it like it was an easy thing to do and like he knew him."Only once and that was before we had Autumn. After then, I just enjoyed staying home with her." I said and smiled in the end. "He never liked the events anyway""Ethan?" Hunt asked and I nodded. God! I can't even pronounce his na
My dark mood was suddenly brightened up when I saw Autumn. She was in a pink flowery dress with black flats. Her short bangs were parked in a tight bun, I feared it'd wound her scalp but she looked neat and lovely.. She took her seat opposite me and next to Nicole.I watched her as she focused on the napkin in front of her before her eyes darted to me and she smiled."Hello" she said in a shy manner. I squeezed my hands together under the table and took deep breaths before replying."Hi little one. Nice to see you again" I smiled lovingly at her."Likewise" she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears before looking at her aunt. She's grown so much.I can't believe I'm sitting with my daughter right now. She looks happy to be around people but bored at the same time.I spotted Diana coming over with her husband Ryan. She had smiles all over her face as she talked with
It was nice seeing a most familiar face coming towards our table. Alice Rivera was smiling gracefully at Diana. When she got to the table, they exchanged pleasant hugs.I didn't expect her to come and embrace me too cause she doesn't know Tiffany. She doesn't know me. She shook hands with Ryan and Nicole before smacking Cooper in the head."Good to see you after so long, bedbug" She teased him. That has always been her nickname for him. Alice had nicknames for everyone in the house except Mrs Neveah of course. Speaking of Neveah....I watched as she moved across the room carrying so much aura with her. Her gown was silk gold with sparkling diamond stones. Everyone turned to stare at her. She's Royalty. I watched as the woman who locked me in prison for murdering her son, smiled at the crowd.Everyone on our table got up as she joined us. A sign of respect for the elderly. The sixty eight years old woman to
As the night went on, the diamond on my neck seemed to weigh heavier and heavier. I'd had to listen to Jacob talk about how he bought a hotel from Irish men."Are you here with the Riveras?" Jacob suddenly asked me. I pushed my glass of wine away."What?""I see you sat with them...you must be close to them" Jacob half grinned and I didn't want to take that as a sign for anything."My husband, Lucas is quite familiar with them" I said.Jacob chuckled. "So your Grayson's wife" he clapped his hands together. "No wonder he hasn't taken his eyes of you"I turned toward the curtain to where Lucas sat. He held a glass of red wine and his head was tilted toward the bar."You can say so" I smiled. "About your earlier questions about the Riveras" I moved in my seat so I was closer to him. That way, I can whisper if I have to. "How do you know them?"
It's been four days and I haven't seen Lucas. I know he's sometimes around the house somewhere. But it's just so darn big to even look for him anywhere. four days ago, he hired a cook. She's in her fifties and pretty decent. She also seem to know Lucas from before. She has a daughter Anna.Her name is Lara. She's been a great company to me since she arrived yesterday. We shared jokes and also she even taught me some recipes. She's a great cook.As for Lucas, I wonder if he even has dinner. He leaves the house very early and comes back very late. Though Lara says he eats dinner. I think he's avoiding me.I saw him in the gazebo yesterday but he looked so busy and he was with a man so I didn't approach him. After then, he disappeared. Just like he'd been doing for two days.I spotted Autumn in the garden some few times. She found herself a new bug and she's building him a home in the trees. I usually w