A ringing doorbell at seven in the morning was what pulled Nova out of her train of thoughts as she made pancakes on a gloomy Saturday. It seemed like it could rain any time now since it hadn't yet, even though the sky had been showing the signs of a storm coming since yesterday.
It had been too late last night, for Derek and her to go back to their penthouse in London; the warning wheather helped them with the decision as well. Neither of them saw it to be a problem either since they still were the owners of their respective houses here.
Derek had gone to his house abruptly after a while had gone by them just standing there, staring at the star-less, dark, night sky. And Nova hadn't stopped him because she felt like he should have a bit of alone time - to be away from the very place that had been haunting him all these years.
After turning the gas stove off, she slid a robe on, over the top and shorts she had been wearing, and got out of the kitchen in her fluffy and cute flip-flops. What could she say, she adored them a bit too much.
Without peeping through the peephole, she opened the front door and before she could even see the person - who was Derek, she saw those crystal blues of his - barged right in, handing her something in the process. He didn't say anything, just walked in and stopped in the living room, looking kind of angry.
Closing the door behind her, she looked down at her hands. Newspaper. He gave her a newspaper?
Before she could ask what all of this was, her eyes caught on to a headline.
'LEAVING THE PARTY EARLY, WATSON'S ANNOUNCEMENTS'
Of course it was all over the news that at the CEOs retiring party his son left early, she thought as she made her way back to her kitchen, leaving Derek standing in the living room to follow her to the small dining table situated in her kitchen. It was a smart move since she lived alone and the dining table had four chairs which came in handy when her parents visited her, or when she forced Alesso and Gilliam to have breakfast with her. It was always nice to have a breakfast companion, or in most of her cases, two.
Putting the paper at the dining table after having looked at the subheading that followed the headline, she went back to her pancakes and turned the stove on.
It wasn't displayed in a manner that could be interpreted in a wrong way - if she could say so herself, that is. At least not in a way that would be troublesome for the reputation of the company or its owners because apparently, 'Junior Watson Was Not To Be Blamed Since His Missus Looked Every Bit Beautiful And Definitely Irresistible'.
The 'Junior Watson's Missus', however, could not decide if that was something she should not be worried about. Sure it was a good thing that their reputation was still intact, but she wasn't very sure about this kind of thing. And that only made it worse because Derek didn't look very pleased to see that as a headline in the papers, either. All Nova was focusing on was the fact that at least it wasn't in the worst way possible.
The news resided in the very top of the paper, just below where the name of the paper was, with a picture of them on the side in which they were holding hands as they looked into each other's eyes. Nova would be honest, the picture did look very lovely. No wonder people were gushing about it. She portrayed a very believable to-be-wife, in her opinion.
She knew, of course, that the business world was important to the tabloids, but she had been underestimating just how much. She always thought that it wouldn't be as important as the political world or the entertainment industry. Actors and actresses, Political people - The Prime Minister, or any of the ministers, really, were there to help cover most of the interesting information. But as it would seem upon seeing the area in which their news was printed in - in black coloured font on a baby pink background along with their picture, below which was the page number where the whole news was to be found, Nova must reconsider her thoughts. And that was what Nova tried to tell Derek as he stood there at the dining table's side, the newspaper in one hand - which he must have picked from the table - eyes roaming at the headline, still on the front page and not flipping the papers to see the full news.
"It's not a big deal, Derek, it was a public event," Nova said as she put the last pancake from the pan to the plate. "At least its that and not 'Watsons And Newtons At A Feud?' or something because that would serve us as a real problem, wouldn't you agree?" She asked, trying to lighten up the mood.
Sure when she first saw the headline and her face on it, her eyes almost popped out; but then again, she had been in talks all her life. And although this seemed to be at a bigger level - one that she wasn't sure she was prepared for - it was still the same thing. This was what she had told herself to calm down when she first felt the unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"Come on," she said as she took the newspaper from his hands and set it at the far end of the table so that he doesn't go for it again. "It's not that big of a deal."
Plating the pancakes in front of him along with the Espresso she'd made as soon as she came back in the kitchen, she began drinking her Cappuccino.
She was sure he hadn't eaten anything.
"And I believe I told you that it must be handled," said Derek, taking the coffee mug in his hands, proving her to be right about his empty stomach, and looking straight at her. "Sure what it says is true but that's meddling in our business and I will not sit and witness all this," he continued as he set his drink down after taking a gulp of it then looking down at his drink. "I see you do remember certain things," he all but mumbled to himself; but of course, Nova heard him, which was why she was stifling a smile. It was that and also because what he said prior to that didn't go unnoticed by her.
So 'Junior Watson' did believe that his 'missus looked every bit beautiful and irresistible'? Well, that had to be something.
Now, Nova wanted to read the full article - she would have already but it felt very awkward to read that in front of the man she was with; both in that picture on the news and in the real life. It also didn't help what went down yesterday night; it was still very fresh in both of their memories and neither wanted to discuss about it at that point of time.
So when she could think of nothing to distract herself with, she ascended her hand towards the paper anyway and took it, noting the page number it referred to and flipping to it.
Resting her coffee mug aside she began to read.
'The Multinational Company 'Watson & Co.' recently announced three big changes that would be taking place by the company's leading men themselves. Sr. Watson, Mark, announced not a while ago that he would be retiring from his position of the company's Chief Exicutive Officer's position and that his son, Adam Watson, was to be stepping in his father's shoes not much later than his retirement. Following the news to retirement and stepping up was the news to getting engaged - yes, the twenty-four years old bachelor was apparently engaged to the daughter of famous senator Mr. Victor Newton and definitely out of the market.
The couple were spotted together for the first time at the retirement party thrown by none other than the retiring Watson, Mark, at one of their very own chain of hotels run by Watson & Co.
Business faces all across the country made an appearance to the party but what caught the attention of the paparazzi were the couple in talk themselves. Mr. Watson arrived along with soon-to-be Mrs. Watson, fashionably late, of course, in a black and white tuxedo and a dreamy peachy dress, subtly making a statement by not following the colour code of Red and Black. No one was complaining though, because the couple looked unreal!
They posed for the paparazzi when they arrived together in their very flimsy limo entering. Both the families - Watson's and the Newton's seemed to be in a very good relationship with each other which we found absolutely lovely!
The couple were seen to be coming out of the party in not more than two hours, whereas the party had still been going on. No one blames either of them, though, because they both looked stressed while coming out of the venue. We do understand what could have down, now can't we?
Fun talks aside, we do wish the very best to the new couple and wish their marriage to be annouced soon enough because people are going nuts seeing this new hot couple!'
Nova blinked at the paper after reading the whole deal, then she blinked a couple more times. Was this... real? Was this newspaper for real? Nova could swear she heard an over-excited reporter reporting this news in one of those T.V. shows that young girls followed to know about all the entertaining news about couples and celebrities. Kind of like Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter. It was only an after thought as to how incredibly unprofessional the language seemed to be. However, Nova could not stop the laughter that the paper brought about after finally realising what she had been worried about all this time.
Putting the paper down, she laughed as she put her hand on her stomach that had now began to ache a little because of the laughter. It was just that... she found it so incredibly funny!
"Oh, God," she gasped as she tried to come out of the bubble of humour that she seemed to be in, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. "My goodness, that was..." and there came another round of a good belly laugh. The fact that she could imagine, clear as a picture, how teenagers would be reacting to this particular bit of news and how they would be gushing about themselves upon reading it made her laughter even more uncontrollable. She felt a little bit guilty for imaging that and judging little kids but she just couldn't stop!
When she finally came to the reality of where she was, she immediately shut up. Not because Derek had been staring at her in a way she couldn't estimate the emotion he could be feeling, neither because she saw him take a sip from her mug with the cappuccino she made for herself, no. But because she suddenly realised that she had never, in her entire twenty years of existence, not once, had she laughed this hard, especially not in front of someone. She was always composed, a smile or a chuckle here and there where she thought something was funny, controlling the big laugh that threatened to come out, if there was any such instance.
Clearing her throat, she folded the newspaper properly and put it aside in a well-kept manner. Taking the nearest thing she could find - which was Derek's coffee mug - she involuntarily sipped on it only to grimace at its taste. There was a reason why she didn't make espresso and it was because she didn't like it's taste. She was more of the sugary kind. Not a big fan of bitter things. Though she would make an exception if it was for dark chocolates.
Clearing her throat yet again, this time to get rid of the taste, she put the thing down and folded her hands in front of her on the table. Then she began to eat her pancake and when she was done she finally looked at Derek, who had been watching her the entire time.
"Not a big fan of Espresso, I suppose?" He asked, a hit of humour hidden in his tone. Nova only shook her head.
Putting a strand of hair behind her ear, she decided to finally ask him what he was doing drinking her coffee. "Why do you have my cup in your hand?" She asked him, her hands found their way back in front of her, on the table.
Derek only took another sip from the cup at that, and then asked, "Why, can't I?"
Nova didn't know what she could have said to that but her mouth decided to talk either way. "I thought you preferred Espresso? In case you didn't notice, that's far from an Espresso," she said, pointing a finger to her cup.
"Oh, I did notice, just fine, Ms. Newton. Maybe I changed my mind?" He said then, looking at her the same way he had been for a while now. It made her sort of squirm in her seat, she could feel the blood rushing to her face; she was sure she was red by now.
"Well that's okay then. Enjoy yourself I'll just, uh-take these to the sink," she said as she stood up with the empty plate in front of her. She noticed that Derek had devoured his pancakes as well so she took his plate as well and went into the kitchen and put the plates in the sink. When she noticed that she forgot her - his mug of espresso there on the table she turned around to go there but couldn't.
Because the mug came to her along with Derek's - her cup as well, which was now empty. Its contents probably in Derek's stomach now.
"Oh, thank you so much but I would've -"
"- I'm sure, Ms. Newton, that we agreed on a little deal of ours," he said as he began to put the utensils in the sink, sort of cageing her between the counter and himself. Of course she remembered, it was just that she thought since this wasn't their penthouse but actually her house he would let her do it. Guess that wasn't the case with him.
Her hands found their way in front of her which then rested on Derek's chest, making her breath hitch in her throat.
"I - Of course! How could I forget, I'll just..." neither of them knew as to what she'll 'just' because all she did was to just trail off, her eyes focusing on her hands that were on his chest. She noticed that his chest almost seemed like it wasn't moving. But after a moment she realised that it was, actually, moving as he took a deep breath in and his hands found their way on her waist.
Nova wondered how she managed to not become a choking mess because the sudden intake of breath that her lungs immediately demanded at the feeling of his hands on her waist were enough to make just that of her. A choking mess.
"I - you - we -" and there she was, if not a choking mess, then sure to be a stuttering one.
God seemed to be on her side that day though, because just that moment when she was struggling to find words to form a coherent sentence, her phone ringed from somewhere in the house. The suddenness of the noise made her jump away from him and press against the counter. The sudden jolt in Nova's body made Derek first tighten his hold on her, but when he too heard her phone ringing, he stepped aside and began working on the plates as if nothing happened.
Taking that as a cue, she rushed her way into her living room and found her mobile on her small table beside the sofa. Just as she reached it, the ringing stopped. A missed call. Picking it up and sitting herself down on the sofa, she took a deep breath in, trying to calm down the sudden excitement that her body had been feeling and then, after a minute, she opened her phone to see who had called her.
Father. Her father had been the one to call her.
Memories came rushing back to her then, of yesterday night when Nova experienced the most dramatic night of her whole existence. Sighing to herself, she put the phone in her lap.
She still hadn't thought of how she was going to address this situation to her father. Let alone her father, she hadn't even yet talked about it to Derek himself- who was the core of the whole situation.
But she needed to sort out her life, this mess, she had to sort it out as soon as she was capable of. Before things went out of control she had to talk to her father, she had to talk to Derek and she had to talk to Alesso and Gilliam. Alesso and Gilliam.
The shuffling sound that came from outside was enough to tell her that the people she had been thinking about were here. Glancing at the clock Nova noticed that it was half past seven now, a bit late for them to be arriving as compared to their usual time. She then realised that it was Saturday - weekend, and on weekends both of them were supposed to be in their own houses; on a leave from doing the chores. Deciding to take a good class of her beloved human beings, she stood in front of the door, hands crossed in front of her chest just as they managed to pull the door open.
"...I do believe she's here, did you not see the car -" Alesso stopped short when she noticed someone already present in the room. She uttered out an 'Oh' when she saw who actually was the aforementioned 'someone'.
"Well, why did you just stop then, keep wa..." and that was Gilliam's turn to let his sentence trailing. That made Nova chuckle, proving her to have failed on trying to be strict and straight-faced, because the way Gilliam trailed off on his sentence the word which should have been 'walking' came out to be a mess of a 'wahahah'.
Composing herself again, maintaining the previous straight face she stood up straighter, she said, "Let us take a look on who we have here today, shall we?"
The way that their expressions changed to something of a mix between extreme happiness plus extreme awkwardness of having been caught was absolutely hilarious to Nova. She could not stand how much confused and ashamed they both looked but at the very same time so happy too! Which was what got Nova to not play with them this much. They were only helping her and that too on their own accord. She must not make it harder for them then how much harder it already must have been for them. If anything she should be so grateful of them and kissing their fingers instead.
So finally snapping back from her inwardly crisis she just spread out her arms as she started taking small steps ahead of them, she said, "Won't you come give me a hug, Alesso?" And that did it. That definitely did it because that's when she came almost running to her and circled her arms around my waist. Crossing mine around her neck, I closed my eyes and began rubbing small circles on her back when she felt him shake. As if she were crying, sobbing.
Nova did not like it. She never could witness people crying. Because, one, it makes the situation a thousand folds more awkward. Two, watching someone - anyone, really - cry, she definitely would end up wanting to cry too. And she did not like when that happened because then it would seem like she was stealing all the spotlight. Or that she was faking it, just because of wanting attention.
But then, she stopped. She froze more like. Nova began to ask as to what had happened or if she was okay but Gilliam's voice broke out first.
"What are you doing here?" His voice came out with a tone that clearly said no-nonsense, alarming Nova in the process.
As Alesso pulled away from her and began to stand behind her, putting an alarmed arm around her in a protective stance she knew something was not right. And when Gilliam came to stand beside her as well in an equally alert manner she knew something was definitely amiss.
Soon she realised, when another voice broke out, that Alesso and Gilliam were not familiar with people being in her house. Especially, she thought as she turned around and caught the crystal blues of his eyes glinting, not people who had a history within the neighborhood. A history that wasn't very good, so to add.
"Well, let us see who we have here, shall we?"
It was that voice, that tone that made Nova fear for the next second because he looked very much amused, if anything, while saying that.
--------
A.N:
Hiya! See? I said on the weekend and it's still the weekend! Hehe I'm so proud of myself hehe.
Hope you enjoyed it, loved it, missed it, everygoodthinged it XD.
Read! Vote! Comment! Share! Add! Follow! Enjoy!
-Z.
P.s: Dedicated to choco2S because it was her that made me make time to finish this one <3