Chapter: 22

"Ethan! Are you ready?" I yelled across the room. We were packing for a good day-out. Valery, Ivanna, Alejandro, Sein and of course, Phillipe, who'd not let me step outside the palace without him by my side, decided to tag along too. Sad to say that he definitely was not thrilled by the idea. There hadn't been a call from Edward or his sighting, nor did I try to contact him. The outcomes scared me to no end.

What if he really was involved in something like kidnapping me? That was a horrific thought.

"Yes momma," I received the shout from my boy. Good that he was ready, now I could settle to pile the scattered picnic items and stuff it in the bag. I picked up a set of Ethan's clothes so that I'd have clothes in case he dirtied them. I bet he would dirty them.

"Every thing's ready?" Valery entered the room.

"Yup." I zipped up the bag, adjusting my wrinkled shirt. Clothes, check. Sun glasses, check. Lip gloss, check. Mobile, check. The food responsibility was in the hands of Valery and Ivanna. So, I could take a deep breath.

"Everone's ready?" I asked her.

"Yes. They are waiting for you. Come down quickly though, I'll take Ethan with me," she called out, her voice disappearing in the hallway. I grabbed the wallet glancing at the wall clock which read 9 in the morning. Well, a long day was definitely waiting for us, weaving the threads of enjoyment.

I slammed the door shut behind me, balancing the bag and wallet with utmost care. The hallways were silent without a cat sound today. Usually, there used be be some cat sounds for every five minutes. I wonder what happened to the sounds now.

I took slow steps in the direction of giant staircase as the lift was under construction, much to my dismay. Did Ethan put any heavy metal in the bag without my knowledge? The bag was awfully heavy, causing some almost trips on my way. I saved my butt and face at least three times in the short distance.

"Want help?" I looked for the source of words. Sein came in front of me, almost out of his breath, sporting a sweet smile on his beautiful face. Beautiful? I just didn't say that. That was just my drunk subconscious speaking.

"Umm....Yes." I hesitated before accepting. I had been wary of this man from the day he surprised me, partly because he maintained  relationship without my knowledge. But, who am I to put a leg in his relations? Some thing was definitely wrong with my brain.

And also, I had been waiting for Alice' confrontation but it never came in the past 2 days. And now, the weekend arrived. I just hoped that my weekend would be drama free. I could deal with Alice later. Even after she revealed the truth and we unfold it in front of Samuel, I'd be glad if she kept Samuel to herself. I definitely didn't want another girl to fall in his romantic traps of no trust.

I handed him the heavy bag which he lifts without breaking sweat. Damn, these men, they lift some things as if the are soft toys. I needed to concentrate more on my work out once I returned so that I'd just lift an item in the blink of an eye without any effort.

"Shall we, miss?" He winked at me and my breath hitched in my throat. That wasn't supposed to happen.

"We shall." I rolled my eyes in front of him, in a way to mock him. I didn't know why but I was acting like a stuck up woman and the most important thing was, I wasn't on my period. What was wrong with me from the last two days?

He nodded at me, his smile dropping a little. An instant rush of guilt pressured me to apologize him and I almost did. The keyword remaining almost.

We descended the stairs in silence. After my mockery, I was sure that I triggered a feeling in his heart and I was strangely afraid if I'd lose the respect and friendship in his eyes which was meant for me. The fact why I felt this way still remained to be a mystery. Why was I afraid of losing his friendship?

"Ready to leave?" Phillipe asked once we reached downstairs.

"Never was this ready," I said, smiling. Lot of time passed since the last picnic at a resort. Sein said Uncle Martinez might make it to the resort which would definitely add more fun to the outing.

"So, who's going with whom?" Alejandro asked, eyeing me. I was sure that he expected me to go with him. Especially since the last kidnap, he had been more cautious of the situations.

"I, Sophia and Ethan shall go together. Rest of you can go in other car," Sein suggested first before anyone did. I looked at him in curiosity and suspicion. Why did he want us to go together? Anyhow, Phillipe or Alejandro would definitely fight for their seat in our car.

"I'll come with you bro," Phillipe said, nodding curtly, leaving no room for further discussion.

But, friends have some secret code that is difficult for others to decipher. The same happened with me, because of which I had to sit in an awkward silence with Sein in the car. Ethan didn't seem to bother us, as usual. The boy needed a tablet in which he could play the games he wanted. I insisted not to let him play, but Sein won in the argument, of course. I had to hand the tablet to Ethan, begrudgingly. I just hoped that my baby would not get spectacles even before he stepped in his teens.

After Phillipe announced he was tagging along, I definitely was happy to comply his order as spending time with Sein wasn't a brilliant idea after what I did back on stairs. But, Sein took Phillipe by his hand dragging him to the corner of the hall. They spoke animatedly for a minute or two, then they rotated together in their place, which confused all of us. Once they came back, Phillipe surprisingly confirmed that he wasn't coming with us. What did Sein say him?

"Do you want to listen to radio?" Sein asked, trying to start a conversation for the third time.

"No," I replied in a mono syllable, switching off the conversation again. My inner self was afraid that I'd blurt out something I shouldn't. While Ethan was still in the car, I didn't want him to witness whatever it was going to be. Seriously, I had been having continuous fights with Samuel and noe Sein? But, why would I fight? For what would I? Why was I acting weirdly since the day of fight? Why was I snapping at Sein for no apparent reason? I needed medical attention, for sure.

"Okay." He sighed heavily, concentrating on the road. We were behind Alejandro's car and if I was a good speculator, I'd say we would reach in fifteen minutes or so. Today was saturday and we return tomorrow evening, after enjoying for a day.

The drive longed for twenty agonizingly long minutes, watching the trees travelling behind, hearing the sounds from temple run, comprehending on my weird behavior. Once we reached, I got down, unbuckling Ethan from the back seat. We followed Phillipe silently.

Sein relieved me again from the burden of carrying the heavy bag.

"You and Ivanna will be sharing the last room," Phillipe concluded, explaining who was sharing a room with whom. Alejandro and Valerie got into one, Phillipe with Sein which left me and Ivanna.

"Then me?" my little boy asked. I was about to answer the obvious question when Sein beat me to that, "You are teaming up with me and Uncle Phillipe."

"Yeah!!!" Ethan jumped, fist bumping with Sein. I wasn't aware of that.

"You sure you can handle him?" I asked the men. Handling Ethan wasn't as easy as it appeared to be.

"Yes we are." Sein and Phillipe smirked in the same way and were way too smug about that. Let us see.

"Come on Ivanna." I gestured her to follow me, grabbing the key card from Phillipe.

Once we reached the room as per the directions, I opened the door using the card and was amazed to see the room. The room's theme was beige colour all the furniture complemented the room walls.

"Umm..so, what's going on between you and Sein?"

"What do you mean, Ivanna?"

"You completely weren't happy to look at Sein from the last two days. What happened at the surprise date?"

"That wasn't a date." I denied immediately.

"Really?"

"Ethan tagged along, remember? Sop, it isn't a date at all."

"Okay. As you say. But, what really happened?"

"Is it really that important to discuss this Ivanna?" I asked in a bored tone. Sometimes, I feel that people were invading my personal space even though I had given enough hint that I'm particularly not thrilled of their questions.

"Yes, it is. You are not behaving normally from last two days. Believe me when I say this. Just share your feelings with me, you'll feel a lot better." She sat on the bed followed by me. I could use some relaxation.

"Really?" I asked. The questions were burdening me, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to explain it to anyone. Letting your inner self out without embarrassing yourself is a hard thing.

"Really." She placed her hand on mine in reassurance and smiled at me in encouragement.

"Where to start?"

"From the beginning."

I decided not to go into the details where I had a fight with Samuel and instead explained, "There was this new girl I met on the same day."

"And?"

"Sein was continuously talking to her and didn't once speak to me whole throughout the evening. Not that it was a problem," I quickly denied. "The real problem is, he didn't acknowledge me even when I called for him. Like, he totally was engrossed in the conversation in a way that he ignored me."

She nodded, and I took it as a signal that she understood what I said and further said, "When we were in the car, I asked him about her. He was discribing her in a way that I got annoyed for no clear reason. Myabe, because he was too cheesy. That's it."

"And, you are ignoring him for...?" she asked and I had this immediate urge to thrash her face with a pillow. I suppose, besties were meant to understand without words spoken. And here she was, didn't understand even after explaining.

"He ignored me in the car and he likes her!" I whisper-yelled in anger.

"You are ignoring him because he likes her?" My eyes widened a fraction at what I had said.

"That was wrong. That slipped."

"Slipped?" She raised her eyebrows, her lips twitching a little.

"No, that was wrong!" I confirmed it for the final time.

"You like him," she said, bluntly. As if it was the most obvious thing.

"And Phillipe isn't demanding." I rolled my eyes.

"Yes you do"

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, I don't like Sein and no further discussion on this!" I shouted and was afraid that anyone would hear us in the hallway.

"Um... Did I disturb anything?" I heard a male voice and turned to look at Sein himself.

My heart rate picked up instantly and my face flushed in embarrassment. How did he get in?

*******

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