chapter 28

Lauren

I stared at the three men sitting on the couch in front of me.

Chris looked a bit guilty, Ryan looked like he has no idea what he is doing here, whereas Ethan just had a bored expression.

"Drink this. It will help your hangover." I spoke pointing to the three drinks on the table in front of me.

Ryan was the first to lean forward and take the drink, whereas Chris followed him.

"Do you know how wasted you three were last night?" I spoke making sure to glare at them equally.

I can't believe they passed out when I reached the bar last night.

"You brought us here last night?" Ryan asked sipping his drink.

"No, it was Batman. He has been doing charity lately." Ryan rolled his eyes at my sly remark.

I'm sorry. I do know that I have very bad timing at being sarcastic.

"Ha. Very funny." Ryan scowled at me.

"What happened last night?" Chris spoke for the first time.

"When I arrived last night, you were sleeping on the counter completely passed out." I pointed to Chris.

"And you were busy counting the number of invisible bricks in the bar walls," I spoke to Ethan trying to hide my smile.

"What about me? Did I do something?" Ryan raised his eyebrow at me.

"Ah, you did. In fact, you spoke something interesting last night." I wriggled my eyebrows at him.

"Did I?" His eyes widened at my nod.

"You spoke about an attorney or something like she rejecting you." At my answer, he tightly shut his eyes clearly embarrassed.

"Attorney?" Chris spoke.

"Someone rejected him?" Ethan snickered and Ryan glared at him.

"Ok. I got it. Don't say anything more," Ryan stressed.

"Wait. You are dating someone? Who is she? What is her name?" Leaning forward to look at Ryan, Chris beamed.

"That's not important right now." Ethan interrupted Chris.

"Did she really reject you?" Ethan teased turned towards Ryan.

When Ryan turned red, Ethan laughed out loud when he couldn't control his smile and soon Chris joined him.

"Oh, just shut up idiots." Ryan scoffed and they completely ignored him.

I zoned out staring at the three men sitting in front of me who were busy throwing shade at each other.

Looking at the way Ethan and Chris laugh freely without any care for the world, made me happy.

They were absurd last night.

I can't believe they got completely wasted last night. The situation would have been horrendous if the media got hold of them last night.

I had to call Ryan's bodyguard, SpongeBob or Bob, to help me for bringing them home.

Last night, I saw a different angle of each of them.

The always playful Ryan, seemed kind of sad when he blabbered about the attorney rejecting him.

The same goes for Chris.

Although, I don't know Chris as much as I know Ryan and Ethan. From what little I know of him,

Chris who calculates every possibility before taking a step stopped thinking for once and lived freely without all the pros and cons.

And Ethan was a complete surprise to me.

My chain of thoughts and the three friend's fits of laughter eventually

died when Chris' phone rang.

"Yes, Joe?" He answered.

I think its his assistant.

"Again?" he queried with a tired sigh.

"Ok. I'll see." He slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"This woman is the most stubborn person I have ever seen." Chris faltered.

"Who?" I wondered.

"A woman from a fashion company. She needs my company's investment for their fashion show. Although I rejected their offer before, she is hell-bent on convincing me for their show." He shook his head speaking of her.

Sounds like someone I know.

"I have to go." Getting up from the couch, Chris spoke up.

"Me too. I have a shoot today." Placing his cup on the table, Ryan got up.

"I'm so sorry for all the trouble last night, Lauren."

My heart melted at Chris' words. He is the sweetest person.

"Don't say that, Chris." I gave him a big smile and he surprised me by hugging me.

It wasn't uncomfortable. It was heartwarming.

Ryan and Ethan had a small smile on their face at our interaction.

He broke the hug and smiled at me. He turned towards the other two and they shared something with their eye contact and nodded their heads. They didn't speak anything.

Is that a guy's thing or what?

With a final smile, Chris walked away.

Ryan bumped my shoulder harshly with his, before saying "Bye-bye, Fish dancer."

I winced at the spot he bumped me but Ryan just laughed at my glare before walking away.

Turning towards Ethan after they left, I finally sat beside him.

"What?" he voiced out frowning when he saw me staring at him. A soft smile is plastered on my face.

I shook my head and continued staring at him with a soft smile.

He turned his body towards me sitting on the couch and raised his eyebrow at me.

"You called me last night," I muttered.

"And?"

"Do you remember what you said to me?" I asked hopeful and his frown deepened.

"Did I say something? I don't remember." He furrowed his eyebrows and scratched his forehead making a thinking face.

I stayed silent and stared at the person who had the power to make me smile in any situation. I shouldn't have expected him to remember anything when he is drunk.

I tried hiding my disappointment with a smile.

"It's nothing important. Don't worry." He ran his eyes on my face at my answer.

I was about to get up from the couch and walk away when he held my palm stopping me.

I turned back to look at him when he tugged me making me sit on the couch beside him.

"I am joking." He ran his thumb on my hand which he held before and smiled at me.

"Do you remember?" I asked him timidly and my heart fluttered when he nodded his head.

"I also meant everything I said to you." Blood rushed to my cheeks painting my cheeks red when he spoke again.

Ethan has never been good with words. He rarely expresses anything with words. Every time he kissed me, I could feel his emotions. But I still felt unsure of his feelings or whatever they are called.

But when he spoke those words last night, I was flying into a different world during the whole call. I didn't even know that I tuck my hair every time I'm nervous.

I never complained but I was always kind of mad at him for not noticing me every time I dress up. I didn't know that he noticed me. He even paid attention to those small details about me. that gesture warmed my heart.

"You do?" His nod brightened my smile even more.

We shared the comfortable silence doing nothing but staring at each other's eyes.

"Do you remember everything you said last night?" I wondered with a playful glint in my eyes.

He frowned at my words.

"Do You, Mr Kingston?" Raising my eyebrow at him, I asked him again.

"Yes, Mrs Kingston." He answered in his velvety voice with a smirk which I'm used to.

I tried hard not to melt in his smile but stay mad, at least pretend.

"Then do you remember calling me a potato?" At my glare, he left my hand muttering a silent 'oh' and sat straight silently.

"Do I look like a potato to you?" I insisted and he ignored me clearly thinking of ways to escape.

"I called you a sweet potato, Lauren." He spoke giving me his puppy eyes.

"It still is a potato." I scowled at him.

"But they are different." He defended .

"No. they are the same." I argued back.

"Am I getting fat?" I asked him looking down at myself.

I couldn't sleep the whole night because of two reasons. One reason is his flirty talk and the second is him calling me a potato.

"No, you're not. Even if you are heavy, you will still look beautiful." He assured me and I eyed him till I'm satisfied.

"Did you make this drink?" he changed the topic and I let him.

"Yes."

"How did they drink this?" he took a sip and made a gagging face.

"Don't you dare, Ethan. It's not that bad." I glared at him and he feigned innocent face..

"I hope they will be good tomorrow." I huffed at his comment and he just laughed at my glare.

Although I tried staying mad at him, I couldn't control myself smiling, looking at his laugh.

***

I rang the doorbell and waited for that person to open the door. I missed Alice a lot and due to the busy schedules and meetings, I couldn't even check on her.

So, I took some time today after office hours and came here. Ethan is still in office.

When the door opened, my smile vanished a bit and my eyes blinked looking at the woman in front of me.

I think I met her once.

Right. In Milan.

What is she doing here?

In Alice's place.

"Lauren?" she called me unsure.

"Yes," I replied not knowing how to respond.

"We met in Milan, remember?" she asked me softly and I nodded my head at her.

What's her name again?

"Eva," I remembered her name.

"Yes." She gave me a soft smile and I had to raise my eyes a bit as she is slightly taller than me.

Damn, she has a good height.

"Isn't this Alice's place?" I asked her wondering if Alice changed her place.

Or in the worst case, she got tired of everything and moved to another country. But she didn't tell me anything.

If only she did, I would have tagged along with her. Also, I would take Ethan with me too.

"Oh, you're here for Alice?" she asked me and I nodded.

"Yes."

"Oh, she didn't return yet. But come in. I'm her new roommate." She introduced herself and I nodded my head at her.

Once I entered, she offered me something to drink but I declined the offer.

I stayed silent not knowing how to continue the conversation and waited for her to speak.

When she seemed more introverted than me, I took the initiative to speak.

"How is your mom, Isobel?" I asked her.

"Oh, she is good. Sometimes she talks about you out of nowhere. I must say you made a good impression on her. " I smiled at her answer and her hazel eyes reflected her smile perfectly.

My brain searched for reasons why she looked familiar to me.

When she smiled, she looked exactly like someone I know, but I couldn't quite put my finger on who it is.

"I am glad." I smiled at her ignoring my thoughts.

"Did we meet before Milan?" I asked her just to be sure.

"I don't think so." She shook her head slightly and I nodded at her.

"Alice should have returned by now. Right?" I asked her frowning.

Alice usually reaches home soon. Although she loves fashion designing, she doesn't love where she is working right now. She hates her boss to the core.

"Yes, she returns by this time. But lately, she has been working a lot for an upcoming fashion show or something. So, she comes late and leaves early." Eva complained and I smiled at her.

I am happy that Eva is genuinely concerned about Alice. They seem like good friends. Although Eva is slightly different from our personalities, she can fit together well with us.

"A fashion show?" I frowned.

Is this fashion month or something? I remember Chris too mentioned something about a fashion show or something like that.

"Yes. Don't ask me anything more. I'm very bad at anything related to fashion." She chuckled.

"You could say I belong to the same category by looking at my attire." I giggled showing my simple trousers and the plain white crop top.

"You are definitely better than me," she stressed.

"Alice sometimes gets mad at the way I dress." She continued and I chuckled at her.

Alice and I have always been completely opposite when it comes to fashion.

"Where does Isobel stay?" I wondered after a silent moment.

"My mom stays in California. I work as an attorney here," she spoke making my eyes widen.

An attorney.

I wanted to become an attorney when I was a child. But I gave up on that when I realized I couldn't even remember my morning's breakfast, let alone all the legal laws.

"What about your father?" I asked her and at the mention of the father, her face turned down.

Did I start a touchy subject?

"I don't have a father." She simply spoke with an expressionless face.

"In fact, I don't have anyone except my mother." She continued.

"I'm sorry," I muttered timidly.

"Oh no, don't be." She waved the topic off with a smile and I'm grateful for that.

I didn't want to upset her.

"Well, I'm happy with my mom. She runs a restaurant in California and she cooks best." She continued.

"She cooks best? then I'm definitely going to visit her once." I joked and she laughed soon.

We continued our chat waiting for Alice to return. The talk flowed easily between us.

Eva is a very reserved person but once she feels comfortable with you, she is an open book.

When Eva got a call from Mr Ben or someone, I got up from the couch we'd been sitting since hours.

I watched Eva talking on her phone on the balcony and looked around the apartment.

I have been here many times before, but now the place seemed different. It is still the same but with a few changes here and there.

I started walking around and entered a bedroom which was Alice's before but now seemed like it isn't.

The room walls are beautifully decorated with Eva and Isobel's picture frames.

I smiled at the beautiful bond the mother and daughter shared. The bond which I always wanted to have with my mom.

They looked very similar.

With a smile on my face, I looked at all the pictures on the walls.

But one picture on the bedside table stopped my wandering eyes.

Wait-

The picture...

Is it?

The picture looked familiar.

No.

The little girl along with Isobel in the picture looked familiar.

I've seen her before.

I saw the same little girl's picture in Ethan's office once.

Are they the same girl?

I'm sure this is the same little girl I've seen in Ethan's office.

Does Ethan know Eva?

Do Eva and Ethan know each other?

"Here you are," I jumped listening to Eva's voice from the door.

"This?" I asked her, showing the picture just to confirm for myself.

"This is me. when I was seven or something." Eva smiled and now I realized she has had the same smile since childhood.

Do you know Ethan Kingston?

The question is at the tip of my tongue.

But I waited before asking her that, remembering how mad Ethan got when he got to know that I saw the picture of her.

Why did he get so mad at me?

Moreover, why does he have Eva's picture?

What am I missing here?

When I realized Eva spoke something before, I muttered an answer.

"Oh." I breathed.

She frowned looking at my slightly pale face.

"I have got an important thing to do. I have to go, Eva." I smiled at her trying to hide its fakeness.

"Are you okay?" she asked me.

"Of course." I smiled at her and she returned the smile.

"See you later." She spoke and I nodded my head at her lost in the turmoil of my thoughts.

***

Eva's POV

I stared at the walking away form of Lauren and stood there not understanding what just happened.

Lauren seemed different suddenly.

Did something happen?

I shook those thoughts and walked back because I have Ryan Parker's court trial to win in two days.

He really put me in a strange position.

I think I said yes to his challenge too soon. I should have listened to his bet completely before agreeing to go on a date.

Now, If I don't win this case, it will be a major setback for my career. But if I do win, I have to go on a date with him.

Although the second option didn't seem horrible to me, I would say he still tricked me.

Stop thinking about him, Eva.

My thoughts flowed from Ryan to Lauren.

I didn't think I would meet Lauren again after Milan. But here I am. And moreover, Alice and Lauren are friends.

Alice is the first friend I have made after moving here. Although she seems tough, she is the kindest person and I could tell Lauren is the same.

They became quite close to me quickly.

And I hope we three could become very good friends someday.

It's been almost a month since I moved here, thankfully I didn't clash into any Kingston's yet.

Ethan Kingston to be precise.

My life has always been better off without them and I wish to keep it that way.

Author's notes

Please vote, comment and share.