(Author’s POV)

"Where is Wendy? Why hasn’t she come down yet?" William questioned, glancing towards the stairs.

"She has gone to her room to change her clothes," Yelena answered.

William sighed exhaustively and then commented, "Again~ .... hahh. This girl~ .... *sigh* They all must be here any minute, and she is~ ...."

"Honey, let her be. She will come down when she’s ready," Sandra spoke, keeping a comforting hand on his shoulder. William nodded, pinching his nose bridge.

"Uncle Will, why do you seem so nervous?" Yelena asked. "It is just a dinner with Nora’s family, after all. They were all present last night as well."

"Yelena, dear, yesterday was different. The celebration was for Myra’s homecoming. And we weren’t expecting Mrs. Everests to visit at all. But today, we have formally invited them to have dinner with us. We don’t want to be seen as lacking," Sandra explained patiently. Yelena hummed as the sound of the doorbell echoed in the living room.

"They must be here," William said, adjusting his shirt’s button. "I’ll get the door," Myra said while walking towards the entrance. As soon as she opened it, she saw Sara, and her face lit up. Standing on either side of her were the twins, Nora and Elio.

Sara hugged Myra instantly and greeted, "It’s so good to see you again."

"Good to see you too, Sara," Myra reciprocated the warm embrace. Next, it was Nora’s turn as she leapt and pounced on Myra like a life-size teddy bear. Myra was about to lose her balance due to the sudden force. Elio reacted reflexively and got into position to catch her, but she somehow maintained her stability and avoided his touch.

Elio was left nonplussed. Feeling awkward, he withdrew his hands and stood erect, his face beetroot red. He thought no one would have noticed it, but from the corner of her eyes, Myra had seen it all.

He glanced at her, but she quickly, almost sneakily, turned her face to the other side, this time, avoiding his eyes.

After what she saw in Wendy’s room, the countless sketches, and knowing that her younger sister likes Elio, she didn’t know how to meet his gaze. She was getting conscious of him and wanted to keep her distance as much as possible. Their history, their chemistry, and the current situation, all of it was somehow messing with her head and making her feel guilty. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Where are the others?" Sandra’s voice broke her chain of thoughts. She was now standing just beside Myra.

Listening to her mother’s words, Myra looked around and found that neither Brave nor Dion was with them.

"Brave is held up by some work, but he will be here soon. As for Dion~ .... he is~ ...." Sara’s voice trailed as she glanced back, "There he is~ ...." She finished.

Everyone followed her line of sight, and there he was, approaching them, holding a massive bouquet of fresh pink carnations.

With each step, he got closer, as drumrolls were thumping loudly in her heart. He was looking at her, flashing her his signature smile. Yelena chuckled inwardly while Elio’s face was etched with an expression filled with discomfort, his hands clenched unconsciously.

Standing right in front of Myra, Dion said, "Beautiful flowers for the beautiful lady of the house." As usual, he was smooth with his words as he extended the carnations towards Sandra. "Thank you for inviting all of us to dinner. I was really craving your cooking."

Myra was left dumbfounded.

Sandra’s eyes widened, then sparkled, as a luminous smile crept up her lips. "For me? These look lovely~ even smells good .... Thank you so much, Dion." She took them instantly and giggled like a teenager, patting Dion’s head affectionately. Her cheeks matched the colour of the flowers in her hands.

"Honey, let’s not make our guest wait at the door. Mrs. Everests, everyone, please come inside," William spoke, eyeing the flowers.

"Ohhh~ how silly of me .... Sara, kids, please come," Sandra chimed quickly as they walked inside.

"Aren’t you gonna come inside?" Dion cooed. Myra instantly shifted her head; his face was just inches away. His raspy, breathy voice made her flinch. The wet dream she saw earlier, she instantly knew, Dion was one of the guys in it. In a daze, she kept staring into his golden green eyes, the flashback of that erotic, passionate feel crept up in her mind.

Dion’s smile faded little by little, replaced by something unspeakably intense. They were standing so close that her natural, citrus scent was infiltrating his nose, testing his nerves. She was so close to making him go crazy. A feeling of ecstasy coursed through him; it was fierce, raw and electrifying. Drey was getting worked up as well.

The gripping moment was interrupted by Yelena, when she snapped her fingers right in front of their faces, "Hey~ .... You two. Let’s get going, everyone’s waiting." Myra quickly snapped out of it, shook her head and distanced herself. Yelena then hooked her arm as they both walked inside. ’Fabian~ ... you owe me another one,’ she thought.

Myra’s face was crimson. When she touched her face, she could feel the heat creeping up. ’What are you doing? Calm down, calm down~ .... don’t think about it. Just don’t, she kept on repeating it in her head like a mantra.

Wendy, after changing her attire once more, had finally come to the living room. She quickly made her way towards Nora~ ... or you could say Elio. They were standing side by side.

"Wends, what took you so long?" Nora inquired. She then went on to comment, "Ohhhoooo~ .... nice hairstyle. Teach me how you made it, hmm."

Wendy nodded bashfully as she gazed at Elio. His attention was elsewhere and understandably so. To her, he seemed absentminded.

In his mind, a thousand thoughts were cropping up. He had also noticed the intense moment between his brother and his love, and he had a bad feeling. Plus, how Myra kept on avoiding his gaze, whether it was intentional or otherwise, was making him feel super irky.

*Meanwhile, at the Larson mansion, inside Alaric’s room*

"Sir, an earthquake had jolted Damona the day before yesterday. It was recorded at around 5.6 magnitude on the Richter scale. Though there have been no casualties on the construction site, but a lot of issues have emerged due to the seismic tremor. It had delayed the progress substantially," Amanda told him, her voice even. But inwardly, she was scared of her boss’s reaction.

"Why didn’t you notify me about it, Secretary Amanda?" He spat. Then he added, "What about the aftershocks? Has the situation gotten any better?" Alaric questioned, looking at the file his secretary had sent via email.

"I have been dispatched to the site, and so far, there have been no aftershocks," this time, Marion, the head of planning, answered. "The houses which are already built didn’t have much effect, but the ones under construction have been damaged." She added.

Alaric’s face remained straight as everyone waited for him to react. He checked the time; it was close to seven, and sighed deeply. He pulled his attention back to the meeting, "We are going to resolve this issue. Until then~ .... no one is allowed to leave, got it."

Everyone’s eyes widened, but they replied collectively, "Yes, sir."

He commanded. "Now, shall we start?"

To Be Continued . . . . . . . .