Holding a food tray that had her special dish on for her visitors with her home made fruit salad juice, Nelica got out of their kitchen at last to face her visitors, especially that man. With a bashful aura and while her head lowered down slightly in shyfullness, she had finally walked slowly towards their dining room with her heart beating so fast again when she heard the loud noises of the old people talking. Argh. There goes that nervousness of her once again.
Though she was still far from their dining room, she could still clearly hear the conversation of the oldies there.
"So where's my future daughter-in-law, kumpadre? I'm sure my son is very excited to meet Nelica personally this time."
She shyly smiled and bit her lower lip. That must be her supposed-to-be-husband's father's voice.
"Oh she's in the kitchen, kumpadre. Busy helping the maids in preparing such delicious lunch for the both of you. You know.. To silently impress our gentleman here."
And that sentence of her father made her blush and bit her lower lip even more. 'Parents.' She shyly thought. And when she finally reached the entrance of the dining room..
"Oh there she is! Nelica, sweetheart.. Meet your visitors. And most especially, your most awaited visitor."
'Alright this it, Nelica. There's no turning back now. Pull yourself together. Pull yourself together.' She calmed herself in her thoughts and slowly walked inside the dining room while her head was still slightly lowered down. Then she finally slowly raised her head up to face her visitors with blushful cheeks, and smiled shyly even more when she saw an old man smiling at her. But when she finally set her eyes on the man standing there while looking at her with an obvious shocked reaction just like her, she eventually stopped walking. And suddenly, she felt her entire body tremble and her knees immediately wobble.
'No.. It can't be. F-Francis?'
Nelica felt that sudden suffocation. She can hardly breath and she even felt like freezing! And to add the record, she even felt her face become white as paper as she surveyed her eyes on that very familiar, utterly handsome face but turns out to be a deceiving, and lying devil incarnate. Her eyes flickered. What's going on? Was she just hallucinating? Or was it so damn real that the man who had hurt her back then and the man that she saw right at that very moment who was staring at her intently also, were shockingly the same? She gulped. Mindlessly knowing that their parents were already looking at them curiously. But she doesn't care about the surroundings at all. Because all she cared about that very moment was to stay away from the devilishly handsome prescence of White Francis Al Gala!
Mixed emotions filled her. And probably because of so many different emotions lurking her heart that fateful moment..
She mindlessly dropped the food tray.
--
White Francis suddenly came back from reverie when she heard that loud broken sound of something. Then followed by the noise coming from their parents and the fast approaching of the maids towards the beautiful woman in front of him. But he didn't mind that scene at all. Because right at that moment, he confirmed it..
"Oh my God, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"
The world was indeed small for both of them. His gaze diverted on Venz or Nelica again who's like him, have already went back to her senses who was obviously nervous while helping all the maids on cleaning the broken crystal bowls and the dishes Venz prepared for him and his father even though Venz's parents already told her let the maids clean up the mess and told her to clean herself up again. Venz' legs were being wet from the juice on that food tray and the damn liquid slowly creeped down to her perfectly-shaped, flawless and porcelain pair of long legs. White Francis' face flushed red of the thought and gulped secretly because of where his mind took him that moment. Damn! So blushing because of a woman was so gay on his part, but he can't help it and can't even blame himself because it's Venz he was talking about man! And she still has the same effect on her surprisingly. Tsk. His goddamn heart beats faster inside his chest while staring at her every move in an obvious uneasiness and awkwardness. Nervous too, if he may add. Then a little smile formed his lips. Hmm.. Those nervous gestures, those turning on uncertainty and that heavenly soft, lovely voice.. He badly missed those. He badly missed her. But damn. He should learn to control himself not to sound and look so obvious that they had known each other already before. Because based on what he observed on Venz' movements, it was obvious that she doesn't want her parents and his parents too, about that fact. And even him too. He doesn't want their past to be brought back and feels that painful part again between them because both their parents will surely dig into the deepest part of it until everything will be fucked up once more. So he doesn't want both their parents to know about a thing. And maybe it was just right that they have met again after six years, because he wanted clarification of their past. And he's willing to listen to her explanation even if it would surely hurt. At least, only the two of them knew the reason and not his family. That won't hurt his ego entirely. He wanted to sight with the thought, but he preferred not to.
Then when he was about to walk towards her and start to act his part of the scene, Mrs. Dikkinson cleared his throat and asked, "Uhm.. Based on your reactions.. I could say that you two knew each other."
He was about to answer but Venz' abruptly stood up like lightning and shouted..
"No! Of course not!" Venz' reacted very tensely that made her face paler than the previous moments. And so both their parents looked at each other in obvious shock because of Venz' reaction, that really made him want to laugh softly because of the amusement of that scene.
"I.. I mean.. N-No of course not. I just thought he's an old friend who.. Who already passed away."
And because of that.. He wanted to laugh softly again. She thought he's an old friend who already passed away huh? Pfft. Nice alibi though.
"Oh. Do they have such a close resemblance?" Venz' mother asked innocently, surprised reaction even written in the old woman's face.
He heard Venz cleared her throat. "Y-Yeah. A huge one."
"Oh. That's strange. How about you, White Francis? Why do you look very surprised when you see our daughter?"
He smiled when a thought of mischievousness lingered in his mind. So he cleared his throat and said, "I just find your daughter so attractive in my eyes, Madame. That's why," he said with a genuine smile to the oldies. And as expected, they looked so happy with his answer. Then his eyes diverted to Venz again to see her reaction but she just lowered down her head and crumpled the hem of her dress. That reaction of hers made him want to grin in victory. 'Did I succeed in making you feel so tense even more, Venz?' He mischievously asked in his thoughts.
Then he heard her suddenly clear her throat and said softly, "I.. Uhm.. I better clean up myself again. I'll be back shortly. E-Excuse me," Venz softly said and bashfully walked her way out of the dining room before her parents' could answer.
White Francis' secretly let out some air while following Venz' with his intense gaze until she was already out of sight. Who would have thought that Venz and Nelica were one though? But how was that possible? Her surname was Stenley as far as he can recall. But what if he had known that, after she left him dumbfounded? 'Why? What would you do you fool? Would you go to her and beg her to choose you instead of that man that she loved?' He wanted to sneer at that thought. Because he can't find the exact right answer. But what's clear was that she have hurt him so damn much. He loved her dearly. And she took him for a fool. How bloody and unacceptably ego-wrecking move of her. She chooses that moron over her. Then suddenly, something hit him and made him secretly gritted his teeth. What happened to Venz and to that guy back then? Was that the same guy who broke her up to that moment? If so, then didn't the two end up together? Does it really hurt Venz that deep that made Venz so devastated until that point of time? Was that the reason why Venz agreed on that set up of their parents? To forget about that monk already? And what? He will be the fucking rebound for the whole time of that set up? Bitterness immediately engulfed his entire being. But why does he felt a mixture of happiness and sympathy that moment of that conclusion in his mind? Why? Happiness because he's gonna be with her again? And sympathy because she was so devastated because of that douche? He can't find the right answer yet. But.. He'll make sure his questions are gonna be answered sooner or later, because he won't stop until they will have that closure he thinks they both need tp clear things out on their past. And there's a question bothering him entirely. What if Venz would back out suddenly on that set up because of him? Would he let her? Or would he find a way to make her stuck in his life on that day forward and won't leave him once more. And also.. To silently punish for leaving him for some painful reason and after that, ask her why she dared to took him for a fool back then and lastly.. Ask her about her surname. He wanted answers. Answers to put his mind at peace when he's with her sooner to make that set up happen.
"Son.. She's back.."
White Francis slowly laid his gaze on Venz's perfectly goddess figure. And he secretly gulped harder and cleared his throat when he saw her indeed walking towards their direction finally again while her head was slightly lowered down shyly. He stared at her deeply until she's already a little far from where he was standing. Then he smiled secretly and at the back of his mind he said..
'I'm not gonna let you leave me again this time, Venz. I'll make you mine and mine alone this time and nobody else can have you except me. And I'm gonna make you stay in my life forever. Whatever happens.. And whatever it takes.'
And he knows just the right thing to do on how to make that happen. He smiled meaningfully.