Twenty One

"How did you end up here?" "I'll ask him after I take a seat beside him.
"Nothing, sir; I'm just paying a visit. "In response, he said, and I nodded.
"I thought you came here to see Winter," I explained.

"I know Winter didn't stay here for so long. So, sir, it means one thing. I'll come here for you. "He said, and then I burst out laughing, and he shook his head.

"How is your courtship going?

"I'll ask him.

"I'm not sure because she didn't pay attention to what I was saying to her. She maintained her death glare on me. So, for the time being, I'll stop, but perhaps I'll resume later." He said, frowning.
He was like a son who was explaining his predicament about courting a woman.
But I can't help but laugh because the woman he's referring to is my daughter.

"Do you know what she said to me? If your entire asset was transferred to her, she was going to fire me because she couldn't stand my presence any longer."

I'll laugh heartily at his statement because I know what kind of attitude Winter has, but she was sweet at times.

"What do you want to drink, Dion? It would have been better if we discussed some things while drinking alcohol." I stated. 

Dion nodded, and I stood up to go to my house bar counter.
After a minute, I returned to the living room, this time with a bottle of beer and a glass in my hand.
I'll put it on the table and take a seat next to Dion. We began drinking after a minute.

"By the way, sir, I saw you earlier in the city." "It's as if you were looking for someone," he explained.

"Where were you at the time, and why did you see me?" I asked him.

"I was at a coffee shop," he explained.

"With whom?" I'll ask.

"Why do you ask?" he asked, laughing.
"Damn you, Dion," I said, "I'll just ask you."

"Don't worry, sir, I'm completely committed to your daughter," he said.

What he said made me laugh. Knowing Winter, I'm not sure if my daughter liked him as well.

I had no idea if she had a boyfriend or a man in her life.

Dion says good-by to me after a half-hour because it's getting late.

I went to my room as soon as Dion left the house because I felt like the alcohol had affected my entire body system.
I’ll lie down in my bed and sleep without changing my clothes.
There should be a woman in the house because someone is getting my clothes ready.
But for the time being, I'll be lying here alone in the cold night, without a woman to hug.
I'm going to close my eyes and sleep.

I got up early the next day. I need to prepare breakfast for them because Pia was hungover

Right now, I'm in the kitchen slicing some ingredients for my dish.

Winter appeared in the kitchen a few minutes later.

"Good morning, and you don't have to get up early to cook," she said.
"You need to eat a lot of food in winter, so you don't get sick from your diet," I advised. She nodded in response to what I said.
"Thank you, Gianna. I feel like I want to eat a heavy breakfast right now. " She said 
"How’s Pia?" I’ll ask her. I don’t know, she didn’t go out of her room. For sure, she got a hangover. " Winter said
Minutes passed, and Pia came into the kitchen while holding her forehead. 
And from her reactions, it’s like she was hurt. 
Good morning, the two of you were so early. My head was hurting. " She said
"Yeah, because you run out of eight bottles of beer at night," Winter said
Pia didn’t say a word, instead, she sat on the chair near me.
"What are your current feelings? Have you moved on and found someone who makes you happy?" I'll ask her.
"Gianna, are you serious? It takes more time to heal from the pain," she explained.
"If that's the case, why did you drink so much last night?" Winter inquired.
"Perhaps you felt embarrassed if you saw your reactions," I speculated.
"You make fun of me, Gianna," she exclaimed.
Then both Winter and I laughed.
Winter smiled as she said, "Don't try to drink too much again, Pia; you crawl like a zombie."
"Shut up, Winter, your talking too much!
" exclaims Pia.
 After an hour, we were both eating at the table. No one dared speak since we were starving. In particular, Pia ate like a hungry animal.  
"Eat with poise, Pia; you’re like a hungry lion," Winter said.
"Shut up, Winter. I’m so hungry."
"Of course, you’re so hungry because you haven’t eaten since last night. You drink first instead of eating some meals. That’s what you’ve got. " Winter said.
 
"It's not my intention to drink too much, but I was hurt pretty damn much. Love was so cruel to me. It will never help me feel better. Instead, I was so hurt seeing him every day in the office, knowing that he was so happy with his new girl," she said, almost crying.
"Pia, stop! Even though it's early in the morning, you're empathetic. Allow yourself a break. We're having a meal." I explained.

"Winter and I are on our way somewhere; it would have been preferable if you had joined us," I explained.

"Perhaps next time." Because it was Saturday, I wanted to sleep all day. I'll take a break because no work in the office. " In response, she said.
Then we both nodded as if we agreed with what she said.


We both finished our meals after a half hour, and while Pia was going into her room, Wintery was ready to go; perhaps she was back to sleep. I'll carry my channel bag and go outside the house, and Winter will follow me later. 
After a few minutes, we were inside the car, and Winter was driving. I felt nervous suddenly. 
 
After an hour of travel. She stopped at the house that was familiar to me. My eyes widen because I’ll realize something.

Oh my goodness! In disbelief, my mind says. Mr. Marcus's daughter was Winter. Why didn't I realize this sooner? What if Winter discovered that her father and I had a one-night stand? Is our friendship officially over? I'm sweating from nervousness. What if Marcus informed Winter that we'd known each other? What if Winter became enraged and told me to leave her home?
Winter got out of the car while I paused.
She knocks on the car window.
"Gianna, come out. Daddy doesn’t like to wait." She said,
I know that I am in trouble right now. I’ll get out of the car slowly after I open it.
 
"Are you okay, Gianna? You seem uneasy. " She asked me.
"Nothing to worry about, Winter, I’m fine." My response.
She nodded and opened the gate for us. But when we were about to enter the house. Winter's phone rang.
 
She took her phone and answered it.
"Hello, Dad, We are here at the house, " Winter said.
 
"Okay, "she said on the other line.
Then Winter hung up the phone.
"Daddy is not here, Gianna. He was at my aunt's wedding." She said to me,
I’ll take a deep breath. I felt relieved.
 
"Maybe we should come here some other time," I said, in a low voice.
"Yeah."
Then we didn’t continue walking inside the house; instead, we came back to the car.
 
Meanwhile, I was in Damien's house in the distance. I was standing alone, while the newlywed couple was mingling with all the visitors. Then all of my mother's siblings continued to stare at me. And they avoid me as if I have a terminal illness. I can't stand being around them. Later on, Lance motioned for something from me. He was pointing to the old man, who was sitting at the guest table with Damien. Perhaps this old man was the Chinese to whom Laila was referring. He keeps a sadistic grin on his face as he looks at Laila. This man was working on something. 
He called someone for a while. The man in a black suit approached the Chinese old man. Then the old man whispered something, and the man in a suit nodded. I’ll smile at something troublesome. The man in a black suit went to the table that had many bottles of wine. He got two glasses and put some wine in them. And I noticed that he got something in his pocket and poured it into the glass. So they are going to poison Laila and Lance. What are these people up to? I’ll hide behind the wall and block the man.
 
"Hi Sir, Good afternoon. What do you want? "he asked me.
I didn’t respond to his question; instead, my brows lifted.
"Can I have that wine? I thought of drinking earlier, but I didn’t know where to find the wine. " I said.
The man suddenly became uneasy.
 
I’m sorry, sir, I’m not a waiter at this event. This is for my boss. " He said to me.
If this man didn’t do what I told him to, I’m going to bury him alive right here where he is standing.
 
"By the way, someone was waiting for you outside the house. And it’s a woman. She gave me a picture of you, saying if I saw you here, She'll wait for you outside this house. " I said.
"It’s okay for me if you let me bring those two glasses of wine to your boss while you get out for a while and face the woman who is looking for you," I said.
He felt hesitant about my words. 
 
After a few minutes, he gave me the glass and left the house.
 
I’ll pour the two glasses of wine on the floor and put the glass in the trash bin. I’ll text Thompson to come here with me. A few minutes passed, and I saw Thompson walking toward me.
 
"What’s the problem, Marcus?" he asked me.
"Just bring your wife and the kids home right away," I said in response.
He was stunned upon staring at me. 
 
"What’s the matter?" he asked again.
"Something is not right, Thompson. I’ll witness that the bodyguard of that Chinese old man poured something on the wine that was put in the glass. Maybe they gave that wine to Laila and Lance." I said.
 
"What kind of something?" Thompson asked.
"A powder one. It’s like poison." My answer.
"What?" Thompson asked in a loud voice.
“Just relax, Thompson, don’t make a scene. Just pretend that you didn’t know anything. " I said.
"All right, I’ll go back to where my wife is and tell her that they should go home." He said.
I’ll nod in response. After a while, Thompson was no longer in front of me.
 
I returned to where I had been standing earlier. My eyes never stop looking at Lance and Laila. The old Chinese had a large number of men, or should I say, bodyguards. If that old man commands his men, maybe they will cause chaos in this event. 
 
I’ll text Lance to come near me. He looked at me while reading my text message. After a few minutes, he was approaching.
"What is it, Marcus?" He asked me.
"Bring Laila home," I said.
His brows furrowed.
"Where?" he asked.
"To my house, because I felt something was not right here," I said.
"Don’t make me afraid, Marcus." He said.
"For once, trust me, "I said.
That Chinese old man had a plan, as I witnessed earlier when one of his men poured poison on the wine. Maybe that will make you drink that to you and Laila. " I said.
Lance’s face was pale.
"What?" he said in a panic.
"Just relax, Lance. Try to look around and notice some bad actions." I said. 
 
"What will I do, Marcus? They scared the hell out of me. That old man had many men and had a killer aura. I want to go home and hide. " He said.
He was uneasy. I don’t know if this man was scared.
 
Then I noticed that Thompson was in the distance, together with four men. Maybe there were police in no uniform. He looked at me, and I nodded at him.
 
“Bring Laila with you, Lance, just do a drama that you need to bring Laila with you since she is pregnant and she wants to rest. "I said.
" I’ll hope that Damien believes me. " Lance said.
"Of course, you had all the authority to plan for Laila since you are her husband for real," I said. 
  
Lance hesitated to do what I told him to.
"Just do it right away, Aldo, before it’s too late. It’s been better to prevent it early than never. " I said.
Lance walked away and went back to Laila. The old man kept on glancing at Laila. He is like a hungry animal. He was ready to choke Laila with his stares.
 
I saw that Lance whispered in Laila’s ear. Then Laila’s brows furrowed.