Chapter 3: Preparations

After a whole day of practice in the company, Zacharias went home to his apartment with Eon, his nephew. 

His company, Gem Entertainment, is located in Dixon City. So he has to stay in an apartment near their building. Though it is only an hour's drive to go back to Lieren City, he still chose to stay close to their company to avoid the traffic. 

He was simply living a colorful yet chaotic life as a singer. However, there were times when his life was troubled by miscellaneous tasks from his father. Just like now. He is happily taking care of his nephew because his mother is busy preparing for his wedding. 

Yes, his wedding. 

Yes, they already got the green light.

The go signal from her!

He is finally getting married. That's why even if he's given tons of chores or errands, he'd be doing all of them with a grin plastered on his face. 

Finally, his single life is over!

“Uncle, where's my tablet?” his nephew, Eon Eno, asked as soon as he settled down on the couch. 

Zacharias was woken up from his fantasies when he heard Eon, who was rummaging in their backpack. 

“Hey, you already consumed your one-hour screen time earlier…” 

Eon pouted. “But mommy promised to video call as soon as I got home…”

Zacharias sighed as he looked at his nephew who was terrible at acting pitifully. His cute face could definitely fool anyone. But not him. 

'Who are you trying to fool with that face of yours?! I know your parents well and you're a clear copy of their scheming face!'

Nonetheless, he still gave the kid his tablet. 

The kid skillfully tapped on an app to call his mother. 

A beautiful face appeared on the screen. Her doe eyes and thin lips attracted Zacharias' attention as he peeks at the screen. 

“Auntie!” Eon beamed as soon as he saw his mother's best friend. 

Phyllis smiled as she waved at Eon over the phone. “Ahhhh!!! My baby!!! Eon is such a cutie~” 

“I know, auntie! Everyone calls me that!” he smugly said with his chin raised. 

Zacharias frowned when heard his nephew spouting nonsense. “Hey kid, stop lying,” he whispered.

Eon heard him so he sassily responded, “I'm not! It's true that I'm cute! Right, auntie Phyllis?”

“Yes! Who said that you're not cute? I'm going to fight them! Tell me!” she joked. 

“It's my uncle, auntie! He's bullying me!” 

Zacharias stared at his nephew dumbfoundedly. He was trying to figure out where on earth he learned to act this shamelessly. He was a quiet kid before but now, he was acting like his annoying father!

“You're uncle?! Tell me where he is, I'll rain him with–” just as Phyllis was about to finish what she was about to say, someone snatched the phone from her hand. 

Then another pretty lady showed up. “Mom!”

“Hi baby, how are you?” Rui greeted. 

“I'm doing well with uncle, mom! Today, he brought me to the studio to watch them dance and sing! Uncle's friends are all handsome and tall! They gave me lots of cookies and snacks~”

Phyllis curiously peaked at the screen and asked, “Really? Are they handsome?”

“Yep! And uncle Rain is the kindest~ uncle just left me to play in the studio while uncle Rain gave me a tour of the whole company!”

“Yeah… Your uncle is useless like that,” Phyllis dissed her bias in a heartbeat in favor of her beloved Eon.

“Yeah… I shouldn't have left you with your uncle, baby… I'm sorry you had to stay with him…” Rui disappointedly uttered.

Zacharias knew that the girls on the other end were just joking. However, sometimes their sharp words hurt him too. 

'These girls really never hold back on their insults… It's a good thing that Leila is not with them…' he heaved a sigh of relief.

“Hey Rui, you should be thankful to me! You can take your kid if you want. I'm doing you a favor yet you don't know how to appreciate your handsome cousin!”

Rui smirked. “Oh really? I can have my husband pick up my son at your place right now if you want. Chase's company is only a few minutes away from your apartment… So what do you say?”

Zacharias understood what she meant. So he helplessly gulped down his irritation and faked a smile. 

“I was just kidding! Anyway, I'll prepare our dinner now… Have fun chatting~”

He rose from the couch to head to his kitchen but he stopped when he heard a voice speak on his nephew's tablet. 

“So, Eon, who's the most handsome guy you saw at your uncle's company today?” Phyllis asked. 

Zacharias stopped to listen to Eon's and Phyllis' conversation. 

“It's uncle Rain! You should marry him, auntie~ He's like my dad. He takes care of me so he can be married,” Eon gave his opinion nonchalantly with a thumbs up. 

“Right! My Rainy is so good at taking care of others! Can you introduce me to him, baby Eon?” 

Zacharias frowned when he heard Phyllis' request. This really soured his mood.

He annoyedly stomped his feet towards his kitchen to prepare dinner. 

'How could she like Rain when there's me? And I take care of Eon too! How is Rain better than me? Besides, I'm even getting married to her this week! She'll see! Hmph!'

…

Days passed by in a blur and it's now Sunday. 

It's Phyllis' wedding day. 

In a hotel room, Phyllis was getting ready for the most important event in her life. Her mother and her friend, Leila helped her put on her bridal gown. 

Leila Parker is a fashion designer known for her marvelous designs. And as a designer, she wouldn't miss creating a little something for her best friends. In her spare time, she would design gowns and dresses for them. It was a good thing that she had one bridal gown ready for Phyllis to wear despite the tightness of the schedule. She only needs to make a few adjustments to fit Phyllis' current measurement. 

The off-shoulder crystal laced top flawlessly sat on the bride's skin. Leila meticulously hand-stitched all the gems on the fabric to achieve her intended finish. The chiffon skirt delicately flowed and moved with the bride. The elegant off-white color of the dress made Phyllis' fair skin shine. 

Hillary took her time to appreciate her beautiful daughter. Time flew so fast and her baby girl is now getting married… 

Phyllis noticed that her mother was about to cry again so she tried to stop her. “Mom, you'll ruin your makeup! Don't cry!” 

“I'm sorry, darling. You're just so beautiful… I was having a hard time processing whether you came out of me or not…”

“Of course, I came out of you! Who can give birth to a beautiful girl like me if not you?” She praised herself while flattering her mom. 

“You're right… Out of all my best friends, I was the only lucky one to give birth to the bright and beautiful Phyllis…”

Leila and Rui both raised their brows upon hearing the shameless mother and daughter duo. 

Leila tightened the dress with a sarcastic smile on her face. “Oh really?”

Phyllis felt shivers run down her spine when she heard Leila's voice. 

“Haha… Mom! What're you talking about? Of course, my aunts also had lovely daughters like me!”

Hillary just laughed it off and changed the topic. 

“Rui, you're not going to help your uncle with the preparations?” Hillary asked. 

Rui just stroked her big belly while shaking her head. 

“My husband is there to help them. They can figure it out on their own.” 

Phyllis frowned. 

'Why would she need to help her uncle with the preparations?' she thought.