"Sorry, Auntie. I was the one who forced Lea to come to the house first. Mom told me to invite her home for dinner. That's why we got home so late." Daniel faced Mrs. Anna, who had greeted the two young people on the terrace with Grace."Oh, well then. But Lea should call me first if she has any other plans. That way, I won't have to worry," Mrs. Anna replied, neutralizing her voice as best she could so as not to sound angry."Yes, Mom. I'm sorry, I thought you'd be okay with me going with Daniel. Don't you trust him?" Lea replied indifferently.Mrs. Anna looked at her eldest daughter with a scolding look."Still, you have to stay in touch. What's so hard about a short chat?""Yeah. Sorry...""It's a good thing your daddy isn't home yet. It would have been a nuisance for me to nag him if he had been." Mrs Anna again regretted Lea's attitude, which often underestimated her parents' anxiety when their daughter came home late."I am wrong, Aunt. I apologize again," Daniel said, mediating
Lea's startled exclamation made Mrs. Anna jump in surprise."Ish, you're shocking me!""I am the one who's surprised, Mom. Just answer later, not so soon! Watch out! Don't be in a hurry!" Lea babbled, immediately desperate.Okay, she had agreed to everything. But it doesn't have to be that fast. What a cruel people, she stumbled."Why, Lea, shouldn't such good intentions be delayed? It's good to speed it up," Mrs Anna suggested to her daughter.Lea, who had gone into whatever mode, did not bother to argue. Ah, never mind. She thought sadly, whether it's sooner or later, that's the way it is.Mrs Anna seemed to want to continue chatting, but then she heard her husband's car come into the yard."Ah, your dad is home. I'll go in first," she said as she hurriedly got up and left the room to greet her husband, who had permission to go home at night for dinner with a client company.Lea, her hair neatly combed though still damp, went to the vanity to get a hairdryer and started drying it. H
"Damn it!" Shane cursed softly. His hands clenched into fists. He didn't know why his heart ached and his emotions boiled over when he saw Grace being led to the podium by Freddie. His eyes fell on the girl who had come with Grace earlier. The girl was now being led to a nearby empty table by another man he didn't recognize.He suddenly felt empty. His hopes of meeting Lea tonight as a fellow single were dashed. She was already with another man. And it was the same man he'd seen in the café that day. Back then, Shane had convinced himself that the man might just be a co-worker or a casual friend. But now his view had changed. How could an ordinary friend be so intense? Until Lea invited him to the birthday party of her sister's boyfriend.It sucks to know that just when his hopes are high. He wanted to meet Lea tonight. In fact, in his mind, he was determined to meet Lea and have a heart-to-heart talk. How can I do that?" he cursed in annoyance.He kept his eyes on Lea and her boyfrie
59. Looking AwayUnexpectedly, while enjoying the food on her plate, Lea made eye contact with Shane. Yes, that's right, it's Shane! Almost choking, Lea coughed a little in surprise at the sight of the man who had been looming over her mind. He leaned against the bartender's table and looked straight at Lea with his eagle eyes.When they met, Shane spontaneously looked away, but a moment later, as if he couldn't contain his curiosity, his sharp eyes returned to Lea. The intense gaze continued for several moments without either of them being able to break it.Two pairs of eyes yearning for each other conveyed everything without words. However, the pride of both prevented their brains from understanding the message. Hindered by the high selfishness of each of them, who still considered each other to be of no interest at all. Deceiving each other by maintaining their ignorance."Lea!" Daniel called her name several times, but there was no response, so the man followed the direction of Le
Meanwhile, Shane came home grumpy. His intention to prepare to meet Lea since the afternoon was disappointing because he was sure she would come to Freddie's party, which could have been better. Mrs. Kate, who was sitting in the living room, saw her son's troubled look and asked calmly,"What's the matter?""Nothing, Mom." Quickly, even too quickly, Shane replied curtly."It's okay; it's like you've never ironed your face," Mrs Kate commented in response to her son's bluntness."Uh, it's never been ironed, of course. It's a face, not a shirt.""Hahaha ... well, you know. When you fold your face like that, it looks like a wrinkled shirt that hasn't been ironed. Come on tell me, what's wrong? After the party, you're sullen and grumpy instead of smiling and bringing me a future daughter-in-law. Mrs. Kate questioned Shane again.Shane let out a long, heavy sigh."Do you remember the girl Freddie introduced to me? The one I said was stiff and celebratory..." Shane opens his story to his mo
It was only during the lunch break that Shane took the time to review sheet after sheet of data files on the door prize winners. There were also many lists of winners."What's the name of that Miss Purple character?" He remembered the girl's costume. But he remembered instead the warmth of the girl's body when she was in his arms during the dance and the slender curve of her waist that felt right in Shane's fingers. Oh shit, he was going to miss her to death.She pushed all the unflattering thoughts out of her mind. He concentrated on researching the winners' names one by one to see if there was a character that Miss Purple could use."Ah, this is Violet Lady. What is she, huh?" Shane wondered. It was a good thing that he was alone in his room. Otherwise, they might have thought he was crazy, muttering to himself.He searched for Lady Violet's data. Her real name was Jenni Liana, complete with a phone number.Shane hesitated. Was it true that the Miss Purple she referred to was also t
"I'm distraught, you know. Take responsibility!" Grace confronted her sister in her room.After the event, Grace did not go straight to her room. She was very concerned about how Freddie was doing at the party. Her jealousy was at its peak, and if she could, she wanted to go back there to see for herself what Freddie was doing there without her.She went back and forth, asking for a video call with his lover. Freddie honestly said that he was saying hello to some of his male friends and had no intention of dancing with any woman other than Grace. Still, Grace was very suspicious of him.“Oh, come on, you're too much. That was Freddie's VC an hour earlier, too. You still don't believe it, do you?" scolded Lea, who was getting tired of seeing her sister pacing back and forth in front of her while stamping her feet several times impatiently."Ish, you don't know. There's Alma over there, sis. She's a lizard-stamped looking for Freddie to flirt with. She's always had a crush on Freddie. H
On Monday, when Freddie finally had time to call Shane to talk about Lea, it was unexpected."Are you having lunch? Am I bothering you?" Freddie greeted after Shane took his call."Oh, it's okay. I haven't eaten yet. I'm just here doing something," Shane replied mysteriously."Wow. What's that? Are you serious, do you want some help?" Freddie asked, just in case he could find out more about what his friend was doing."Well, yes, I need help. But you weren't at the masquerade party, were you?""What? The masquerade party? The event a few weeks ago? The one where Grace mocked me for a week?""What? mocked you for a week?""You know! Because I didn't get the ticket, I wasn't allowed to see her for a week. It's awful, I swear.""Eh? Haha, then I think this will be good for you.""What is it?""Yes, so there will be a Masquerade Party Part 2, but those who will attend are those who came in Part 1, and they also have to stay in the same costume as in Part 1.""You? That's crazy to make a pa