CHAPTER 4

Elle's POV

When we reached the mansion, Navid immediately got out of the car and entered without even waiting for me.

I took a deep breath before stepping out.

As soon as I entered, Navid's mother, Amanda, greeted me with a warm hug.

She kissed both of my cheeks while holding my arms. “I missed you,” she said sweetly before taking one of my hands and leading me toward the living room, where Navid's father, Samuel, and Karlos, Samuels's younger brother were waiting. Jenice, Karlos's wife, and their daughters, Donna, Hany, and Salome were also present.

Bright smiles appeared on the siblings’ faces when they saw me.

Salome rushed over first and hugged me tightly.

“I miss you!” she said happily.

I smiled and hugged her back. “I miss you too.”

When we pulled away, Hany immediately hugged me next, followed by Donna.

Hany then held both of my hands and looked me over from head to toe.

She frowned. “You’ve lost weight.”

“I think so too. Are you on a diet, Elle?” Donna, the youngest, asked from behind Hany.

“Or maybe our cousin isn’t taking good care of you,” Salome added, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

I even saw her glare at Navid, but my husband didn’t react at all.

I turned to Jenice when she suddenly walked toward us.

“Oh, you three! Seriously, stop hogging Elle.”

Hany immediately stepped aside to give space to her mother.

Jenice hugged me warmly and kissed my cheek before pulling back to look at me. “Navid is really lucky to have such a beautiful and kind-hearted wife.”

My heart skipped at her words.

I hope Navid thinks the same, I wanted to say, but I chose to smiled instead.

“Alright, let’s end the chatting for now and head to the dining room. We can’t keep the food waiting,” Samuel said.

“Samuel is right. You can all interview Elle later,” Karlos added.

“Dad is right—and I’m starving,” Donna chimed in.

Salome frowned. “But isn’t it too early for lunch? It’s only ten.”

Hany rolled her eyes. “Oh, please! Stop complaining.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the dining room. “Come on, Elle. Let’s eat. I already know how to cook sinigang, and you need to taste it!” she said excitedly.

“Hany! Stop pulling Elle!” Donna shouted.

“Shut up!” Hany yelled back, still dragging me along.

When we reached the dining room, she pulled out a chair for me and sat me down. Then she eagerly filled my bowl with sinigang.

“Go on, taste it!” she urged.

I laughed softly at her excitement. She looked like a child waiting for praise.

I shook my head and took a spoonful of the broth. As I tasted it, her expression shifted from excitement to nervousness. She even clasped her hands together as she watched me.

I set the spoon down and smiled at her. “Looks like you really know how to cook sinigang now. It’s delicious.”

Hany’s face lit up instantly. A wide smile spread across her lips before she jumped in excitement. “Yes! I did it!” she squealed, making me laugh.

“Seriously, you’re already 25 and still act like a kid,” Salome commented from the doorway.

Behind her were Donna, Jenice, Karlos, Amanda, Samuel, and finally Navid, who looked completely uninterested.

Hany turned to Salome. “Whatever. You’re just jealous because you still don’t know how to cook. You can’t even make a sunny-side-up egg. That’s why Dane doesn’t like you.”

Donna chuckled, but Salome shot her a sharp look, making her quickly stop. She hurried to my side and was about to sit beside me, but Hany stopped her.

Donna frowned. “What?”

Hany raised an eyebrow. “Why are you sitting there? Are you Elle’s husband?”

Donna pouted. “I’m going to sit here,” she insisted, moving to the other side, but Hany stopped her again.

“What is it now?” Donna asked, annoyed.

“I’ll sit there,” Hany said casually, pulling the chair beside me and sitting down.

Donna groaned in frustration before going to the other side of the table and sitting across from me, still pouting.

Hany laughed at her reaction.

The others just shook their heads.

Who wouldn’t when they're acting like kids.

Salome was the only one who acts like a proper adult among them.

“Alright, everyone, sit down and eat,” Amanda said as she took her seat next to Hany.

Jenice sat beside a still-pouting Donna, followed by Karlos. Salome sat beside Donna, while Samuel took his place at the head of the table.

Lastly, Navid sat beside me, his face unreadable.

Once everyone was seated, we started eating.

I was about to reach for the tray of my favorite food in the center of the table when Salome suddenly spoke, making me pause.

“Navid, why don’t you help your wife? Can’t you see she’s struggling?”

Navid looked at Salome with a cold gaze, but unlike me, she didn’t budge. She simply raised an eyebrow.

“It’s fine, Salome,” I said quickly, trying to ease the tension.

I reached for the tray again, but Navid suddenly stood up. He grabbed it effortlessly and placed some food onto my plate without a word.

“It’s fine now, Navid,” I said as he kept adding more.

He looked into my eyes. I swallowed as I met his cold gaze.

“Ahm…”

He looked away, returned the tray to the table, and sat back down before glancing at Salome again.

“Satisfied?” he asked coldly before continuing to eat.

Salome was about to respond, but Jenice gave her a warning look. She simply snorted and went back to eating.

Salome and Navid had never gotten along. Every time they crossed paths, it turned into an argument, especially after Salome found out how her cousin was treating me.

Amanda cleared her throat, drawing everyone’s attention.

Then she smiled at me.

“Elle,” she called.

“Yes?” I asked.

She turned to Donna. “Donna, give Elle our present.”

Donna reached into her bag—something I had just noticed—and took out a white rectangular envelope before handing it to me with a smile.

Curious, I accepted it. “What is it?” I asked, glancing around at all of them.

“Just open it,” Hany said, grinning.

Still confused, I did as told.

When I saw what was inside, my eyes widened.

“Plane tickets to Japan?”

They all nodded, smiling.

“It’s for you and Navid,” Donna said.

My brows furrowed.

“It’s for your honeymoon,” Samuel continued. “It’s been a year since you two got married, but you still haven’t had your honeymoon.”

He was right.

We had been married for a year, but we never had a honeymoon, and I knew why. Navid had said he wanted to focus on the company, but I knew that was just an excuse.

He simply didn’t want to be alone with me.

“It’s been a year, and you still haven’t gotten pregnant, Elle. We want grandchildren already,” Amanda added while smiling, making my cheeks flush.

“Auntie Amanda’s right,” Donna chimed in. “We want to see little Elle and little Navid already.”

“So we decided to give you those tickets. And you've got nothing to worry about. Everything’s arranged. All you have to do is enjoy yourselves. Enjoy each other’s company and, of course, make some babies! We even picked the perfect time. Since it’s winter in Japan, it is perfect for honeymooners,” Hany added excitedly.

My cheeks burned even more.

I looked around at all of them. They were smiling, clearly pleased with their plan.

It seemed like everything had already been decided.

I couldn’t say no, especially not to Amanda and Samuel.

But when I glanced at Navid, he was staring down at his plate, his grip on his utensils tight.

He didn’t like this. I could tell.

But just like me… he couldn’t refuse them either.

I let out a quiet breath, unsure whether to feel happy or afraid of what awaited us.