Desmond poured wine into Zaria's glass and then poured some in his own glass.

"Don't drink too much of it. It's a hundred years old." He gave a gentle warning.

She scoffed when she heard him. "Do you think I would get drunk from a few sips of wine?"

"You wouldn't?" He was amused.

"Forget wine. I could drink a bottle of 50% content tequila and help you win a deal." She exaggerated, and they both burst into laughter.

"Would you like some later?" He asked, referring to the tequila.

"Not that I would mind." She smiled, looking forward to it.

However, he changed his mind. "I don't want to get you drunk tonight."

"Why? Are you scared that you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from taking advantage of me? Or are you afraid that I would take advantage of you? Not that I would mind either…" She teased with a sly wink.

"I could take advantage of you if I want to, without needing to get you drunk as a prerequisite." He boldly stated, and she called him out for being narcissistic and having too much confidence in his charm.

His phone rang, which he wanted to ignore but was afraid that she would misunderstand him if he did.

He glanced at it with a frown." It's Liam. I don't want to talk to him. I don't know what to say to him anymore."

Their relationship had already gotten bad enough when he started acting strange and trying to pull him and Zaria apart. He still wondered whether Liam might have feelings for Zaria and the thought of it made their relationship even more strained.

Zaria didn't know what to think of Liam either. After Samantha tried to make it seem like she was having an affair with him it had caused quite a misunderstanding and she had been avoiding him. However, she didn't think it was a good idea for Desmond to completely ignore him. "It could be important. I mean, he hasn't been seeking you either. The fact that he did could mean that it is something that he really has to contact you about."

"You're right." He reluctantly answered the call, which made his eyebrows furrow in a frown.

"Did something happen?" She asked when she noticed his change in expression.

He shook his head even though the frown still remained on his face. "Let's not ruin our date because of it."

"That makes me more curious about it." She continued staring at him, wondering what it was that made his indifferent expression shatter.

"Trust me, I'm more worth your time than whatever it is." He insisted, and she could only shrug.

"If you say so… But if you want to talk about it, you know the drill."

"Yes. I should talk about it. But I don't think I will ever want to do that." He smiled and took a sip of his wine. "It's awesome, don't you think?"

Seeing as he was eager to change the topic, she played along and tasted her wine too. "A century indeed. This is priceless."

…

By the time they were done eating and drinking wine, she was a little tipsy and extraordinarily jovial.

"That was so much fun!" She chirped, and he held onto her in case she tripped, even though she was still walking steadily.

"Is this how 'sober' you will be after your bottle of 50% alcohol content tequila?" He taunted using her own words.

She wrapped her arms around his neck while turning to hug him. "Come on, I'm sober. I can even drive." She insisted. "But if you insist that I'm drunk, then I really am drunk—drunk in love."

She whispered the last words out, bringing a smile on his face.

"I guess I should give you wine every day."

She nodded in agreement. "You should. However, I don't appreciate you giving me wine in a glass." Her words sounded like a complaint, as though she had been treated unfairly.

"What do you prefer? An entire bottle of it?" He asked, opening the passenger door of his car for her to get in.

She waited for him to enter and sit before she answered him. "No. I would very much prefer it if you drank it and fed me with your lips. The taste of your kiss is more intoxicating than the strongest wine." She licked her lips slightly before biting the lower one with her perfectly shaped front teeth.

He swallowed from the sudden provocation. This was going to be a long drive.

He was right—it really did turn out to be a long drive. By the time they arrived at Phoenix Apartments, his clothes were disheveled and his body blazing so hot that it started to hurt. What was worse, he wasn't sure whether or not she was sober, so he couldn't do anything and could only let her do as she pleased.

When they arrived, he helped her get down from the car and hugged him. "Thank you. I had a lot of fun tonight."

"So did I. Thank you my love." He kissed her forehead, his heart melting despite the torture.

"I'll go up now." She announced, then hurried away as though she was dreading for the clock to strike midnight—so much that he was almost afraid she would leave her shoe behind. Chuckling at his fairy tale imagination, he returned to his car and went to his mansion.

…

" Mother?" He was puzzled by the appearance of an uninvited guest. As soon as he saw Alyssa who looked upset and was waiting in the living room, he remembered what had slipped his mind all day.

"Are you surprised to see me? You forgot that I was getting out of jail today." She crossed her arms while raising her eyebrow at her son.

"I'm so sorry." He took a deep breath. It had totally slipped his mind and he only had a feeling at the back of his mind that there was something important he had forgotten to do.

"What were you busy with?" She asked, not dwelling on the fact that she had to return on her own.

"Don't worry about it." He brushed it off. "Are you hungry? I'll have the chefs make you something to eat."

It was certain that he was avoiding the topic, and she was not about to let it slide. "It's Zaria, right?"

He frowned slightly. "Now that you bring it up, we do need to talk about her." He sat on the couch opposite her, knowing that her girlfriend and mother would forever hate each other for no specific reason if no one ever talked about it. "Mother, I used to think she was bad news. You know, a woman who only cares about money. But she is way different from that." He started, his lips slowly curling to a smile with each word he said. Love was written all over his eyes as he spoke of Zaria as the woman he was deeply in love with.

"She is kind and intelligent and… she completes me, mother." He concluded.

Alyssa frowned in displeasure and took deep breaths to stop herself from exploding in anger. More than anger, she was immensely disappointed in her son. "What about Natalie? Where did you place your fiancé, Desmond?" She asked, her tone full of disapproval.

He knew that he couldn't hide it for much longer. "You know that we don't love each other. But Zaria, we…"

"Do you know what happened to your sister?" Alyssa suddenly asked.

The question was out of the blue, and he frowned. Liam had already told him about it earlier but that didn't mean he would care. "That's between her and Jaime."

"How could you be so heartless? That's your sister!" Alyssa raised her voice. "Don't you have an ounce of care for her?! Is it because of Zaria?"

He stood up in annoyance. "Don't start blaming everything on her, alright? This is a family matter. How the hell is she involved?"

"She is clearly brainwashing you! I'm not about to sit back and watch my son go astray because of some woman! Do you forget how I ended up in jail?" Alyssa felt like she could explode from anger. Although Samantha had done something wrong, she was still her daughter and she still loved her. How could she tolerate the fact that her son was so indifferent about it?

Hearing her reasoning, Desmond felt his lips twitch in ridicule. Just when he was starting to think that he could talk sense into his mother so she would stop unnecessarily hating Zaria, she proved to be impossible. "Did she ask Jaime to have the wadern poison Samantha? Did she help her hide the truth regarding father's death by accusing you? You sound like the kind of mother who's about to start coming in between her son and his girlfriend. The last thing I want is to have to choose sides. If you don't like her, do me a favor and stay away from her."