Just as they thoughtt, Lucy did make her way to Desmond's mansion which she had just bought. Desmond had already informed the guards to let her in, so she sauntered into the living room to ask for Desmond.

"Where is that man?" She asked impatiently.

"Why are you looking for him?" Zaria stood up from the couch whose back was facing Lucy, making her unable to notice that there was someone on the couch.

"Is there anything you would like, Ms. Roatta?" She asked as she made her way to the older woman.

Lucy was taken off guard, seeing her daughter suddenly in front of her. She so badly wanted to hug her but she couldn't. She could only maintain her indifferent demeanor. "This is my new residence and his things are in the way."

"Not only do you want his company, but you want his house too? Just what exactly do you want from Desmond, Ms. Roatta?"

"That's none of your business." She looked around and wondered why she couldn't see Desmond. Was he packing? He better be.

Zaria knew what she was wondering, and it made her chuckle. "Ms. Roatta, this mansion was either sold to you by fraud, or you got it through unlawful means. Surely, you don't think we should argue about it in court, do you?"

Knowing that her daughter was trying to negotiate, Lucy welcomed herself onto the couch and crossed her legs. "What do you suggest, Miss Willaims?"

Zaria ignored the name she had been called. "How about I help you get your money back? It's the same thing the court will do—only in a more complicated way that will consume more time." She reasoned. "We could lend you some money if you do not have enough to purchase a different mansion. There is a vacant one nearby and although it is a little different from this, we could restyle it. It's our new hobby and we will be done in a few hours."

A smile escaped Lucy's lips. What a sly negotiator. She had taken after her, but still had an extremely long way to go to get to her level." What if I said no? " She challenged.

"Then I would give you a ticket to hell." Zaria threatened.

Lucy chuckled, not expecting to hear that from Zaria. How cute. She had thought that Theodore would spoil her too much, that he would be scared of letting her learn anything. On the contrary, she was brave enough to threaten someone she knew could retaliate against her.

"Let's check out the mansion." She stood up to head out, and Zaria was puzzled. Desmond had been right. It was him who had suggested for her to annoy Lucy into agreeing to purchase the vacant mansion nearby. She just had to be as annoying as possible, but she was yet to pull out one percent of her stunts when Lucy agreed. Was she that annoying?

They went to check the place out, and Lucy had tens of complaints about the color and decor.

"What a dull color for living room curtains. I want these taken off." She pointed at the living room curtains as though they were blinding her.

She noted it down on her tablet. "What color would you like?"

"Whatever. As long as it's not blue." Came her general response, making the latter frown. She was probably trying to create trouble for her. She didn't need to think to know that once she changed the curtains, Lucy would detest the next color as well.

She ignored the thought nonetheless, hoping that Lucy wouldn't be that childish. "Is there anything else you dislike?"

Lucy frowned at the couches and shrugged, then made her way upstairs.

"The staircase carpet." She made her way up the stairs.

"What is it?" Zaria asked, onty to receive two words.

"It's ugly."

Zaria noted down and knew better than to ask about Lucy's preference, since she would receive yet another general answer. She went on to note down everything that Lucy disliked in all the rooms—which was practically everything in the master bedroom and study, and a bunch of things in the other rooms. Lucy gave her two days which was not enough.

"She definitely wants you dead." Desmond tried calling all the interior designers he knew but they were busy and could only go over in at least three days.

"I can handle it." Zaria determinedly declared as she selected a bed on her tablet, then selected its color, rotated and dragged it into the master bedroom's model.

Desmond looked down at what she was doing and sat next to her.

"This would go well with the bed you chose." He helped her select a color for the walk-in closet. They had no choice but to do it themselves.

"Let's order the items to arrive the day after tomorrow." He suggested.

"No way. I don't want to be late for the Bolar Awards." She had to see Jupiter win his 8th Bolar Award, which she was confident that he would win. Since she couldn't miss the ceremony, she had to do everything in the shortest time possible.

He understood how much power an idol could have over their fans, so he didn't want to talk about it. He might just receive a slap for it. "Then let's split up. I'll do the rooms on the first and second floors while you deal with the rooms downstairs." He grabbed his tablet to install the interior design application she was using.

"Thank you." She smiled gently, making him tap her nose.

"What are you thanking me for? This is not part of your work at Preston and Fort Group. You are the one helping me."

"Even though you're paying me such a hefty bonus?" She teased.

He started working on the rooms he chose while they chatted once in a while, then they ordered everything. Because some of the stores were super fast, some of the items arrived within the next few hours and by the afternoon of the following day, they were done.

"I now remember why I didn't choose interior design as my career." She slumped onto Desmond's couch tiredly and kicked off her shoes. They had to physically go to some of the stores, which didn't deliver goods to the buyers. Her feet hurt from all the walking. She hoped Lucy would not dislike the house after all the effort they had spent.

"She will love it." He took her hand and patted it, knowing that she was worried about Lucy's reaction.

"She better like it." Zaria massaged her temples.

The man pulled her to rest her head on his lap, petting her head. "I'm sure she will."

His hand trailed down her body, earning a questioning hum from her.

"I'm rewarding you for working so hard." He pulled her hair away from her face and pressed a kiss against her ear.

She snuggled to him comfortably and let him kiss and stroke her. Unfortunately, she was so comfortable that she fell asleep before she could receive her reward.

___

Lucy was given a call to check out the mansion that had been redecorated. She had deliberately given the duo two days and did not expect them to be done within half the time so she was pleasantly surprised.

This time, Zaria did not show her around the place since she was asleep—much to her disappointment. However, Desmond was there so it was good too.

She first checked the master bedroom. She would be spending her time there to rest after a long day, it had to be perfect and comfortable.

Desmond was almost nonexistent in her eyes as she looked around without giving a word of comment about anything.

This meant that she was satisfied with the new arrangement so Desmond didn't mind her silence.

She noticed a card on the bedside table and was about to ask about it when she realized that it was Zaria's handwriting. She picked it up curiously, and her eyes narrowed at the content which rendered her immobile for a while.

[Cream is your favorite color. I hope you like it.] There was even a clumsily drawn heart after the last word, making her sink into her memory.

___

"Mommy, mommy! Happy birthday." The girl had just learned how to make cards, and she made one for her mother on her birthday. She gave it to her as soon as Lucy walked in through the front door. There was only a few clumsily drawn hearts on the card but it melted her heart. "Thank you, princess."

Theodore emerged from the kitchen with a cream-colored cake that had dark-red roses decorating it, and it was only then that she noticed their clothes.

Zaria was wearing a cream princess dress with a burgundy bow on the side of its waist and a similar one in her hair, while Theodore wore a burgundy tuxedo with a cream shirt.

"You dressed up for me? You even redecorated the house and baked a cake?" She was pleasantly surprised as she picked Zaria up to hug her, then kissed Theodore."

"Cream is your favorite color. I hope you like it." Theodore pecked her cheek and pulled her in to celebrate.

____

Lucy glanced at the words on the paper once again, with complicated feelings. How strange that she remembered something Theodore said so long ago, and how strange that Zaria remembered it too.