A knock on the door made them break their eye contact and turned towards the door. it opened and an old man walked inside.

''Young Master, dinner is ready''

''Yes, uncle Hens, thank you''

The old man bowed and smiled before going out.

''Dinner?''

''I told the housekeeper to prepare something for us. You must be hungry, let's go''

''How am I going to keep myself from falling for you if you keep being so nice to me?' Alice really wanted to ask him but thought against it. she walked out with Josh to the hall.

Alice tasted the creamy base soup and smiled. 'This soup reminds me of my mother. She used to run a diner in the past and then changed to become a florist. My mother was quite a romantic you know. Always changing her career when she was in her feelings. I wonder how my father was able to tie her down''

''Your father must have done a lot of hard work to keep her with him''

''I know, right? My mother… she had her own ideology about life. I think I must have inherited her passion for life''

''And you grew up well. You and your sister too''

''Eat, before the food gets cold'' Alice said and smiled.

''I will send you home after we are done eating''

….

Solace sat in front of the mirror looking at herself. She had an indifferent gaze as she faced herself in the mirror.

Picking the comb, she brushed her hair and some came out, sticking to the comb. Solace removed them and smiled bitterly, 'they are all falling out. I really don't have a lot of time left''

Daniel came out of the bathroom and leaned against the door watching her. ''Solace, have you been hiding something from me?''

Solace shivered when she heard that familiar voice. She quickly hid the hair and faked a smile, ''I don't know what you are talking about''

Solace stood up and Daniel walked closer to her. he held her hand and pulled her closer saying, ''your daughter still doesn't know anything, right? what were you going to tell her if I didn't come to you at that time?'' he smirked.

''As I promised, she still doesn't know anything about this. isn't that what you wanted? For her to hate me? She already does and I don't plan on changing that''

''Or you could just tell her. after all, I will still go after her sooner or later''

''Daniel, you promised me that as long as I stayed obedient and did whatever you wanted, you will allow my daughter to go free. Even after killing my husband, I still stayed. What else do you want from me? I have raised and loved your daughter as if she were mine''

'You don't love Mimi. You only acted as if you did. I must say, acting really suits you. I almost bought into it but, I am not blind. You acted as if you were helping Mimi but you indulged in her and turned her into a brat''

''You are the one who turned her into a brat. You warned me never to stand in her way and to let her do whatever she wanted. Even when she kidnapped my daughter and tortured her that year, I was helpless. But, I won't stand by anymore. I won't allow you to hurt my child''

''Really? Let's see what you can do. just like that time when you helplessly left her and followed me, you are still going to be that way''

''It's that why you've been feeding me with medicine meant for imbeciles? Because you want to turn me into a degenerate. Listen to me, Daniel. If I am going to die, I am taking you with me''

Daniel pushed her on the bed and chuckled sarcastically, 'it's funny how you think you can be able to even do that''

….

Josh got out of the car along with Alice. They didn't see the paparazzi taking their photos at a distance.

''Go in, it's late''

''Thank you for today. I had a lot of fun''

''Then, should we get together tomorrow? You don't have to if you are busy''

''I have a meeting with my manager tomorrow. I will call you when I am free''

''Sure'' Josh went closer and hugged her suddenly.

'You…''

''There is a paparazzi filming us'' Josh said and kissed her forehead before going to the car.

Alice smiled and went inside her house. She put her small handbag down and went in to change. She paused and realised she was still wearing the cardigan that Josh left with her earlier on. She smiled and took it off, making a mental note to wash it and return it to him.

An hour later, she finished bathing and came back to her bedroom and saw a message from Josh.

''I'm home now'

''Are you already sleeping?'

Alice laughed when she saw another message pop up. She sat on the bed and started typing out a response.

''No, I wasn't sleeping. I was in the bathroom and didn't see your message earlier on'

She sent the message and smiled. It didn't take long before another message came.

''I had fun tonight. It was really nice spending time with you'

Alice smiled bashfully and touched her burning cheeks. She laid on the bed and typed back.

''Me too. I had a lot of fun'

''Next time, I will personally cook you a meal. I am quite a good chef; you know'

''Really? it seems that you have a lot of talents but when it comes to cooking, I think that I might win. I am quite a good chef'

''Then, let's taste out our skills tomorrow. Call me when you are free. We can go shopping together and get some groceries'

''Okay''

Like new lovers, they chatted through the night. Alice had no idea that her feelings for him was growing stronger the more they chatted and started to spend time together.

….

Early the next morning, Alice was brushing her teeth when Niania called her.

'Hello, Niania, what's it?''

'Alice, did you go on a date with JSC last night? It's all over the internet. Your fans are going crazy''

'Oo, I went to his home and then we came back to my place''

''Why don't you look surprise? Did you expect it?''

''Mm, I saw the paparazzi last night but we decided to ignore him and let it be. This is even better; no one will doubt our relationship after this. If there is nothing else, I am hanging up. I need to go and meet sister Lylia this morning''

'Oh, I will see you at the company then''

''Mm, bye'' Alice hung up and muttered, ''paparazzi? This isn't so bad''

…..

Alice decided to go for the bad girl look today. With her all black jacket top and jeans, she paired it with her sunglasses and black leather sneakers and rode her motor to the company.

When she arrived and pulled over, she got down and swung her backpack over her left shoulder and walked into the company.

The gasps she received made her smile as she walked past the trainees. She waved at them and walked away.

Alice knocked at the door and entered, seeing Zeya seated inside the office of Lylia. They looked at each other and Alice smirked.

''Hi', sister Zeya'' Alice greeted first.

'Turned out you were dating JSC, no wonder he wanted you on board. Or should I say, you seduced him into bringing you on board?''

''JSC is my boyfriend. When it comes to work, he knows I do not play around with my work so he definitely made that decision based on my talents and not because we are in a relationship''

''That is funny'' Zeya said and broke into an innocent smile when the door opened and Lylia entered.

''Alice, you are here. sit down'' Lylia smiled as she looked at them.

''Thank you, sister Lylia'' Alice sat across them.

''So, how is it with JSC? I really was surprised by your sudden announcement''

''I'm sorry sister Lylia. I should have informed you earlier''

''Don't worry. My husband told me it must have been because of Director An, I understand. So, I called you here because an offer came in yesterday and I wanted to discuss it with you two. It hasn't been long since you joined the company and there has been rumours about you and Zeya not getting along. So, I thought this project came at the right time''

''What project, sister Lylia?'' Zeya asked.

''Do you remember the new project that Writer Purplebride is working on which was leaked out a month ago?''

''Is it about her webnovel which she was rewriting to turn it into a series?'' Zeya asked.

'Inayah's Kismet', I read the webnovel. It is quite promising'' Alice smiled. She had just started reading it''

''Yes, that one. She personally called and asked for you two to audition for the two main female lead roles. She wants you two and Mimi Song on it''

''I read the chapters uploaded so far and I think that it is very promising. I personally like her style of writing. It is unique and different''

'Which is why I don't want you two to miss out on such a good project. Here is the script. You both will audition for the roles of Inayah and her best friend, Bertha and Mimi is set to take on the role of Samantha, Inayah's ex-best friend''