Published: Oct. 25, 2019---Sept. 30, 2020

"Hey cuz, I almost cough up the wine I drink with your words," Blake broke the silence, "sometimes even I am surprised with whatever came out of your mouth. You see how serious Lizzy was, and you said those things? She will cry like a babe."

Blake talked to Jared while he stood up and walked to the latter sides to whisper and be answered by a nod afterward.

Once Blake straightened up, he looked at her. She was confused at first in the way he stared at her, but it turned into alarmed as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Katelyn, are you sure you have not dated anyone here?"

"Ahh, what do you mean?"

"Is he asking about the time he saw her in the restaurant when the three of them met David and Michael?" She looked at Jared and saw his face full of anticipation on her answer.

"Will it be her end if she answers and tells about it? Oh no, She can't say anything about it. She would know her husband's behavior if it involved a man."

"I just ask, so if you did get married unexpectedly, it would not surprise your friends anymore," He said while looking at Lizzy.

Blake's explanation eased the tension within her.

"So, he meant about Jared." She took a deep breath, full of relief.

She moved closer to him and asked if he has an inkling idea of what is in his cousin's mind.

"Why do you have to ask me? Blake is just asking you a question. Answer it as I am waiting for your answer too.

Jared whispered the last sentence in her ears in his mischievous voice.

"Blake, stop teasing Lizzy and Kate." Tess admonished.

Katelyn turned back and looked at Tess, startled at her firm voice, but thankful for her interruption. At least the topic will divert away from her.

Her friend's familiarity with Blake made her suspect they are not just being on a dating stage but much deeper.

"Blake was teasing you, Lizzy, don't mind him much. Mr. Steele is only watchful of Kate because of what had occurred the last time we were together in the club." Tess explained.

"So much for her hopes not to be the subject of discussion." Katelyn thought.

Curiosity made her also listen as Tess tells about what had happened. This is the first time she had heard as no one had ever told her what she had done as if it was a taboo to mention.

"What? I did those things? No way, I will never do like what you had told."

Tess sympathetic eyes towards her made her shoulder sagged as she figures out the real motive Jared doesn't want her to take even a sip of wine on her glass.

"Was she so scandalous?" She asked herself.

"Blimey, you did it? Ew, now I understand why his ex or current girlfriend is so mad at you. Those models must have told her about the incident. " Lizzy told her in the comprehension of Charlize's behavior earlier.

Tess asked her what does Lizzy mean about Charlize being angry with her.

She was forced to tell her friend "in an appropriate place she will talk about it" because of Jared's proximity.

A nod of understanding was Tess's response, as it dawned on her such discussion mustn't be done within Jared's hearing.

Lizzy turned to look at Jared and Blake.

"I'm sorry, Jared. I put a different meaning to your concern instead of being thankful you didn't let Kate drink anything with alcohol." In a loud voice enough for the two men to hear, she apologized.

Afterward, she looked at her and said as if ashamed for her behavior.

"Imagine you were sitting on his lap and telling everyone not to touch him because he is yours. Isn't it too proprietorial?"

The laughter which came from Jared and Blake made them turn their attention back to the two men.

They laugh like a callow youth in public. As if the women's ignorance to take the hint about her marriage to Jared brought merriment to them both.

She forgot being the topic of conversation, which rendered her in tenterhooks for the possibility of her secrets being unraveled. What occupied her mind is the image of their face she wanted to capture.

"My cellphone!" all eyes turned to her, and then it occurred to her she had voiced out her thoughts.

"I'm sorry I just remember I need it." She picked up her bag to look for it.

"It's in my pocket," Jared whispered, still with amusement in his voice.

She turned to him to say something but the entrance of Teddy Junior and his two gentlemen friends gained all their notice.

After the introduction, they settled in their seats. Blake, on the other hand, remained standing with the black-haired guy whom Teddy introduced as Tobias.

"How come my phone is with you?" She asked Jared in a way no one can notice by speaking in a lower voice without her lips moving.

"Mrs. Smith saw it in our bed. She told me about it, so I asked her to give it to the driver so I can hand it to you." Jared whispered back.

"So what are you waiting? Take it out and give it to me."

"Hon, it's no fun if I do as you suggest. Remove it yourself." He teased.

"Are you crazy, in front of them?"

"So what if you do it."

"The audacity of this man when it was he who wanted their marriage to be in secret, of course, she will not do as he said." She thought as she looked at Jared's face.

"Kate, come closer to us so you can join our discussion," Lizzy told her.

Good thing Lizzy's interruption on her and Jared's banter made it not too apparent to him her disregarding his suggestion.

The problem is Jared also moved closer as she got near to her friend as if with intentions to listen to everything they talk.

Tobias asking him about his opinion on the jewelry design, had diverted his attention to the designer.

She was able to listen to her friends without fear of him following their discussion.

It is not a top-secret as Tess is only inviting them to have dinner in their house to meet Lizzy. Still, she doesn't want Jared to listen to it.

As the night progresses, the conversation topic becomes more personal, and her friends' consumption of alcohol increased with their frequent taking a sip of wine.

Carl, the other guy whom Teddy had introduced, developed the courage to ask Jared. If Charlize wears the pink diamond earrings and necklace design by Tobias, it means her being the pink engagement ring owner.

Jared face turned into a stormy one because of the question. She almost touched his hands to calm him, but Blake intervened and answered.

"The set of pink diamond earrings and necklace is part of the new designs and need to be shown in public. Charlize is a model, so she wore it. About the ring, it is not part of the set but an entity by itself. The best thing to do is to wait and see whose finger will carry it."

Blake's explanation is reasonable, but Jared's reaction made it doubtful. It seems like the two are hiding something.

While discussing the ring's real owner in question, Katelyn saw Lizzy walked towards Teddy with an unsteady gait.

She wanted to help, but Lizzy stopped her.

"I am fine, don't worry. Okay?"

Katelyn looks at her friend, who, as soon as Teddy saw Lizzy's condition, stands up and walks to her. Once they are seated, her friend's latching on his arms in a proprietorial way betrayed an intimate relationship.

Because of it, a conclusion formed in her head as the owner of the ring. She is happy for her friend if it is true.

"Don't worry about Lizzy; Teddy will take care of her." Jared mistook her silence for worrying about her friend.

She turned and looked at him and then remembered about him and Charlize. Doubts creep into her mind again.

"The ring can also be his to give to Charlize," she thought.

She knows to go more in-depth on her thoughts will make her sad. She decided to do what Blake suggested, "Wait, whose fingers it will fit."

The rest of the evening, Blake made jokes just so they can laugh, with Tobias adding into it.

Because of it, she temporarily discarded whatever dark ideas that formed in her head.

Amidst the laughter, there is one who is not enjoying, Brenda.

Katelyn knows it is because of Jared. Maybe she had high hopes of getting his attention in this gathering, so she decided to come. The problem is all she can do is to stare at him.

He is not even aware of her. He busied himself being her guardian in front of the glass of wine as if it is his purpose of being there.

The party finished with Lizzy behaving the way she had done before, as Tess had explained in detail. The difference is instead of claiming her man; she kissed him.

As Chase had already prepared rooms for them, Teddy got up and excused himself with Lizzy with him.

Before they left, the already drunk Lizzy could still say, "I'm rooting for you and my brother" in slurred speech.

In which, Teddy looked at Blake with questioning eyes of who she is talking too.

Blake's short answer, "It's Katelyn," made him nod in understanding.

After a few minutes they had left, everyone decided to go too.

Before they go out of the bar, Tess told her to stay with them in their room, but she refused. Her excuse is her being sober and can go home safely.

When it was clear to Tess of her being adamant about going home, she told her to at least she can see her inside a cab.

Blake intervened and said he would make sure to see her inside the car. His words were able to convince her friend to go with her sister to their room.

On the other hand, Jared, waiting in the lobby, walked to and fro while thinking about Tori's behavior.

He felt her mind is preoccupied with something the whole night. Though she tried to hide it by laughing, he knows it.

He worried about if the tension in her was because of her friend's constant reminder about her brother. It made him more anxious to know about her feelings towards the other guy, even though he learned from the private investigator of her not dating anyone but the scene he had seen during her graduation flashback.

A guy about two years older than her or more hugged and given her a bunch of flowers, but he never felt any bad vibes on it during that time.

He just stopped his track and left the venue because of her delighted expression. He decided not to disturb her joyous day with her friends because he knew that she would return to her stiff-like figure again if she saw him.

It never occurred to him that his wife and the guy relationship were deeper than friendship. The report may be made him unobservant of what is going on, or it can be he doesn't know what he's feeling towards her yet.

"Was he the heir to the earldom? The man who is the reason that made his wife hesitant to submit to him with all her heart?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Steele; Miss Phillips left a message for you."

A receptionist of the hotel in front of him holding a card disrupted his train of thought.

He took what she handed and opened it while the woman excused herself to go back to her post.

"Jared, little Tori is here. I gave her to you in one piece." Blake's sing-song voice at his back made him closed the card and abandoned the plan to read it. He put it inside the pocket of his suit before turning around and faced them.

Tori's tired face made him forget everything but to have her close to himself in which he did. He gathers her in his arms, hugs and kissed her forehead.

The clearing of the throat of Blake made him cognizant of where they are. Still, it didn't deter him from anyone recognizing her with him. Instead, he removed his suit jacket and covered it on her shoulder, even with her face hidden from any bystander, including the shocked receptionist.

"Blake, remind Chase as usual." He instructed his cousin.

He meant the camera that will reveal Tori's face and the employees to stop them from talking.

Their lives are private because they frequent places to control what to share in public and what is not.

Besides, he is a person who doesn't like publicity, even in this age of technology where everyone has access to every event and lives of people. He found ways to preserve their privacy, hence the extreme caution.

Once they arrived home, Katelyn went straight to their bathroom while Jared answered his phone.

She was already on the verge of losing her consciousness when Jared lay beside her. He then pulled her closer to him.

"Hon, I know you are tired, but...what bothers you?"

"It's you, Charlize, and the events of the night which had taken its toll," but of course, she didn't say it but instead touched his face and caressed it.

"Hon, I am just sleepy. It is just one of those days in which I am worse for wear, aren't you?"

"Of course not, I'm full of energy," his tireless voice answered.

But how fast his answer is also the way he changed his mood.

He asked a question that rouses her.

"Are you in love with Eddy?"

She almost forgot to breathe at the unexpectedness of his question.

"What came into his head to make him ever suspect she is in love with another guy?" She asked herself once his question sink in. "Is he blind to even notice her feelings on him, or is he just accusing her so he will not be a guilty party once he told Meme they need to divorce?"

"Oh no, these doubts keep torturing her again." She took a deep breath to calm herself and then answered." No, we are good friends, nothing else. Why do you ask?"

"It is because of Lizzy's constant reminder of you about her brother. It made me question if the two of you have a more profound feeling with each other. Just say so, and I...

"You will divorce me without all those penalties?" She interrupted as she got up from the bed and looked at him.

"Are you so excited about the idea of our divorce that you forgot being sleepy?" He accused and then got up from the bed.

"Where are you going?"

"I will go out to cool my head." He answered while walking in the direction of the terrace.

"Abandoned those thoughts, it won't happen." He added before he opens the door.

"What does he mean?"

When finally, she fathom out; all she can utter is "Blimey."

END OF PART 29

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