Chapter Twenty seven

Few days later...

"So how did that go for you?" I asked Fiona with a mocking grin. She was relaying a funny story of how she had embarrassed herself in front of her crush in eighth grade.

"No fair, you're supposed to empathize with me." She pouted. I chuckled.

"I can't help it, the story is hilarious." It truly was.

We were seated at the dining table having lunch and chattering away. It was just us in the house, everyone else had gone out for one thing or the other. Fiona did not want me getting lonely without her brother so she decided to keep me company. Little did she know that I was glad that he was not anywhere in sight.

That man was just too irritable for his own good and he was just as annoying.

But irresistibly hot too, don't you think? My conscience said to me. I smacked her with my palm. We agreed to not entertain such thoughts.

"Earth to, Ariana." Fiona waved her palm frantically in front of me. It startled me back to reality.

"Hmmmm." She hummed squinting her eyes in feigned scrutiny.

"You're thinking about your husband aren't you?" She wiggled her eyebrows as she said so. I laughed nervously.

"You're even blushing, ha! I knew it!" She said, laughing boisterously, I joined in.

"Since I'm such a bore, maybe you should go call him or something." She suggested.

"Oh Fiona, you're never a bore." I said lovingly. I drew closer, covering a side of my mouth and smiling mischievously, I looked around like I had something sinister to say.

She mirrored my grin as she drew closer.

"Your brother is actually the boring one." I fake whispered. Fiona snorted in an unlady like manner and nodded.

"Damien truly is boring, where did you say you guys met again?" She asked in her amusement.

"New York." I said with a playful shrug.

"Where in New York?" A strange voice said and we both turned to look at the person coming in. A slim lady with long legs, blonde hair and emerald green eyes sashayed into the dining room with a wide smile on her face.

"Aleena?" Fiona gasped and hopped over to this lady and hugged her tight.

"Hey Fiona, what's up?" She said hugging her back.

"I'm okay, I didn't know you were coming." Fiona said with a questioning look on her face.

"Surprise then." The new visitor's mouth curled into a smile as she spoke.

"You missed Damien's wedding, it was so beautiful." Fiona gushed with a dreamy look. The lady kept quiet for a second before smiling again.

"Yeah, I read about it online, I could not make it because I was busy with my shoot." She said and then turned to stare at me. I had been watching their exchange quietly, pondering on who this woman was.

"Right, sorry Ariana, lemme introduce you." Fiona came over and placed her palm on my shoulder as she gestured to Aleena.

"Aleena, this is Ariana, my new sister in law. Ariana this is Aleena, Damien's childhood friend, she's just like family." Fiona introduced both of us. I smiled, stood up and stretched my hand out for a cordial handshake.

Aleena took me by surprise when she walked over and pulled me into a hug.

"Oh Damien sure has an eye for good things, you're so cute." She gushed.

Typically unable to take compliments as I was, I blushed.

"Awww, she's a shy one." She said in a babylike voice.

"You're very beautiful." I said truthfully. This girl looked really good, I wondered if it was a thing for wealthy people to look so out of this world in their physical appearances.

"Thank you." She responded sweetly.

We walked to the wide poolside at the back of the house. We sat there, chattering away the rest of the afternoon.

When it was nightfall, we found ourselves in the living room, still talking.

The other family members who were away were back. There was a squealing session between Tracy and Aleena when they saw each other, seemed like they were best friends. In fact, everyone in the family seemed to be elated about Aleena's arrival.

We were getting set for dinner when Aleena asked a question.

"Is Damien going to be joining us for dinner?" She asked me. I was not sure what to answer to that. I woke up in the morning and found that Damien had left without a word, not like I expected him to tell me when he was leaving anyway.

"I'm not sure." I admitted.

"Why is that? He's supposed to let you know these things." Aleena went on.

"Isn't that right aunty?" She said to mom who nodded and turned to me. I felt like I was being put on the spot.

"Cut the girl some slack Aleena, you know how Damien can be. No one knows where he is until he appears in front of you." Gerald butted in, saving my sorry behind from the embarrassment. I smiled gratefully and he smiled back as he nodded in understanding.

Damien walked into the living room just then, he had his usual blank face on as he stared at everyone in the room. A small smile crept up his face as he spotted Aleena.

"Aleena, what a surprise..." He remarked in an indecipherable tone, something between amusement and passiveness. Before I could blink, she rushed into his arms and held him tight.

"Damien!" She squeaked as he held her close with one of his large arms wrapped around her tiny waist.

"I'm so mad at you. How could you not invite me to your wedding!" She poked his chest playfully.

"You were busy with your shoot, I did not want to burden you with it." He said softly as he stared at her fondly. She scoffed.

"Can I go freshen up before I have dinner?" He asked her like he was seeking her permission. I almost scoffed at how seemingly softened up he was with this lady.

"Sure, but you're not off the hook yet." She warned, wagging her well manicured right index finger in front of him. Damien chuckled and finally by some miracle, his eyes landed on me.

"Hey babe." He said with a small smile and kissed my forehead. The sweet scent of his Cologne wafted through my nostrils but was now mixed with Aleena's feminine scent. Just great! Ugh.

"Hey," I said softly. He gave my side a gentle and obvious squeeze before mounting the stairs. I stayed on my phone, just as everyone else kept talking with Aleena.

Damien came down in a few minutes after his shower. He was now dressed in a casual white t-shirt with black pants.

We made it to the dinning room, I walked over to my usual seat slowly, only to see that Aleena had taken my usual spot, next to Damien and they were talking animatedly, a side of Damien I had never seen. Damien stared up at me when he noticed my flustered state, Aleena followed his line of sight.

"Oops sorry Ariana, I didn't know this was your spot, I usually sit next to Damien whenever I'm in town." She said and made no attempt to stand up. I looked at Damien, wondering if he was just going to sit there and do nothing.

He cleared his throat before speaking.

"Babe, would you mind sitting next to mom just this once? Aleena and I just want to catch up." He explained to me. I could tell he found it difficult to do so because he never owed anyone an explanation but he just had to play nice because I was his wife.

I nodded curtly and without a word, I sat down. The meal was served by Rosa and some other maids. I had met Rosa and Walter separately but I knew they were married and they sure made a cute old couple. Rosa exuded a very motherly aura even with the almighty Damien.

She smiled at me softly masking her initial surprise at my sitting position. I smiled back, assuring her it was not that much of a big deal. Rosa and I just got talking on my second day here and she was already so protective of me. Fiona said she was everyone's mother figure and even Stella ran to her for help on everything. I admired her giving nature.

I had my meal in silence, barely looking up at Damien and his childhood best friend as they talked the night away like little kids. She kept on talking about all the memories they had as children and even called me into some of their convos.

Okay, just what was up with these two?

Everyone seemed to be enjoying the night with Aleena being around and hardly noticed my presence. I excused myself after dinner and exited the dinning room, I doubted if anyone noticed my absence because they were all engrossed in Aleena's anecdotes.

I mounted the stairs in steady strides and soon found myself up in Damien's bedroom. I went into the bathroom, stripped and took a pretty long shower. When I was done with my usual nightly routine. I pushed the slide doors and walked into the balcony to get some fresh air. It was a beautiful night after all. I looked down at the pool and then the rest of Damien's large estate. This place looked more like a resort than a house. Perks of being extremely wealthy, I thought.

I stayed out for a while, enjoying the cool night air before retiring for the night. I rearranged the pillow barricade, not letting whatever he had said to me some nights back, get to me.I soon fell asleep and had no idea when Damien finally came into the bedroom.