Chapter 27

LIAM WAS DIFFERENT

Diane’s P.O.V.

Liam motioned to accept his hand while I was getting out of his car. I accepted it and felt again the same electricity I had when he held my shoulder last night. Then, I ended up pouting my lips.

Does Liam know the difference between weekdays and weekends? Today is a Sunday, why so workaholic? Indeed, that explains the newspaper headlines last night—he is such a well-known and successful business tycoon. He is probably always busy at work.

Hmm, it looks like I need to prepare myself if in case he would be my boyfriend! I have to understand his very hectic schedule.

Oh, what are you thinking? Really, Diane? When did you learn to flirt and be assuming? The two of you will not end up together, so don’t you expect anything! My subconscious mind was constant in slapping me. I lopsidedly moved my head to stop myself from daydreaming.

Using my keys, we were able to enter the gate and sauntered through a short walkway. I was ready to open the door when I found that it was locked from the inside, which was a good thing. That was the number one rule that I always told them when I wasn’t here. Even though it was safe inside our subdivision and no crime had ever been reported here, God forbids, it would still be better to double our precautionary measures for our own safety.

“Mom? Dave? Denise?” I called for them while knocking at our door made of Narra. “Mom?”

Soon enough, the door creaked open as my mother peeked her head. I saw her wearing her favorite white yet floral-styled dress with its hem reaching her knees when she fully opened the door after seeing me waving at her. Fine lines were visible on her face and neck due to aging. White strands were noticeable too on her hair tied up into a messy bun. Mom was still beautiful, no matter what.

Extreme anxiety was evident on her face before she warily questioned me. “Diane, what happened? Are you alright?” she asked me while exaggeratedly pulling up the sleeves of my blazer to look at my arms. Then, she glanced at Liam. “And who is this man?”

“Mom, Liam and I got stranded on the road. Accidentally, I had no other choice but to ride in his car last night. He would have taken me here, but it just happened that his car ran out of gas and stopped in the middle of the road. You know, incidents happen. We have w-waited until this morning for a rescue,” I explained with mixed lies. I did not say about the hotel room we had both checked-in at, because Mom would surely overreact for her to be hysterical, and that might trigger her high blood.

“Oh, is that so? I’m glad that nothing bad happens to you both. So, what are you two waiting for here? Come in, anyway—Liam, right? Just don’t mind our house, for it’s quite messy, dear!” Mom addressed Liam as we made it to the living room. Fortunately, Mom did not even ask where Liam and I slept.

Liam just smiled and waved his right hand like it was nothing for him. “It’s okay, ma’am. I’m fine.”

“Dave, set-up the table, and your sister has a guest here. After that, go upstairs and wake up Denise. It’s lunchtime already,” Mom instructed David, who immediately followed. It looked like my brother just came home from his training since he was still wearing his fatigue uniform.

It was weird, but when we were together, we used to eat our breakfast at six, and lunch at around ten in the morning. It was then followed by snacks at two in the afternoon, and dinner at six in the evening. Sometimes, I wouldn’t be able to join them at dinner because I had to sleep more before going to work.

A sincere smile suddenly formed on my lips. David had always been very obedient ever since. Sometimes, I could be a bossy type of a sister, but I never heard of any complaints coming from him. He was actually becoming more obedient now, making me think that he was inspired by someone.

“Oh… you don’t have to bother, ma’am. We just ate our breakfast outside, and I will be leaving soon. I only came here to accompany Diane home. I owed you a lot for not taking her here last night,” Liam said shyly while scrunching his nape. He had a light-brown skin tone, but I could see his cheeks flushed together.

“No, Hijo. If you truly owe us a lot, then you’ll stay and eat with us. I just cooked adobo for lunch, and please, to refuse an offer is an insult. Treat it as our payment for driving Diane here completely unscathed,” Mom insisted Liam.

“Even just a little, you should try Mom’s adobo. You will never forget it, I assure you. Or else, Mom might get upset, and you wouldn’t be able to come here ever again. Do you want that?” I threatened him with a smile and a sudden pat on his shoulder.

In fairness, it was tough!

But at the back of my head, I was silently praying that he would agree to my suggestion so that I could be with him even for a short moment. I had never been dependent on any other guy, but Liam was different. He captured me wholeheartedly.

Eventually, he gave in to my request resulting in my brain screaming out and my heart jumping wild with excitement. It made me feel great.

Liam was the first man I brought here. He was not my boyfriend, but he was still the first man I ever introduced to my family, not to mention that he was even my first kiss. It was just sad because my father was no longer here to meet him. Dad was so kind, but at the same time, very strict.

Mom cooked her specialty that was chicken adobo with lots of potatoes because it was Denise’s favorite. I knew that Liam could eat better than this, but I was so happy that he was eating a full plate, knowing how balanced his diet was. We ate a lot of breakfast this morning, so I wasn’t expecting him to eat again.

I didn’t know, but it was nice to see my whole family eating together even though we were in front of someone we barely knew. Liam was only a stranger last night, but now, I allowed him to enter into my life and even permitted him to meet the people I loved the most.

Also, I could feel that my siblings became close to him so instantly. They immediately referred to Liam as their big brother, most especially David. He had lots of questions regarding the ‘Math Dot X’ app that Liam’s company created and developed before releasing it to the app store. David was a smart teenager and a researcher by heart. I didn’t even know that app.

“Really, bro? Wow, cool! Maybe I can work for your company after I graduate from college?” my brother asked Liam with his eyes glittering.

“Hey! Stop feeling so close, Dave! It’s quite embarrassing to ask Liam about such things,” I scolded him as I found it uneasy. Liam might think that we were only taking advantage of him, and I didn’t want him to feel that way.

My mother was seated at the head of our rectangular and six-seater mahogany table. I was on her right side while Liam was on my right. Opposite Liam was David, then Denise, who was in front of me and seated next to Mom on the left side.

“It’s okay, Diane…” Liam assured me while slightly tapping my right hand on the table with his left hand before he faced my brother again.

“Sure, Dave. I’ll make sure to reserve you a slot. But there’s a wide variety of jobs there, and it depends on your course, okay? Let’s just talk again about what will be the in-demand course after you graduate from high school. Are we clear on that?” Liam was quite formal when talking about jobs.

Does it mean that Liam will assist my brother next year after David’s high school graduation?

“Yes, thank you! Don’t worry, bro—I’m currently running for the valedictorian title, and I promise to pass whatever the requirement would be in stepping into college,” my brother replied enthusiastically.

“Really? As far as I know, you’re going back to high school!” Our youngest, Denise, intervened before laughing out loud while chewing her food. We ended up laughing together when my two siblings started bickering towards each other.