"Why don"t I just live in a condo again? Wouldn"t that be more convenient?" Matthew sighed as he slumped in an armchair. He hadn"t even spent more than five minutes in the house and he was already regretting his decision to stay there.
"Are you kidding? This is great, Matt. Your aunt was generous enough to let you rent it for an affordable price. Where else could you get one like this with great security? You"re already here. What"s with the sudden change of mind?" His manager said as he unpacked a box. "And what a coincidence for President Park to be living right across the street!"
"Yeah… such luck." Matthew sighed again. "I just think that… living alone in a big house like this-"
"You"re also alone in that villa in the countryside. What"s the difference? Look, you can"t live in condos anymore. You"ve had too much disturbance in the past, what with your crazy fans. At least you don"t have to worry about that here."
His manager was right. Matthew"s popularity had been soaring for the past few months and his fans were getting crazier by the minute. Last month, his manager sent three stalkers to jail. It was still a wonder to them how the fans managed to get the details of their whereabouts.
"Fine… I guess I could try living here." Matthew"s head turned towards the window, slightly seeing the house across the street from where he was sitting. "But if I don"t like it here after a month, I"m leaving."
"Fair enough. Now go upstairs and rest. You have work in the afternoon. I"ll take care of everything here. Hey! Be careful with that—" His manager rushed to scold the movers who were carrying a huge box inside the house.
Matthew was thankful that his manager was so good to him. He had been under his care for seven years. Heaving out another sigh, he pushed himself off the armchair and walked up the stairs.
Damien decided to take Katherine out for a stroll in the afternoon before doing groceries. His woman was feeling "bored" and he wanted her to relax that day. They were both wearing casual clothes - just plain white t-s.h.i.+rts and jeans as they sauntered on the sidewalk. The city center wasn"t so crowded that day and though it was summer, the weather wasn"t too hot either — just perfect for a day out.
Ever since Katherine got harmed by Lexi in his own turf that week, he had improved his security detail. Before, he only had a few people around him when he was out in the open. This time, he doubled the number and they were mostly there to protect Katherine. The team was inconspicuous - blending in the crowd like normal citizens.
"I"m going to get some ice cream, do you want one?" She beamed as she saw an ice cream parlor several feet away.
"Sure," Damien nodded and let go of her hand, watching her as she entered the shop.
Katherine"s eyes lit up and she bit her bottom lip as she chose the flavors that she could not wait to taste. A few minutes later, she walked out of the shop with two ice cream cones in hand. She started eating the one in her right hand while convincing herself not to lick Damien"s ice cream in her left hand. Good thing she had enough self-restraint.
She was walking back to where she left Damien but she stopped in her tracks the moment her eyes landed on a sight that almost caused the vein in her temple to pop — she could feel it throbbing.
Katherine witnessed Damien hugging a woman whom she swore she saw was wearing nothing but lingerie, in a billboard and some magazines just a few days ago. Though the woman was covered in clothing at that moment, Katherine could still picture her almost naked while hugging her boyfriend.
To top it off, Damien"s smile looked so genuine as he had his arms around the model that she wanted to throw the ice cream at his face. What the h.e.l.l?
The woman was tall, had a slim figure and jet black hair. She was really beautiful and even Katherine found her hot.
A cracking sound was heard when her left hand unconsciously squeezed the cone and the ice cream fell to the floor in a plop. Her self-restraint was challenged.
Damien noticed her presence a few feet apart and his eyes met her deadly ones. He pulled himself away from the woman he was hugging and called her, "Katherine."
The woman followed his gaze and saw Katherine standing there and looking at them with an unreadable expression. She looked at the man next to her and then back at Katherine before the corner of her mouth curled up in a grin. Snaking an arm around Damien"s waist and placing a hand over his chest, she spoke in a coy manner, "Darling, who is she?"
Damien"s head snapped to the side and raised a brow. "Huh?"
Katherine did not know what to think at that moment but a smile formed on her face as she watched the pair in front of her. Damien turned his head towards Katherine again and although he saw her smile, he was sure that was not the smile that he wished to see. She stared at him like she wanted to gauge his eyes. For him, it was scary. "W-Why are you looking at me like that?"
Still with a smile on her face, Katherine responded in a calm voice, "Because you are over there… while I am here."
The model next to Damien laughed so hard as she watched the hilarious looks on their faces. He pulled away from her arm, raised his right hand up and lightly smacked the model"s head.
"Are you satisfied now?" he scolded, yet his tone was filled with gentleness.
"Aw!" She was still laughing while soothing her head. "I can"t believe I would ever see you like this… really…. I almost want to run to Buddha and devote my whole life."
Damien rolled his eyes and strode towards Katherine, pulled her close as he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple twice.
"I"m sorry… Forgive my cousin, she likes being the constant source of my vexation." He shot a glance at the woman who protested at what she heard, "Hey!"
Relief washed over Katherine"s entire being when she heard that the model was his cousin. She had yet to regain her composure when the beautiful woman extended her hand towards her and smiled at her as she started to introduce herself, "Hi, I"m Ali—"
"Alianna…" Katherine received her handshake and saw her eyes brighten.
"Oh! You know me?" Alianna beamed. "You can call me Ali."
"Katherine." She responded while her eyes were fixed on her face, she thought she was turning gay. She just met a high-end lingerie brand model and even shook hands with her. Katherine felt heat pool on her cheeks as she contained her excitement. She hadn"t told Emma about Matthew yet and now she was already meeting Emma"s girl crush.
"Oh how cute, she"s blus.h.i.+ng! Damien, she"s really beautiful just like what Nana said. She could turn anyone into a lesbian." Alianna muttered, making Katherine a little surprised that they were thinking the same thing about each other. How weird.
Damien tightened his protective arm around Katherine and narrowed his eyes at his cousin. Did he have to guard his woman from both men and women now? "I thought you had somewhere else to go?"
Alianna gasped in shock. "Oh, dear. I"m late for my appointment. c.r.a.p." She hurriedly gave Damien a brief hug before she turned to Katherine, giving her a huge smile and a nice bear hug. "It"s really nice to finally meet you, Katherine. I wish we could bond soon!"
She walked backwards, waving at them as she added before entering the backseat of a car, "I"ll call you soon!"
Damien and Katherine watched as the car sped off. He heaved a sigh of relief and turned to face her, wondering if she was okay. "Sorry about that."
"You didn"t tell me Alianna was your cousin."
"The thought didn"t come up. It"s not really a secret. She"s the daughter of my father"s sister who moved to another country decades ago." Damien looked at her hands. "Where"s mine?"
Realizing that he was referring to the ice cream that was now kissing the ground. Katherine lowered her gaze and Damien followed it, seeing the cone was crushed and the ice cream melting.
Sighing, Katherine raised her right hand and offered hers. "Here, I don"t like it anymore. You can have it."
"What—"
Katherine lightly shoved the ice cream on Damien"s lips, shutting him up. He instinctively held the cone just before she let go of it and smiled at him - the same scary smile that she gave him earlier. "Oops."