Imperfect Desires

Darren"s arm had been around her waist as he was leading her to the table. But they had yet to sit when Darren"s phone rang. Xiu noticed how he declined the call and pulled out the chair for her with a sweet smile. As he was about to take his own seat, his phone rang again making him curl his lips in annoyance before he declined the call again.

"You should take the call, it could be urgent," said Xiu as she noticed his expressions.

"It"s Didi and he knows that I"m with you yet he"s calling to disturb me for no reason," said Darren as he ran a hand over his face.

"This boss of mine really knows how to get on my nerves," wondered Xiu on her own and heard his phone"s ring again. She said to Darren, "You should just take his call. He is a persistent person."

Darren declined the call yet again saying, "When I"m with you, n.o.body should have the same access to me as you do. Not even my best friend."

This was one of those moments when Xiu could say that she was not just in love with him. She was well and truly smitten. If she could have the eternity with him, she"d really fall into the spell of serenity by just having him by her side. Seeing his face was the only thing she even needed in life at this point. 

The scariest part about loving him was that she knew he held the power to make her cry and smile. And that was very dangerous to be held by a person. She didn"t know how but she knew that their energies somehow had a unique way to vibrate with each other. His smile was enough to burnish her soul into the beauty that she never knew she possessed.

Darren was pa.s.sing the menu to Xiu when his phone rang again making him close his eyes in annoyance and anger. But as soon as he saw the caller id, his anger vanished into thin air. Xiu noticed his changing expressions and asked, "Is everything okay?"

"It"s my G.o.dmother, I really have to pick this one," said Darren as he took the call. "Hey, my dearest beauty Wei! What"s up?"

"You didn"t pick up Dylan"s phone? I asked him to call you but he said you"re ignoring his calls. Tell me he is lying," came Zhao Wei"s voice. 

Darren"s bit his tongue before saying, "No, he isn"t. I really ignored his calls because I"m on dinner with Sweets."

"Hmm..." he heard Zhao Wei humming on the other side before she said, "That"s wonderful! You should be paying attention to the gorgeous lady with you and not your best friend. I have taught you right!"

Darren chuckled at her words, "You indeed taught me right." He took a brief pause before asking, "But why did you ask Didi to call me? Is everything okay?"

Zhao Wei rolled her eyes at herself for completely forgetting the purpose of this call as she said, "Oho, look at my memory! I want you to bring your girlfriend over for dinner."

Darren lifted his eyes to glance at Xiu before saying, "Like right now?"

"Yes, of course! I want you to bring her over because I have cooked a lavish meal. Besides, isn"t it about time that one of your mothers get to meet her?" Noticing Darren"s silence, she added, "What? You don"t want her to meet me? Or do you think that it"s better for Francesca to meet your girlfriend before me?"

Darren clicked his tongue, "Come on, G.o.dmother! Stop being dramatic like your son. I just think isn"t it too sudden?"

"My dear Regan, sometimes spontaneous decisions are the best one. If you"re willing to take a chance on love on the spur of a moment then why not life as well? Life often takes you to wonderland with its spontaneousness."

Darren nodded his head knowing where she was coming from. Besides, he really wanted Xiu to meet one of his mothers at this point when he was certain that she was the one in his heart and she was the only one he wanted to keep in his life as well. 

"Let me talk to her first," said Darren and with a couple of more words, they hung up the call.

Xiu narrowed her eyes at him, "What is it? What are you thinking about?"

Darren rubbed the back of his neck as he said, "Everything is fine. It"s just that my G.o.dmother aka Dylan"s mother invited you to dinner."

"Me?" Xiu"s eyes went round as she pointed at herself and seeing him nod, she laughed awkwardly, "Not happening."

"Huh? Why not?" asked Darren in confusion. "I mean I know it"s sudden but you"ll eventually have to meet her. She is just as important to me as my own mother." He made a pleading face, "I really want her to meet you. Besides, she invited us over dinner with so much love. I don"t want to disappoint her."

"You"re taking my words in the wrong way. It"s not that I don"t want to meet her. It"s just..." she stopped mid-sentence and Darren held her hand urging her to continue. Xiu took a deep breath and continued, "I"m scared."

"Scared of my G.o.dmother?" asked Darren with an odd expression.

Xiu shook her head saying, "No. I"m not scared of her specifically. I"m just generally scared of mothers. Because history has proven that I have never been good with mothers. They always end up hating me for some reason. I don"t want yours to hate me and that"s why I have to do a lot of preparation. And I haven"t done anything yet."

Darren was baffled for a moment as it took him a while to process her words before he asked, "Why are you thinking so negatively?"

Xiu gave him a look, "Shouldn"t I be? You of all people know what my life was like as Chen Xiu. My own mother hated me, my ex-boyfriend"s mother hated me, and to top it off, my ex-boyfriend"s wife"s mother also hated me. So, bingo! I hit a jackpot with mothers" hate."

Darren"s heart shook as he was reminded of her previous life. Although he couldn"t find a single trace of hurt or pain in her eyes or in her voice, he could tell that she was still not over that. She really received the unnecessary hate for things she didn"t even do. 

He took a calming breath, pressed her hand and said, "I promise you, my parents would love you."