Sparks Villa, in Natalie's study.

Natalie was reading a file on the desk when her phone vibrated. She took it up and saw a new text message from a contact saved as [D]. She was just about to reply to it when she heard footsteps, making her let the phone drop onto her lap and continue reading the file on her desk with heightened concentration.

Ava walked in after knocking softly. "Are you busy?"

"It's alright. Is something the matter?" Natalie asked with a soft smile.

When Ava accidentally saw some of the content on the file Natalie was reading, she sized up her daughter suspiciously. When the latter asked someone to do a background check on Zaria, she had thought that her daughter was going to confront Zaria or destroy her.

She hadn't wanted to meddle, but when she saw that Natalie was planning to bring Zaria over to their company, she couldn't help being curious. "What are you up to?"

Natalie closed the file she was reading, opened another one, and then placed her hands with entwined fingers under her chin. "She is a genius so I'm bringing her over to the family business. I hope you don't mind this?"

Ava shook her head. Who would mind having a genius in their family business? But she was still skeptical. "Even though she is your love rival?"

"Love rival or no love rival, her abilities are too great to ignore." She was impressed when she learned how capable Zaria was and finally understood why Desmond would directly hire her as his executive assistant. Aside from the single mistake she made that stained her name, she had top-notch school and work records.

Ava was not fully convinced. "Natalie, you are not planning to torture her after making sure that she is your subordinate and is bound under a contract where she cannot leave, are you?"

The woman withheld a scoff. "Please. Do you think that lowly of me?" If Desmond wanted to play around, he could do as he pleased. Not to mention, Zaria was a friendly woman who didn't seek trouble with her. Why would she be the one to seek trouble?

…

When Ava left, Natalie waited for a few seconds before picking up her phone.

[I miss you.]

Three simple words, but they had almost turned her into a ball of nerves.

She glanced at the door before drafting a message. [I miss you too.]

About two seconds after she sent the message, her phone rang.

"Are you attending Samantha's banquet?" Came Desmond's deep voice.

She thought about it and wasn't sure. "I don't know. Do you need me to go?"

"Yes. I have sent a gown to you." He responded, and before he could even hang up, a knock resounded on the door and a maid came in.

She immediately understood that it was the package from Desmond, so she agreed. "Sure."

As she hung up, the maid respectfully held out the package to her. "Miss, Mr. Fort sent this package for you."

"Thank you. You may leave." She dismissed the maid and immediately opened it. Her eyebrows soon raised in curiousity. The blue sequin gown was beautiful, but it didn't look like anything she would love to wear. It was miles different from her style. Besides, when she tried it on, she thought it would look better worn by a woman slightly curvier than her. 

She was just about to call Desmond and ask what he was thinking when she noticed an invitation card under the shoes that came with the gown.

Why would she need an invitation to attend a banquet hosted by a member of the Fort Family? Having known Desmond for years, this was all it took for her to understand what he wanted.

She found a box and gift wrapper in her closet. Placing the note that Desmond had used to deliver the gown to her on the table, she wrote a new one. She put down the address, and after transferring everything into the new box, she stuck the note onto it and summoned a maid.

"Miss, you called for me." the maid bowed and awaited instructions.

"Send it to this address."

…

Zaria went out for fresh air, and when she returned, she was given the gift box that had been left at the reception. She took it, mumbled thanks to the receptionist, and went up to her unit, opening the box immediately. She was shocked when the blue gown came into view.

She recognized it at a glance. Wasn't this one of the dresses she had checked out online over her lunch break three days ago? At the time, she had looked at this particular blue gown longingly and saved it in her favorites even though she knew that she would not afford it any time soon. What was it doing in her house? If that was not confusing enough, she had also saved the shoes she thought would match perfectly with the gown and they were in the box too.

She checked the note on top of the box suspiciously and was even more surprised. It looked like a woman's handwriting, but it was not Ximena's. Could it be… from her mother?

Even she rolled her eyes at the thought. That woman would never think about her, much less send a gift. When she saw the invitation to Samantha's banquet, she wondered whether the sender was Samantha. They had never crossed paths, had they?

Just as her mind was about to explode from speculations, her phone rang. It was an unknown caller and she guessed it must be the sender of the gift, so she answered it. She was surprised to hear Natalie's voice.

"Why would you send me a gift?" She asked suspiciously. Was this a Bribe so she would consider the Sparks Hotel chains? It made her wonder whether multi-billion conglomerates always showered people with gifts when trying to scout them.

"Please accept it. Take it as a greeting gift." Natalie hoped she would not return it, knowing that women like Zaria didn't like to accept gifts from people they were not close to. She immediately added, "I would like to meet you at Samantha's banquet. Don't miss it, okay?"

"Miss Sparks, I would…"

Natalie knew what she was about to say, so she quickly interrupted her. "I have a meeting to attend. See you!"

Zaria glanced at the black screen of her phone with raised eyebrows. "Yup, she certainly is strange."

The screen lit up once more, and she thought that Natalie was calling back, only to see Ximena's name on the screen.

"Hi, Xim. Have you settled down?" She asked cheerfully, afraid that Ximena would pick up the gloom in her voice.

However, she should have known Ximena better. "Zaria, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." She lied and even pitched her voice to feign happiness.

"No, you're not." The woman was not easy to lie to and she effortlessly detected the lie. "Do you want to grab dinner together?"

She was hungry, so she agreed. "Where?"

The woman paused for a second. "I just sent the address. Don't keep me waiting! The last to arrive pays the entire bill."

Zaria laughed. "I'll be sure to make you pay every cent of it."

This was a small tradition they kept when they were younger. It didn't matter how much money they had, they would always try to find ways to make sure the other party paid the bill. Zaria was certain that they would keep doing it even if they were to become billionaires.

Ximena chuckled when she recalled the past. "Let's talk when you get there because I'm already on my way!"

Zaria checked herself over and decided that her clothes were good enough to go out. Rubbing Des behind the ear, she gave him a treat. "I'll be back soon."

The puppy didn't understand what she meant, but he was happy to receive rubs and a treat, so he didn't whine to prevent her from leaving.

___

There wasn't much traffic at this hour, so Zaria arrived within twenty minutes. When she entered the restaurant, she looked around for Ximena and couldn't see her.

She took out her phone to give the latter a call when someone closed in on her.

"Zaria."

She almost dropped her phone from shock and looked up at the man in disbelief. What was he doing here? Was it a coincidence?

As if knowing what was on her mind, the man stepped aside to let her walk to the table he had chosen. "I have already placed the orders."

Finally understanding what Ximena had done, her lips moved, but her words were stuck. Ximena finally picked up the call.

"I take it as you have arrived?"

"Ximena Morel, is there something you would like to explain?" She fumed. "Did you call me out for dinner?"

"I did." The latter yapped innocently, infuriating Zaria all the more.

"Then, can you explain what Ryan is doing in front of me?"