Theodore returned a while later with snacks on a tray.

"I'll cook your favorite meals tonight. Stay for dinner." He said to Ximena, who was overjoyed to hear the news.

"Then I won't hold back!" She cheered.

"Dad, why did you come early today?" Zaria asked curiously.

"I wanted to take care of you. Turned out you cannot be trusted with your own safety." He teased her.

Ximena chuckled but couldn't agree more.

"How is the situation with your family?" Theodore asked Ximena in concern. Last he heard of it, she was having troubles with her parents because of her career choice.

"Same old." She sighed and didn't want to think about them.

Theodore couldn't help wondering how shallow one could be that they would want to force their child into the family business even though they knew that she liked something else.

"You are doing much better without them." Theodore said in consolation, to which Ximena agreed. She had been fighting over the same matter with her parents for years. It would be surprising if she wasn't used to it yet.

"What's keeping you so busy, Uncle? You have dark circles." Ximena asked, not just to shift the topic but because she cared about Theodore too. He was the closest thing to a dad that she would ever have.

"I've been chasing a star." Theodore stated indifferently, making the women burst into peals of laughter.

Zaria played with the lipstick in her hand before an idea struck her. "Xim, do you have a darker shade of this?"

Ximena checked her bag and nodded. "I have a dark cherry colored one which isn't much of a difference from Maroon."

"That's alright. Can I have it?" She held out a hand to receive the lipstick which Ximena gave to her while holding back her curiosity. She then took a picture of it and just as she did, she received a call from Natalie.

"Zaria, how are you doing?" Natalie asked, since she had heard of what happened to Zaria from Desmond.

"I'm doing much better now." She smiled, pleasantly surprised that Natalie would check on her.

"I wanted to come over and check on you but Desmond wouldn't let me. He is so mean and he thinks I shouldn't get to see you when he can't. That jealous idiot." She complained about a certain person's childishness. "Anyway, are you up for a movie?"

Zaria looked at her father and friend and couldn't ditch them. "I'll have to miss out."

"What a pity…" Natalie sounded playful instead of upset. "It's such a bummer for you. Devonte's the star."

"Who did you say? Who?" Zaria shot from her seat in excitement before she sat down to calm down under her father and friend's curious gazes.

"Devonte, your favorite Jupiter. Will you come?" Natalie laughed, feeling smug after having used her boyfriend as click-bait. Wasn't he too charming? Of course, it was because she knew that Zaria felt nothing but admiration for him. She would never use such tricks on a female fan who might have obsessive feelings for Devonte.

Zaria contemplated and couldn't immediately make a decision. "But I promised to spend time with my best friend and my dad. I can't ditch them…" She was torn in between going and staying.

"Then bring them along. I'll just get two more tickets." Natalie suggested and hung up before the latter could respond.

Zaria glanced at the blank screen and sighed. "Dad, Xim, are you up for a movie?"

"Who asked you out?" Ximena was quick to ask. Was it Desmond? If it was, they would be a pair of party poopers—or date poopers in this case.

"Is it Ryan? If it is, just go with him and have fun." Theodore cheered his daughter on.

"Dad…" Zaria didn't know what to do with him. "It's Natalie."

"Natalie? As in Natalie Sparks?!" Ximena almost shot up in shock. The fact that Zaria was close enough to an aristocratic heiress to have such a friendly phone conversation and go out together was not nearly as shocking as the fact that the said heiress was the fiancée of the man she loved! Just how screwed up was their relationship?

When Zaria nodded, Ximena no longer knew what to ask while Theodore shook his head. Sometimes, knowing less would save one's sanity.

In the end, the duo agreed to go.

As Zaria changed into jeans in her room, Ximena patted Des who seemed to know that they were preparing to leave and was sad about it. "Goodbye, Little guy. I'll bring you a treat later."

"Have you considered getting him a pet nanny?" She asked Zaria as the latter returned, all changed.

Zaria nodded and picked the puppy up to return him to his crate. "I will when we settle down in our new house."

"You are moving out? Why?" Ximena was puzzled. If her memory served her right, the father-daughter duo had lived here for years and only renovated the place often because neither of them liked the idea of moving out.

"We think the place is a little too small now that we have Des." Zaria didn't bring up their security concern, which would make Ximena really chop the Forts into pieces this time.

"I can help you house hunt if you need me to." She winked, to which Zaria smiled.

"I have already found an agent. However, I will need your help with the style and decor."

"Count me in!"

…

When they arrived, Natalie was waiting for them outside the cinema and rushed to them when she saw them.

Although she was excited to see Zaria, she greeted them politely while not letting her emotions show on her face.

"Hello, Mr. Williams. You must be Miss Morel." She shook hands with them but when she shook Ximena's hand, it felt awkward. Why did it feel like the latter was guarded against her? She was used to being guarded against everyone but this was the first time she was the suspect, so it felt strange.

Theodore jabbed Ximena to remind her to be friendly before shaking Natalie's hand. "You can call me Theodore."

"Same goes for me. Just call me Ximena." Ximena went along despite the evident friction between her and Natalie.

Zaria smiled it off as she exchanged a hug with Natalie, which earned her a glare from Ximena. "Are we late?"

"Let's get in. There's still a few minutes before it starts." Natalie announced and led the way. She had to admit that she had never been under so much pressure before.

This was probably how people felt around her, she thought. Perhaps she had always made everyone uncomfortable by being wary of them? It must really be the case… especially for the people who didn't mean any harm against her.

Taking a mental note to be a tiny bit friendlier, she tried to ignore Ximena whose eyes could barely be ignored with how deeply she was looking at her. Luckily, Ximena was sitting close to the farthest end of the row while she sat on the other end with Theodore and Zaria between them.

"Nice lipstick." She commented to Zaria who was beside her.

"Thank you." Zaria touched her lips with a smile. "My friend made them."

"Ximena?" She asked in a low tone and when Zaria nodded, she wondered whether she could buy one too.

Before she could ask, Zaria's hand opened and a lipstick appeared on it.

"How beautiful! What's her brand's name?" Natalie immediately forgot about Ximena's unfriendliness, understanding what it was all about. In Ximena's mind, she was her best friend's romantic rival. Of course she would be unfriendly before knowing the truth.

"Morel Beauty." Zaria answered as she pointed at the MB logo on the length of the wand-shaped Lipstick.

Natalie inspected it and with Zaria's permission, applied a tiny bit of it on the back of her hand and when she was satisfied with the color and quality, she asked about the price and whether she could get more.

Ximena had talked about it before, so Zaria explained it in detail and sold the lipstick to Natalie.

Ximena shot a surprised look at Zaria when she received a notification stating that money had been credited into her account, as well as a preorder for two makeup sets from Natalie. In response, the latter smiled warmly.

Ximena had done so much for her that she could never repay it. The least she could do was help her market her brand, which was a startup and would benefit from as much popularity as possible. It was only the first step but she would try her best.

The movie had just started, but Ximena was trying to figure out what this meant. Was Zaria trying to help her out? She was not complaining, but didn't Zaria already have a lot to take care of?

'That fool,' She smiled emotionally.

She turned to the person sitting beside her and was about to ask if it was okay for them to switch seats with Zaria when she saw him clearly. Wasn't this Jupiter?