"Are you in the mood for a movie?" Desmond asked soon after they were done eating.

"Mmh?" She purred against his chest where she was reclining lazily. "What movie do you have in mind?"

"Nothing yet, but we can look for one. A romance movie this time perhaps?" He suggested, letting her think about it and decide whether she wanted it.

"Speaking of movies, did you go out with Natalie today? She said you were going to watch a movie." He asked out of the blue.

"Yeah we did." She nodded against his chest, then yelped when he suddenly pulled her to lie on her stomach against his legs. A spank came down her backside.

"What are you doing?" She almost yelled in shock. Did he just spank her?

"How could you go on a date with someone else?" He spanked her yet again, his gaze full of seriousness that rendered her speechless.

"It was not a date okay?" She struggled to get out of his grip. "Natalie asked me out for movies. Natalie—a woman." Before he could say something stupid, she seriously added, "we are both straight—not that it would have changed anything if we weren't."

The man still looked displeased as though he had been robbed of his girlfriend, and she didn't know what to do with him. "My dad and Ximena were there too."

He looked slightly happier, and then quickly confirmed. "Just the two of them?"

She nodded. "Devonte did appear at some point, but we all know who he was there for. He doesn't count."

He looked at her seriously. "That guy surnamed Fin didn't 'coincidentally' find you and decide to join you, right?" He jealously asked about Ryan.

"No, he didn't. Can you stop looking at me like I'm cheating on you? I haven't even started paying back for the unfounded spanking." She looked at him threateningly.

"Don't even think about it." He shook his head with a stern frown as soon as he comprehended her gaze. No way in hell was he going to present his butt for her to spank. "Let's find a suitable movie."

Feeling bummed after being denied a chance to revenge, she crawled back into his arms to snuggle comfortably. "But I want nothing but to be in your arms."

His gaze softened at her words which weren't usually heard from her. "Then let's go up to my room. We can watch on the bed and you can rest in my arms for as long as you want."

She thought it was a good idea since the chairs were starting to feel uncomfortable after sitting on them for too long.

Once they got to the French-styled room, he picked silk pajamas from the closet to wear, then gave her a pink nightgown.

She received it though her eyebrows furrowed. Why was there female clothing in his manor?

Considering that she had to pull off the tag, it was new and unworn. She didn't need to know any other details as she might just end up with a broken heart, so she changed into the nightgown.

He quickly set up their watching space and brought the laptop close to them after bundling her up in a warm cotton blanket. He started playing the movie he had selected and slid into the blanket, holding her by the shoulders to have her rest against his chest.

Even before the movie could actually start, he felt her drift into sleep against his chest. She was so comfortable that she couldn't help it.

Chuckling gently, he was about to help her into a more comfortable position to sleep when his phone rang.

"What the hell do you want right now?" He yelled at skeleton who was on the other end.

"I know I ruined your fun. I'm sorry but an emergency happened." Skeleton explained urgently.

"What happened?" Desmond sat up attentively and even Zaria's sleep cleared off as soon as she heard the word "emergency."

"What happened?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes to keep them open.

"Samantha asked me for help. She said that she wanted a reason to make you stay away from Zaria for a while and had sought for Evan, but he refused to help her." He yapped in one breath and took a deep breath. "Long story short, I agreed to help her."

"You did what?" Desmond wanted to hit that idiot.

"Don't kill me okay? I saved your ass. If I didn't agree, she would have continued seeking your friends so she would collaborate with them."

Zaria nodded at Skeleton's quick thinking, which she had heard because Desmond had put the phone on speaker.

"What did you agree on?" He asked.

"I gave her your location and explained That Zaria was with you tonight, then agreed to feign an emergency to have you leave her alone."

Zaria quickly understood what the plan was, and it made her blink and take a deep breath. "She is putting her plan into effect."

"I can't leave you alone." He declared firmly with no room for negotiation.

"This is the only way to trap her. We had an agreement, Desmond." She had to agree that the timing was not the best, but it wasn't like they had much choice. They were planning to trap Samantha and a chance had just presented itself. How could they not take it?

"But Zaria, that woman is crazy. She could hurt you. I don't want anything to happen to you." He worriedly held her chin up with the thumb of his left hand.

Skeleton coughed on the line. "I don't mind listening to your romantic love but you may need to know that Samantha already left her home to go to your Manor."

"Damn you Skeleton." Desmond hung up in annoyance. He could have insisted that the only time he would be able to cause a distraction was the following day. How could he ruin his perfect moment with Zaria?

"I'll wait in the living room." Zaria hurriedly changed back into her jeans and top then rushed out of the bedroom.

He changed and rushed out after her, wondering how much time they had before Samantha appeared.

"Luckily, I'm always prepared." She took a deep breath and mustered all the acting skills she had accumulated from all the years of being a reporter.

Desmond walked to the door and then right back in. "I can't."

"Desmond…" She didn't know what to do with him. "This is for your mother, have you forgotten? We are doing this to prove that your mother is innocent!"

"I know." He looked down with a sigh. "I'm just afraid that if I walk out that door and leave you here alone, it won't only be my mother that I lose. How about I hide in a room? In case something happens that requires my attention, I will rush right out.

Her heart warmed up, but he couldn't stay. "You have to go. Samantha—or one of her fellow schemers in the name of minions—has to see you leave the manor. Only then will she be certain that Skeleton has called you over and that I'm now on my own. Otherwise, there is no way she would believe that someone who is loyal to you would completely betray you."

There was nothing he could say against it because she was right. Samantha couldn't trust people easily, especially his people. She needed proof that Skeleton had kept his word.

Seeing as she had convinced him, she urged him out. "Go. Make sure to look like you're in a hurry, okay?"

"I know." He hurried out and jumped into his car, flooring the accelerator as Zaria left the house to wave at him, but she was too late since he had already left.

Samantha paused, glancing at her binoculars with a smile. As she watched Zaria's expression change into a little bit of disappointment after not being able to wave at Desmond before he could leave, she rejoiced in her heart.

"Aww poor Zaria, she will not be able to say goodbye to her lover even on her deathbed. Must be tragic, right?"

"Wait here. I'll be back." She ordered her minions and got out of the hedge, following Zaria into the house as she dragged her feet in.

"You're back? I thought you were going to handle an emergency at work?" Zaria pretended not to know who was behind her.

"Ha, looking for Desmond? He is not coming back for you." Samantha snickered at the door.

Zaria turned in shock. "You, what are you doing here?"

"What do you think, Mmh? Of course, I'm here to make friends. She answered spitefully, crossing her arms as she glanced at Zaria who looked like she had been trapped.

"Don't even think of trying to do anything to me. It's against the law." Zaria tried to defend herself by using the law as a shield, but that only earned her ridiculing laughter from Samantha.

"Oh Zaria. I think it's time to cut off your tongue."