"I am not!" She denied the claim sternly, but neither Desmond nor his grandmother believed her.

The woman who didn't look old enough to have a grandson of Desmond's age held her hand out to take Zaria's. "So this is Zaria. She is more beautiful than you described and isn't she the loveliest?"

"Don't scare her." Desmond chuckled before leaning in to whisper to Zaria, "She talks a lot. If you are bored by her chatter, just say good things about Liam."

"I heard you." The woman glared at her grandson before pulling Zaria to her side as though snatching her from Desmond. "Forgive my manners and that of my grandson. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Isabella Alma Deandre but you can call me Izzie."

At the side, Desmond pinched his eyes closed. "Don't you think you are too old to be going by such a girlish nickname?" Before he could be berated, he snuck to Zaria's side to expose his own grandmother. "It will be her birthday next week. She is turning seventy-five."

Isabella looked around and dipped her head with a hush. "Don't listen to his crap. I'm turning fifty-five."

Zaria chuckled. "No one would ever doubt that."

Isabella could comfortably pass off as Desmond's aunt and no one would find it weird. It must be all thanks to her lifestyle.

After the brief introduction, there was no 'let me know if he bullies you and I will help you kick his butt' crap that most aristocratic women would say without meaning a word of it. Zaria and Isabella fell into a never-ending discussion like a pair of long-lost friends.

At first, the subject of their chatter was Desmond, who they mercilessly gossiped like he was not standing right there listening to them. He wasn't even sure they could still see him as they continued to discuss him. Isabella told Zaria countless embarrassing tales from his childhood, most of which were crap made up by Liam's imaginative mind so he would feel slightly better about the fact that he had once gotten kneed in his balls for asking the prettiest girl in class if she wanted to make out with him.

"I didn't pee my pants, for the last time. I had sat in the grass without knowing a dog had marked its territory on it." He massaged his temples like they were giving him a headache.

The women glared at him in unison before resuming their chatter. They were now talking about movies and happened to have the same tastes.

"Do you beauties want something to drink? I'll get champagne." He suggested, only to earn another pair of simultaneous glares.

"Darling, why don't you be a doll and go get something to eat?" Isabella waved him off. "While at it, you can find Liam and play with him."

"Gladly." He had thought it would be rude to leave them. Now that they suggested it themselves, he couldn't get away fast enough.

"Let's find something to drink." Isabella suggested before Desmond could even make the second step, and they ignored him as they went to the drinks section. Great, he had just been robbed of his girlfriend.

"You look like you have been robbed of your girlfriend." Liam's voice made him turn. The idiot was making fun of his predicament.

"Hello to you too." He scowled.

"Your woman just threatened to grind my balls." Liam groaned in complaint, to which Desmond huffed.

"Then don't do what she warned you not to do. You can't get your balls ground before I become a godfather."

…

Meanwhile, the women continued to stick to each other even after the banquet started. The auction was yet to start so they stayed in a corner and chatted as they sipped their champagne.

"I'm sorry I snatched your date. I thought Desmond was lying when he said he wanted to come with his girlfriend. He has a record for fake relationships." Isabella apologized.

"It's alright. He sent someone else to pick me up."

"I'm glad my Des is no longer alone. He finally fell in love." Isabella breathed a sigh of relief as she studied Zaria. "You have no idea how awful I felt when I found out that he and Natalie were not even engaged in the first place, that it was a fake relationship. I almost disowned him. Natalie is such a great woman."

"She really is." Isabella had not said it in a tone meant to put her down in favor of Natalie, so she didn't feel jealous even though the woman had just put her boyfriend and another woman in the same frame.

Isabella's smile widened. "At first I didn't understand why he didn't want to be with the woman who was so much like him but now I do. Although they seemed compatible in almost every way, something lacked between them—something that I see in the way you look at each other. You are such a perfect match, Zaria."

"I'm glad you think that way." Zaria felt touched. "When we first met, I didn't think I would ever consider being close to him, let alone actually being in a relationship with him."

"You don't have to fall in love at first sight to stick together." Isabella remembered something and looked concerned. "Does Alyssa know about you two?"

"I'm sure she does." Zaria saw the older woman's scowl and raised an eyebrow. It turned out, she did not like Alyssa either.

She had heard her name and thought that since her surname was not Fort, she must be Alyssa's mother. It was only when she grumbled about her son's widow that she realized that she was Desmond's paternal grandmother.

"Don't get close to her. She will probably stab you in the back." She warned.

"I'll take note of that." Zaria smiled awkwardly.

"Don't treat it as a joke. I'm telling you the truth, Zaria. That woman is a snake. The only good thing that ever came out of her is Desmond. Aside from that, she can murder you and cry the most tears at your wake."

Zaria nodded and didn't say a word. Although she knew that Alyssa was much more evil than she looked, it was still uncomfortable talking ill of her boyfriend's mother.

"The bid is about to start. There are so many items that I want." Isabella urged her to take their seats.