Reuben stared at Lina's face with his eyes wide open.

"Kitten?" He muttered and blinked his wide eyes in hopes of getting an answer from her.

However, what he got in return was not an answer but a furious glare.

'Stop looking at me like you are some abandoned puppy!' Lina scowled at him and then turned to look at her uncles.

"I need to speak to Reuben alone for some time. Excuse us." She announced in a calm voice and then looked back at the man who stood frozen in the same position.

"Let's go!" She rolled her eyes at him and caught hold of his hand before dragging him towards the stairs.

Reuben did not resist her forceful actions and silently followed after her.

His eyes switched between the woman who was striding ahead and their clasped hands.

"Wait!"

A loud scream made them halt in their steps and turn around.

Facing them once again, Lina and Reuben observed how Stacy was the only one seated in the same place as before while the men were on their feet glaring at them.

"Where do you think you are taking him?" Patrick narrowed his eyes as he stalked in their direction.

Lina was confused when she saw the dangerous glint in her uncle's eyes.

"To my room, to talk… " She tilted her head and answered as though there was nothing wrong with her words.

Patrick scoffed when he heard her plans and then shook his head.

"You are not going anywhere with him. You can sit here and talk." He pointed at the large couches which could accommodate all of them with ease.

Lina saw the bobbing heads belonging to the people behind who agreed with Patrick and silently stared at them.

"Sit here so that you might keep gawking at us and make things extra awkward than what they already are?" She chortled and rejected his suggestion without a second thought.

Noticing that she was about to leave, another man stepped forward to give it a shot

"The garden! Young Miss can use the garden!" Butler Mo came forward and greeted Lina with his charming and gentle smile.

Seeing the smile she was a huge admirer of, Lina's resolve wavered.

She let go of Reuben's hand and blushed while facing the older man who looked at her with a winning smile.

'Yes, Butler Mo! Don't let them be alone in a room!' Wade cheered him on for his quick thinking.

Patrick never really liked the butler here because he was worried that his Wally would get tempted by his good looks.

But today, he was pleased with the man's actions in keeping Lina safe.

'Who is this old man now!?' Reuben glared at the man in the butler's uniform and raised his brows.

He had already noticed how Lina's cheeks reddened and she released her grip over his hand when this man arrived.

The boys rarely met in Luo Residence so Reuben had forgotten that they had met a few times before.

But that was not important right now because his girlfriend was blushing while looking at another man while he was standing right by her side.

Deciding to divert her attention from the butler, Reuben cleared his throat and succeeded in the first try.

Lina coughed to hide her embarrassment for getting caught red-handed while gawking at her childhood crush.

She smiled back at him with her sweetest smile and ignored the gloomy man standing beside her.

"Your suggestion is great, Butler Mo." She nodded her head at him.

Seeing her approval to his proposal, Butler Mo smiled widely but his smile turned to a frown when he saw her shaking her head.

Lina looked at him apologetically while shaking her head.

"But I need to speak to Ruby in private." She explained why she had vetoed his idea.

"To keep our conversation away from prying eyes and eavesdropping ears." She glanced at her brothers who were trying to act casual whenever she looked at them.

"Now if you would excuse us, we will be back soon!" She once again declared and this time no one stopped her as she pulled Reuben up the stairs.

Watching them disappear, Wayne and Wade frowned at the Butler for not being able to use his charm to keep her here.

'He's losing his charm because he's getting old!' The twins had the same thought and accepted this as the reason for failing at his task.

Patrick once again scowled at the butler who looked at Ace with apologetic eyes.

"Forgive me, Master. I was of no help." Butler Mo mumbles and then lowered his head.

Everyone in the room felt sorry for the beautiful face that was looking so pitiable and they shook their heads to refuse his claim.

"You tried your best and that was all you could do." Ace did not blame him for it and sent him away.

Sitting back on the couch, the men all brooded over how to get Lina to come back in case they exceeded the time limit of 10 minutes together.

'Our Nana is so cute! What if that buzzing bee tries to take advantage of her?' Patrick gnashed his teeth in anger.

"How should we tell Wind about this?" Wade muttered in a low voice but was loud enough for everyone to hear.

Instantly their faces paled when they thought of that angry young man who would most certainly wreak havoc after learning about this new major event that took place in his baby sister's life.

___

While they were lamenting on how to avoid the killing spree that Wind would go on, Lina and Reuben reached her room.

"This is me." She motioned for him to enter and then locked the door behind her.

'Better safe than sorry. You never know when they might barge inside?' She double-checked whether the door had locked properly or not.

While she was fussing over the lock, Reuben was busy glancing around the room that Lina stayed in.

'Doesn't look like she stays over here too often.' He deduced after looking at how little the place was decorated.

'She must stay in Yang Manor. After all, that is her real home.' He nodded and then turned to face the woman playing with the door.

'Done!' Lina sighed after making sure that her door was secure.

She turned around and was greeted by the man who was standing just feet away from her.

Lina looked up and made eye contact with Reuben and sucked a breath in when he stepped even closer to her.

"You've been very bold, Kitten." He smirked while taking another step forward.

His advances were countered by her retreat until her back hit the door.

"You first agree to be my girlfriend and now you say 'we need to talk'?" He leaned closer until their foreheads touched each other.

"Ruby, I-" Lina's words of explanation were left unsaid when he bent down and captured her lips.

Her eyes widened when she felt his lips on hers.

Reuben just pressed their lips together and gave her a few pecks without moving away from her.

The initial shock of being kissed faded and she began to respond by meeting his kiss with her puckered lips.

Lina's hands which were about to grab his suit's jacket to deepen the kiss could only grab onto air because he had already moved away from her.

'She is so cute today!' He chuckled when he saw her puckered lips as he took a few feet back.

"Missing something, Kitten?" He teased as he watched her opening her eyes in confusion.

Lina was frustrated that just when she was about to get into the kiss, he had stepped away.

She glared at him for breaking their kiss. However, thinking of why they were here she sheepishly looked away.

She rubbed her neck and then signaled Reuben to take a seat on the couch.

"We need to talk." She repeated the words from earlier and patted the seat next to her.

His eyes rolled as he wordlessly followed her instructions and sat beside her.

He turned his torso towards her side so that they were facing each other and then nodded.

'Let's hear what she has to say.' He sat silently and waited for her to speak up.

"Why do you want to date me?" She gazed into his eyes as she asked him this question in all seriousness.

'I may have just agreed at that time but this is a serious decision for me!' She thought while waiting for his reply.

Reuben observed her face and after seeing her stern eyes, he too put away his playful behavior.

He thought for a moment and then listed all the things he admired about her.

"I like spending time with you, you are fun and I like kissing you." Satisfied with what he said, he nodded his head indicating that he was done.

Lina patiently listened to what he had to say and when she heard his last sentence, she chuckled before nodding her head.

"Me too." She whispered and then looked into his eyes.

"But nowhere did you mention anything about love." She pointed out and smiled at him.

Reuben flinched when he heard the dreaded word and this subtle action was clearly evident to Lina.

"That is because you do not love me, Ruby." She revealed and then shook her head.

"You like me…" She paused and thought of how to explain this matter to him in simple words.

"Maybe it was because I did not fawn over you like the other women around you did or chase after you as if my life depended on it." She shrugged as she speculated based on what she had witnessed at the party today.

She casually mentioned what she thought was the reason for his differential treatment towards her.

But her words made Reuben freeze because she hit the nail on the first try.

'I did like her better because she did not try to grab my attention by using cheap gimmicks.' He frowned when he realized this aspect.

Lina chuckled when she saw the look of understanding appear on his face.

"So tell me, why should I date a man who doesn't love me?" She raised her brows and threw this crucial question over to him.