Chapter 226 - Engaged To Desmond
That evening.
The banquet turned out to be better than Zaria thought. She had planned it with the help of the planning department and she couldn't wait to see Desmond's reaction upon his arrival.
She knew that there would be friends and partners attending with their children so she had specifically opted for a resort with a swimming pool so the children would have fun while the adults turned a birthday banquet into a business setting to make allies. It couldn't be helped with all the tycoons coming in one place and it would be too boring for the young ones.
She had decided to spend more time on the kids' side of the banquet so she wore a simple A-line dress and low heeled sandals for ease of movement. Ximena had made her wear a rabbit ear tiara on her head for fun and it looked quite cute paired with her outfit.
"It's Zaria!" A little girl yelled in the crowd of kids and in the next second, all the kids gathered at her feet to say hi. "Zaria!"
"Hello there." She chuckled. She had never even met any of them but she gave each a hug. She only recognized one of the girls, whom she had not seen in a long time. "Laia, you came too."
"I'm glad I did. Daddy said he was coming so I tagged along." Responded the little girl, licking a lollipop with her tongue.
"I'm glad you came too. I missed you." She crouched to the girl's level to hug her again, and that prompted the other kids to curiously touch her tiara. They were so lovely, she thought.
"Zaria, did you bring Des with you?" She asked excitedly, then turned to her friends to announce, "Zaria has a puppy. He is super cute."
"Really? Show us!" The little friends looked around curiously. She showed them the pictures on her phone.
When Desmond arrived, the first person he wanted to see was, obviously, his girlfriend. He searched and asked around until he learnt that she had gone to the swimming pool. When he finally saw her, she was surrounded by little kids, girls touching her hair in a clumsy attempt to braid it and boys playing with her phone. There were at least eight of them and he was amused.
"I didn't know you were so good with kids." He walked over to her with a glass of fruit juice in hand.
"What do you know? Sometimes like terms attract." She subtly touched her stomach in a meaningful gesture.
"That, they do." He offered her the glass, which made Laia notice him. She let go of Zaria's hair that she was trying to tie a ribbon onto and hugged his knees. "Desmond!"
"Hello princess." He picked her up.
She hugged him with her little arms and asked, "Are you really getting married with Zaria?"
"Who told you that?" He chuckled.
"Daddy." The girl thought about it with her tiny finger in her chin. "He said that he was attending Desmond's birthday banquet tonight. When I asked who Desmond was, he reminded me that you are Zaria's boyfriend. And when I asked what a boyfriend means, he said that it means you want to get married like him and mommy."
Desmond laughed at her innocence. She was so adorable. If it would not make Leo kill him, he would have been tempted to steal her away to be his daughter. Well, he didn't need to do that anymore since he had his own child coming soon.
"Can I tell you a secret?" She whispered close to his ear. When he nodded, she cupped her hands into a funnel by his ear. "I think Ashton and Doll will get married too. He asked her if he could be her boyfriend."
He was amused by how much the child knew. Leo should probably have his son talk about such matters away from her earshot.
"The banquet is about to start. Do you want to come into the hall?" He asked.
The girl nodded so they went back, with Zaria being followed by her new group of little friends. One girl was particularly active, running as fast as her little legs could take her to walk in step with Zaria. When she realized that the girl was trying to catch up, she slowed down and held her small hand. The girl turned and smiled. For a moment, Desmond was stunned. That little girl looked familiar.
They and arrived at the banquet hall so he didn't try to figure out who her parents were. After the opening speech, he started mingling with the adult guests as the kids bugged Zaria for snacks. Heaven knew what made them think she was in charge of snacks but she brought them some.
He watched with a loving gaze as his girlfriend interacted with the kids at one end of the hall, giving each other equal attention. If they were to have many children later, she would be a good mother.
It was still hard to believe that he was a father. If someone hinted it to him earlier, he would have brushed them off for joking. However, he couldn't help feeling on top of the world. Eight months suddenly sounded like forever.
His phone rang just as a business partner gave him a toast and he excused himself to answer it when he realized who the caller was.
"What do you want?" He asked Alyssa, who was not welcome to give him a call.
"What else? I wanted to remind you that I have sent your birthday present." Before he could hang up, she added, "It's going to be the most beautiful and unforgettable present of your life. I promise."
When she ended the call, the bad feeling from earlier bubbled up his stomach again. Alyssa was definitely up to no good. What the hell was the most beautiful and unforgettable present of all time?
"Are you okay?" Zaria was beside him before he could recollect himself.
"Yes." He lied. When she gave him a skeptical look that called bullshit for his response, he conceded. "Fine. Alyssa really sent the gift she promised. She said it was going to be the most beautiful, unforgettable gift." He answered.
She frowned. That sounded oddly eerie. What was the woman planning to do?
"That's certainly not how she has ever described any gift in my life. Whatever she is planning,"
"Maybe it's a woman." Zaria guessed.
"What? How did you even come up with that?" He was puzzled by her train of thought.
"Instinct. A woman can be considered beautiful and if she were to get together with you, you would never forget it." What she didn't add was, she had a feeling it was not just going to be a random woman. She patted his shoulder. "Just stay away from the rooms. Maybe she is planning to set you up by making you stumble upon a woman in skimpy clothing? I wouldn't put it past her to do that kind of thing."
"I hope not." He ran a hand down his face.
"Hey, Desmond. Are you okay?" Natalie asked, who had not seen Zaria from where she was. "Oh, Uhm, did I interrupt?"
"No. It's okay." Zaria beckoned her over and explained the situation.
Natalie frowned deeply. "Based on the current turn of events, look out for that skank. Angela."
Realizing that she was not the only one who thought of Angela, Zaria became worried. Would that woman really crash the banquet?
"Let's not worry about it. We only have to increase security and she will not be able to come in if she wants to." Zaria reassured the two and made the call for the security checks to be stricter.
She then pulled Natalie aside for a chat.
"Do you know Angela for a long time?" She asked.
"We used to be friends." Natalie shrugged like she couldn't care less. "She fell in love with Desmond and thought I would be against it so we lost contact. Anyway, she had become a toxic friend so I didn't reach out either."
Zaria had a worse feeling. If Angela had been that close to Desmond then there might have been other ways to bring her into the banquet. What if she came as someone's plus one? It was possible, and she was yet to voice this out when a woman took up the stage. Her fears intensified when she looked over to see a familiar woman in a silver gown, who had taken up the mic as well as everyone's attention. They had miscalculated.
"Good evening everyone, I would like to introduce myself." A sweet voice filled the speakers.
Zaria recognized the woman on stage as Angela Aguilar without having to be told. She looked a little different from the woman in the picture but that was probably because the picture had been taken years ago. She was here to crash the party!
She made a call urgently. "Turn off the mic!" She ordered Zeus, but it was too late as Angela was already speaking and no one was making a move to stop her. If Desmond did, it would cause chaos and if she and Natalie rushed over, it wouldn't make a difference with how far they were.
"I'm Angela Aguilar, Desmond's fiancée." She announced.
"The nerve of that woman!" Zaria gritted her teeth.
The worst was yet to come.
"You must all be wondering, if I'm Desmond's fiancée, what about Natalie Sparks?" She smiled like she owned the world. "That's not a real engagement. It never was. His real fiancée has always been me, and we have a daughter together.. She turns five this year."
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