Chapter 227 - Love Is Blind
Desmond's lips twitched at how eager Angela was to cause trouble. She had probably been promised tons of benefits if she was even making up such a thing as a child.
She was unbelievable, not that he had ever expected anything good to come out of her after what she did six years ago.
___
Six Years Ago.
Natalie stared at her friend who was pacing the room restlessly and she felt restless. "Okay. Spill it already. You are making everyone anxious." She prompted him.
"He definitely knows that." Liam slumped into the couch as he waited for Desmond to gather his wits. Out of the blue, he had called his close friends—Liam, Natalie, Leo and Evan—for a meeting. They couldn't guess what he was going to discuss with them no matter how they tried to.
"Are you coming out of the closet?" Liam guessed, earning a glare from everyone else.
"What? I was just making a guess here." He defended himself.
"It's about Angela." Desmond finally spoke, his voice revealing just how nervous he was.
"Don't tell me you want to break up with her?" Evan was the second to make a wild guess that earned him a glare.
To prevent his friends from going crazy with the strangest guesses, he sat before them to explain what was happening. "I'm going to propose to her."
The room went silent for a while before the men took turns slapping his shoulder to congratulate him.
"That's a huge step! Tell me if you need any help planning a proposal." Evan offered.
"Olphire's infamous casanova definitely knows how to please women with flashy things." Leo remarked, aiming a jab at Evan. "But if you want a proposal that she will never forget because it was so meaningful and hit the right spot in her heart, don't hesitate to find me."
"Is there a difference?" Liam asked curiously, making the others give him an odd look.
"Of course there is a huge difference. You can please a woman without leaving a deep impression. On the other hand, if your proposal proves how much you love her, she will never stop loving you." Leo, who had just turned into a love guru, gave his opinion.
Liam didn't doubt it. "The man who has the ability to tame Shera Black must have several tricks up his sleeve. Desmond, should we start planning for the proposal right away?"
"Of course."
He nodded before glancing at the silent Natalie. Everyone followed his line of sight to the silent woman and Liam couldn't help expressing his curiosity. "Are you so touched by their love that you have no words?"
"Hell no." Natalie laughed. "You are kidding, right?"
"What do you mean by that?" Desmond was a little annoyed by her tone as she asked the question.
"You are not really planning to propose to Angela, are you?"
"Natalie!" Evan jabbed her to shut her mouth. She didn't.
"Desmond, I know you love her but… love is not all that matters where marriage is involved." She warned.
"Says the woman who has dated the same man for four years and has vowed to be his wife in future." Evan ridiculed sarcastically, earning a jab in his side from Liam.
"This is not about me, okay?" Natalie glared at him. "This is about our friend, who is falling into a trap."
"I am not falling into any trap and I don't appreciate you calling Angela that." Desmond expressed his displeasure at her choice of words.
"Yes you are. And that's exactly what she is so no, I'm not sorry about my choice of words. Angela Aguilar is a heartless woman who cares about nothing but wealth."
Liam couldn't get her point. "That doesn't make her a bad person or a trap as you say. Leo's girlfriend is also…"
"Please don't drag my girlfriend into this, thanks." Leo retorted.
Natalie looked at the two men and waved her hands. "This is not about Shera. While the whole world knows her for caring about nothing but wealth, she works hard to get it on her own. Angela, on the other hand, is a parasite who will want to suck you out of everything you have. She is only with you for money." She frowned in disgust. "She was my friend for the same reason. I know this is not something great to hear about your girlfriend but that's how she really is."
"I don't care if she wants my wealth. I can work hard enough to make sure she lacks nothing." Retorted Desmond, and Natalie wanted to slap some sense into him.
"Are you being serious right now?"
"Forget it Nat. It's not a bad thing for a woman to love luxury. Besides, love is blind." Evan hinted at Desmond's reaction.
"If a man wealthier than you offered better benefits, what would stop her from going for it?" Natalie huffed in frustration and stood, grabbing her bag. "Love is blind, deaf, and stupid sometimes. But I'm not going to sit here and watch my best friend fall into a ditch because of this ridiculous blindness. Watch me open your eyes in one week, Desmond. I will gouge your eyes out for them to see if I have to." She stormed out, and a hush befell the room.
"She sounds terrifying." Evan squeaked.
"Leave it to Natalie to protect her friends at all costs." Liam added, while Leo tried to make his presence unnoticeable.
"That sounds like jealousy to me. Say, do you think Natalie's relationship with her actor boyfriend is fake? Because I don't think a real one can last that long. Besides, she refuses to reveal his identity no matter how much we pry."
"A real relationship lasts forever, blockhead." Leo knocked Evan's head with restrained force. He ignored the complaining man and turned to Leo, "Natalie cares about you as much as she would care for her brother. Her prejudice against Angela couldn't be baseless. Maybe you should delay the proposal and look into Angela a little more?"
Desmond ran a hand down his face in frustration. He didn't want to look into his girlfriend without her knowledge and besides, he didn't think there was any need to do so. On the other hand, Natalie had never been unreasonable and even if she hated Angela for how their friendship had ended, she would not want to disrupt their relationship for no reason.
____
The present.
"Ha!" A chuckle filled the hall. Liam joined Angela on stage, laughing his ribs out. "You almost got us. I can't believe this is the birthday prank you mentioned before."
Angela rolled her eyes at him but before she could speak, Liam grabbed her hand. "Come on. Let's see what you got for his present. It better be good enough to make up for the heart attack he almost suffered."
Zeus chose that moment to cut off the mic, in case Angela retaliated. She was not so crazy as to cause more drama since no one would believe her words, so she left the hall with Liam.
Letting out a sigh of relief, Desmond walked back to the perplexed Zaria. She was still standing in the same position, not having moved an inch.
"Sweetheart, she has been driven out." He said in relief.
She evaded his touch. "Why didn't you tell me that you have a daughter?"
"Because I don't. She made it up." He explained, relief washing over his face when she believed him.
She led him away from the banquet hall, to the swimming pool. The kids were swimming and splashing around as the lifeguards watched them, so they would not interrupt them.
He sat on a bench beside her. "I didn't tell you everything about my relationship with her in the past because I didn't think it was important, but now, I think you should know." He started, then explained everything up to the day he told his friends about his plan to propose.
"Natalie didn't think it was a good idea to propose. She threw a fit and left the room in anger. At that point, I was torn in between her and Angela. Only one of them was telling the truth and I didn't know who to believe. Sometimes I thought Natalie was overthinking things. Until she returned a week later, with pictures to show me."
"Pictures?" She probed.
"Angela was cheating on me with different men."
Zaria placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."
"I'm over her." He smiled and took her hand. "Natalie forced me out the door to show me more evidence since she thought I didn't believe the pictures she had shown me. She took me to the house I had bought Angela, the one that would have been our marital home if we were to get married. We went at the right moment, when she was discussing her next moves with her parents. It turned out she was not even in love with me. She was using me for my money and without my knowledge, she had been stealing from my bank accounts."
"That sucks." Zaria hated the woman even more.
"Not as much as you suck, Zaria Williams." A female voice cut them off. Zaria rolled her eyes when she realized that Angela was back. She had already caused enough chaos and the guests were speculating the truthfulness of her words versus Liam's. What else did she want? She didn't bother turning, but Desmond did.
He was intending to tell her off but he stopped, flabbergasted when he saw the little girl at Angela's feet. It was the little girl he had found familiar earlier, the one who had been clinging to Zaria.
He finally realized why he had thought that way. The girl looked a lot like Angela. Was she…
Angela's words confirmed his horror.
"Rosaly, say happy birthday to daddy.." Angela smiled sweetly.
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