268 Ruffian in angelic clothes
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. But what would Veronica gain from ruining her own family business? It would have made sense if Evan was the one doing it and it could be chalked up to vengeance for how his mother was treated by the West family. When they found out that she had given birth to Evan despite being paid to abort the child, they took him away from her and threatened her loved ones if she were to ever try to make contact with her son. It was clear that Evan still hated them and would never forgive them.
On the other hand, Veronica’s life was perfect. She had everything she wanted and more. Whether it was her parents or her grandfather, they all doted on her like a precious pearl. There was no room for resentment in her heart. Or was there?
“Zaria?” A sleepy voice pulled her out of her thoughts. She looked down to see a drowsy Rosaly with Des tagging behind her, and she was hugging her teddy.
“What’s wrong? You can’t sleep?” She asked, and Rosaly agreed with a nod.
It was expected, since it was an unfamiliar place after all. Isabella had told her that it took a long time to get her to sleep when she went over to her place. Picking the girl up, she carried her laptop in one hand and returned upstairs with Des tailing after them.
She opened the door to her room and placed the laptop on her bed before putting Rosaly down.
“I’ll read you a bedtime story, okay?” She coaxed.
Rosaly nodded and sleepily picked a book from the collection that Zaria had dug up from the library earlier. The books were decades old but were still in good condition thanks to the care they had received.
She smiled when Rosaly excitedly picked ‘The princess and the pauper’.
.....
“When I was little, that was my favorite book.”
Rosaly looked at the book then at Zaria wide-eyed, as though it was news to her that Zaria had once been a little girl too.
She suddenly had a billion questions. “Did you have many friends? Did you go to sleepovers at their place? What were their birthdays like?”
With a smile, she reclined against the headboard and let Rosaly lean against her, bundled up in the comforter.
“I had two best friends, Ryan and Ximena. You will meet them some day. I went to many sleepovers at their place and they came to mine. Whenever they came over, my dad would read us bedtime stories.” She narrated.
Rosaly looked at the books curiously. “What about your mommy?”
“Her name is Lucy. We work together.” She took the book and opened it. Rosaly couldn’t wait to hear the story so she made herself comfortable and listened to Zaria as she read.
Halfway through, Zaria noticed her discomfort and helped her lie down, but Rosaly clung to her arm.
“Zaria, I miss mommy.” She whined.
“Oh sweetie.” Her heart broke. Angela might be a selfish woman with the worst intentions but she was still Rosaly’s mother after all. In a new environment where neither her mother nor her father was present, it was inevitable that she would miss them.
Soon after expressing her feelings, Rosaly fell asleep. On the other hand, Zaria was deep in thought. Rosaly would only continue to miss her mother but there was no way they could let them meet before the court made its decision. She couldn’t put it past Angela to try and escape with her.
She pressed her forefinger between her brows in contemplation. Could she really take it, seeing Rosaly sad and doing nothing about it?
Knowing that she was getting nowhere by stressing about it, she picked Des and placed him beside Rosaly.
“Keep her company, will you?”
Then she sat at her desk and checked the time in Desmond’s Zone. It was 4am, too early for him to be awake. He usually slept with his phone on silent so she sent him a text message instead.
She was about to get back to work when her phone buzzed with a call from Ximena.
“Zaria, you need to help me!” It was almost a screech on the other end.
“Hello to you too.” Zaria teased. “Where’s the fire?”
“At my place, at 5pm tomorrow. Actually, make that 4pm. You have to come!” She hung up before Zaria could respond.
Zaria’s jaw hung open, her response stuck at the tip of her tongue. She was going to ask what it was about and offer to help without being there in person. The drama queen must have known this, which is why she didn’t give her the chance. What was she up to?
She didn’t have much choice. Luckily, Theodore wasn’t planning on leaving the house the following day since it would be Saturday. She would have to persuade him to take care of Rosaly.
___
“This is your grand emergency?” Her jaw was on the floor when she finally got to see what Ximena was on the verge of screaming about the night before.
On the bed lay two burgundy dresses, one over the shoulder and sweet and another with a sweetheart neckline and only long enough to reach a few inches down her butt. At the side stood Ximena who was mulling over her options.
Zaria narrowed her eyes on her. “Okay. You have been a professional stylist for years. There is no way you would be flustered over what to wear. Spill it.”
“Spill what?” She feigned innocence, and gave up when Zaria looked at her pointedly. “Fine. Liam asked me out. Can you believe it?”
“Actually, I can.” Zaria was not surprised. Liam had been looking at Ximena like she was the goddess of love. It would be more surprising if he didn’t ask her out soon.
Ximena was still giddy. “Here’s the deal. I don’t know what exactly he has planned. He did mention the amusement park but he also said there would be a surprise.” She prattled on like a teenager in love.
“This will do.” Zaria pointed at the sweet-looking dress.
Ximena grabbed it and changed into it immediately, twirling in front of the mirror when she was done.
“Goodness. I look nothing like myself.” She gushed.
Zaria chuckled behind her. “Let me help with your hair.” When Ximena let her, she parted her long, black hair and styled it in a french braid, pinning a ribbon at the end of it.
“Where did that come from?” Ximena asked about the ribbon. “Never mind. Are you sure Liam will not bolt away when he sees me?”
Zaria laughed at her nervousness. The bold ruffian was long gone, and sitting before the mirror was a beautiful angel with happiness written all over her face. There was no way anyone could resist that smile.
Zaria picked a burgundy lipstick that was of the exact shade as Ximena’s dress, uncapped it and rubbed it on the latter’s lips. “There is no way he can run away. He loves you and when he sees you, he will fall deeper in love.”
“Love?” Ximena crinkled her nose like it was foreign concept. “I know what you mean. I know that he likes me a lot. But love... that would be moving too fast.”
“Why does it matter? Whether you fall in love within five minutes of meeting or five decades of seeing each other, it doesn’t matter.” Zaria argued.
“Okay, Miss Love. Help me pick my shoes, please?”
“Of course.” Zaria checked through the options and brought a golden pair just in time as Ximena’s phone rang.
“He’s here.” Her face lit up with a smile.
“Go, go. Have fun!” Zaria ushered her out, dragging her back to spray on her the perfume that Ximena had forgotten before literally pushing her out so she wouldn’t make her Prince Charming wait for too long.
...
When Liam saw Ximena leaving the building, he nearly dropped the roses in his hand. While the color of her dress was bold, the design, paired with her hairstyle, made her look beautiful and innocent.
Ximena... innocent?! It was not a word he thought he would ever use to describe her. Yet here she was, looking at him bashfully as she walked towards him. He met her halfway and held up the red roses.
She held back a chuckle.
“What?” He frowned.
“Nothing. I just didn’t peg you to be so cheesy.” She laughed.
His frown deepened.
“Thank you.” She accepted the flowers nonetheless, and took two steps toward the car before turning to glance at him over her shoulder. “Hey, are you coming?”
A grin settled on his face. She might be dressed like an angel but she was still a ruffian.
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