Chapter 1

"Kylie, daughter.. they said you should join us for dinner later, according to your Daddy. Ma'am Aria is already here." I nodded in response to what our housekeeper, Manang Renee, said and then I went straight into my room and locked it.

I can't believe it! I am on the same roof with the three of them, Jiro, Aria, and.. Kent, and I am sure that I am also breathing the same air as them. I sigh. Should I join them for dinner? I don't know what to do. I took out my phone from my pocket and texted Kenzo.

"They're back, and Dad wants me to eat dinner with them later." Then I hit send, and it didn't take long before I received a reply from Kenzo.

"Do you want me to go there and fetch you?" I don't know. I really, really don't know. I don't even know what to do. I feel so hopeless; all I can think about is Kent and Aria being back! And thinking about them being so sweet later at the dining table makes me even more hopeless.

It took me a while to come up with a reply to Kenzo until he called me.

[Baby, are you alright?] I took a deep breath and answered him.

[I.. I think I am.. not.] And then I bit my lower lip.

[Baby, I'm on my way there.] I heard him in the background, the opening and closing of something. It's already eight-thirty in the evening, and Kenzo only has thirty minutes left to get me out of this place. I'm restless, and I really don't know what to do.

When I looked at the clock again, it was already eight-fifty-five. Five minutes to go. Kenzo, where are you? I heard a knock, and I immediately thought it might be Kenzo, but to my dismay, it was Manang Renee.

"Kylie, dear, they're already downstairs and waiting for you." My heart pounded, and I really didn't know what to say or do. Several minutes passed without me giving an answer to Manang Renee.

"Dear, are you okay?" she asked me again. I was about to nod when Joanna interrupted.

"Ma'am, Sir Kenzo is here looking for you." And then Kenzo suddenly appeared behind Joanna. I ignored both Manang Renee and Joanna, passed by them, and hugged Kenzo. He hugged me back.

"Are you alright?" Kenzo asked me. I nodded repeatedly. I felt his kiss on the top of my head, and suddenly I felt relieved. The anxiety that wouldn't leave my system disappeared.

"I don't know how to face them," I whispered weakly to Kenzo. He met my gaze with his own. He held both of my cheeks and gave me a quick kiss.

"We can go somewhere else if you're not really ready to see them," he suggested. I was about to agree because I really had no intention of seeing them now or even tomorrow. Yes, I'll go to their party, but I don't plan on seeing them. I am just going to be there for Mommy, that's all.

"Kylie?" Kenzo and I both turned our attention to the woman calling my name. She smiled at us and started walking towards us with Kenzo. I wanted to get the hell out of there, especially when she stood right in front of me.

My heart raced incredibly fast, and I felt myself breaking into a sweat. I also felt Kenzo's arms tighten around my shoulders. When I shifted my gaze, Jiro was looking at me seriously.

"God! Kylie, I miss you so much!" It was at that moment, in Aria's embrace, that I snapped out of it. I let go of Kenzo because of Aria's hug. I immediately pushed her away, but luckily Jiro was right behind her and caught her.

"Newsflash, b.itch, I don't miss you at all." Every word I said to her was filled with emphasis. I saw tears streaming down her face in response to what I said.

"Kylie," Jiro called out to me. I ignored him and turned back to Aria.

"Are you happy now?! Are you happy? You didn't just get Jiro, but also Kent!" And then I walked out, followed closely by Kenzo. I headed straight to the gazebo in our house and lit a cigarette. Inhale, exhale, that's what I did. I am really stressed.

"That girl is so fake! I don't know how she manages to hug me and say she missed me when she's the reason for all the changes in my life!" Kenzo approached me and took the cigarette from my hand.

"Kenzo!" I stomped on it, and I was about to reach for another one when-

"Stop. Stop it, Kylie. You're just wasting your time. I'll also take that from you and throw it away. Why don't you just relax? Your smoking won't do anything but damage your lungs." I sighed and sat down by the fountain.

"What I expected was that we would argue as soon as we saw each other, but why is she acting like nothing happened between all of us? Suddenly she's nice to me and acting close, while I'm the only one picking a fight with her. What's her drama now? Is she the damsel in distress, and am I the evil stepsister?"

Kenzo sat down next to me and held one of my hands.

"Why don't you just go with the flow? I feel like she has changed." I gave Kenzo a glare and pulled my hand away from him.

"She will never change! She's a b.itch, and she'll be one for the rest of her life, and I'm sure about that. You haven't even talked to her yet, and she already managed to gain your sympathy? That's pure bullsh.it."

In the end, I couldn't do anything but join them for dinner, especially since Mommy called me from the gazebo. She was surprised when she saw Kenzo there, but in the end, she also invited Kenzo to have dinner with us.

On the center chair was Daddy, and on his left side was Mommy. I sat next to Mommy, and Kenzo was next to me. On the right side was Aria, next to her was Kent, and then Jiro. We started eating, and everything was quiet. Until Daddy broke the silence.

"So, daughter, how's Paris?" Daddy asked Aria. It was only Aria and Mommy who were talking, while Kenzo and I ate quietly.

"It's great, Daddy. We have a restaurant there with Jiro and Kent. It's called 'the K' resto, and it mostly serves food from Paris. It's been doing great for the past two years, and we're also planning to bring 'the K' here soonest." Aria went on and on with her stories to Daddy. Daddy nodded repeatedly, showering praise on the three of them.

It felt like she was indirectly targeting me with her praises, but I remained silent. Until-

"OH MY GOD!" Aria exclaimed dramatically, grabbing all our attention. Attention whore!

"What's wrong?" My heart raced as I shifted my gaze to Aria, especially when I heard Kent's voice. My heart was pounding so fast, and I couldn't sit still. I saw the concern in Kent's eyes, so I averted my gaze and focused on swallowing my food.

"Excuse me," I said to everyone and stood up, but I was frozen when Aria spoke again.

"Kylie, sissy.. is that an engagement ring?" She pointed to the engagement ring on my finger.