Chapter 5

“H-Hello? Miss C-Cassia,” Amir greeted with a forced smile.

Amir couldn’t help but curse himself inwardly. He never thought he’d cross paths again with the woman he once spent time with in the past.

“Are you okay, Amir?” Sofia asked, her brows furrowed.

Sofia assumed Amir was merely shy around Cassia, given her strong and commanding aura. Her hand remained entwined around the muscular arm of her boyfriend.

She turned her gaze behind her when she suddenly heard the familiar baritone voice of a man.

“Asher, aren’t you going to introduce me to your new friends?” Armando said with a sly grin.

“Please, Dad, not now. Don’t ruin my day,” Asher replied, clearly annoyed.

Asher shook his head while staring at his father. His expression grew even darker when his mother joined the conversation.

“Why are you being so cold toward us, son? Aren’t you happy that your father and I are here?” Larissa said with a sweet smile.

Larissa approached her only child, Asher, and enveloped him in a loving hug.

She had missed her son terribly. She couldn’t even remember the last time they spent time together or shared a meal at the same table. Larissa felt pure joy, knowing that Cassia had thought of inviting her and Armando to this special occasion.

“Okay, fine. Thank you for coming,” Asher said with a forced smile.

He had no energy to fake pleasantries with his parents, especially his father. He excused himself from his parents and wife, saying he would just visit his friends.

“Mom and Dad, don’t take Asher’s attitude to heart. What’s important is that you’re here for this significant occasion,” Cassia said with a warm smile.

Cassia didn’t want the mood of the event to be ruined, so she quickly changed the subject to lighten the tension she felt around Asher’s parents.

"Anyway, congratulations, Cassia. You’re finally going to have a little princess. I can’t wait to meet our grandchild," Larissa said happily.

"I hope you won’t keep our granddaughter away from us, Cassia. I promise Larissa and I will give her all our love. And don’t get mad if we end up spoiling her," Armando said with a laugh.

Armando was just as excited to meet and hold his grandchild. He was overjoyed to hear that his only son, Asher, was finally going to be a father.

"No problem, Mom and Dad. By the way, I’d like to introduce you to Sofia, who’s in charge of today’s event. She did an amazing job with the gender reveal for Asher and me," Cassia proudly said.

“Hello, dear! So you’re the one who organized everything. Nice to meet you, Sofia. I’m Larissa Quinto, Asher’s mother,” Larissa greeted warmly.

“Sofia? You look familiar. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you work at a casino in Angeles?” Armando inquired.

“Yes, sir,” Sofia replied tersely.

The beautiful woman composed herself as she faced Armando Quinto, determined not to show any sign of nervousness. She refused to let him see her as weak in such a situation.

“Sofia? You look like someone who works at the casino I frequent,” Armando said, puzzled.

Armando wasn’t naive. He recognized the stunning woman standing before him the moment he saw her earlier.

“With this beauty? No one else could look like me. I’m one of a kind,” Sofia quipped, attempting to mask her unease with humor.

Sofia hoped to divert Armando’s attention and prayed he wouldn’t mention anything about her past.

“P-Perhaps you’re right. Anyway, I’m Armando Quinto, Asher’s father. Nice to meet you, Sofia,” Armando introduced himself.

Armando extended his right hand for a handshake, and Sofia confidently met it.

“Paloma Sofia Santos, at your service,” Sofia replied with a smile.

Sofia proudly introduced herself to Armando Quinto and graciously accepted his handshake. She didn’t forget to introduce her boyfriend, Amir, to the Quinto couple.

“Why don’t we all sit together? It’ll be nice to share a meal and chat,” Larissa suggested warmly.

“Sure, Mom. I’d love to share with you how my pregnancy is going,” Cassia replied cheerfully.

Cassia immediately called a waiter to let him know they’d start eating and to spare them the trouble of lining up at the buffet table.

Meanwhile, Asher was busy chatting with his two friends at the bar area of the venue. He had specifically requested Sofia to set up a bar area, even for a gender reveal party.

“Dude, you don’t seem happy today. I know you wanted a boy, but look—you’re having a little princess,” Lucius teased.

“I know exactly why our friend here is in a bad mood. Uncle Armando and Aunt Larissa are here,” Loki added with a grin.

“You’re both right! I’m incredibly grateful to have a daughter on the way. But I won’t lie—I wanted a son. Still, having a little princess is amazing,” Asher admitted with a smile.

He had his brandy refilled and immediately drank it, feeling the warmth of the liquor trail down his throat.

“One more thing, my parents are here. I didn’t expect Cassia to invite them,” Asher said in frustration.

His eyes wandered to where Cassia was happily chatting with his parents, along with Sofia and her boyfriend, Amir.

“By the way, dude, who’s that guy with Sofia? Is he her boyfriend? I saw them kiss earlier,” Lucius asked curiously.

“That’s another thing that ruined my day. I didn’t know Sofia had a boyfriend. She never mentioned it to me,” Asher replied, irritated.

“So what if she has a boyfriend? What matters is you still get to spend time with her,” Loki teased, high-fiving Lucius.

“I’m just annoyed she kept it a secret from me,” Asher retorted defensively.

Although he didn’t want to admit it, Asher knew Loki was right. As long as he could still be with Sofia, that was enough.

Asher’s friends were well aware of his secret relationship with Sofia. He trusted Loki and Lucius implicitly, as they had been friends since childhood. They had gone to the same schools from kindergarten through college and now worked together at Lucius’ family company.

“Just remember, dude, Sofia might be in your life, but don’t forget you have a wife—and soon, a daughter. You know what I mean,” Loki warned with a grin.

Loki wasn’t trying to guilt Asher but didn’t want him to bring bad karma upon himself, especially with a daughter on the way.

“Loki, don’t be so negative! Our friend Asher is just having some fun. But yeah, Loki’s right, dude,” Lucius added with a smirk.

"Are you just lecturing me? That’s exactly why I came to you guys to at least shake off my bad mood," Asher said irritably.

While they were deep in conversation, Asher didn’t notice Cassia approaching them. Loki quickly signaled Asher to change the topic.

"Finally, you’re here, Loki and Lucius!" Cassia greeted cheerfully.

Cassia didn’t want to start eating without her husband, Asher. She wanted him to join her along with his parents.

She also invited Asher’s two friends to join them at the table so they could all sit together.