NANCY

"TRAVIS and Aidan, you two go with your Uncle Juancho. Your Dad will follow suit," Iris urged referring to Alpha Garett's twin sister, Ruru's husband. "Azul, and I will go with your Uncle Anton," she added to the two who followed their mother's instruction in silence. 

Anton boarded the chopper and prepared to take off while Nancy, his co-pilot, sat next to him. Perhaps, it was the reason why he had a liking towards her. They both have something in common and he thought that it was a good start. 

They smoothly traveled to SeventhStone and Anton was somehow feeling feverish without knowing the reason why. His heart was beating fast and he was also sweating which he found strange. An hour had passed when they finally reached the SeventhStone territory and immediately headed to the D'Seven's mansion where Alpha Seventh and his Luna were waiting. 

A while later, Iris' three children left for BookNerds Café with the SeventhStone Alpha's daughter; Zee. Anton decided to tail them for he inferred that the group has a habit of involving themselves in troubles when they were together. 

"Why do we have to follow them?" Nancy asked in a disgruntled voice with creased eyebrows as she leaned against the window of Alpha Seventh's car.  

Anton shot Nancy with a pointed glance before he turned his attention back to driving. "Do I have to answer your question, Nancy?" he inquired with a hint of displeased.  

Nancy didn't utter a word anymore and chose to shut her mouth. That was one of the quirks that he liked about Nancy. She knew when to stop whenever he was irritated. The reason why they lasted for... a month?

Well, some said that Finn passed his amulet of being a casanova to him when he married Cross which Anton found completely absurd. 

Shortly, they leave at the mansion of D'Seven mansion— a few minutes drive away from Ezrione Mall. As expected, there was already a sign on the door, saying "Sorry we are closed." While, on the glass window, he could see the Hunt twins chatting with Travis, Aidan, and Paris; the twin Hunt's cousin. 

Liam on the other hand was pretty occupied talking with Zee and Lee; Paris' brother. They are triplets as the two have another sister named Eowyn.

Anton deliberately turned his head when he felt Nancy hold his hand. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. 

"What?" he questioned. 

Nancy shook her head. "Nothing," she replied and smiled softly. 

Anton could not decipher it but could it be Nancy feeling uncomfortable?

_________

THE striking group is well-known for being the Stone Alphas heir and at that moment, they were starting to grab the attention of people strolling in Ezrione Mall. Others were also peeking through the window glass just to have a glimpse of them. 

The door was pushed open dragging the attention of the group inside. Anton entered with Nancy on his side. 

Finn instantly pulled a broad grin to Anton, who only repaid him with a middle finger, and began looking around the Café. His eyes were searching for someone familiar and as he caught sight of a young lady exiting the baking room with Cross behind her, he furrowed. She was carrying a small tray with cookies while ambling with a wide smile. 

Anton's gaze heeded to her. He noticed her lips were bloody red like it was bitten by hordes of bees making them appear swollen and foolish to look at.

Unaware, Anton released Nancy's hand for his full attention was focused on the young woman who was walking elegantly towards her twin brothers but when she noticed his presence her slightly rounded eyes went more round. Anton unconsciously heaved a rough breath when their gazes locked together.

The lady who seemed fazed, handed the tray to his brother, Sky, and hurriedly took her steps towards him. 

"Uncle Anton!" she exclaimed and hurriedly bestowed him a warm hug. 

He was stunned for a moment as he hugged her back. "How are you?" he asked while looking at her face. She looked bizarre in red lipstick nonetheless, he could see that she grew up more beautiful just like he was expecting. 

It's been more than a month since he last saw the young lady and he could easily notice her remarkable transition. 

The young lady was about to answer him when her watches darted to Nancy who was still standing next to him. Deliberately, she turned her attention back to Anton and he froze when he caught a glimpse of surprise in her eyes. 

"Meet Nancy Barcelo, Cassy. My girlfriend," Anton announced in a serious tone.  

Anton roamed his regard when he heard a series of growls from everyone. There were silly grins on their lips as they all gaped at him. Anton's brows furrowed and when he swerved his gaze back to the front, he caught sight of the sudden change in Cassy's mood. 

Yes, he used to call her Cassy. Everyone is calling her Cassandra and he is the only one who calls her Cassy. 

Her sweet smile withered and was replaced by skepticism particularly when Nancy clung to his arm. Cassy stared at it for a moment before she gazed up and lent him an unstable smile. Her eyes blinked a couple of times like she was suppressing her emotion. 

Anton cleared his throat and gently removed Nancy's grip on his arm. 

"Did you make these cookies?" he softly asked Cassy who spun around and walked back to her brother, Sky who was still holding the tray of cookies. 

Anton felt Nancy's stare on his back yet he chose to ignore it. He didn't know why but when he saw Cassy's strange reaction, he felt guilty. Again, he did not know why and to his wonderment, he seemed to be unexpectedly frightened with the thought that he didn’t even know where that fear was coming from. 

He grabbed a piece of cookies and immediately took a bite. "Hmm, delicious!" he mumbled before devouring the rest of the cookies in his hand. 

"Is it delicious, Uncle? Why do I think its taste was rather bitter." Sky said as he glanced at Cassy who was merely looking down on the floor. 

Anton was bewildered. He felt like Sky wanted to point out something but chose to dismiss it.

"Hmm, this is good," he uttered while nodding, still eating the cookies. 

He couldn't understand why he felt even more bothered as the seconds passed. He felt like he had done something wrong to Cassandra ergo; to conceal the strange feeling, he took another cookie from Sky to show he enjoyed the taste of the pastry. While munching, Anton inhaled and mentally grumbled, 'Perhaps, I will think why she's offended later or... some other day.'