Diego's hands moved with precision as he opened the champagne, the cork popping with a loud crack, echoing through the room. With a broad grin spread across his face, he stole a glance at Freya, infecting her with his cheerful energy and forcing her to give a smile back. Freya made a weak attempt at a smile in response, clearly not appeased yet. She still maintained the sullen, sulky demeanor she had picked up at the contest. She watched Diego pour out a little quantity of the bottle's content into the glasses in front of them on the coffee table with a warm smile on his face like nothing terrible had just happened. “Here you go, Madam”, Diego said politely with a warm smile, handing the glass over to Freya with finesse. “Thank you”, she said in a low, unengaging tone. Diego responded with a smile and took a seat beside her on the living room couch, his glass of champagne in his hand. “Here’s to your victory, Freya. You won this contest”, he said softly, his eyes lit up i
After staring hard at Diego for an uncomfortably long amount of seconds, Freya finally let out a sigh, shaking off the arising thoughts and realizing she had just been overthinking stuff. He looked relaxed and calm, his smile convincing her of his purity and making her less doubtful of his motives or suspicious of his actions.“I just wanted to invite you for lunch”, she said, forcing a smile.“Oh, is that so?” Diego chuckled lightly. “I'd be delighted to, Madam Chef Freya”.Diego's lips curved in a smile as he winked at her a little. His warm smile finally infected her and got her smiling as well. She finally decided to let go of her pain and disappointment.“Quit joking around”, she said with a short friendly smile, the warmth in her eyes a testament to her lit up mood.Diego chuckled slightly and curved his arm around her shoulders and said, “Let's go inside”.Freya nodded slightly and they began to head towards the entrance of the house.When they got in, Noah was already out of h
Freya sat frozen in her food truck for a long amount of seconds, staring blankly into space, absorbed in her reverie.Only a few customers stopped by and she normally would have begun to worry about the limited sales of the day. Instead, her focus lay somewhere else.She had actively been avoiding Diego as she began to have her doubts about him. There were a few rumors circulating about him on the hidden illegal businesses he had engaged in in the past. Also, the misunderstanding he had had with a very renowned billionaire on a business issue in the past, resurfaced all over social media.They all pointed to Diego's shadiness which he had covered up with a smile, his charm and his innocent gestures. Freya had a hard time believing the rumors as the Diego she knew was the sweetest human to ever exist. However, she couldn't shake off the doubts. The rumors only succeeded in bringing her attention to the possibilities of Diego being capable of sabotaging the cooking contest against her.
Freya peered at Desmond for a couple of seconds, scrutinizing him intensely, wondering how he found her food truck and why he was even in Tennessee in the first instance.“Aren’t you happy to see me? I came all the way from New York to Nashville just to see you!” Desmond said in a high-pitched voice which portrayed his excitement, accompanied by a slight chuckle.Freya's brows furrowed in a slight frown, confused by Desmond's unusual friendliness. He acted like they were “best friends”.Desmond, sensing Freya’s skepticism to talk to him, shook his head and chuckled slightly as if mocking her.He looked around, scanning the exterior of her food truck intensely, regarding it with a pair of condescending eyes.Freya, certain of what he was about to say, rolled her eyes heavenward in disgust.“I'm proud of you”, Desmond said finally, his lips slowly curving into a warm smile which seemed genuine.Freya paused for a while, observing Desmond closely to see if was still the same rude Desmond
Freya sat face to face with Desmond in a fancy restaurant, chewing her food reluctantly as she stared hard at him for an unnerving amount of seconds, scrutinizing him as if placing a laboratory specimen under observation.Desmond, who was “engrossed” in his meal, gave a slight smile as he devoured his chicken, chewing in a way which anyone would term as “adorable” or “endearing”. His expression and demeanor would never give someone, who had never had an encounter with him, the impression that he was indeed a terrible person. He looked entirely innocent and friendly with Freya.“What's wrong, Freya? You don't like the food?” He asked with a concerned expression on his face.“I do. I just love to chew my food slowly”, she said slowly, a feigned smile on her face.“Sure. That's very ladylike. So typical of you to observe good table manners”, he said in a gentle calm voice and a warm smile.Freya's brows furrowed in a slight frown as she regarded him, refraining herself from cringing in s
Freya averted her gaze quickly in discomfort, squeezing her fork tight, suppressing the difficult emotions welling up within her. She swallowed hard as her heart thumped roughly through her chest.“Are you okay, Freya?” Desmond asked, sensing her unusual behavior, his tone laced with concern.“I'm fine”, she replied curtly, stealing a furtive glance at Diego.“Do you need to use the restroom?” He pressed on, leaning forward to take a closer look at her face in concern.“I just want to go. I've lost my appetite”, she said sharply, lowering her gaze.Desmond hesitated for a few seconds, watching her closely before letting out a deep sigh and a slight nod of understanding. He knew fully well that Freya's sudden strange behavior was as a result of Diego's unexpected appearance at the restaurant. What he didn't understand was why she was so tense just by looking at Diego. Diego on the other hand seemed to be mad at her. The usual Diego he was accustomed to would have darted towards them
Freya remained silent, trying to figure out the best method to pour out her heart to Diego, her eyes fixed directly at him in an intense manner.Diego couldn't bear the prolonged uncomfortable silence. He let out a deep sigh, shutting his eyes and rubbing his temples.“Talk to me, Freya”, Diego said with a soft voice as he opened his eyes slowly. “I'm ready to listen”.“The nerve of you to act like you know nothing about what you did to me”, Freya said icily as she fixed him with a glacial stare.Diego stared at her in disbelief. He couldn't fathom where the conversation was heading and what she was going on about.“Fine. I don't know what I did. Which is why I want you to say it”, he said in a low tone and looked away.Just as Freya was about to say something, Diego scoffed, running his fingers through his hair and pushing it backwards.“You know what? I can't believe this, Freya. I did something wrong to you and instead of talking things out with me, you resorted to going out on a d
Diego stared blankly into space for a long while, deeply absorbed in his thoughts.The swivel chair, which he sank into, faced towards the window wall in his office, making him stare blankly at the buildings and city beyond.Nothing made sense to him anymore. He forced himself to believe that Freya was simply playing a prank on him.He wondered why everything seemed to work against him at the same time. He already had to deal with the fake rumors being circulated about him, contemplating whether to address the public on his innocence in the false allegations and clear his name, or remain silent and let anyone believe whatever they wanted to.On a second thought, he wondered if the rumors being circulated was a deliberate act to daint his image. Why would anyone accuse him of things which he had never done and could never do? Plus, why would someone bring up the business conflict he had with Marcus many years ago, twisting the misunderstanding to look like he was fraudulent. After all,