"I did see him...I mean both of them and they were walking together," the cashier replied.

"Did they leave yet?"

"No, they took one of our private rooms. May I know why you are asking about them though?"

"I have to meet them. Can you lead me to the room they are in?"

Immediately Shikera asked that, she noticed the reluctant smile that started to form on the cashier’s face.

"That is uh...kinda impossible for me to do. Don’t get me wrong! As much as I, as a loyal fan of your show, would like to help you, I don’t think I can do much in this case," the teenager said. She looked around the parlor and then leaned over the desk to draw nearer to Shikera.

"The man, the middle aged man, I recognize him! And you won’t believe me if I say he is Liam Anderson, the chairman of Anderson Corporation—"

Shikera was growing impatient so she had to interrupt the cashier, "Alright! Can you just show me the private room please? I uhm... promise to make a shout out to you and this parlor on my show. What do you say?"

"Yes!" the cashier didn’t even think for a second before replying and she was sure her boss would not too. She literally just landed a free publicity chance for their ice cream parlor!

"It’s the third room on the left when you turn at that corner," she added.

"Thanks!" Shikera managed to say, before dashing in the direction that she had been pointed to. She located the door and pushed it open immediately she got to it, without knocking.

"I know you will be surprised to hear —Princess?!" She heard Liam’s voice as soon as her eyes accustomed to the unexpectedly dim light of the room.

"It is me, daddy," she called back. "What are you doing with Ethan when you haven’t even seen me yet?" she asked.

"What kind of question is that? I encountered him here when I came to buy ice cream and decided to have a short talk with him.Any problem with that?" Liam asked back, his gaze fixed firmly on Shikera’s face, the carbon copy of her mother’s.

"Is that true, Ethan?"

Ethan nodded lazily, and Shikera turned back to her father.

"Who were you buying ice cream for?"

"Myself," Liam chuckled. He added, "After buying ice cream for you for ten years, don’t you think I would become addicted to it at one point? Though I’m not addicted yet, I still like it so I came here to get it."

Shikera had no counter attack to that, so she went to take her seat beside Ethan.

"What were you saying to him?"

At this point, Liam had to laugh out loud at what would look like his daughter’s possessiveness to an outsider. However, he stopped himself when he saw how Ethan didn’t find it funny and was only looking at Shikera with a softened look in his black eyes. When they were talking before Shikera burst into the room, Ethan had been wearing a slight frown and an impatient gaze but now, it looked like it was reversed.

"Nothing," he answered, "I was just greeting him and we were about to leave."

With that, Liam rose up to his feet and continued, "You kids should leave too so you can get home early."

He gave Shikera a small smile and walked out of the room.

’When she sees her mother, I will be able to repair the strained relationship between us,’ he thought.

★★★

Raymond’s hand wandered on the bed, perching on different parts beside him to feel they were now cold. His eyes flew open and he looked around the fairly unfamiliar room, rising up to a sitting position.

He was in Cyprian’s room in her apartment...but where was she?! He got his answer when the sound of water rushing in the adjoining bathroom drifted into his ears.

As a naughty idea popped in his mind, he got up and picked up a bathrobe lying on the bed and wore it. Grinning mischievously, he walked towards the bathroom and pushed open the door without any warning while expecting to see Cyprian under the shower.

He was dissapointed when he saw her wearing a black nightdress and standing in front of the mirror with...what was that in her hands?

Few minutes ago...

Cyprian wriggled out of Raymond’s arms to get out of bed, trudging in the direction of the bathroom. She paused momentarily at her dressing table and pulled out the drawer to remove a jar of pills from it.

On getting to the bathroom, she opened the tap and removed two of the pills, popping it into her mouth.

"What is that?"

She jolted in surprise at hearing the unexpected voice and she turned immediately.

"Ray...when did you come in here?" she asked back, hiding the pills jar from his line of sight.

"Just now," Raymond replied simply. He walked towards Cyprian and placed his hand on her shoulders, searching her eyes.

"What? Why are you loo—looking at me like that?" Cyprian stuttered.

"What were you doing before I came in?" As he talked, Raymond slipped his hand down from her shoulder and trailed then to her hands, removing the small jar from her tight grip. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"It’s nothing..." Cyprian whispered, raising her hand to take back the jar but Raymond raised it beyond her reach.

"The more reason why I should see what it is. Why would you hide it from me when it’s ’nothing’ as you said?"

He read the writings on the plastic and raised his brow, a frown forming on his face.

"Did I do something wrong, Rian?" he asked gently.

"What are you saying, Ray? What does this have to do with you doing something wrong?"

"I should be the one asking questions, Cyprian. I get that we are not married but still, how could you take contraceptive pills behind my back?"