Scarlet

I've been trying to call Jen but her phone went to voice mail, Damn.. even dad sounded furious about her sudden disappearance from the event. I lied to dad on behalf of her to save her ass but what was so urgent that she had to miss her favorite event? One more time I dialed her number and again it went to voice mail, I lost my temper and cursed under my breath, to calm my boiling nerves I tried to concentrate on my project but my mind was quite preoccupied with the worries of Jen. Since the day she revealed her mysterious man, I found myself worrying about her more. A soft tap on my shoulder broke my thoughts.

"Come to the world dearie!" my friend shouted.

"Hey! Nat, I am here" I replied absentmindedly.

"Don't give me that bullshit, ok!" she accusingly glared at me.

"C'mon Letty, it's not a big deal if your sister falls in love with someone. She is an adult. Stop being paranoid about her love life, we have also dated some hot guys girl." She winked at me which made me laugh recollecting our terrible double dates.

We were inseparable from the day we met. It could have been really tough being away from my family if she won't be here with me. We have always been partners in crime like drinking, clubbing, and dating random guys just to kill our boredom. I may have dated a few guys but never got serious, for now not looking for anything serious as I have my prosperous future and big dreams to achieve. Love relationships are always restraining you, burdening you and never letting you explore the world.

"Nat, little fun can be harmless but she is not like us. She has never dated anybody until now, she believes in shits like a soul mate." I sighed in frustration.

"Then there is nothing to worry about at all, maybe she must have met her soul mate. You should be happy for her. Can't you think positively? As you said she has never dated anybody till now which means, she must have seen something good in that man. Letty, just have faith in her decision." She made me see things in a different light.

"You might be right, Nat" I convinced myself that I was being a little overprotective for Jen though my heart kept repeating something was not right. Maybe I am overthinking it.

Jen

I confidently looked into the eyes of my love and waited for his command. My heart beats raced up when his expression hardens and he signaled me for my next move. I took a deep breath, my body shivered for a while, yet my heart followed his command without an ounce of doubt. Closing my eyes, I fearlessly dropped myself into the dark, knowing my love will never let go of my hand, just after confessing my love once again to him, the words which came directly from my heart "I love you Rick."

Rick

Jen was standing confidently looking into my eyes, stupid girl. At that moment, everything got blurred, I had my whole struggling life in front of my eyes, a look of my divested Dad, my heartbroken Mom, and everything which shattered my family. I wanted to rip the heart of David Milano by killing her daughter right away, her life was in my hands but he deserves more than this.

When I had signaled her, she readied herself; there was no fear in her eyes. I had to accept it, she was an innocent girl with a pure heart. She declared her love before dropping herself, it tugs my heart. Within a second I caught her hand and pulled her into me. I engulfed her tightly in my arms and felt her body shaking, I breathed in her. When her body relaxed, I lift her chin to look into her beautiful brown eyes. Despite her own heart's pounding, she gave me a bright reassuring smile which indicated to me that she was fine, it melted my heart for a while. I kissed her head, eyes, nose, and finally her beautiful kissable lips passionately. I wanted to let her believe that I was madly in love with her through a passionate kiss. She reciprocated with me shyly, and I lost myself at that moment. I always held myself before being carried away by this temptation. After a few minutes, I managed to collect myself altogether and cut myself off from this beautiful sensation. Her eyes were still closed, damn.. She's adorable. I gently put the ring on her finger, slowly she opened her dazzling eyes and stared at her ring than me, her tears roll down on her cheek and she admiringly watched her finger again and a small satisfactory smile curved on her lips.

She was over the moon, she jumped on me happily "I love you Rick, I love you. Oh god, I'm very happy."

"I love you too, Jen. I'm sorry for that creepy game." I muttered slowly, acting as if I regretted my action.

"Whatever..." she rolled her eyes adorably and continued. " But I am happy with the result." she showed her diamond finger.

We both burst into a happy laugh. I took her in my arms and kissed her forehead tenderly.

"I want to tell you something, I need you to come with me for a few days to my home. Will you come with me?" I nervously looked at her.

"Home?" she asked confusingly.

"Yes, away from this place. Actually, I want you to meet my Mom." I watched her intently, and as I thought her face lit up.

"Really? Oh, Christ, I'm ready already." She said excitedly.

"For now you just inform your family that you are going on a vacation with your friends. ok?" I asked her cautiously as I didn't want her to suspect my plan.

"Hmmm... sound like a plan." She giggled.

Later, we celebrated our day at the Diner quiet away from the city. All the time she was giggling like a happy kid who got a Christmas present. She told me about her conversation with Scarlet. Surprisingly, Scarlet seems very calculative and hard to impress girls like her father. I chanted in my head, soon we are going to meet Ms. Scarlet Milano, very soon.

"Where's she?" I inquired about Scarlet without giving Jen any room to doubt my interest..

"She is in the States doing her higher business management studies. Very soon she will be joining dad's business. Rick, you are going to be impressed by her business knowledge and decision making skills. Dad is really proud of her and wants her to run his empire one day." The pride and love for her sister are visible in her eyes, there was no envy in it at all.

"Unlike her sister." I teased her as Jen lacks in business and decision making skills.

"Dad knows I don't have any interest in the business still he convinced me to join him." She pouted her lips and continued "I love to organize an event on behalf of our company most of the charity ones." Her eyes sparkled while telling me her interest area.

"I love to do creative things in the event for a Social Cause which gives me immense satisfaction. I can be a good Event planner" she winked at me. She was different from her father but fruit cannot fall away from the tree, isn't it?. She was definitely displaying her good innocent side, she dolled up her image as a gullible kind hearten girl which she couldn't be, She is Jenifer David Milano?

"You don't envy your sister, she would be leading your dad's business in the future," I asked curiously.

"Why would I? She deserves it." She replied quickly.

"Don't you think, she will overshadow you once she will step into the business? She will be having all attention of your father." I wanted to know about their equation which could help me to plan against them.

"She always has dad's attention, and I am used to it." she seemed upset suddenly, her sad eyes lost her brightness.

"Sometimes I feel, he sees me as the biggest failure of his life though I know he loves me." She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Of course he loves you. I heard him mentioning you as his lucky charm in his every interview."

I wanted to cheer her up, that's what a good boyfriend does for her girl, right?

"Yeah, I know. Actually, it's not his fault, he has an empire like a king, and sadly he is handling it solely, without any helping hand. Definitely, he would expect his daughters to lead his legacy but I can't.. I'm like my mother, enjoy spiritual works." She paused for a moment and continued. "This is the reason, dad is looking for a powerful and richest businessman for the role of his future son-in-law, so he can expand his business empire further." I saw the fear in her eyes, she was comparing me with his dad's Most eligible list.

"I don't have any chances then." I made a sad face smiling bitterly.

"C'mon, one day you will be a successful man. I have full confidence in you." She assured me.

"Jen, I can be successful but never match the expectation of your father. He is a shark of the ocean; I'm just a little Jellyfish. He is looking for an equally wealthier man as him for his daughters." I told her exasperatedly.

She replied after giving some serious thought "How about I help you in this? I have a 25% share of Milano industry as well as cash which can help you to grow your business broadly." She encouragingly suggested.

I laughed loudly at her proposition, she stared at me in puzzlement.

"Do you really think it's that simple? When your father will know about this deal he won't waste a single minute putting me behind the bars." I explained to her.

"So, what should we do? I want to help you, to stick with you on this rough road. This is for us."

"You are already helping me, sweetheart. I don't want your money, I want you." With this, I earned her a beautiful smile.

"There should be a way to help you, please tell me."

"Firstly you are going with me to meet my mother. The place is far from here with limited resources. Can you handle that?" I asked her.

"Limited resourced means?" she gazed at me quizzically.

"No techno facility. It's a wood house on the island. Mom likes a peaceful environment

away from the city." I briefed her about the place.

"Your family surely has a problem with the city." She frowned.

"She is there for medication, she is going through some depression. That place is close to the church, and that generates positive vibes around. It's really helping her. I want you to be there for a few days. Apparently, I don't have time to be with her because of business. She is feeling lonely and if you would be there then you can get a chance to bond with her which will help us to come across as a happy family." I played with her mind, I couldn't risk my plan with her any doubt.

She listens to everything carefully. "Jen, I want you both to share a good bond as you are the only important person in my life. I'm trying to be something that impresses your family, meanwhile, I want you to take care of my mother."

"Surely I will Rick, I can survive without gadgets. And don't worry, I will take good care of our Mom." That's so sweet of her for calling "Our", how can someone be so good at acting.

"Tomorrow we will leave, is that fine for you?" I asked her.

"But what should I say about this to Dad, how I'm going to convince him that I won't be contactable for a month? He will not allow." She said.

"Tell him that you are going for hiking with your friends. You want to explore adventures wildlife for a month. Anyway, he is going out of the country so he won't be able to restrict you." I am happy that my plan was executed well.

"I can convince dad but Scarlet will argue on this." She scrunched her eyes.

"Don't tell her you are going with me otherwise she will make an issue out of it. Just tell her we fought today as you put her points across and accused me, the way you did a few minutes before. So, you want alone time to think about our relationship. That's it." Damn, I am very good at manipulating, I can see myself winning, the way Jen's expression got serious.

"I don't have to lie, Rick. She would understand our situation and surely support us." No, This was not good, I overrated myself.

"Jen, she trusts you but not me. It is only about a month, she will be hereafter few months then I will personally meet her" It was hard initially but I convinced her.

"Fine" surprisingly she agreed and I mentally applaud myself.

Now the game begins!!