Mrs. Johnson gave me her warmest smile. "Thank you for helping with the cooking. It would have been nice to have Imade around, so we could bond even more."

"I'm happy to help. She would be here any moment now, so you can have all the time you need."

Mrs Johnson was the splitting image of Imade. With her natural long hair, deep set of eyes and bronzed skin, it  was impossible not to notice. "I'm just excited to meet her new boyfriend today. I'd love for you to stay for dinner. You did cook a whole lot of the meal. Simbiat was thrilled to have you around. She didn't tell me, but I could tell. You grew up with my children, so it was hard not to adore you."

I chuckled softly and had to agree with her, on that. Mrs. Simbiat was the Johnsons' maid, who had devotedly worked with them for nineteen years. I always had fond memories of her and she was genuinely nice. She was a spindly dark skinned woman in her early forties. Her cherubic smile and pleasant personality, always seemed to make her loved by everyone. She had grown-up children and had been married for over two decades, but she always made time for the Johnsons. Mrs. Simbiat did enjoy having me around, because she knew how I liked helping around. Being an only child made me find solace with the Johnson kids. The Johnsons were like my family and doing these little things are nothing compared to do kind things they had done for me.

I tensed immediately when Mrs. Johnson asked. "So tell me, how's the boyfriend like? I know you've met him before and it would be nice to hear about what you thought of him. Tife wouldn't answer any of my questions, but I was hoping you would."

My nerves immediately sunk in. "Er. Well. I wouldn't want to say anything negative about my best friend's new boy—"

"You wouldn't need to worry about that, unless there IS something negative about him." She said carefully. Her eyes bore into mine, probably hoping to catch a glimpse of something from my expression.

I sighed. It was so tempting to tell her the truth. "I really don't know much about him. In fact, I would be learning alot too, along with you today."

"Just tell me anything you know. No matter how small. What's his character like? Is he worth it?"

"What I do know, is that he really wants to be with Imade." In some ways, that was the truth. He really planted himself in her world, despite him being married, so he must have had a reason to it. And I needed to find out why.

"That sounds like a good thing. Sorry if I'm being nosy. I'm just weary about Imade's relationships. I had always been on edge since that dreadful incident, and I wouldn't want her to do anything regrettable."

"She's going to be fine. I had paid so much money for her therapy and medications. There's no way either of that, is going down the drain." The low timbre of Mr. Johnson's voice, made his wife and I whirl around, in surprise.

He walked down the golden staircase and settled himself in his usual solo white leather cushion. Dressed in comfortable dansiki and brown leather sandals, he wore the aura of power around him, like a second skin to the dark mocha color of his body, and narrowed his eyes at us, when we gave no reply. "Imade better not bring some riffraff to us. We are dignified people and I'd be annoyed to have any shabby man in my house."

Mrs Johnson rolled her eyes. "He's a respected lawyer, who treats her like a queen. What more could our daughter need?"

He retorted, stubbornly. "A lot more things than that. Does she even know him well enough?"

Mrs. Johnson's voice raised slightly. "Just because you don't trust people, doesn't mean you should always be quick to judge people without knowing them."

"It's because I had learnt to not trust people, that I was able to break borders and become the successful lawyer I am now. Think about it."

Mrs. Johnson scoffed. "No wonder Tife keeps his relationships away from us. Your judgements would chase any girl away."

"I only want a strong willed person to end up with my kids. Is it so much to ask?" The deep timbre in his voice darkened.

Mrs. Johnson's eyes rolled again, making her husband frown at her indifference. "It is. Especially when those kids aren't kids anymore."

"You're too sentimental for my liking. In life, you have to see things in 3D. Regular vision is limiting. You need to see the big picture have learnt from that." His harsh words snapped through her. Clearly, he was upset about how unbothered his wife was, about Victor.

I felt uncomfortable being at the centre of their argument, though it wasn't the first time I was around their many heated arguments.  Their voices weren't as intense as past times, but I could feel the tension in the room.

Getting ready to speak up and douse the visible tension, Tife walked in with an annoyed look etching his face and spoke, before I could get the chance to. "Are you two done arguing in front of Nara? If you are, I hope you both would be on your best behaviour. Imade's here with Victor."

Imade gave an uncomfortable smile, when she drew closer. She greeted her parents and added. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

A smile glued on her mom's face. It was just as forced as Imade's smile and their awkward interaction was painful to watch. "Oh no. Of course not. It's always good to see you."

Her father chimed in. "Hope the traffic wasn't too much?"

"It was better than we expected. Hardly any hiccup."

Mrs. Johnson peered at the door, with a huge grin on her face. "Speaking of "we", where's Victor?"

As if on cue, Victor stepped in with suitcases on each hand. He was dressed in a casual outfit that actually looked good on the bastard. A plain violet shirt that had its first two buttons left unbuttoned and black long trousers. He still looked the same as I last saw him and his attractive face held a smile. He greeted her parents, then said. "I'm here, ma."

Imade added. "He was taking out our luggage from the car."

Mrs. Johnson cooed. "Oh, what a gentleman. Simbiat would take it upstairs. Don't worry about it."

He looked hesitant to let go of their things, but with the insistence of Mrs. Johnson, he gave in and Mrs. Simbiat took it upstairs.

Mrs. Johnson's beaming smile resurfaced, once everyone had relaxed on the couch. "Now that you've settled in, let's have dinner. I'm starving and I can imagine you all are, just as well." We all chimed in agreement.

I smiled to myself. Phase one of my plan was about to commence. I could only hope it would work.