You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her.

Anonymous

Enrico picked up a fruit and drew it close to his nose and sniffed. Unable to identify exactly what he needed to, he sniffed it once more and by the third time, the fruit got snatched from his hand much to his surprise. He immediately turned, only to watch Kiana walk past him pushing a trolley as well. A smile formed on his lips as he watched her stop for a moment and take a look at the piece of paper in her hand. Enrico walked forward and only stopped when he was by her side. He watched her look away from the paper for a second, then search around with her eyes for something.

"Aren't we done yet?" He asked, as she stared back down at the paper. Kiana let out a silent sigh without looking up to him.

"As much as I would love to say yes... No." Kiana replied, before folding the paper once more, looking ahead and pushing the trolley forward.

"How long is that list of yours?" Enrico asked, referring to the piece of paper she held in her hand.

"Long enough to satisfy you." Kiana replied, as she picked out a jam from the shelf and moved forward. Enrico slightly furrowed his brows.

"Long enough to satisfy me? What does that even mean? If you haven't noticed, I don't eat much and there are just two of us at that house. If I don't eat much, then you do the maths." Enrico commented and Kiana stood still for a moment controlling her every urge to do something nasty to him. Eventually, she turned to him. A simple smile displayed on his face, as he waited expectantly for a reply from her. She stared at him for what seemed like forever before speaking up.

"Why are you here? Why did you follow me...Ever since we got here, you've been so eager to leave. Fine, let me put you out of your misery. Please go ahead and leave. I'll return on my own once I'm done... Besides, you're ill. You're not supposed to be out. You're supposed to be resting." She explained, hoping he would understand and eventually back away from her, but all he did was stare at her. She stared back with expectations.

Suddenly, he let out a light chuckle before taking out his hands from the kangaroo pockets of his sweatshirt. He flexed his arms by moving his hands back and forth.

"I'm fine. I'm doing better than earlier this morning, so I'll stick with you." Enrico stated, much to her dismay, while he returned his hands to their former hideout.

"I have a better idea. I'll stick around and stay out of your way till when you're done, okay?" He proposed and before she could even think of saying anything else, he walked away.

Kiana let out a loud sigh as she watched him go. If only he could understand exactly what she was trying to do. She had decided on going grocery shopping just to get away from the house, from him for some time, but in the end, he tagged along without her approval. Kiana took a look at the time on her mobile phone. It was getting late. The day was gradually coming to an end. She needed to hurry up, since she was still going to make dinner and head to her part-time job.

Enrico busied himself with walking around, as well as staring at the different food products on display and for sale. The supermarket wasn't as filled as he had expected; just mild looking customers. After what seemed like forever of doing the same routine, he decided to find Kiana. Eventually, he found her just joining the queue towards the counter. He made the payment and they were on their way out of the supermarket.

Kiana let out a sigh of relief as soon as they got into the car and she put on her seat belt, before taking a look at the time on her mobile phone. Gratefully, time was working alongside her, so that made a brief yet simple smile surface on her face. Enrico had noticed her checking her phone and now, a seeming smile appeared on her face. It made him wonder what was going on with her.

"Are you okay?" He asked and she immediately shifted her eyes to him before nodding.

"I'm fine. We'll get home and I'll get to make dinner on time." Kiana explained, before looking away from him. Enrico stared at her for a moment before starting the car.

Minutes later, Enrico parked to the side and Kiana took a look around trying to figure out why he parked somewhere that isn't the underground garage of the building he lives in. Unable to figure out a reason, she finally shifted her eyes to him to pose a question, but before she could utter a word, he had already gotten out of the car and shut the door. She stared at him in confusion as he walked around, past the car and towards a building she hadn't quite taken notice of. The security guard close to the entrance held the glass transparent door open for him. Suddenly, he came to a halt and turned to the car. He signalled to her to get out of the car, but the more he gestured, the further her brows furrowed in confusion. Finally, he walked back to the car and opened the door.

"Get out of the car." He ordered, whilst he still held the door. She stared for a moment before getting out of the car. He shut the door afterwards and pressed the key fob in his hand to lock up the car, before he walked towards the building once more. Kiana stood still as she lurked her eyes around the neighbourhood. None of it seemed familiar to her. She also noticed that the sun had finally set and darkness was slowly engulfing the day. It only reminded her of the fact that the time for her part-time job was drawing close. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her wrist, then a forward pull. Looking forward, she realised the person responsible was none other than Enrico. She wanted to push his hand away and take her stand, but for some reason, she couldn't. All she did was watch him drag her along as he walked in front and all the way into the building. Thereafter, they came to a standstill. Kiana's eyes slightly widened as she stared at the scenery in front of her. They were in a restaurant. She really hadn't been paying attention. The interior decoration itself was exquisite. Everything seemed organised and managed to sparkle as well. One full swing and nearly all the contents of the restaurant would come crashing down as breakables filled every corner. The customers looked so classy and fancy at the same time. Actually, she and Enrico were the only ones not properly dressed up and Enrico didn't seem to care.

Enrico searched with his eyes for a great sitting spot and, sooner than later, found one. Without a warning, he pulled her along with him towards the seat.

Kiana looked left and right, a part of her feeling uncomfortable as she took notice of the swarming eyes that took turns taking a look at them. Unable to take it anymore, she looked up to Enrico, who busied himself with going through the menu. His face held no contempt. In fact, he seemed at peace, whereas she was the least bit in that mood. From where she sat on the opposite side of the table, she leaned closer.

"What are we doing here?" Kiana asked, nearly in a whisper and waited for a reply, but got none. Enrico continued like she hadn't said a word. His purposeful silence enraged her.

"Why am I here?" She asked in a deepened voice, but definitely in a whisper. Enrico looked up to her away from the menu in his hands. He leaned closer to the table as well, so his eyes met hers.

"Why are you whispering?" He asked, the expression on his face a bit amusing. Kiana glared at him for a while before leaning backwards away from the table. Enrico did the exact same, then returned to scanning through the menu with his eyes.

"Can I please leave?" Kiana asked, a part of her determined to walk away, even though his answer would be a no.

"Why?" Enrico asked, without raising his eyes up to her.

"Well, because I'm not supposed to be here. Time is running out. I still have to make dinner and head out for work." She explained, hoping he would understand. He instantly raised his eyes up to her.

"Work? What work... oh, your part-time. Just quit."

"Quit!" She exclaimed, her voice a little higher than expected, causing a few eyes to turn to her. She felt slightly embarrassed and had to look down for a moment before raising her eyes back up to him. The amusement drawn across his face did nothing to calm her down, if anything, it infuriated her further. She recalled the last time they were in a restaurant together and that was alongside Cecile. He had taken her there without her knowledge, for whatever cause his action might have been. The thought of it happening all over again didn't cradle within her. Nevertheless, she took in a deep breath and got ready to speak, like a civilised person.

"Mr. Vos, If you're trying to pull the stunt you once did, then please restrain from doing that. Before she arrives, I'll show myself to the door." Kiana stated and attempted to get up to her feet.

"What are you talking about?" Enrico asked, his eyes narrowed at her. Her brows slightly furrow at the look of confusion on his face. It made her conclude at how good he was at pretending.

"Ce-Cecile... Isn't she coming?" She managed to pose the question and watched as Enrico let out a scoff.

"No, she's not. No one else is coming. We're having dinner alone, so just pick up your menu and make a choice of what you would like to have." He explained all at once and without waiting to see the reaction on her face, he looks back down at the menu in his hands.

Kiana stared at him with eyes slightly widened. His words having taken her by surprise.

Dinner. Alone?

Those were the only two words she had paid heed to throughout his sentence and that, sort of, troubled her. She looked away from his face and down to her hands on her lap.

What now Kiana?

She asked herself, quite unable to place her next move. A few seconds ago, she was ready to leave, because she thought he was trying to use her again, but now, it seems like there's honestly a plan of having dinner outside his home and just the both of them. For some reason, the thought didn't quite settle in. She didn't know what to make of this. She had presumed they understood each other in the decision of staying apart as much as possible. She just has to be his assistant at the office and his professional maid at home. Eating out alone with your boss had nothing professional written across it. One would think they were on a date.

Date!?

Kiana exclaimed in her mind and she instantly looked up to Enrico, who still seemed so busy staring at the menu. Kiana looked left and right, worry written all over her face.

"Shall I take your order, sir?" A waiter asked, and both Enrico and Kiana immediately looked up to him.

Enrico let out a sigh he had no idea he had been holding in. Finally, a distraction to ease up the awkward atmosphere around them. Truth be told, he had no idea what he was doing at the moment. Something or perhaps, a part of him felt the need to take advantage of his situation, so he did. Hopefully, she would understand things that way.

Kiana looked away from the waiter and unto Enrico as he placed his order. She couldn't help staring at him. Enrico had grown into a complicated man. He hadn't been this complicated to figure out in the past. Which of his words was she to believe? He says something and he does the opposite. It made her wonder what exactly he wanted. Does he want to be enemies with her or does he want to be a friend, like old times? Regardless of that, getting what they had in the past was truly out of the question. She had messed things up and earlier that day, the secret from the past took a step to being revealed. She knew he was mad at her for what he believed actually happened in the past, but thinking about what he might do when he finds out the real truth, scared her to wits. Somehow, in the present, everything was perfect this way. Not too deep and not that mild. At least, he spoke to her, joked about and sometimes vented his anger, but it was still perfect. The thought of him never ever speaking to her again, broke her heart. It would hurt a lot and she certainly didn't want that. She couldn't bring herself to reveal the past, but at the same time, she couldn't push forward to the future as expected. The only solution was to stay away from him. That way when he eventually found out the truth, it wouldn't hurt as much, because he never cared that much for her.

"Kiana." He called and she raised her brows in question, having just snapped out of her thoughts.

"What's going on with you? I've been calling for a while now." Enrico explained and all she did was stare, confusion a little on her face.

"Never mind." He told her, before shifting his eyes back to the waiter.

"She'll have the same as I." He told the waiter, who then nodded with a brief simple, thereafter walked away.

Enrico took one look at her and realised she was staring at him. He looked away, but looked right back at her, suddenly putting up a smile.

"What are you thinking?" He asked, staring directly at her, but she said nothing in reply, except narrow her eyes at him.

"We're not on a date, if that's what you're thinking." He commented in an amusing tone. She looked away from him trying her best to hide the little tinge of disappointment that might surface on her face.

"We're here because I felt like eating out, but if I eat out on my own, I might look sad and pitiful, so I brought you along. I'm sure you've never eaten at such a place before, so, you're welcome." He commented with a broad smile and Kiana shifted her eyes back to him, her brows furrowed at his last words. She wanted to make a comeback comment, but then she realised it would be useless. They were already there and he was having his way, so, anything she had to say would be like noise to his eyes.

Glaring hard at him, she took in a deep breath and got ready to bear him for a few more minutes, then right after dinner, she would head out to work.