Chapter 20: Chapter 20

NELINA

A week has passed, and I've decided to give it another try with Royce. I talked to Royce on the phone last Friday, and he volunteered to pick me up at our condo unit because he wanted to talk to mom personally. At first, I was hesitant to have him at home. But he insisted and was stubborn to pursue meeting mom and dad, giving them assurance that I was safe with him.

So, I thought it was good to give mom assurance since she was reluctant. I shared what happened during our last date; Marica and mom were both concerned. The idea of digging into my traumatic experience in the past has got them anxious about me.

It's already a quarter to 9 in the morning, and I'm almost good to go; just fix my hair in a ponytail. I settled on a baby pink polo shirt, black ripped jeans and paired them with baby pink rubber shoes. Upon picking up my sling bag, I spotted my laptop open. There was an open window of the recent research for the accident case. Worried that mom might find out the truth, I immediately shut my laptop off. When I closed the door behind me, I heard the voice of chitchat. It must be from the living room, I recognized mom's voice, but the other was Royce's voice. He arrived earlier than expected.

I jolted when he mentioned my name. If only I could take myself to the living room like a flash, I did. I cleared my throat when I was at the back of the sofa where Royce was seated. "Royce, you're here a little bit early. Did I make you wait long?" I asked as I drew nearer to the single-seater sofa opposite him.

The sofa was arranged in a square shape. Mom was on the right side of the couch; Royce and I were at the center. Studying at mom's facial expression, there was no trace of anxiousness, which came as a surprise.

"Sweetie, Royce, and I had a good conversation for about 10 minutes. He's a pretty interesting man." Mom said as the corners of her mouth lifted, glancing at me and Royce's back and forth. I nodded in response.

When I was finally seated on the sofa, Royce grabbed one of the two bouquets of flowers on the center table. "This is for you," he said as he handed me a bouquet of red roses.

"They're beautiful, thank you," I said and didn't hesitate to accept the bouquet. Royce was elated when I did. I closed my eyes, sniffing the fragrance of the fresh roses, and intoxicated myself with the addictive odor.

"You're welcome; I'm glad you liked it," he said as he nodded and went back to his seat.

"Mine are white but just as beautiful as yours, and the smell was addictive," Mom said, pointing at the other bouquet of roses on the table.

"Yes, the flowers are beautiful, mom. You can put them in our vase on the dining table later."

"Sure, I'll do that," she said and turned to Royce's again.

I held the card in my hand, eyeing mom on the edge of the card, pretending to read the message Royce wrote. And to my surprise again, she seemed very engaged talking to Royce. I don't know if I should take it as a piece of good news or something off to mom. Just recently, when I shared my anxiety attack, she acted concerned. Knowing that Royce was partly responsible for the incident, it was strange for me to look at them like they had known each other for quite a while.

I shifted my focus on the card; it reads. You might not know your worth, but I do. You should see it through my eyes. You are more than enough. I just thought you should know.

I didn't know that he could be so romantic to this level. It surpassed my expectations. I placed the card back on the bouquet of flowers before putting it down on the table. It seems to me that they could not end the conversation at any time soon, so I initiated it. I cleared my throat loud enough for them to notice. They both looked at me like I wanted.

"Shall we?" I asked.

"Yes, I think you two have to get going. I'm sorry for the delay, sweetie. Royce here had a lot to say about organic farming and how they could expand a massive reach online. Not just to expand the business but also to spread awareness about what we get taken into our body," Mom's lengthy response, the corners of her mouth lifted.

I nodded in response, unable to reply. I had no idea that Royce was in the organic farming business, yet he had shared it all with mom. Who he met just now. I shifted to Royce, raising an eyebrow. And I feel like putting my fist on his face to wipe away the smirk he plastered. He was wicked; he did it on purpose. Maybe to get close to mom. Hmm, what an evil hidden agenda.

"Ma'am, we should go. Thank you so much for your time. I hope to have more time with you and Mr. Cruz. I'm sure we will never run out of things to talk to," he said as he extended a hand to mom. Mom did the same and shook Royce's hand.

Again, I raised an eyebrow, intently staring at their hands. So, they're like close friends now?

"Looking forward to that. Pardon my husband; he has to rest a bit longer. He will surely join us next time."

It took us two hours to drive to Tagaytay, where his ancestral house was. We entered a vast gated estate where we were welcomed by some of their staff upon arrival. I froze in my seat as I was hesitant to step out of the car. As I looked out of the window, there were flowers all around the backyard. It appears so fascinating in my eyes. I have loved flowers since I was a kid. The thought of touching those adorable flowers urged me to step out of the car.

"Hey, you okay?" Royce asked.

I shifted to where Royce was seated, not knowing that he was already leaning over me; our heads almost collided. "Oops," he said in a wicked smirk with a hint of tease in his voice.

Oh, I love to wipe away the smirk on your face. But I refused to voice it out, except I kept looking at his face. This is the second time I looked at his face intently, first when he helped me get through an anxiety attack at the racing track.

How could someone be this handsome? Royce's midnight black eyes are beautiful, with thick eyelashes, a pointed nose, and a prominent jawline, which is my favorite. His beard has started to grow over his jawline, covering half of his face.

"Mesmerized?" he said, an evil smirk not leaving his face.

I was embarrassed and felt the urge to get out of the car as it felt suffocating. I opened my door to get myself out of the car, but I was stuck since my seatbelt was undone.

"Oppss, let me help you." He unbuckled my seatbelt and didn't wait for an answer. "You should have waited for me to open your door. That's what I do for a special person in my life."

My face heated up, but I didn't give him the satisfaction of watching my face blush.

"When you're with me, you don't have to do that. I can do it myself," I said, ignoring the special person he mentioned and shaking it out of my thoughts. Whatever he's implying with.

When he unbuckled my seatbelt, I stepped out of the car and refused to look back. "Let's go?"

Royce household staff was there to welcome us. I nodded to everyone we passed. Royce had an astounding treatment for his staff; he knows every one of them. It was heartwarming knowing he treated each of them with respect. Upon entering the door, I was stunned at how huge the mansion was. I missed the old house that we had in Angeles City. It was modern, not like what Royce's have, but it was also huge. Royce's ancestral house was Mediterranean style.

"Beautiful," I said as I roamed my eyes around and ended at the massive stair at the center.

"You like it? This is where I used to live with my grannies. Old house from my great grandfather. This was renovated a couple of times, but we stayed in the Mediterranean style. Those antique collections are from my grandma." He pointed to the line of old and huge flower vases on the right side of the stairs.

"And those swords are my grandpa's collections." He pointed to the swords hanging on the wall with a glass frame on them.

"These beautiful pieces are priceless. It's good you kept them with you. This is like a crib full of treasure," I said as I glanced at Royce.

"Thank you. You made me happy. By the way, would you like a drink?"

"No, we should head to your car collections. We still have to drive home, right?"

He cracked. "Easy, we just got here. Can you make yourself at home? It was quite a long trip. You can take a rest if you wish," he said, fully facing me; his hand was on my right arm.

My heart was racing; he invaded my comfort zone again. He was leaning over me, his breath fanning on my face.

"I'm fine, really," I said as I looked away. I stepped back and drew near the swords hanging on the wall.

"Do you want a house tour first?" Royce asked.

A house tour fascinates me, but I doubt if we still have time for the car collection tour and then drive back to Angeles City. Why is it that I felt he was delaying everything? I frowned when awful thoughts came to mind. I can't sleep here with him.

"What do you think?" he said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. I jolted a little bit and was forced to look back.

"Sure, but just a quick one. Then we'll have to take a look at your cars."

He nodded and led me to other parts of the house. He grabbed my waist close to him and walked side by side. The whole place was very spacious from the living room, guest area, entertainment room, and dining area. The antique collections were all over the house; they have them in the dining area and kitchen.

Their furniture was warm wood, and the doors were carved. I loved the stone details of the whole house structure, the metal window, and the fact that the house brought me to a Spanish-Italian vibe. To sum up, I would say that the house was simple and easy on the eyes because it was not crowded to look at yet elegant. The Mediterranean style never runs out of the trend.

When we were at the dining area, a household member approached us with fresh coconut juice. The woman, who was probably in her 40s, was so nice that I couldn't say no. Royce asked the cook to prepare our lunch at the outdoor dining area. "After lunch, I'll show you the second floor, it was more of some personal stuff from our family, and I'll show you my room," he said as he winked at me.

I looked at my wristwatch as we may not have enough time for the second-floor tour. I didn't know why but my heart was racing when I heard the last word. I swallowed a lump in my throat and nodded.