Aria smiled while her finger poked Vince's arm. Vince realized her plan and ran away from her, "Little one, you will never get that." He knew Aria had her eyes on the macromineral rare and beautiful multicolor stones from his collection which was next to impossible to get.
Aria giggled and didn't force him again, "Alright, I will not ask."
Vince was breathing a sigh when Alan spoke in a casual manner, "I was thinking my wife and I could handle Morse so..."
Vince felt Alan was weaving the trap yet he fell inside, "Really?"
"Heh?" Aria shook her head in rejection, "No no, we have too much to handle here."
That's when all heard Maisy's delighted voice, "President Morgan, could you really do that?"
Aria: "..."
'Why is Alan's EQ too high?' Aria and Vince thought looking at each other.
Maisy didn't want to stay in the country and look after the company but her cousin Patrick was dumb headed and her mother was aging so she was sure Melissa would ask her to look after the company hence she didn't want to go and meet her mother.
Alan hummed, "Only if my wife gets the sea green, blue and yellow blended mineral stone."
Aria: "..." She never had told him she wanted that particular stone. And she didn't really crave for it but looking after the company is a huge risk.
She hoped Vince rejected but the latter saw the satisfaction on Maisy's face and hummed, "It's just a stone right, I will send it."
Aria: "..."
Now she understood the vast difference between love and sister affection. Love could make the man do anything and both men in front of her proved it.
'Alan Morgan, I will chop you into pieces if you become CEO or ask me to be one.' They hardly get time to spend with each other on weekdays, another company is a huge deal. She didn't want to compromise on that.
Aria saw Maisy's admiration at Alan for solving her dilemma and Vince's affectionate gaze on Maisy. Who was Vince fooling? Himself? Aria was sure Vince was head over heels for Maisy but the latter looked uninterested in everything. Maisy was like a puzzle for her to understand even if she wanted to help the duo to break the wall they had built between them.
"Okay, okay, you two rest till dinner then we can talk later," Aria said as they will be meeting Melissa the next day.
Vince hummed and went upstairs cuing Maisy to join him. Maisy became a little puppy obediently following him to their room in complete silence. Aria waited till they went out of their sight before going and sitting on her husband's lap throwing his tab away.
Alan wrapped his hands pulling her closer as she asked, "How do you know I wanted that color combination stone?"
Alan shrugged indicating he doesn't really have a particular reason for it, "Why were you angry?"
Aria pouted in embarrassment and couldn't believe she was already fine accepting the reality, "If you like kids so much, why do you want only one?"
"Heh?" It wasn't a response to his question yet he responded in displease, "No, I don't like kids. They annoy us by crying a lot. Rian used to cry his lungs out."
Aria unwrapped her hands away from his neck and asked cautiously, "Why do you sound like you will throw our babies out if they cry?..." She felt she should be careful with their babies imagining Alan holding the baby by cloth and throwing it out of the room mercilessly. A chill ran down her spine just by the thought of it.
She continued without letting him respond, "And why were so excited in the bathroom? I thought even you are like a man who needs an heir or heiress and forgets about the wife. I wanted to talk to Mum about it."
Alan got the response to his question and her moodiness, "My dummy wife, Dad always pampered Mom, and Mom took care of us three and I wasn't excited but I wanted to know it to take care of you, Dummy."
Aria was surprised and grinned in embarrassment while Alan continued, "It needs a minimum of twelve days to know if you are pregnant or not. There are also reports saying a few can't get pregnant at first try despite being healthy so don't pressure yourself or wait for it. When you miss your periods, we can check it."
Aria knew all that but hearing from Alan she couldn't help but smile as she nodded, "Hmmm, you better work hard..." 'from tomorrow.' She couldn't get to finish and carried her up, "Alright. Better than in the morning, then we will have to take a break for dinner else you will get tired soon."
She regretted wishing him and started her acting, "Alan, I am tired. I am sleepy..."
Alan sweetly caught her lie, "Liar." She had the feeling that she will lose her back in two or three days.
---
At dinner, Aria was envious of Maisy whose alcohol capacity was too high whereas she was still twirling a second wine glass. After dinner, with another glass of wine, Aria sat next to Maisy while Vince and Alan were busy with their talks and plans.
"Did Brother Vince tell you I am your cousin?" Aria asked to start the conversation.
Maisy merely hummed and sat expressionlessly. Aria was completely clueless about her expressions. 'Am I getting muddled?' She didn't know. She tried again, "Do you love brother Vince?"
This time Aria's face turned cold when Maisy glared at her. There was nothing wrong with what she asked, what's with the gaze? She lost interest to talk to her and turned away from her with obvious furrows on her face thinking how different sibling she has,
Maisy cared to open her mouth, "Vin doesn't like serious commitments. He wants freedom."
"Cough, cough.." Aria choked on her drink hearing the totally unexpected voice in melancholy. Maisy watched blankly when Aria left her flute away, drank little water, and dabbed a tissue around her lips.
If anybody asks Aria who is a heartless girl, she would undoubtedly point to Maisy who didn't care to give hand sitting right next to her while Alan ran over to her from the other end of the living hall.
Alan wiped her eyes corner to remove the tears as he asked, "Alright?" He continued after her nod, "It's enough for today, don't drink more." Aria pushed him to Vince, understanding it was to increase the chances of pregnancy, "Okay, I will not drink."
Alan went back towards Vince when Maisy commented, "President Morgan loves you so much."
A pleasant smile naturally appeared on her face while she hummed and returned back to the main topic, "Some men can't commit seriously until they get the one they could love naively or wildly. Ignorance about his work is what Brother Vince needs from his woman, that doesn't mean he wasn't ready to commit."
Maisy looked at Vince seriously talking about work-related things with Alan and turned to Aria taking her by surprise, "Why did you choose President Morgan?"