Chapter 225 - Birthday Present

She straightened her clothes and glared at the man before her, still infuriated by the fact that he had turned her on just to prove a point. "Liam Preston, I think you skipped too many of your health classes."

"What do you mean?" He fought the urge to grab her and kiss her again.

She walked over to the counter, grabbing the tub of ice cream he had gotten from the fridge and bringing it to him since it was what he had come for. "I'm a woman with a normally functioning vagina. If a man touches me with my consent, of course my body will respond to his touch. That doesn't mean I have feelings for him."

"If you put it that way," He was no longer in the mood for ice cream if he was not going to eat it with her.

"I guess this meeting is over." She headed for the door.

"Ximena." He called after her, setting the ice cream which had started to melt aside to follow her. She stopped without turning to face him, and he assumed it was because she didn't have the guts to speak while looking into his eyes.

"You better think carefully before you make a decision. You can't go back on your word later." He warned. "No matter how much I love a woman, I will not appreciate her making a clown out of me by going back and forth denying and admitting to her feelings."

She blinked with a forced smile, her voice almost breaking. "I know. You don't have to worry. I have no feelings for you, Mr. Preston. I hope we can keep a professional attitude around each other henceforth." She walked off before he could say something that would make her cave.

"In your dreams. In your fucking dreams Ximena!" She heard him shout behind her.

She hugged her arms as she ran as far as she could from the kitchen, trying not to let her eyes water. She was not going to let herself cry over a man. She was too strong to do that.

She bumped into Ember on her way out and the two almost toppled since they were both wearing high heels.

"Ximena, you are leaving?" She asked, startled.

"I have other things to do." responded the latter, trying to walk past her.

"But we haven't had our drink and Liam hasn't shown you around." She attempted to convince her to stay, wondering what her son had done to make her want to leave in such a hurry.

Ximena swallowed past the lump in her throat. "I appreciate the kind gesture, Mrs. Preston, but I really have to go. Thank you for having me here."

"Xim, wait!" Ember could only go back to the kitchen in frustration after being unable to stop her.

"Really?" She glared at her son who was playing with the tub of ice cream at the kitchen counter.

"Don't scold me." Liam ignored her presence.

She leaned against the granite counter to face him. "I brought her right into your home yet the best you could do is let her leave? You had the chance to let her know how you feel!" She nearly screeched.

"It's not worth it." He retorted.

"What?"

He let out a breath slowly. "No matter how much I like a woman, I don't want to be treated like I don't exist. I'll pass." It was uncertain whether the words were for her or himself, and she could see it in his eyes that they hurt him.

"As you wish. I just wanted you to pursue your happiness." She gave up meddling in her son's love life. He had tough luck and it was probably going to give him a huge blow this time. The thought of it made her pull him into her arms and kiss his face.

"I'm not a child anymore, mother."

"There isn't an age limit to when I can embrace my son."

___

On the other hand, Ximena spent the rest of her days working. When she left the office, she busied herself until she ran out of things to do, and dashed for her friend's house. Zaria was like a sister to her.

She had rang the doorbell when she remembered that her friend was pregnant and shouldn't worry about too many things.

"I'll just enjoy her company and not tell her anything." She noted to herself.

The butler opened the door and Zaria was already rushing over to meet her.

"Xim! I was not expecting you." She hugged her joyously and pulled her into the living room. "You came at the right time."

"Hold on. I'll get something from the car." Ximena hurried back and returned with a makeup set, rendering Zaria confused.

"You gave me a new set just a few days ago."

"I modified these specifically for pregnant women. It will protect your skin more." She handed the set to her.

"I love you even more now." Zaria thanked her for the new set and pulled her upstairs to her room. She was about to show her the gift she made for Desmond when she noticed the latter's mood was unusual. She placed the set on the vanity and held her shoulders. "Did something happen?"

Since she had decided not to talk about it, Ximena feigned a smile. "I've just been thinking a lot. Desmond's birthday party is this Saturday, right?"

"Yes."

"I was wondering what kind of dress you should wear. You know, a beautiful one, sexy yet elegant enough, that will show off your curves without revealing the good news before you announce it."

"You have the best taste. I'll leave it to you." Zaria patted her shoulder. She knew Ximena was hiding something but since the latter was not comfortable enough to reveal it, she dropped the subject too.

"Do you trust me so much? What if I made you wear a gunny sack?" Ximena joked with a sinister smile.

"Then I'd gladly grab hold of your hand and let the whole world know that my stylist is the owner of Morel Beauty." Retorted Zaria, chuckling at Ximena's expression when she realized what that would mean for her reputation.

"Why are we still friends?" She exaggeratedly puffed her cheeks.

"No idea."

For the rest of the evening, they watched a movie and talked about her choice of Desmond's gift, and their subject slowly drifted to random gossip. Zaria knew that her friend was upset so she asked her to sleep over, and the latter was happy that she would not have to face her inner ghosts on her own tonight. At least, that was what she thought until Zaria fell asleep.

It was almost 1am and all she could think about when she closed her eyes was Liam. She knew that she had been unfair to him but she was hurting too. She had never been one to believe in fairy tales with happy endings but it was much better to enter a relationship thinking it would last forever than knowing there was no future in it. If he got together with him, what would happen if he ever wanted to get married and have kids? She would definitely have to tell him the truth that would make him break up with her.

Her hand traced down her stomach. It had never mattered before but now…

She hated to think about it. She forced the thought out of her mind and all she could replace it with was the feeling of his hands feeling her up. He had kissed her as though he was eager to claim her as his own, and it had been sweeter than ever.

The man was a phantom, she concluded in her mind. He was determined to take permanent residence in her mind and she was not going to let that happen.

___

On Saturday, Zaria delivered a file in Desmond's office along with her proposal. Zeus, that unreliable man, had once again taken a day off and she could only stand in for the highly confidential matters that they didn't trust anyone else with.

"The proposal is done. It will take two weeks to install the screens."

"Keep it in the vault." He instructed her. With the mole still lurking who they were yet to catch, it was likely for someone to snoop around and therefore safer to keep everything away from reach.

She entered the code and placed the proposal in, before turning back to him. "Do you think Nathaniel will make a move tonight?"

"I can't put it past him." He tapped his pen against the surface of the desk. As if on cue, his phone vibrated with a call from Alyssa.

They exchanged knowing glances before he answered the call.

"What do you want?"

"Can't I give my son a call? It's your birthday. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday." Alyssa sounded annoyed at his tone.

"Your message has been delivered. I should hang up now." His thumb hovered over the screen.

"Wait. Actually, there is something else." She interrupted.

"What?"

"I'm aware of how far we have drifted from each other. I'm your mother, of course I care about you." She paused, dramatically feigning emotion. "I know about the birthday banquet you organized, to which I was not invited. Don't worry. I will not crash it. But I will send you a birthday present."

When the call ended, he had a deep frown on his face which made her raise her eyebrow.

"What did she say?"

"That she will send me a birthday present."

She gave him a puzzled look. "Yeah.. I have a bad feeling about that."